1980Final results
1980 election for Tennessee House District 78
Tennessee House of Representatives · Tennessee
Don E. Dills (D) won with 57.3% of the vote, defeating Gerald W. Ketchum (R) by 35.8 points.
Don E. DillsDemocrat · winner
57.3%8,068
Gerald W. KetchumRepublican
21.5%3,028
William H. PendletonIndependent
18.8%2,645
Bill AcredIndependent
2.5%346
14,087 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Don E. Dills (D)Gerald W. Ketchum (R)William H. Pendleton (I)
Also on the ballot: Bill Acred (Independent), 2.5%