From January 21 to June 28, 1980, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Retired Hollywood actor and two-term California governor Ronald Reagan was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the Republican National Convention held from July 14 to 17, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan. This was the last Republican primary which featured the nominee choosing a fellow candidate as his running mate.
Background As the 1980 presidential election approached, incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter appeared vulnerable. High gas prices, economic stagflation, a renewed Cold War with the Soviet Union following the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iran hostage crisis that developed when Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran all contributed to a general dissatisfaction with Carter's presidency; his job approval rating sank to below 30 percent in late-1979 as a result. Consequently, the president faced stiff Democratic primary challenges from Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and California Governor Jerry Brown.A large field of Republican challengers also emerged.
Candidates Nominee Candidate Most recent office Home state Campaign Withdrawal date Popular vote Contests won Running mateRonald ReaganGovernor of California(1967–1975)California(Campaign • Positions)Secured nomination: May 24, 19807,709,793(59.79%)42George Bush
Withdrew during primaries Candidate Most recent office Home stateCampaign Withdrawal datePopular voteContests wonGeorge H. W. BushDirector of Central Intelligence Agency(1976–1977)Texas CampaignWithdrew: May 26(endorsed Ronald Reagan, who later chose Bush as his vice presidential running-mate)3,070,033 (23.81%)9 John AndersonU.S. Representativefrom Illinois(1961–1981)IllinoisWithdrew: April 24(ran as independent)1,572,174 (12.19%)NonePhil Crane U.S. Representativefrom Illinois(1969–2005)IllinoisWithdrew: April 17"Reagan Maneuvering His Bandwagon," Washington Post, April 18, 1980.(endorsed Ronald Reagan)97,793 (0.76%)NoneBen FernandezSpecial Envoy to Paraguay (1973)CaliforniaWithdrew: March 30(endorsed Ronald Reagan)25,520 (0.20%)NoneBob DoleU.S. Senatorfrom Kansas(1969–1996)KansasWithdrew: March 15(endorsed Ronald Reagan)7,204 (0.06%)NoneJohn Connally Secretary of the Treasury(1971–1972)Texas(endorsed Ronald Reagan)82,625 (0.64%)NoneHoward BakerU.S. Senatorfrom Tennessee(1967–1985)TennesseeWithdrew: March 5(endorsed Ronald Reagan)181,153 (1.41%)NoneHarold StassenDirector of the Foreign Operations Administration(1953–1955)PennsylvaniaWithdrew: February 2625,425 (0.20%)None
Withdrew before primaries Candidate Most recent office Home stateCampaign Withdrawal date Larry PresslerU.S. Senatorfrom South Dakota(1979–1997)South Dakota Lowell WeickerU.S. Senatorfrom Connecticut(1971–1989)Connecticut
Declined to run Jesse HelmsRichard SchweikerJim ThompsonBill SimonJack KempAnne L. ArmstrongElliot RichardsonAlexander HaigGerald FordU.S. Senatorfrom North Carolina(1973–2003)U.S. Senatorfrom Pennsylvania(1969–1981)Governor of Illinois(1977–1991)United States Secretary of the Treasury(1974–1977)U.S. Representativefrom New York(1971–1989)U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom(1976–1977)United States Secretary of Commerce(1976–1977)Supreme Allied Commander Europe(1974–1979)U.S. Presidentfrom Michigan(1974–1977)November 8, 1978January 5, 1979(Endorsed Ronald Reagan)January 23, 1979March 6, 1979(Endorsed Ronald Reagan)September 28, 1979Post-September 30, 1979October 16, 1979December 22, 1979March 15, 1980
Speculated candidates The following potential candidates were considered possible candidates to run for the Republican nomination in 1980 by the media, but never stated a preference for or against running.
Polling National polling Poll sourcePublication dateGallupAug. 1977–8%–––20%33%3%GallupApr. 1978–11%–4%4%40%30%4%GallupJuly 1978–9%1%5%4%37%31%5%GallupDec. 19781%9%1%6%1%24%40%11%GallupApr. 19792%8%1%12%1%26%31%11%GallupMay 1979–10%–8%3%27%28%–GallupJune 19790%11%0%5%0%29%37%5%GallupJuly 19793%11%1%9%2%27%32%15%GallupAug. 19791%10%3%8%1%21%29%16%GallupNov. 19791%14%2%10%3%22%33%15%GallupNov. 19790%11%5%8%3%24%40%—GallupDec. 19791%9%7%10%4%18%40%10%GallupJan. 19803%9%9%9%0%27%33%—GallupJan. 19800%6%28%7%0%18%29%—GallupFeb. 19802%6%17%4%1%32%34%3%GallupFeb. 19803%7%16%––25%44%—
Primary race
Active campaign Exploratory committee Withdrawn candidateRepublican National Convention Midterm elections Debates Primaries
Ronald Reagan, who had narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford, was the early odds-on favorite to win the nomination in 1980. 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 multi-candidate forums and straw polls in the summer and fall of 1979. George H. W. Bush, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and chairman of the Republican National Committee, did go to all the "cattle calls", and began to come in first at a number of these events. Along with the top two, a number of other Republican politicians entered the race. In January 1980, the Iowa Republicans decided to have a straw poll as a part of their caucuses for that year. Bush defeated Reagan by a small margin. Bush declared he had "the Big Mo", and with Reagan boycotting the Puerto Rico primary in deference to New Hampshire, Bush won the territory easily, giving him an early lead going into New Hampshire.
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, Jon Breen, the editor of the Nashua Telegraph and debate moderator, ordered a technician to mute Reagan's microphone. When the technician refused, Breen repeated his order. A visibly angry Reagan responded, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. !" 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; Reagan sailed to an easy win in New Hampshire.
Lee Bandy, a writer for the South Carolina newspaper The State stated that heading into the South Carolina primary, political operative Lee Atwater worked to engineer a victory for Reagan: "Lee Atwater figured that Connally was their biggest threat here in South Carolina. So Lee leaked a story to me that John Connally was trying to buy the black vote. Well, that story got out, thanks to me, and it probably killed Connally. He spent $10 million for one delegate. Lee saved Ronald Reagan's candidacy."
Reagan swept the South, and although he lost five more primaries to Bush—including the Massachusetts primary in which he came in third place behind John B. Anderson—the former governor had a lock on the nomination very early in the season. Reagan said he would always be grateful to the people of Iowa for giving him "the kick in the pants" he needed.
Reagan was an adherent to a policy known as supply-side economics, which argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for people to produce (supply) goods and services, such as adjusting income tax and capital gains tax rates. Accordingly, Reagan promised an economic revival that would benefit 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" and pledged to deliver a balanced budget for the first time since 1969. In the primaries, Bush called Reagan's economic policy "voodoo economics" because it promised to lower taxes and increase revenues at the same time.
Schedule and results Date ContestTotal pledged delegatesDelegates won and popular voteRonald ReaganGeorge BushJohn AndersonPhil CraneBob DoleJohn ConnallyHoward BakerOthersUncommitted January 21Iowa caucus106,6080 (of 38) –February 2Arkansas12 (of 19)6 1 – – – – 4 – 1 February 16Arkansasconvention7 (of 19) 1 1 – – – 1 – – 4 February 17Puerto Rico187,94614 (of 20) –14 – – –February 26New Hampshire146,78223155 2 –March 1Iowa2,902 925 (31.87%)1,150 (39.63%)64 (2.21%)91 (3.14%)2 (0.07%)127 (4.38%)322 (11.10%) –221 (7.62%) March 4Massachusetts400,8264213 14 13 2 Vermont65,6110 (of 19) – –March 8South Carolina145,5012525 – – – March 11 (126)Alabama211,35327189 – –Florida614,9955151 –Georgia200,1713636 –March 18Illinois1,130,08192462264 – March 25Connecticut182,2843514156 New York117 (of 123)72 6 1 –––– – 38 April 1Kansas285,3983520 4 5 –Wisconsin907,85334286 –April 5Louisiana42,3972929 – ––––April 17North Dakotaconvention28 12 1 – –––– – 4 April 19Maineconvention21 – 17 ––––– – 4 Minnesota6 (of 34)6 – ––––– – – April 20Alaskaconvention19 19 – ––––– – – April 22Pennsylvania1,241,41176 (of 83) – –76 –Vermontcaucuses979 318 (32.48%)67 (6.84%)13 (1.33%)–––– – –April 26Minnesota3 (of 34)3 –––––– – –Missouri15 (of 37)15 –––––– – –May 3Arizonaconvention28 28 –––––– – –Minnesota12 (of 34) 4 8 ––––– – –Missouri15 (of 37)15 –––––– – –Oklahomaconvention28 28 –––––– – –Texas526,7698065 15––– – – – May 6Washington, D.C.7,52914 –14––– – –Indiana568,3135656 –––– – –North Carolina168,3914030 10 –Tennessee195,21032248May 10Wyomingconvention19 16 – – ––– – – 3 May 13 Maryland167,3033015 15 –– – – –Nebraska205,2032525 – – –May 17Hawaiiconvention14 – –––––– –14 May 20(116)Michigan595,176822953––––Oregon315,366291811––– –May 17Delawareconvention 12 (of 21) 4 6 ––––– – 2 May 25Vermontconvention19 16 –––––– – 3 May 27Idaho134,87917 (of 21)152––– –Kentucky94,7952727––– –Nevada47,3951714 1 ––––– –2May 30Minnesotaconvention10 (of 34) 10 –––––– – – May 31Colorado3 (of 31)3 –––––– – –Missouriconvention7 (of 37)7 –––––– – – June 3(408)California2,564,072168168––– –Mississippi25,7512222––––– –Montana79,4730 (of 20)––––– – –New Jersey277,977 (79,473)66632–––––1 –New Mexico59,5462222 ––––Ohio856,7737777 ––––– – –Rhode Island5,33513121–––––South Dakota82,9052222 –––––West Virginia138,0161815–––––3June 6(67)Iowa30 (of 37) 17 13 ––––– – –Washingtonconvention37 34 1 1 –––– – 1 June 7Coloradoconventions28 (of 31)28 –––––– – –Iowaconvention7 (of 30) 4 3 ––––– – –June 8Montanaconvention20 20 –––––– – –June 28Idahoconvention4 (of 21) 4 –––––– – –Utahconvention21 21 –––––– – – Totals 1,990 1,407 250 59 4 0 1 8 0 156
The Republican National Convention was held in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to 17, 1980.
Endorsements
See also
1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Notes
References