1980Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1980 election for Texas's 8th District
U.S. House · Texas
Jack Fields (R) won with 51.8% of the vote, defeating Bob Eckhardt (D) by 3.5 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Jack FieldsRepublican · winner
51.8%72,856
Bob EckhardtDemocrat
48.2%67,921
140,777 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Bob EckhardtJack Fields
$407.7K
Raised by the campaign
$799.8K
$384.5K
Spent by the campaign
$800.3K
$0
Cash on hand
$0
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1980.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1980