1984 United States presidential election

The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican president Ronald Reagan defeated Democratic former vice president Walter Mondale in a landslide victory.

1984 United States presidential election

← 1980 November 6, 1984 1988 →
538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win
Opinion polls
Turnout	55.2%^[1] 1.0 pp
Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale Party Republican Democratic Home state California Minnesota Running mate George H. W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro Electoral vote 525 13 States carried 49 1 + DC Popular vote 54,455,472 37,577,352 Percentage 58.8% 40.6%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Reagan/Bush and blue denotes those won by Mondale/Ferraro. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.
President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

Reagan and George H. W. Bush faced only token opposition in their bid for re-nomination. Mondale faced a competitive field in his bid, defeating U.S. senator Gary Hart, activist Jesse Jackson, and several other candidates in the 1984 Democratic primaries. He eventually chose U.S. representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first woman to be on a major party's presidential ticket.

Reagan touted a strong economic recovery from the 1970s stagflation and the 1981–1982 recession, as well as the widespread perception that his presidency had overseen a revival of national confidence and prestige.^[2] At 73, Reagan was, at the time, the oldest person ever to be nominated by a major party for president. Thirty-six years later, in 2020, this record was surpassed by Donald Trump at 74 years old and Joe Biden at 77 (if Biden is renominated, the record will be broken again at 81 years old). The Reagan campaign produced effective television advertising and deftly neutralized concerns regarding Reagan's age. Mondale criticized Reagan's supply-side economic policies and budget deficits. He also called for a nuclear freeze and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Reagan won a landslide re-election victory, carrying 525 electoral votes, 49 states, and 58.8 percent of the popular vote. Mondale won 13 electoral votes from the District of Columbia, which has always voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidate, and his home state of Minnesota by a 0.18% margin.^[3] This was the second-largest share of the electoral college since 1820 (and the largest ever for a Republican), and the most raw electoral votes ever received by a candidate. This is the last time any candidate won the popular vote by double digits.^[4] It is also the most recent election in United States history where both major party presidential and vice-presidential candidates are deceased.

As of 2020, this marked the last time the Republican nominee carried the states of Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. Meanwhile, West Virginia would not vote Republican again until 2000, Iowa would not vote Republican again until 2004, and Wisconsin has only voted Republican once since, in 2016. As of 2020, this is the only time an incumbent president defeated a former vice president and it is also the only time a major party presidential candidate defeated both the incumbent president and the latter's former vice president in consecutive presidential elections.

Background

Ronald Reagan entered the presidency with an unemployment rate of 7.3% and it peaked at 10.6% in December 1982. The United States had a negative gross domestic product growth in 1982.^[5]

The Republicans performed poorly in the 1982 elections. Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter lost an average of 12 seats in the United States House of Representatives in their first midterm. The Republicans lost 26 seats in the U.S. House elections. The Republicans lost seven governorships as well.^[6]

Reagan's approval rating fell to 35% by January 1983. Polling showed him losing to Democratic candidates, including Walter Mondale and John Glenn.^[6] However, unemployment fell to 7.7% by March 1984,^[5] and Reagan's approval rating was at 54% in January 1984. His approval rating was aided by the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and the invasion of Grenada.^[7] Polling by CBS News and The New York Times in January 1984 showed him leading Mondale by 16%.^[8]

Nominations

Republican Party candidates

Main article: 1984 Republican Party presidential primaries

• Ronald Reagan, President of the United States
• Ben Fernandez, former Special Ambassador to Paraguay from California
• Harold Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota

Republican Party (United States) 1984 Republican Party ticket
Ronald Reagan	George H. W. Bush
for President	for Vice President
40th President of the United States (1981–1989)	43rd Vice President of the United States (1981–1989)
Campaign

Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the nomination race
Harold Stassen	Ben Fernandez
Governor of Minnesota (1939–1943)	U.S. Special Envoy to Paraguay (1973)
Campaign	Campaign
LN: August 23, 1984 12,749 votes	LN: August 23, 1984 202 votes

Primaries

 

President Reagan and Vice President Bush at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas

Reagan-Bush '84, under the leadership of Ed Rollins, was organized on October 17, 1983.^[9] Reagan delayed his campaign announcement as not running would make him a lame duck while running would make everything he did be viewed as part of his campaign.^[10] He announced that he would seek reelection on January 29, 1984.^[11]

Reagan was the first president since Eisenhower to face no significant opposition for renomination.^[12] The popular vote from the Republican primaries was as follows:^[13]

• Ronald Reagan (inc.): 6,484,987 (98.6%)
• Unpledged delegates: 41,411 (0.6%)
• Others: 21,643 (0.3%)
• "Ronald Reagan No":^[a] 14,047 (0.2%)
• Harold E. Stassen: 12,749 (0.2%)
• David Kelly: 360
• Gary Arnold: 252
• Benjamin Fernandez: 202

Endorsements

List of Ronald Reagan endorsements

Reagan had received endorsements from:

Celebrities

• Morey Amsterdam^[14]
• Pat Boone^[14]
• Ron Ely^[14]
• Cary Grant^[14]
• Charlton Heston^[14]
• Fred MacMurray^[14]
• Hugh O'Brian^[14]
• Jerry Reed^[14]
• Joan Rivers^[14]
• Arnold Schwarzenegger^[14]
• Frank Sinatra^[14]
• Jaclyn Smith^[14]
• Robert Stack^[14]
• James Stewart^[14]
• Stephanie Zimbalist^[14]

Reagan was renominated by a vote of 2,233 delegates (two delegates abstained). For the only time in American history, the vice presidential roll call was taken concurrently with the presidential roll call. Vice President George H. W. Bush was overwhelmingly renominated. This was the last time in the 20th century that the vice-presidential candidate of either major party was nominated by roll call vote.

Balloting

Presidential ballot		Vice presidential ballot
Ronald Reagan	2,233	George H. W. Bush	2,231
Abstaining	2	Abstaining	2
		Jack Kemp	1
		Jeane Kirkpatrick	1

Democratic Party candidates

Main article: 1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries

 

Mondale campaigning in Pennsylvania

• Walter Mondale, former vice president and former U.S. senator from Minnesota
• Reubin Askew, former governor of Florida
• Alan Cranston, U.S. senator from California
• John Glenn, U.S. senator from Ohio and former NASA astronaut
• Gary Hart, U.S. senator from Colorado
• Ernest Hollings, U.S. senator from South Carolina
• Jesse Jackson, clergyman and civil rights activist from Illinois
• George McGovern, former U.S. senator and 1972 Democratic nominee from South Dakota^[15]

Democratic Party (United States) 1984 Democratic Party ticket
Walter Mondale	Geraldine Ferraro
for President	for Vice President
42nd Vice President of the United States (1977–1981)	U.S. Representative from New York (1979–1985)
Campaign

Primaries

 

Mondale celebrates his victory in the Iowa caucus.

Only three Democratic candidates won any state primaries: Mondale, Hart, and Jackson. Initially, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, after a failed bid to win the 1980 Democratic nomination for president, was considered the de facto front-runner of the 1984 primary. However, Kennedy announced in December 1982 that he did not intend to run.^[16][17] Former Vice President Mondale was then viewed as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Mondale had the largest number of party leaders supporting him, and he had raised more money than any other candidate. However, both Jackson and Hart emerged as surprising, and troublesome, opponents.

South Carolina Senator Ernest Hollings's wit and experience, as well as his call for a budget freeze, won him some positive attention, but his relatively conservative record alienated liberal Democrats, and he was never really noticed in a field dominated by Mondale, John Glenn, and Gary Hart. Hollings dropped out two days after losing badly in New Hampshire and endorsed Hart a week later. His disdain for his competitors was at times showcased in his comments. He notably referred to Mondale as a "lapdog", and to former astronaut Glenn as "Sky King" who was "confused in his capsule."^[18]

California Senator Alan Cranston hoped to galvanize supporters of the nuclear freeze movement that had called on the United States to halt the deployment of existing nuclear weapons and the development of new ones. Glenn and Askew hoped to capture the support of moderate and conservative Democrats. None of them possessed the fundraising ability of Mondale nor the grassroots support of Hart and Jackson, and none won any contests.

Jackson was the second African-American (after Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for the presidency, and he was the first African-American candidate to be a serious contender. He got 3.5 million votes during the primaries, third behind Hart and Mondale. He won the primaries in Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana, and split Mississippi, where there were two separate contests for Democratic delegates. Through the primaries, Jackson helped confirm the black electorate's importance to the Democratic Party in the South at the time. During the campaign, however, Jackson made an off-the-cuff reference to Jews as "Hymies" and New York City as "Hymietown", for which he later apologized. Nonetheless, the remark was widely publicized, and derailed his campaign for the nomination.^[19] Jackson ended up winning 21% of the national primary vote but received only 8% of the delegates to the national convention, and he initially charged that his campaign was hurt by the same party rules that allowed Mondale to win. He also poured scorn on Mondale, saying that Hubert Humphrey was the "last significant politician out of the St. Paul-Minneapolis" area.^[20]

Hart, from Colorado, was a more serious threat to Mondale, and after winning several early primaries it looked as if he might take the nomination away from Mondale. Hart finished a surprising second in the Iowa caucuses, with 16.5% of the vote. This established him as the main rival to Mondale, effectively eliminating John Glenn, Ernest Hollings and Alan Cranston as alternatives.^[21] Hart criticized Mondale as an "old-fashioned" Great Society Democrat who symbolized "failed policies" of the past. Hart positioned himself (just as Bill Clinton would eight years later) as a younger, fresher, and more moderate Democrat who could appeal to younger voters. He emerged as a formidable candidate, winning the key New Hampshire, Ohio, and California primaries as well as several others, especially in the West. However, Hart could not overcome Mondale's financial and organizational advantages, especially among labor union leaders in the Midwest and industrial Northeast.

Hart was also badly hurt in a televised debate with Mondale during the primaries, when the former vice president used a popular television commercial slogan to ridicule Hart's vague "New Ideas" platform. Turning to Hart on camera, Mondale told Hart that whenever he heard Hart talk about his "New Ideas", he was reminded of the Wendy's fast-food slogan "Where's the beef?" The remark drew loud laughter and applause from the viewing audience and caught Hart off-guard. Hart never fully recovered from Mondale's charge that his "New Ideas" were shallow and lacking in specifics.

 

Mondale celebrates several victories in March 13 primaries with Jimmy Carter (under whom Mondale had previously served as vice president) at his campaign headquarters.

At a roundtable debate between the three remaining Democratic candidates moderated by Phil Donahue, Mondale and Hart got into such a heated argument over the issue of U.S. policy in Central America that Jackson had to tap his water glass on the table to help get them to stop.

Mondale gradually pulled away from Hart in the delegate count, but, as Time reported in late May, "Mondale ... has a wide lead in total delegates (1,564 to 941) ... because of his victories in the big industrial states, his support from the Democratic Establishment and the arcane provisions of delegate-selection rules that his vanguard helped draft two years ago."^[22] After the final primary in California, on June 5, which Hart won, Mondale was about 40 delegates short of the total he needed for the nomination.^[23] However, at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco on July 16, Mondale received the overwhelming support of the unelected superdelegates from the party establishment to win the nomination.

Mondale's nomination marked the second time since the nomination of former governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter in 1976 and the fourth time since the nomination of former Representative John W. Davis in 1924 that the Democratic Party nominated a private citizen for president (not serving in an official government role at the time of the nomination and election). Mondale was the last private citizen to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party until former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. He was also the last former vice president to be nominated for president until Joe Biden in 2020.

This race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination was the closest in two generations, and, as of 2020, it was the last occasion that a major party's race for the presidential nomination went all the way to its convention.

Endorsements

Note: These are only those endorsements which occurred during or before the primary race.

List of Walter Mondale endorsements

Mondale had received endorsements from:

United States House of Representatives

• Representative Jim Bates of California^[24]
• Representative Edward Boland of Massachusetts^[25]
• Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia^[26]
• Representative Joseph D. Early of Massachusetts^[25]
• Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts^[25]
• Representative Robert García of New York^[27]
• Representative Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut^[25]
• Representative Tom Harkin of Iowa^[28]
• Representative Joe Moakley of Massachusetts^[25]
• Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York^[29]
• Representative William R. Ratchford of Connecticut^[25]
• Representative James Michael Shannon of Massachusetts^[25]

Governors and State Constitutional officers

• New York Attorney General Robert Abrams^[27]
• Governor Mario Cuomo of New York^[27]
• Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller of Georgia^[30]

Former officeholders

• Former President Jimmy Carter of Georgia^[31]

Former diplomats, board members and other officials

• Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk of Georgia^[31]

Organizations and unions

• AFL–CIO^[31]
• Alabama Democratic Conference^[32]
• National Education Association^[33]
• National Organization for Women^[33]

Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders

Alabama

• Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. of Birmingham^[34]

California

• Mayor and 1982 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Tom Bradley of Los Angeles^[35]

Georgia

• State Senator Julian Bond^[30]

Illinois

• Former Alderman, President of the City Council, 1983 mayoral candidate, and Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Edward Vrdolyak of Chicago^[36]

Michigan

• Mayor Coleman Young of Detroit^[35]

List of Gary Hart endorsements

Hart had received endorsements from:

United States House of Representatives

• Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado^[37]
• Representative Chuck Schumer of New York^[38]
• Representative and 1976 Democratic presidential candidate Mo Udall of Arizona^[39]
• Representative Henry A. Waxman of California^[40]

Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators

• Actor and director Warren Beatty^[41]

List of Jesse Jackson endorsements

Jackson had received endorsements from:

United States House of Representatives

• Delegate Walter E. Fauntroy of Washington, D.C.^[42]

Former officeholders

• Former Representative and 1972 Democratic presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm of New York^[43]
• Former Governor Orval E. Faubus of Arkansas^[44]

Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders

Alabama

• State Senator Michael Figures^[45]
• Mayor Johnny Ford of Tuskegee^[46]
• State Senator Earl Hilliard^[46]
• State Senator Hank Sanders^[34]

Georgia

• State Representative Tyrone Brookes^[47]

Illinois

• Mayor Carl Officer of East St. Louis^[47]

Indiana

• Mayor Richard G. Hatcher of Gary^[36]

Washington, D.C.

• Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, D.C.^[48]

Organizations and unions

• Church of God in Christ^[49]
• Nation of Islam^[49]
• National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.^[49]
• National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.^[50]
• National Farmers Alliance^[43]
• National Hispanic Leadership Conference^[43]

Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators

• Muhammad Ali^[51]
• 1980 presidential nominee of the Citizens Party Barry Commoner^[52]

List of Ernest F. Hollings endorsements

Hollings had received endorsements from:

United States Senate

• Former U.S. Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana^[53]
• Former U.S. Senator William B. Spong, Jr. of Virginia^[54]

State Constitutional officers

• Lieutenant Governor Martha Griffiths of Michigan^[55]
• State Senator Anna Belle Clement O'Brien of Tennessee^[56]
• Lieutenant Governor Nancy Stevenson of South Carolina^[55]

List of John Glenn endorsements

Glenn had received endorsements from:

United States Senate

• Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia^[57]
• Senator Jim Sasser of Tennessee^[58]
• Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts^[59]

United States House of Representatives

• Representative Jerry Huckaby of Louisiana^[25]

Governors and State Constitutional officers

• Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley of Alabama^[31][60]
• Governor Chuck Robb of Virginia^[61]

Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders

Georgia

• Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin^[30]

Texas

• State Representative Larry Walker^[30]

Celebrities

• Actor and director Warren Beatty^[41]

List of Alan Cranston endorsements

Cranston had received endorsements from:

United States House of Representatives

• Representative William Lehman of Florida^[25]

List of Reubin Askew endorsements

Askew had received endorsements from:

United States Senate

• Senator Lawton Chiles of Florida^[34]

United States House of Representatives

• Representative William V. Chappell, Jr. of Florida^[25]
• Representative Dante Fascell of Florida^[25]
• Representative Sam Gibbons of Florida^[25]
• Representative Dan Mica of Florida^[25]

Governors and State Constitutional officers

• Governor Bob Graham of Florida^[62]

Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders

Florida

• Mayor Eva Mack of West Palm Beach^[63]

Convention

This was the convention's nomination tally:

Balloting

Presidential ballot		Vice presidential ballot
Walter F. Mondale	2,191	Geraldine A. Ferraro	3,920
Gary W. Hart	1,200.5	Shirley Chisholm	3
Jesse L. Jackson	465.5
Thomas F. Eagleton	18
George S. McGovern	4
John H. Glenn	2
Joe Biden	1
Lane Kirkland	1

When he made his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, Mondale said: "Let's tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."^[64] Although Mondale intended to expose Reagan as hypocritical and position himself as the honest candidate, the choice of raising taxes as a discussion point likely damaged his electoral chances.

Vice presidential nominee

 

Ferraro with Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis at a campaign stop in Boston

Mondale wanted to establish a highly visible precedent with his vice presidential candidate. Mondale chose U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro from New York as his running mate, making her the first woman and the first Catholic nominated for that position by a major party. Another reason for the nominee to "go for broke" instead of balancing the ticket was Reagan's lead in the polls. Mondale hoped to appeal to women, and by 1980, they were the majority of voters. In a "much criticized parade of possible Veep candidates" to his home in Minnesota, Mondale considered San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein and Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins, also female; Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, an African American; and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, a Hispanic, as other finalists for the nomination. In addition to her sex, Mondale chose Ferraro because he hoped she would attract ethnic voters with her personal background.^[20][65] Unsuccessful nomination candidate Jesse Jackson derided Mondale's vice-presidential screening process as a "P.R. parade of personalities", but praised Mondale for his choice, having himself pledged to name a woman to the ticket in the event he was nominated.

Mondale had wanted to choose New York Governor Mario Cuomo as his running mate, but Cuomo declined and recommended Ferraro,^[66] his protégée.^[67] Mondale might have named Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as his running mate had he wanted to make a "safe" choice",^[65] while others preferred Senator Lloyd Bentsen because he would appeal to more conservative Southern voters. Nomination rival Gary Hart stated before Ferraro's selection that he would accept an invitation to run with Mondale;^[65] Hart's supporters claimed he would do better than Mondale against President Reagan, an argument undercut by a June 1984 Gallup poll that showed both men nine points behind the president.

Other parties

National Unity Party nomination

 

Former U.S. representative John B. Anderson declined to run on April 26, 1984, and endorsed Mondale on August 27.

The National Unity Party was an outgrowth of John Anderson's presidential campaign from the 1980 presidential election. Anderson hoped that the party would be able to challenge the "two old parties", which he viewed as being tied to various special interest groups and incapable of responsible fiscal reform. The intention was to organize the new party in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, the New England states, and others where his previous candidacy had proven to have experienced the most success. The party was also eligible for $5.8 million in Federal election funds, but its qualification depended on it being on the ballot in at least ten states; however, it remained unclear if National Unity could actually obtain the funds, or if it needed to be Anderson himself.^{[68][69][70][71][72][73][74]}

Anderson initially was against running, hoping that another notable politico would take the party into the 1984 election, and feared that his own candidacy might result in the party being labeled a "personality cult". However, no candidate came forward resulting in Anderson becoming the nominee in waiting. While Anderson had found equal support from the Republicans and Democrats in the 1980 election, the grand majority of the former had since switched back, resulting in the new party being supported principally by those who normally would vote Democratic, which it was feared might make him a spoiler candidate. In light of this, in addition to difficulties in getting on the ballot in his targeted states (Utah and Kentucky were the only two, neither among those he intended to prominently campaign in), Anderson ultimately declined to run.

Anderson announced that he would not run on April 26, 1984.^[75] He later endorsed Mondale and a survey of National Unity members showed that they supported his action.^[76] Anderson had hoped that the party would continue to grow and field candidates in 1986,^[77] and later a presidential candidate in 1988.^[75]

Libertarian Party nomination

• David Bergland, Party Chairman from California
• Gene Burns, talk radio host from Florida (withdrew – August 26, 1983)^[78]
• Tonie Nathan, 1972 vice presidential nominee from Oregon (declined to contest)
• Earl Ravenal, foreign policy analyst, academic, and writer from Washington, D.C.
• Mary Ruwart, research scientist from Texas

Burns was the initial frontrunner for the nomination, but withdrew, citing concerns that the party would not be able to properly finance a campaign. The remaining candidates were Bergland; Ravenal, who had worked in the Department of Defense under Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford; and Ruwart. Bergland narrowly won the presidential nomination over Ravenal. His running mate was James A. Lewis. The ticket appeared on 39 state ballots.

Citizens Party nomination

Sonia Johnson ran in the 1984 presidential election, as the presidential candidate of the Citizens Party, Pennsylvania's Consumer Party and California's Peace and Freedom Party. Johnson received 72,161 votes (0.1%) finishing fifth. Her running mate for the Citizens Party was Richard Walton and for the Peace and Freedom Party Emma Wong Mar. One of her campaign managers, Mark Dunlea, later wrote a novel about a first female president, Madame President.

Communist Party nomination

The Communist Party USA ran Gus Hall for president and Angela Davis for vice president.

General election

Campaign

 

Mondale and Ferraro campaigning in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Mondale unsuccessfully tried to replace Charles Manatt with Bert Lance as chair of the DNC. Mondale made Lance the chair of his presidential campaign. However, Lance had to be removed due to controversy over his tenure as director of the Office of Management and Budget.^[79]

Reagan's lead in polling declined after the Republican convention due to its strong right-wing stances. Reagan was also criticized for a joke about bombing the Soviet Union. However, polls showed that voters believed Mondale was "too cautious and vague" and was trying to appeal to too many special interest groups.^[80]

Roger Stone and other strategists working for Reagan viewed Ohio, where unemployment was 10%, as his most vulnerable state.^[81]

Reagan made appeals to Evangelical voters during the campaign. He declared January 22, 1984, to be National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The American Coalition for Traditional Values (ACTV), under the leadership of Tim LaHaye, was tasked with maintaining Evangelical support. The ACTV planned on registering 2.5 million voters. Laxalt sent a letter to 45,000 ministers in sixteen states, under the title of the Christian Voter Program, asking for them to support Reagan's campaign and register voters.^[82]

Mondale ran a liberal campaign, supporting a nuclear freeze and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). He spoke against what he considered to be unfairness in Reagan's economic policies and the need to reduce federal budget deficits.

While Ferraro's choice was popular among Democratic activists, polls immediately after the announcement showed that only 22% of women were pleased about her selection, versus 18% who agreed that it was a bad idea. 60% of all voters thought that pressure from women's groups had led to Mondale's decision, versus 22% who believed that he had chosen the best available candidate.^[65] Some members of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church criticized the Catholic Ferraro for being pro-choice on abortion. Already fighting an uphill battle with voters, Ferraro also faced a slew of allegations, mid-campaign, directed toward her husband, John Zaccaro. These allegations included Zaccaro's possible past involvement in organized crime, pornography distribution, and campaign contribution violations. Ferraro responded to these allegations against her husband by releasing her family tax returns to the media on August 21, 1984. However, the damage to the campaign was already done.^[83][84]

 

Reagan and Bush campaigning in Austin, Texas

At a campaign stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan said, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs of a man so many young Americans admire, New Jersey's Bruce Springsteen." The Reagan campaign briefly used "Born in the U.S.A.", a song criticizing the treatment of Vietnam War veterans (which they mistakenly thought was devoid of anti-war content and a very jingoistic patriotic rock song), as a campaign song, without permission, until Springsteen, a lifelong Democrat, insisted that they stop.^[85] Two of the more memorable Reagan campaign ads were commonly known as "Morning in America" and, after the difficult first debate for the president, "Bear in the woods".^[86]

Clip from the second debate in which Reagan responds to a question about his age

Reagan was the oldest president to have served to that time (at 73) and there were questions about his capacity to endure the grueling demands of the presidency, particularly after Reagan had a poor showing in the first 1984 United States presidential debates with Mondale on October 7. He referred to having started going to church "here in Washington", although the debate was in Louisville, Kentucky, referred to military uniforms as "wardrobe", and admitted to being "confused", among other mistakes.^[87] In the next debate on October 21, however, in response to a question from journalist Henry Trewhitt^[86] about his age, Reagan joked, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Mondale himself laughed at the joke,^[88] and later admitted that Reagan had effectively neutralized the age issue:

If TV can tell the truth, as you say it can, you'll see that I was smiling. But I think if you come in close, you'll see some tears coming down because I knew he had gotten me there. That was really the end of my campaign that night, I think. [I told my wife] the campaign was over, and it was.^[89]

Presidential debates

Main article: 1984 United States presidential debates

There were two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate during the 1984 general election.^[90]

No.	Date	Host	Location	Panelists	Moderator	Participants	Viewership (millions)
P1	Sunday, October 7, 1984	The Kentucky Center	Louisville, Kentucky	James Wieghart Diane Sawyer Fred Barnes	Barbara Walters	President Ronald Reagan Former Vice President Walter Mondale	65.1^[90]
VP	Thursday, October 11, 1984	Philadelphia Civic Center	Philadelphia	John Bashek Jack White Robert Boyd	Sander Vanocur	Vice President George H. W. Bush Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro	56.7^[90]
P2	Sunday, October 21, 1984	Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri)	Kansas City, Missouri	Georgie Anne Geyer Marvin Kalb Morton Kondracke	Edwin Newman	President Ronald Reagan Former Vice President Walter Mondale	67.3 ^[90]

Results

 

 

 

Results of the 1984 presidential election by margin, congressional district, and county

This was the first time since 1960 that the voter turnout percentage rose.^[91]

Reagan was re-elected in the November 6 election in an electoral and popular vote landslide, winning 49 states by the time the ballots were finished counting on election night at 11:34 PM in Iowa. He won a record 525 electoral votes total (of 538 possible), and received 58.8% of the popular vote; despite Ferraro's selection, 55% of women who voted did so for Reagan,^[83] and his 54 to 61% of the Catholic vote was the highest for a Republican candidate in history.^[92] Mondale's 13 electoral college votes marked the lowest total of any major presidential candidate since Alf Landon's 1936 loss to Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the fewest of any Democrat since Stephen A. Douglas claimed 12 in the 1860 election, as well as the worst for a Democrat in a two-way race. However, Democrats Alton B. Parker, James M. Cox, John W. Davis, and George S. McGovern, did worse in the popular vote.

The Republicans gained seats in the concurrent U.S. House of Representatives elections, but the Democrats maintained their control over the chamber. The Democrats gained two seats in the concurrent U.S. Senate elections, but the Republicans maintained control over the chamber.^[91]

 

Reagan receiving a concession call from Mondale

When Reagan was asked in December 1984 what he wanted for Christmas he joked, "Well, Minnesota would have been nice".^[93] Reagan lost Minnesota in both this election and in 1980, making it the only state he failed to win in either election, and also making him the first two-term Republican president not to carry Minnesota, and the same feat would later be duplicated by George W. Bush who won both the 2000 and 2004 elections without winning Minnesota either time. This is the last election where the Republican candidate achieved any of the following: Win every state in the Northeastern, Southern, and Pacific regions of the United States; win at least one county in every state; win any of the following states: Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington; and win the following states twice: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.^[94]

The 525 electoral votes received by Reagan – the most ever received by a nominee in one election – added to the 489 electoral votes he achieved in 1980, gave him the most total electoral votes received by any candidate who was elected to the office of president twice (1,014), and the third largest number of electoral votes received by any candidate who was elected to the office of president behind Richard Nixon's 1,040 and Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1,876 total electoral votes.

Statistical analysis

Reagan's landslide victory resulted in him winning 97.6% of electoral votes, only behind Roosevelt's 98.5% in 1936. However, Reagan's popular vote share was below that of the winners in 1920, 1932, 1964, and 1972. His margin of victory was also lower than the winners of 1904, 1920, 1924, 1936, 1964, and 1972.^[95]

Mondale's national percentage of the popular vote declined by 0.4% compared to Carter.^[96] Reagan's percentage in each state rose from 1980, with his best performances occurring in the South and states with large third-party votes. Mondale improved upon Carter's 1980 results in 28 states, but performed worse in 22 states, 15 of which were in the South.^[97]

Psephologists attributed a factor of the Republican victory to "Reagan Democrats", millions of Democrats who voted for Reagan, as in 1980. They characterized such Reagan Democrats as southern whites and northern blue-collar workers who voted for Reagan because they credited him with the economic recovery, saw Reagan as strong on national security issues, and perceived the Democrats as supporting the poor and minorities at the expense of the middle class. The Democratic National Committee commissioned a study after the election that came to these conclusions, but destroyed all copies of the final report, afraid that it would offend the party's key voters.^[92]

The percentage of Democrats who voted for Reagan ranged from 16-26% while Republicans voting for Mondale ranged from 3-7% according to exit polls by the Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC/The Washington Post, and CBS News/The New York Times.^[98] One-third of people who supported Hart during the Democratic primary voted for Reagan.^[99] Polling by CBS News and The New York Times reported that 66% of Anderson voters supported Mondale while 27% supported Reagan and 61% of Carter voted supported Mondale while 25% supported Reagan. 22% of those who did not vote in 1980 supported Reagan while 18% supported Mondale.^[100]

Reagan also benefited from a near-total collapse in the third-party vote, which dropped to just 0.67% of the popular vote, its lowest level since 1964, with Bergland's campaign alone counting for over a third of this number, and none of the other third-party candidates exceeding 0.1% of the popular vote.

Reagan, who won 63% of white evangelical voters in 1980, received 80% of their votes against Mondale.^[101]

It was also the last election where the Republican nominee won Wisconsin until 2016, Iowa until 2004, West Virginia until 2000, the last election in which the winning candidate won by a double-digit margin in the percentage of the popular vote, and the last election where the winning candidate won by an eight-digit margin in total popular votes (10 million or more).^[94] Finally, despite his narrow loss in Minnesota, Reagan still won in five out of its eight congressional districts (by contrast, Nixon had only carried one Massachusetts district twelve years earlier) thus making Reagan the only U.S. presidential candidate in history to win the popular vote in a majority of congressional districts in every state. In stark contrast, Mondale became the first major-party U.S. presidential candidate since the start of popular presidential elections not to win a majority of the popular vote in even a single state (not counting Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, and William H. Taft in 1912, elections which were both complicated by strong third-party performances, plus the Democratic vote being divided between Douglas and John C. Breckinridge in 1860), having only won a plurality of 49.7% of the vote in Minnesota.

Electoral results

Electoral results

Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Popular vote		Electoral vote	Running mate
			Count	Percentage		Vice-presidential candidate	Home state	Electoral vote
Ronald Reagan (incumbent)	Republican	California	54,455,472	58.77%	525	George H. W. Bush (incumbent)	Texas	525
Walter Mondale	Democratic	Minnesota	37,577,352	40.56%	13	Geraldine Ferraro	New York	13
David Bergland	Libertarian	California	228,111	0.25%	0	Jim Lewis	Connecticut	0
Lyndon LaRouche	Independent	Virginia	78,809	0.09%	0	Billy Davis	Mississippi	0
Sonia Johnson	Citizens	Idaho	72,161	0.08%	0	Richard Walton	Rhode Island	0
Bob Richards	Populist	Texas	66,324	0.07%	0	Maureen Salaman	California	0
Dennis L. Serrette	New Alliance	New Jersey	46,853	0.05%	0	Nancy Ross	New York	0
Gus Hall	Communist	New York	36,386	0.04%	0	Angela Davis	California	0
Melvin T. Mason	Socialist Workers	California	24,699	0.03%	0	Matilde Zimmermann	New York	0
Larry Holmes	Workers World	New York	17,985	0.02%	0	Gloria La Riva	California	0
Other			49,181	0.05%	—	Other		—
Total			92,653,233	100%	538			538
Needed to win					270			270

Source for the popular vote:^[102]
Source for the electoral vote:^[103]

Popular vote Reagan   58.77% Mondale   40.56% Bergland   0.25% Others   0.42%

Electoral vote Reagan   97.58% Mondale   2.42%

Results by state

Sources:^[104][105]

Legend

States/districts won by Reagan/Bush
States/districts won by Mondale/Ferraro
†	At-large results (Maine used the Congressional District Method)

		Ronald Reagan Republican			Walter Mondale Democratic			David Bergland Libertarian			Margin		State total
State	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	#
Alabama	9	872,849	60.54	9	551,899	38.28	–	9,504	0.66	–	320,950	22.26	1,441,713	AL
Alaska	3	138,377	66.65	3	62,007	29.87	–	6,378	3.07	–	76,370	36.79	207,605	AK
Arizona	7	681,416	66.42	7	333,854	32.54	–	10,585	1.03	–	347,562	33.88	1,025,897	AZ
Arkansas	6	534,774	60.47	6	338,646	38.29	–	2,221	0.25	–	196,128	22.18	884,406	AR
California	47	5,467,009	57.51	47	3,922,519	41.27	–	49,951	0.53	–	1,544,490	16.25	9,505,423	CA
Colorado	8	821,818	63.44	8	454,974	35.12	–	11,257	0.87	–	366,844	28.32	1,295,381	CO
Connecticut	8	890,877	60.73	8	569,597	38.83	–	–	–	–	321,280	21.90	1,466,900	CT
Delaware	3	152,190	59.78	3	101,656	39.93	–	268	0.11	–	50,534	19.85	254,572	DE
D.C.	3	29,009	13.73	–	180,408	85.38	3	279	0.13	–	−151,399	−71.66	211,288	DC
Florida	21	2,730,350	65.32	21	1,448,816	34.66	–	754	0.02	–	1,281,534	30.66	4,180,051	FL
Georgia	12	1,068,722	60.17	12	706,628	39.79	–	151	0.01	–	362,094	20.39	1,776,093	GA
Hawaii	4	185,050	55.10	4	147,154	43.82	–	2,167	0.65	–	37,896	11.28	335,846	HI
Idaho	4	297,523	72.36	4	108,510	26.39	–	2,823	0.69	–	189,013	45.97	411,144	ID
Illinois	24	2,707,103	56.17	24	2,086,499	43.30	–	10,086	0.21	–	620,604	12.88	4,819,088	IL
Indiana	12	1,377,230	61.67	12	841,481	37.68	–	6,741	0.30	–	535,749	23.99	2,233,069	IN
Iowa	8	703,088	53.27	8	605,620	45.89	–	1,844	0.14	–	97,468	7.39	1,319,805	IA
Kansas	7	677,296	66.27	7	333,149	32.60	–	3,329	0.33	–	344,147	33.67	1,021,991	KS
Kentucky	9	822,782	60.04	9	539,589	39.37	–	–	–	–	283,193	20.66	1,370,461	KY
Louisiana	10	1,037,299	60.77	10	651,586	38.18	–	1,876	0.11	–	385,713	22.60	1,706,822	LA
Maine	2	336,500	60.83	2	214,515	38.78	–	–	–	–	121,985	22.05	553,144	ME
Maine-1	1	175,472	59.90	1	117,450	40.10	–	–	–	–	58,022	19.81	292,922	ME1
Maine-2	1	161,028	62.39	1	97,065	37.61	–	–	–	–	63,963	24.78	258,093	ME2
Maryland	10	879,918	52.51	10	787,935	47.02	–	5,721	0.34	–	91,983	5.49	1,675,873	MD
Massachusetts	13	1,310,936	51.22	13	1,239,606	48.43	–	–	–	–	71,330	2.79	2,559,453	MA
Michigan	20	2,251,571	59.23	20	1,529,638	40.24	–	10,055	0.26	–	721,933	18.99	3,801,658	MI
Minnesota	10	1,032,603	49.54	–	1,036,364	49.72	10	2,996	0.14	–	−3,761	−0.18	2,084,449	MN
Mississippi	7	581,477	61.85	7	352,192	37.46	–	2,336	0.25	–	229,285	24.39	940,192	MS
Missouri	11	1,274,188	60.02	11	848,583	39.98	–	–	–	–	425,605	20.05	2,122,771	MO
Montana	4	232,450	60.47	4	146,742	38.18	–	5,185	1.35	–	85,708	22.30	384,377	MT
Nebraska	5	460,054	70.55	5	187,866	28.81	–	2,079	0.32	–	272,188	41.74	652,090	NE
Nevada	4	188,770	65.85	4	91,655	31.97	–	2,292	0.80	–	97,115	33.88	286,667	NV
New Hampshire	4	267,051	68.66	4	120,395	30.95	–	735	0.19	–	146,656	37.71	388,954	NH
New Jersey	16	1,933,630	60.09	16	1,261,323	39.20	–	6,416	0.20	–	672,307	20.89	3,217,862	NJ
New Mexico	5	307,101	59.70	5	201,769	39.23	–	4,459	0.87	–	105,332	20.48	514,370	NM
New York	36	3,664,763	53.84	36	3,119,609	45.83	–	11,949	0.18	–	545,154	8.01	6,806,810	NY
North Carolina	13	1,346,481	61.90	13	824,287	37.89	–	3,794	0.17	–	522,194	24.00	2,175,361	NC
North Dakota	3	200,336	64.84	3	104,429	33.80	–	703	0.23	–	95,907	31.04	308,971	ND
Ohio	23	2,678,560	58.90	23	1,825,440	40.14	–	5,886	0.13	–	853,120	18.76	4,547,619	OH
Oklahoma	8	861,530	68.61	8	385,080	30.67	–	9,066	0.72	–	476,450	37.94	1,255,676	OK
Oregon	7	685,700	55.91	7	536,479	43.74	–	–	–	–	149,221	12.17	1,226,527	OR
Pennsylvania	25	2,584,323	53.34	25	2,228,131	45.99	–	6,982	0.14	–	356,192	7.35	4,844,903	PA
Rhode Island	4	212,080	51.66	4	197,106	48.02	–	277	0.07	–	14,974	3.65	410,492	RI
South Carolina	8	615,539	63.55	8	344,470	35.57	–	4,360	0.45	–	271,069	27.99	968,540	SC
South Dakota	3	200,267	63.00	3	116,113	36.53	–	–	–	–	84,154	26.47	317,867	SD
Tennessee	11	990,212	57.84	11	711,714	41.57	–	3,072	0.18	–	278,498	16.27	1,711,993	TN
Texas	29	3,433,428	63.61	29	1,949,276	36.11	–	–	–	–	1,484,152	27.50	5,397,571	TX
Utah	5	469,105	74.50	5	155,369	24.68	–	2,447	0.39	–	313,736	49.83	629,656	UT
Vermont	3	135,865	57.92	3	95,730	40.81	–	1,002	0.43	–	40,135	17.11	234,561	VT
Virginia	12	1,337,078	62.29	12	796,250	37.09	–	–	–	–	540,828	25.19	2,146,635	VA
Washington	10	1,051,670	55.82	10	807,352	42.86	–	8,844	0.47	–	244,318	12.97	1,883,910	WA
West Virginia	6	405,483	55.11	6	328,125	44.60	–	–	–	–	77,358	10.51	735,742	WV
Wisconsin	11	1,198,800	54.19	11	995,847	45.02	–	4,884	0.22	–	202,953	9.18	2,212,016	WI
Wyoming	3	133,241	70.51	3	53,370	28.24	–	2,357	1.25	–	79,871	42.27	188,968	WY
TOTALS:	538	54,455,472	58.77	525	37,577,352	40.56	13	228,111	0.25	–	16,878,120	18.22	92,653,233	US

Maine allowed its electoral votes to be split between candidates. Two electoral votes were awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. Reagan won all four votes.

Close states

Margin of victory less than 1% (10 electoral votes):

1. Minnesota, 0.18% (3,761 votes)

Margin of victory more than 1%, but less than 5% (17 electoral votes):^[106][107]

1. Massachusetts, 2.79% (71,330 votes)
2. Rhode Island, 3.65% (14,974 votes)

Margin of victory more than 5%, but less than 10% (90 electoral votes):^[106][107]

1. Maryland, 5.49% (91,983 votes)
2. Pennsylvania, 7.35% (356,192 votes)
3. Iowa, 7.38% (97,468 votes)
4. New York, 8.01% (545,154 votes)
5. Wisconsin, 9.17% (202,953 votes)

Tipping point:

1. Michigan, 18.99% (721,933 votes)

Counties

^[104]

Counties with highest percent of vote (Republican)

1. Madison County, Idaho 92.88%
2. Hansford County, Texas 89.38%
3. Ochiltree County, Texas 89.15%
4. Grant County, Nebraska 88.45%
5. Blaine County, Nebraska 88.32%

Counties with highest percent of vote (Democratic)

1. Washington, D.C. 85.38%
2. Macon County, Alabama 82.71%
3. Shannon County, South Dakota 81.41%
4. Jefferson County, Mississippi 77.94%
5. Hancock County, Georgia 76.61%

Voter demographics

The 1984 presidential vote by demographic subgroup
Demographic subgroup	Mondale	Reagan	% of total vote
Total vote	41	59	100
Ideology
Moderates	46	54	42
Liberals	71	29	16
Conservatives	18	82	33
Party
Democrats	74	26	38
Republicans	7	93	35
Independents	36	62	26
Gender
Men	38	62	47
Women	42	58	53
Race
White	34	66	86
Black	91	9	10
Hispanic	66	34	3
Age
18–24 years old	39	61	11
25–29 years old	43	57	12
30–49 years old	42	58	34
50–64 years old	39	61	23
65 and older	36	64	19
Family income
Under $12,500	54	46	15
$12,500–25,000	42	58	27
$25,000–35,000	40	60	20
$35,000–50,000	32	68	17
Over $50,000	31	69	12
Region
East	46	53	26
Midwest	39	61	30
South	37	63	27
West	38	62	17
Union households
Union	54	46	26

Source: CBS News and The New York Times exit poll from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (9,174 surveyed)^[108]

The 1984 presidential vote by important political issues^[109]
Important	Mondale	Reagan	% of checked
Economy
Yes	25	75	40
No	53	47	60
Arms control
Yes	65	35	29
No	33	67	71
Defense
Yes	8	92	25
No	53	47	75
Federal deficit reduction
Yes	47	53	23
No	40	60	77
Fairness towards poor
Yes	82	18	21
No	31	69	79
Abortion
Yes	27	73	7
No	43	57	93
Policy towards Central America
Yes	61	39	4
No	41	59	96

Notable expressions and phrases

• Where's the beef?: A slogan used by Wendy's to suggest that their competitors have smaller portions of meat in their sandwiches, but used in the Democratic primaries by Mondale to criticize Gary Hart's positions as lacking substance.
• Morning in America: Slogan used by the Reagan campaign.

See also

• 1984 United States Senate elections
• 1984 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1984 United States gubernatorial elections
• History of the United States (1980–1991)
• Second inauguration of Ronald Reagan

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Notes

1. Wisconsin's primary ballot offered voters the options "Ronald Reagan Yes," "Ronald Reagan No," and "Others"

Works cited

• Ranney, Austin, ed. (1985). The American Elections of 1984. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-0230-6.
• Frankovic, Kathleen (1985). "The 1984 Election: The Irrelevance of the Campaign". PS. American Political Science Association. 18 (1): 39–47. doi:10.2307/418804. JSTOR 418804.
• Pierard, Richard (1985). "Religion and the 1984 Election Campaign". Review of Religious Research. Religious Research Association. 27 (2): 98–114. doi:10.2307/3511665. JSTOR 3511665.
• Rosenstone, Steven (1985). "Explaining the 1984 Presidential Election". The Brookings Review. Brookings Institution. 3 (2): 25–32. JSTOR 20079866.
• Granberg, Donald (1987). "The Abortion Issue in the 1984 Elections". Family Planning Perspectives. Guttmacher Institute. 19 (2): 59–62. doi:10.2307/2135050. JSTOR 2135050. PMID 3595819.

Further reading

• Boyd, Richard W., Paul R. Mencher, Philip J. Paseltiner, Ezra Paul, Alexander S. Vanda, "The 1984 Election as Anthony Downs and Stanley Kelley Might Interpret It", Political Behavior, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 197–213.
• Goldman, Peter, et al. The quest for the presidency 1984 (1985) online
• Johnstone, Andrew, and Andrew Priest, eds. US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy: Candidates, Campaigns, and Global Politics from FDR to Bill Clinton (2017) pp 271–292. online

• Ladd, Everett Carll (1985). "On Mandates, Realignments, and the 1984 Presidential Election". Political Science Quarterly. 100 (1): 1–24. doi:10.2307/2150858. JSTOR 2150858.
• Leuchtenburg, William E. (1986). The 1984 Election in Historical Perspective. Waco: Baylor University Press. ISBN 0-918954-45-2.
• Morris, Lorenzo (1990). The Social and Political Implications of the 1984 Jesse Jackson Presidential Campaign. New York: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-92785-7.
• Moore, Jonathan, ed. (1986). Campaign for President: The Managers Look at '84. Dover: Auburn House. ISBN 0-86569-132-0.
• Sandoz, E.; Crabb, C. V. Jr., eds. (1985). Election 84: Landslide Without a Mandate?. New York: New American Library. ISBN 0-451-62424-6.
• Stempel, Guido H. III; John W. Windhauser (1991). The Media in the 1984 and 1988 Presidential Campaigns. New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26527-5.

External links

• 1984 popular vote by counties
• 1984 popular vote by states
• Campaign commercials from the 1984 election
• at the Wayback Machine (archived October 26, 2009)
• Election of 1984 in Counting the Votes March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine