1980Final results
1980 election for Tennessee Senate District 20
Tennessee State Senate · Tennessee
John Hicks (D) won with 59.2% of the vote, defeating Joseph E. Ellis Jr. (R) by 18.5 points.
John HicksDemocrat · winner · incumbent
59.2%28,395
Joseph E. Ellis Jr.Republican
40.8%19,547
47,942 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