1980 United States presidential election

The 1980 United States presidential election happened on November 4, 1980. Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate and former Governor of California, won the election. He defeated the incumbent president, Jimmy Carter, who was a Democrat, and John B. Anderson, a notable third party candidate who was an Independent.

1980 United States presidential election

November 4, 1980
538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	52.6% 11px 0.9 pp
File:Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981-cropped.jpg File:Carter cropped.jpg Nominee Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter John B. Anderson Party Republican Democratic Independent Home state California Georgia Illinois Running mate George H. W. Bush Walter Mondale Patrick Lucey Electoral vote 489 49 0 States carried 44 6 + DC 0 Popular vote 43,903,230 35,480,115 5,719,850 Percentage 50.7% 41.0% 6.6%
350px Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Reagan/Bush, Blue denotes those won by Carter/Mondale.
President before election Jimmy Carter Democratic Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

The country had a lot of problems during the election. The economy was bad (it was in a recession). Inflation was very high. There was an energy crisis. Iran, after the Iranian Revolution was holding 52 Americans hostage.

Reagan campaigned for to cut income taxes and to reduce government spending overall while increasing defense spending to challenge the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Carter campaigned for more government programs and mentioned the importance of human rights and preventing nuclear war.

Ronald Reagan won the election by a landslide, meaning that he had a lot more votes than his opponent.

Ronald Reagan's victory resulted in the Republicans gaining more power for the next few decades.

Democratic Party

1980 Democratic Party Ticket
Jimmy Carter	Walter Mondale
for President	for Vice President
200x200px	File:Walter Mondale 1977 vice presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
39th President of the United States (1977–1981)	42nd Vice President of the United States (1977–1981)
200x200px

Democratic candidates:

• Jimmy Carter, President of the United States from Georgia
• Ted Kennedy, U.S. senator from Massachusetts
• Jerry Brown, governor of California
• Cliff Finch, former governor of Mississippi

Candidates gallery

• Ronald Reagan 1981 presidential portrait.jpg

  Former Governor Ronald Reagan of California

• 1988 Bush.jpg

  Former CIA director and Representative George H. W. Bush of Texas

• JohnAnderson.png

  Representative John B. Anderson of Illinois

• Howard Baker photo.jpg

  Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee

• PhilCrane.jpg

  Representative Phil Crane of Illinois

• John Connally.jpg

  Former Governor John Connally of Texas

• Harold Stassen.jpg

  Former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen

• Bob Dole, photo portrait, head and shoulders, facing front, February 9, 1982.jpg

  Senator Bob Dole of Kansas

• Lweicker.jpg

  Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut

• Larry Pressler.jpg

  Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota

Republican Party

Republican Party (United States) 1980 Republican Party Ticket
Ronald Reagan	George H. W. Bush
for President	for Vice President
204x204px	200x200px
33rd Governor of California (1967-1975)	11th Director of Central Intelligence (1976-1977)
199x199px

Republican candidates:

• Former Governor Ronald Reagan of California
• Former CIA director and United States Representative George H. W. Bush of Texas
• Representative John B. Anderson of Illinois
• Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee
• Representative Phil Crane of Illinois
• Former Governor John Connally of Texas
• Senator Bob Dole of Kansas
• Former Special Ambassador to Paraguay Ben Fernandez of California
• Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota
• Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
• Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota

Other candidates

1980 Independent ticket		1980 Libertarian ticket
John B. Anderson	Patrick Lucey	Ed Clark	David Koch
for President	for Vice President	for President	for Vice President
	190x190px	200x200px	200x200px
U.S. Representative from Illinois (1961–1981)	Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico (1977–1979)	Former Chair of the Libertarian Party of California (1973–1974)	Co-owner of Koch, Inc.
Campaign		Campaign
File:John Anderson presidential campaign, 1980 2.png		File:Ed Clark bumper sticker.jpg

1980 United States Presidential Election Media

• Republican Disc.svg

  Republican Party (United States)

• George H. W. Bush official CIA portrait.jpg

  George Herbert Walker Bush – 11th Director of Central Intelligence, January 30, 1976 – January 20, 1977

• Congressman Phil Crane.jpg

  Congressman Phil Crane discusses the issues with future President George Bush, 1991.

• Bob Dole in 1982.jpg

  President Ronald Reagan Looking Up at Basketball Player Patrick Ewing with Senator Robert Dole Looking on in The Oval Office, 8/13/1982

• George H. W. Bush's 1980 alternate campaign poster/logo

• John Anderson presidential campaign, 1980