1980 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

Main article: 1980 United States presidential election

The 1980 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1980 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

← 1976 November 4, 1980 1984 →
Turnout	79.0%^[1] 2.6 pp
Nominee Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan John B. Anderson Party Democratic Republican Anderson for President ^[a] Home state Georgia California Illinois Running mate Walter Mondale George H. W. Bush Patrick Lucey Electoral vote 4 0 0 Popular vote 198,342 154,793 59,819 Percentage 47.67% 37.20% 14.38%
County Results Municipality Results Carter   30–40%   40–50%   50–60% Reagan   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%
President before election Jimmy Carter Democratic Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

The Democratic Party candidate, incumbent President Jimmy Carter, won the state of Rhode Island over former California Governor Ronald Reagan by 43,549 votes, giving him one of just seven victories in the election (other than Rhode Island, Carter also carried Maryland, Minnesota, Hawaii, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and his home state of Georgia). As a result of Rhode Island voting for Carter, it became the only state in New England to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1980.

While Carter was able to win Rhode Island by more than 10%, some of his votes were taken away by the strong third party candidacy of John B. Anderson, a liberal Republican Congressman who ran in 1980 as an independent after failing to win the Republican Party's own presidential nomination. Anderson proved very popular with liberal and moderate voters in New England who viewed Reagan as too far to the right and with normally leaning Democratic voters who were dissatisfied with the policies of the Carter Administration. New England overall would prove to be Anderson's strongest region in the nation, with all six New England states giving double-digit percentages to Anderson. In fact, Rhode Island would ultimately prove to be John Anderson's third strongest state in the nation after neighboring Massachusetts and Vermont, his 14.38% of the vote in the state more than double the 6.61% he got nationwide.^[3]

Results

1980 United States presidential election in Rhode Island^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Jimmy Carter (incumbent)	198,342	47.67%	4
	Republican	Ronald Reagan	154,793	37.20%	0
	Anderson for President	John B. Anderson	59,819	14.38%	0

By county

County	Jimmy Carter Democratic		Ronald Reagan Republican		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Bristol	9,851	45.08%	8,508	38.93%	3,493	15.99%	1,343	6.15%	21,852
Kent	31,350	44.15%	28,331	39.90%	11,324	15.95%	3,019	4.25%	71,005
Newport	13,904	40.47%	14,555	42.37%	5,897	17.16%	-651	-1.90%	34,356
Providence	126,808	51.15%	86,467	34.88%	34,652	13.97%	40,341	16.27%	247,927
Washington	16,429	40.24%	16,932	41.47%	7,466	18.29%	-503	-1.23%	40,827
Totals	198,342	47.67%	154,793	37.20%	62,937	15.13%	43,549	10.47%	416,072

Counties flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Newport
• Washington

See also

• United States presidential elections in Rhode Island

References

1. This figure is calculated by dividing the total number of votes cast in 1980 (432,686) by an estimate of the number of registered voters in Rhode Island in 1980 (547,472). See "General Election November 2, 1980". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
2. "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Rhode Island". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
3. "1980 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
4. "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Rhode Island". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved May 20, 2015.

Notes

1. Anderson’s party was listed on this state’s ballot as “Anderson for President”.^[2]