1980 United States presidential election: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Rmv. unsourced and dubious statement
m slight re-write, copyedit
Line 41: Line 41:
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
}}
}}
The '''United States presidential election of 1980''' featured a contest between incumbent [[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and his [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] opponent, [[Ronald Reagan]], along with third party candidates, the liberal Republican [[John B. Anderson]] and [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] [[Ed Clark]].
The '''United States presidential election of 1980''' featured a contest between incumbent [[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and his [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] opponent, [[Ronald Reagan]], along with [[Third party (United States)|third party]] candidates, the [[Independent (politician)|independent]] [[John B. Anderson]] and [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] [[Ed Clark]].


==Background==
==Background==

Revision as of 13:30, 25 October 2007

United States presidential election, 1980
← 1976 4 November 1980 1984 →
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Georgia
Running mate George H. W. Bush Walter Mondale
Electoral vote 489 49
States carried 44 6+DC
Popular vote 43,903,230 35,480,115
Percentage 50.7% 41.0%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Reagan/Bush, Blue denotes those won by Carter/Mondale.

The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, along with third party candidates, the independent John B. Anderson and Libertarian Ed Clark.

Background

Through the 1970s, the United States were experiencing a wrenching episode of low economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, and intermittent energy crises, added to a sense of malaise that in both foreign and domestic affairs the nation was headed downward. By the beginning of the election season, the prolonged Iran hostage crisis sharpened public perceptions of a crisis.[1]

Carter was blamed for most of the nation's woes, especially the Iran hostage crisis, which proved humiliating. Many Americans saw Carter as having failed to have dealt with any of these situations either decisively or effectively. Carter, after defeating Ted Kennedy for the nomination, attacked Reagan as a dangerous radical. For his part, Reagan, the charismatic ex-Governor of California, repeatedly ridiculed Carter, and won a decisive victory that gave Republicans control of the United States Senate for the first time in 28 years. This win marked the beginning of the "Reagan Revolution."

Nominations

Republican Party nomination

Republican Candidates


Candidates gallery

The primaries

As the 1970s came to a close, Former Governor Ronald Reagan was the odds-on favorite to win his party's nomination for president (after nearly beating incumbent President Gerald Ford just four years earlier). He was so far ahead in the polls that campaign director John Sears decided on an "above the fray" strategy. He did not attend many of the multicandidate forums and straw poll events held in the summer and fall of 1979.

However, George Bush, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and chairman of the Republican National Committee, taking a page from the George McGovern/Jimmy Carter playbook, did go to all the so-called "cattle calls", and began to come in first at a number of these events.

In January of 1980, the Iowa Republicans decided to have a straw poll as a part of their caucuses for that year. Bush's hard work paid off, and he defeated Reagan by a small margin. Bush declared he had the "Big Mo" (for "momentum"), and with Reagan boycotting the Puerto Rico primary in deference to New Hampshire, the victorious Bush looked like he might actually beat Reagan to the nomination.

File:Reaganmicrophone.JPG
Reagan heatedly declaring, "I am paying for this microphone!"

With the other candidates in single digits, the Nashua Telegraph offered to host a debate between Reagan and Bush. Worried that a newspaper-sponsored debate might violate electoral regulations, Reagan subsequently arranged to fund the event with his own campaign money, inviting the other candidates to participate at short notice. The Bush camp did not learn of Reagan's decision to include the other candidates until the debate was due to commence. Bush refused to participate, which led to an impasse on the stage. As Reagan attempted to explain his decision, the editor of the Nashua Telegraph ordered the sound man to mute Reagan's microphone. A visibly angry Reagan responded "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!" (the editor's name was in fact Jon Breen).[1][2] Eventually the other candidates agreed to leave, and the debate proceeded between Reagan and Bush. Reagan's quote was often repeated as "I paid for this microphone!" and dominated news coverage of the event; Bush did not make an impact with the voters.

Reagan swept the South, and although he lost five more primaries to Bush, including one where he came in third behind John Anderson, the former governor had a lock on the nomination very early in the season. Reagan would always be grateful to the people of Iowa for giving him "the kick in the pants" he needed.

Ronald Reagan giving his Acceptance Speech at the Republican National Convention, Detroit, Michigan. 7/17/80.

Reagan was an adherent to a policy known as supply side economics, which holds that incentives targeted toward wealthy people will result in increased production and benefit people at all levels of the economy. Accordingly, Reagan promised an economic revival that would affect all sectors of the population. He said that cutting tax rates would actually increase tax revenues because the lower rates would cause people to work harder as they would be able to keep more of their money. Reagan also called for a drastic cut in "big government" programs and pledged to deliver a balanced budget for the first time since 1969. In the primaries Bush famously called Reagan's economic policy "voodoo economics" because it promised to lower taxes and increase revenues at the same time. The wisdom of "supply-side economics" remains in contention. Although many economists credit the Reagan tax cut with helping to stimulate the strong growth later in the decade, it was also followed by the largest peacetime deficits in American history.

The 1980 Republican National Convention was held in Detroit, Michigan in the month of July.

the Tally at the convention was as follows:

Reagan initially negotiated with Gerald Ford to be his running mate; when the complex plan fell through (Ford reportedly insisted Henry Kissinger and Alan Greenspan be offered cabinet positions), Reagan chose Bush as the Republican vice presidential candidate.

For Vice President the vote was:

Democratic Party nomination

Democratic Candidates

Candidates gallery

The primaries

In the spring and summer of 1979 unemployment was high, inflation was on the rise, and in California, the gasoline supply was running out. The gas lines last seen just after the Arab/Israeli war of 1973 were back and President Carter was widely blamed.[citation needed]

The President’s approval ratings were very low -- 28% according to Gallup,[2] with some other polls giving even lower numbers. In July Carter returned from Camp David to reshuffle his cabinet and give a televised address to the nation widely dubbed the "malaise" speech, though the word malaise was never used. While the speech caused a brief upswing in the president's approval rating, the decision to dismiss several cabinet members was widely seen as a rash act of desperation, causing his approval rating to plummet back into the twenties. Some Democrats felt it worth the risk to mount a challenge to Carter in the primaries. Although Hugh Carey and William Proxpire decided not to run, Senator Edward Kennedy finally made his long-expected run at the Presidency.

Ted Kennedy had been asked to take his brother’s place at the 1968 Democratic Convention and had refused. He ran for Senate Majority Whip in 1969, however, and many thought that he was going to use that as a platform for 1972.[3] But then came the notorious Chappaquiddick incident.

Kennedy refused to run in 1972, and again in 1976. Many suspected that Chappaquiddick had destroyed any ability he had to win on a national level. However, in the summer of 1979, he consulted with his family, and that fall, he let it leak out that because of Carter’s failings, 1980 might indeed be the year. Gallup had him beating the president by over two to one.

Kennedy’s official announcement was scheduled for early November. There was a prime time interview with CBS’s Roger Mudd and it was a minor disaster. Kennedy flubbed a number of the questions and couldn’t exactly explain why he was running, and the polls, which showed him leading the President by 58-25 in August now had him ahead 49-39.[4] Then the hostages were taken in Tehran, Iran and the bottom fell out of the Kennedy campaign.

Carter’s approval ratings jumped in the 60-percent range in some polls, due to a "rally ‘round the flag" effect [5] and an appreciation of Carter's calm handling of the crisis. Kennedy was suddenly left far behind. Carter beat Kennedy decisively in Iowa and New Hampshire. Carter decisively defeated Kennedy everywhere except Massachusetts, until impatience began to build with the President’s strategy on Iran. When the primaries in New York and Connecticut came around, it was Kennedy who won.

Carter was still able to maintain a substantial lead even after Kennedy swept the last batch of primaries in June. Despite this, Kennedy refused to drop out, and the 1980 Democratic National Convention was one of the nastiest on record. On the penultimate day, Kennedy conceded the nomination and called for a more liberal party platform in what many saw as the best speech of his career. On the platform on the final day, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter.

The presidential tally was in part:

In the vice presidential roll call, Mondale was re-nominated with 2,428.7 votes to 723.3 not voting and 179 scattering.

Other nominations

John Bayard Anderson, after being defeated in the Republican primaries, entered the general election as an Independent candidate because of his opposition to the more conservative policies of Reagan. His support levels in the polls fell every week as his former supporters were pulled away by Carter, who was more liberal, or Reagan, who was more conservative.

His running mate was Patrick Lucey, former Governor of state of Wisconsin and then Ambassador to Mexico, appointed by President Carter.

The Libertarian Party nominated Edward Clark for President and David H. Koch for Vice President.

The Socialist Party USA nominated David McReynolds for President and Sister Diane Drufenbrock for Vice President, making McReynolds the first openly gay man to run for President.

General election

Campaign

Interest rate crisis of 1980

Under federal election laws, Carter and Reagan received $29 million each, and Anderson $18.5. They were not allowed to spend any other money. Carter and Reagan each spent about $15 million on television advertising, and Anderson under $2 million. The 1980 election is considered by some to be a realigning election. Reagan's supporters praise him for running a campaign of upbeat optimism, together with implications of a more militarily aggressive foreign policy. Carter emphasized his record as a peacemaker, and said Reagan's election would threaten civil rights and social programs that stretched back to the New Deal.

Reagan promised a restoration of the nation's military strength. Reagan also promised an end to "'trust me' government" and to restore economic health by implementing a supply-side economic policy. Reagan promised a balanced budget within three years (which he said would be "the beginning of the end of inflation"), accompanied by a 30% reduction in taxes over those same years. With respect to the economy, Reagan famously said, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

In August, after the Republican National Convention, Ronald Reagan gave a campaign speech at an annual county fair on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Mississippi, which civil rights leaders said was an insensitive reminder of the Mississippi civil rights worker murders of 1964.

Reagan announced, "I believe in states' rights." He also said, "I believe we have distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended to be given in the Constitution to that federal establishment." He went on to promise to "restore to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them." [3] Critics claimed that the speech signaled Reagan's opposition to the civil rights reforms of the 1960s. However, Reagan supporters would argue that the speech was simply a statement of Reagan's political ideals of smaller and less powerful federal government.

Ronald Reagan campaigning with Nancy Reagan in Columbia, South Carolina. 10/10/80.

Reagan was also hurt by a series of gaffes during the campaign. When Carter appeared in a small Alabama town, Reagan incorrectly claimed the town had been the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. Reagan was widely ridiculed for saying that trees caused pollution. Those remarks, and others, added to the impression that Reagan too often "shot from the hip" without checking his facts.

But if Reagan's remarks hurt his candidacy, Carter was burdened by a continued weak economy and the Iran hostage crisis. Inflation, high interest rates, and unemployment continued through the course of the campaign, and the ongoing hostage crisis in Iran became, to many, a symbol of American impotence during the Carter years. John Anderson's independent candidacy, aimed at liberals, was also seen as hurting Carter more than Reagan, especially in such Democratic states as Massachusetts and New York.

The campaign was largely negative, with many voters disliking Carter's handling of the economy, but also perceiving Reagan as an intellectual lightweight, possibly unable to handle the presidency and with various questionable policies. One analysis of the election has suggested that "Both Carter and Reagan were perceived negatively by a majority of the electorate."[6]

The election of 1980 was a key turning point in American politics. It signaled the new electoral power of the suburbs and the Sun Belt. Reagan's success as a conservative would initiate a realigning of the parties, as liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats would either leave politics or change party affiliations through the 1980s and 1990s to leave the parties much more ideologically polarized.

The Debates

The most important event of the entire 1980 presidential campaign was the second presidential debate, which was held on the Friday before the election (October 31). Over the course of two hours, the entire race changed drastically, and what was considered an extremely tight race with the President slightly ahead became a comfortable Republican victory.

Nothing of that magnitude has happened since in any televised confrontations.

The League of Women Voters, who had sponsored the 1976 Ford/Carter series, announced that it would do so again for the next cycle in the spring of 1979. However, Carter was not eager to participate. He had repeatedly refused to debate Sen. Kennedy during the primary season, and had given ambivalent signals as to his participation in the fall.

The LWV had announced a schedule of debates similar to 1976, three presidential and one vice presidential. No one had much of a problem with this until it was announced that Rep. John Anderson might be invited to participate along with Carter and Reagan. Carter steadfastly refused to participate with Anderson included and Reagan refused to debate without, after all, (see above), the demand for full participation of all the candidates involved had worked very well in the primaries.

The first debate took place in Baltimore, Maryland on September 21st. The President was nowhere to be found. Moderated by Bill Moyers, the confrontation between Anderson and Reagan was considered a dud. Anderson, who many thought would handily dispatch the former Governor, could only, according to many in the media, manage a draw. Anderson, who had been as high as 20% in some polls and at the time of the debate was over ten, dropped to about five soon after. Still, with the President boycotting, the whole thing seemed meaningless and ratings were low.

As September turned into October, the situation remained pretty much the same. Reagan demanded Anderson in and Carter demanded him out. As the standoff continued, the second round was canceled, as was the Vice Presidential debate.

With two weeks to go to the election, the Reagan campaign decided that the best thing to do at that moment was to accede to all of Carter's demands, and LWV agreed to disinvite Congressman Anderson from the remaining debate, which was rescheduled for October 28 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Moderated by Howard K. Smith, the Presidential Debate between President Carter and Governor Reagan received among the highest ratings of any television show in the previous decade. Debate topics included the Iranian hostage crisis, and nuclear arms treaties and proliferation. Carter's campaign sought to portray Reagan as a reckless "hawk." Reagan would have none of it, and it came as no surprise, then, when the candidates repeatedly clashed over the nuclear weapons issue in their debate. But it was Carter's reference to his consultation with 12 year old daughter Amy concerning nuclear weapons policy that became the focus of post-debate analysis and late-night television jokes.

Reagan's demeanor, on the other hand, was sunny and tolerant. When Carter made a reference to the governor's record, he replied with a cheerful "There you go again…"

In his closing remarks, Reagan asked a simple yet devastating question that would resonate with voters in 1980 and beyond: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" According to Carter' Press Secretary Jody Powell's memoirs, internal tracking polls showed Carter's tiny lead turning into a major Reagan landslide over the final weekend.

Results

The election was held on November 4, 1980. Reagan beat Carter by almost ten percentage points in the popular vote. Republicans also gained control of the Senate for the first time in twenty-five years on Reagan's coattails. The electoral college vote was a landslide, with 489 votes (representing 44 states) for Reagan and 49 for Carter (representing 6 states and the District of Columbia). John Anderson won no electoral votes, but got 5,720,060 popular votes. NBC News projected Reagan as the winner at 8:15 pm EST (5:15 PST), before voting was finished in the West, based on exit polls. Carter conceded defeat at 9:50 pm EST [7] [8].

Libertarian Party candidate Ed Clark received 921,299 popular votes. The Libertarians succeeded in getting Clark on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Clark's best showing was in Alaska where he received 12% of the vote; To date, this is the best performance by a Libertarian presidential candidate. Citizens Party candidate Barry Commoner, on the ballots in 31 states, received 234,294 popular votes. His running mate, La Donna Harris, was the second known Native American to run for national office, after Charles Curtis in 1928.

Trivia

  • After Ronald Reagan and George Bush were officially nominated, the two running mates held a joint press conference in which the microphones kept malfunctioning. Recalling Reagan's memorable line from the New Hampshire primary campaign, a reporter asked Reagan, "Governor, who paid for these microphones?" The press and the candidates greeted the question with hapless laughter.
  • A television ad from the Jerry Brown campaign that aired in Wisconsin showed an image of the California governor with parts of the picture marred by splotches of empty space due to a technical snafu, giving the appearance of holes in the candidate's head. Brown had publicly stated that he needed a win in the Wisconsin primary to stay in the campaign; he dropped out when he lost.
  • After Jimmy Carter's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden, a flood of balloons were supposed to drop. However, the overhead machine experienced difficulty and the balloons could not drop, after a significant wait they began to drop, but then at a very slow pace. This was considered a bad omen on the fall campaign. A similar malfunction occurred during the 2004 Democratic Convention following nominee John Kerry's speech. In 2004, TV microphones picked up the voice of a man who (perhaps remembering 1980) uttered several profanities regarding his displeasure at the malfunction.
  • In his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, President Carter recalled deceased Democratic leaders and referred to Hubert Humphrey, whose middle name was Horatio, as "Hubert Horatio Hornblower." He quickly corrected himself.

Statistics

Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority lobbying group is credited with giving Reagan two-thirds of the white, evangelical vote.[9]

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote 		Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Ronald Wilson Reagan Republican California 43,903,230 50.7% 489 George Herbert Walker Bush Texas 489
James Earl Carter, Jr. Democratic Georgia 35,480,115 41.0% 49 Walter Frederick Mondale Minnesota 49
John Bayard Anderson (none) Illinois 5,719,850 6.6% 0 Patrick John Lucey Wisconsin 0
Ed Clark Libertarian California 921,128 1.1% 0 David H. Koch Kansas 0
Barry Commoner Citizens Missouri 233,052 0.3% 0 La Donna Harris Oklahoma 0
Other 252,303 0.3% — Other —
Total 86,509,678 100% 538 538
Needed to win 270 270

Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1980 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved August 7, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved August 7, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

Voter demographics

SOCIAL GROUPS AND THE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE, 1980 AND 1976
Size '80 Carter '80 Reagan '80 Anderson '76 Carter '76 Ford
Party
Democratic 43 66 26 6 77 22
Independent 23 30 54 12 43 54
Republican 28 11 84 4 9 90
Ideology
Liberal 18 57 27 11 70 26
Moderate 51 42 48 8 51 48
Conservative 31 23 71 4 29 70
Race
Black 10 82 14 3 82 16
Hispanic 2 54 36 7 75 24
White 88 36 55 8 47 52
Sex
Female 48 45 46 7 50 48
Male 52 37 54 7 50 48
Religion
Protestant 46 37 56 6 44 55
White Protestant 41 31 62 6 43 57
Catholic 25 40 51 7 54 44
Jewish 5 45 39 14 64 34
Family Income
Less than $10,000 13 50 41 6 58 40
$10,000–$14,999 15 47 42 8 55 43
$15,000–$24,999 29 38 53 7 48 50
$25,000–$50,000 24 32 58 8 36 62
Over $50,000 5 25 65 8 — —
Occupation
Professional or manager 39 33 56 9 41 57
Clerical, sales, white collar 11 42 48 8 46 53
Blue-collar 17 46 47 5 57 41
Agriculture 3 29 66 3 — —
Unemployed 3 55 35 7 65 34
Education
Less than high school 11 50 45 3 58 41
High school graduate 28 43 51 4 54 46
Some college 28 35 55 8 51 49
College graduate 27 35 51 11 45 55
Union Membership
Labor union household 28 47 44 7 59 39
No member of household in union 62 35 55 8 43 55
Age
18–21 years old 6 44 43 11 48 50
22–29 years old 17 43 43 11 51 46
30–44 years old 31 37 54 7 49 49
45–59 years old 23 39 55 6 47 52
60 years or older 18 40 54 4 47 52
Region
East 25 42 47 9 51 47
South 27 44 51 3 54 45
White South 22 35 60 3 46 52
Midwest 27 40 51 7 48 50
Far West 19 35 53 9 46 51
Community Size
City over 250,000 18 54 35 8 60 40
Suburb/small city 53 37 53 8 53 47
Rural/town 29 39 54 5 47 53

Source: CBS News/ New York Times interviews with 12,782 voters as they left the polls, as reported in the New York Times, November 9, 1980, p. 28, and in further analysis. The 1976 data are from CBS News interviews.

See also

References

  1. ^ Gil Troy, Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s (2005) ch 2; John Ehrman. The Eighties: American in the Age of Reagan (2005)
  2. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/14/bush.poll
  3. ^ US News and World Report Jan. 1969.
  4. ^ Time Magazine, 11/12/79
  5. ^ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0027(199012)34%3A4%3C588%3AFPAPPC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7
  6. ^ Wayne, Stephen J. (1984). The Road to the White House (2nd ed.), p. 210. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-68526-2.
  7. ^ Facts on File Yearbook 1980 p865
  8. ^ Facts on File Yearbook 1980 p838
  9. ^ "When worlds collide: politics, religion, and media at the 1970 East Tennessee Billy Graham Crusade. (appearance by President Richard M. Nixon)". Journal of Church and State. March 22, 1997. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Books
  • Busch, Andrew E. Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right, (2005) online review by Michael Barone
  • John Ehrman. The Eighties: American in the Age of Reagan (2005)
  • Ferguson, Thomas (1986). Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and the Future of American Politics. Hill and Wang. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Germond, Jack W. (1981). Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won & Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Gerald M. Pomper (ed.), ed. (1981). The Election of 1980: Reports and Interpretations. Chatham House. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
  • Gil Troy, Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s (2005)
  • West, Darrell M. (1984). Making Campaigns Count: Leadership and Coalition-Building in 1980. Greenwood Press.
Journal articles
  • Himmelstein, Jerome (1984). "Social Conservatism, New Republicans and the 1980 Election". Public Opinion Quarterly. 48: 595–605. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Lipset, Seymour M. (1981). "Evangelicals and the Elections". Commentary. 71: 25–31. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Miller, Arthur H. (1984). "Politics from the Pulpit: Religiosity and the 1980 Elections". Public Opinion Quarterly. 48: 300–12. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Navigation

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1980_United_States_presidential_election&oldid=166973919"