‹ 1976  1984 ›
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| 1980 Presidential Election | ||||
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| November 4, 1980 | ||||
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| Nominee | Jimmy Carter | Robert F. Kennedy | Ronald Reagan | |
| Party | Democratic | Democratic | Republican | |
| Home state | Georgia | Massachusetts | California | |
| Running mate | Walter Mondale | Eugene McCarthy | George H. W. Bush | |
| Electoral vote | 314 | 138 | 84 | |
| States carried | 34+DC | 12 | 4 | |
| Popular vote | 23,980,475 | 45,279.209 | 10,284,857 | |
| Percentage | 43.8% | 57.8% | 11.0% | |
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| Presidential election results map. Light Blue denotes states won by Carter/Mondale, Blue denotes those won by Kennedy/McCarthy,Red denotes those won by Reagan/Bush. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. | ||||
President before election
Robert F. Kennedy Democratic
Elected President
Jimmy Carter Democratic | ||||
The 1980 United States Presidential Election was the 49th quadrennial presidential election. Held on Tuesday, November 4, 1980, it was contested primarily and was the first election since the 1826 Presidential Election between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams where two candidates have been nominated for the same party, those being Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter and Incumbent President Robert F. Kennedy. This race would be between incumbent Democratic President Robert F. Kennedy, Democratic Candidate Jimmy Carter. and their Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, the Republican Presidential Candidate in 1968-1976.
Kennedy, after defeating his brother Senator Ted Kennedy and California Governor Jerry Brown, for the Democratic nomination, ran an attacking campaign against Reagan, (who easily won the Republican nomination after Vice-President Colonel Sanders declined to run) for his party's inability to deal with spiraling economy, alongside the costly effects of the Iran Hostage Crisis. Carter decided to run a different type of campaign, and talked about what was right with America instead of what was currently wrong with it, experts believe this campaign is what won Carter the Presidency. However, President Nixon, alongside Reagan, was still popular among most Americans, and they capitalized on it.
Robert F. Kennedy, the incumbent president in 1980, whose term expired on January 20, 1981
When the results came in on November 4, many called for a recount after it seemed Carter had won, and not Kennedy. Given until December 20, the recounts were issued trying to finalize the results, and when the deadline was reached, Carter had won the electoral college vote, but not the popular vote, thus becoming the third President to do so.
| 1980 Republican Party ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ronald Reagan | George H. W. Bush | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Governor of California
(1963–1975) |
Director of the CIA
(1963–1985) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 Democratic Party ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert F. Kennedy | Eugene McCarthy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| President of the United States
(1977-1981) |
Vice-President of the United States
(1977-1981) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 Democratic Party ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jimmy Carter | Walter Mondale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Governor of Georgia
(1971-1979) |
Senator from Minnesota
(1964-1981) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General Election[]
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral
vote |
Running mate | Running mate's
home state | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Pct | ||||||
| Jimmy Carter | Democratic | Georgia | 23,980,475 | 46.8% | 125 | Walter Mondale | Minnesota |
| Robert F. Kennedy | Democratic | New York | 47,168,710 | 53.8% | 413 | Eugene McCarthy | Minnesota |
| Ronald Reagan | Republican | California | 29,173,222 | 37.5% | 125 | George H. W. Bush | Texas |
| State | Winner | Electoral Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Carter/Mondale | 9 |
| Arizona | Carter/Mondale | 6 |
| Arkansas | Carter/Mondale | 6 |
| Alaska | Carter/Mondale | 3 |
| California | Reagan/Bush | 45 |
| Colorado | Carter/Mondale | 8 |
| Connecticut | Kennedy/McCarthy | 8 |
| Delaware | Kennedy/McCarthy | 3 |
| Florida | Carter/Mondale | 10 |
| Georgia | Reagan/Bush | 12 |
| Hawaii | Carter/Mondale | 4 |
| Idaho | Carter/Mondale | 4 |
| Illinois | Carter/Mondale | 26 |
| Indiana | Carter/Mondale | 13 |
| Iowa | Carter/Mondale | 8 |
| Kansas | Carter/Mondale | 7 |
| Kentucky | Carter/Mondale | 9 |
| Louisiana | Carter/Mondale | 10 |
| Maine | Kennedy/McCarthy | 4 |
| Maryland | Kennedy/McCarthy | 10 |
| Massachusetts | Kennedy/McCarthy | 14 |
| Michigan | Reagan/Bush | 21 |
| Minnesota | Carter/Mondale | 10 |
| Mississippi | Carter/Mondale | 7 |
| Missouri | Carter/Mondale | 10 |
| Montana | Carter/Mondale | 4 |
| Nebraska | Carter/Mondale | 5 |
| Nevada | Carter/Mondale | 3 |
| New Hampshire | Kennedy/McCarthy | 4 |
| New Jersey | Kennedy/McCarthy | 17 |
| New Mexico | 5 | |
| New York | Kennedy/McCarthy | 41 |
| North Carolina | 13 | |
| North Dakota | 4 | |
| Ohio | 23 | |
| Oklahoma | 8 | |
| Oregon | 6 | |
| Pennsylvania | Kennedy/McCarthy | 27 |
| Rhode Island | Kennedy/McCarthy | 4 |
| South Carolina | 8 | |
| South Dakota | 4 | |
| Tennessee | 12 | |
| Texas | 29 | |
| Utah | 5 | |
| Vermont | Kennedy/McCarthy | 3 |
| Virginia | 12 | |
| Washington | 10 | |
| West Virginia | 6 | |
| Wisconsin | 11 | |
| Wyoming | 3 |