This is the electoral history of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, a Republican, served as the 40th president of the United States (1981–1989) and earlier as the 33rd governor of California (1967–1975). At of age at the time of his first inauguration, Reagan was the oldest person to assume the presidency in the nation's history, until Donald Trump was inaugurated in 2017 at the age of . In 1984, Reagan won re-election at the age of , and was the oldest person to win a US presidential election until Donald Trump won re-election in the 2024 United States presidential election at the age of 78 years, 145 days.
Having been elected twice to the presidency, Reagan reshaped the Republican Party, led the modern conservative movement, and altered the political dynamic of the United States. His 1980 presidential campaign stressed some of his fundamental principles: lower taxes to stimulate the economy, less government interference in people's lives, states' rights,Kneeland, Douglas E. (August 4, 1980) "Reagan Campaigns at Mississippi Fair; Nominee Tells Crowd of 10,000 He Is Backing States' Rights." The New York Times. p. A11. Retrieved January 1, 2008. and a strong national defense.John David Lees, Michael Turner. Reagan's first four years: a new beginning? Manchester University Press ND, 1988. p. 11.
During his presidency, Reagan pursued policies that reflected his personal belief in individual freedom, brought changes domestically, both to the U.S. economy and expanded military, and contributed to the end of the Cold War. Termed the Reagan Revolution, his presidency would reinvigorate American morale,Cannon (1991, 2000), p. 746. reinvigorate the American economy and reduce American reliance upon government.
1966 California gubernatorial election
California Republicans were impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma after his "Time for choosing" speech, he announced in late 1965, his campaign for Governor of California in 1966.Gerard J. De Groot, "'A Goddamned Electable Person': The 1966 California Gubernatorial Campaign of Ronald Reagan." History 82#267 (1997), pp. 429–448.Totton J. Anderson and Eugene C. Lee, "The 1966 Election in California," Western Political Quarterly (1967) 20#2 pp. 535–554 in JSTOR He won the Republican primary with nearly 65% of the vote, not including write-in votes, defeating four other candidates, including former San Francisco mayor George Christopher. Although he did not run in the Democratic primary, Reagan received 27,422 votes as a write-in candidate. Not including write-in candidates, 2,570,396 total votes were cast in the Democratic primary, so Reagan's votes would have comprised about 1% of the total Democratic primary votes. In Reagan's campaign, he emphasized two main themes: "to send the welfare bums back to work", and, in reference to burgeoning anti-war and anti-establishment student protests at the University of California at Berkeley, "to clean up the mess at Berkeley". Ronald Reagan accomplished in 1966 what US Senator William F. Knowland in 1958 and former vice president Richard M. Nixon in 1962 had tried: he was elected, defeating two-term governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, and was sworn in as the 33rd governor of California on January 2, 1967.
Republican primary
General election
1968 presidential election
Shortly after the beginning of his term as California governor, Reagan tested the presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement, hoping to cut into Nixon's Southern support and be a compromise candidate if neither Nixon nor second-place Nelson Rockefeller received enough delegates to win on the first ballot at the Republican convention. However, by the time of the convention Nixon had 692 delegate votes, 25 more than he needed to secure the nomination, followed by Rockefeller with Reagan in third place.
Republican presidential primaries
1968 Republican Party presidential primaries"Results of the 15 Presidential Primaries in 1968." CQ Almanac 1968, 24th ed., 19-971-19-973. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1969."Chronology of Political Events: Nov. 1967—Nov. 1968." CQ Almanac 1968, 24th ed., 19-974-19-978. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1969. Party Candidate Aggregate votes % CW Republican Ronald Reagan 1,696,632 37.93 1 Richard Nixon 1,679,443 37.54 10 James A. Rhodes 614,492 13.74 1 Nelson Rockefeller 164,340 3.67 1 Unpledged 140,639 3.14 0
1968 Republican National Convention 1968 Republican presidential nomination Party Candidate Votes:(Initial) Final % Republican Richard Nixon (692) 1238 92.95 Nelson Rockefeller (277)93 6.98 Ronald Reagan (182)2 0.07 James Rhodes (55)0 George Romney (50)0 Clifford Case (22)0 Frank Carlson (20)0 Others (35)0
1970 California gubernatorial election
Despite an unsuccessful attempt to recall him in 1968,Recall Idea Got Its Start in L.A. in 1898, Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2003. Reagan was unopposed in the Republican primary and was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy" Jesse Unruh. He did not seek a third term in the following election cycle.
Republican primary
General election
1976 presidential election
In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate with the support of like-minded organizations such as the American Conservative Union which became key components of his political base, while President Ford was considered a more moderate Republican. Ford considered himself as "a moderate in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in foreign affairs". Though Reagan lost the Republican nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in New Hampshire, 388 votes as an Independent on Wyoming's ballot, and a single electoral vote from a faithless elector in the November election from the state of Washington, which Ford had won over Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter. Ford ultimately lost the general election to Carter.
Republican primaries 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries* denotes incumbent Party Candidate Aggregate votes % CW Republican Gerald Ford* 5,529,899 53.29 27 Ronald Reagan 4,760,222 45.88 24 Others 44,626 0.43 0 Unpledged 34,717 0.34 0
Republican National Convention 1976 Republican presidential nomination* denotes incumbent Party Candidate Votes % Republican Gerald Ford* 1,187 52.57 Ronald Reagan 1,070 47.39 Elliot Richardson 1 0.04
1976 Republicanvice presidential nomination Party Candidate Votes % Republican Bob Dole 1,921 85.04 Abstentions 103 4.56 Jesse Helms 103 4.56 Ronald Reagan 27 1.20 Phil Crane 23 1.02 John Grady 19 0.84 Louis Frey 9 0.40 Anne Armstrong 6 0.27 Howard Baker 6 0.27 William F. Buckley 4 0.18 John Connally 4 0.18 David C. Treen 4 0.18 Others 30 1.30
Electoral College vote 1976 United States presidential election resultsElectoral College vote* denotes incumbent Party Presidentialcandidate Vice presidentialCandidate EV Democratic Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale 297 Republican Gerald Ford* Bob Dole 240 Republican Ronald Reagan Bob Dole 1 Total votes: 538 Votes necessary: 270
1980 presidential election
Reagan ran against Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter and independent candidate John B. Anderson. He was praised by supporters for running a campaign of upbeat optimism. Aided by the Iran hostage crisis and a worsening economy at home marked by high unemployment and inflation, Reagan won the election in a massive landslide. The 1980 presidential election marked the beginning of the Reagan Era, and signified a conservative realignment in national politics. At 69 years old, Reagan was the oldest person ever to become president of the U.S. until 2017, when President Donald Trump was sworn in at the age of 70.
Republican presidential primaries
1980 Republican Party presidential primaries Party Candidate Aggregate votes % CW Republican Ronald Reagan 7,709,793 59.79 44 George H. W. Bush 3,070,033 23.81 7 John B. Anderson 1,572,174 12.19 0 Howard Baker 181,153 1.41 0 Phil Crane 97,793 0.76 0 John Connally 82,625 0.64 0 Unpledged 68,155 0.53 0
Republican National Convention 1980 Republican presidential nomination Party Candidate Votes % Republican Ronald Reagan 1,939 97.44 John B. Anderson 37 1.86 George H. W. Bush 13 0.65 Anne Armstrong 1 0.05
Presidential election 1980 United States presidential election* denotes incumbent Party Presidentialcandidate Vice presidentialCandidate PV(%) EV(%) Republican Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush 43,903,230(50.75) 489(90.9) Democratic Jimmy Carter* Walter Mondale* 35,480,115(41.01) 49(9.1) Independent John B. Anderson Patrick Lucey 5,719,850(6.61) Libertarian Ed Clark David Koch 921,128(1.06) Citizens Barry Commoner LaDonna Harris 233,052(0.21) Others 252,303(0.29) Total votes: 86,509,678 538 Votes necessary: 270
1984 presidential election
Reagan ran for reelection as president in 1984, running against Democrat Walter Mondale. Reagan was re-elected, receiving 58.8% of the popular vote to Mondale's 40.6%, and winning 49 of 50 states. Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes (97.6 percent of the 538 votes in the Electoral College), the most by any candidate in American history. This was the second-most lopsided presidential election in modern U.S. history after Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 victory over Alfred M. Landon, in which he won 98.5 percent or 523 of the (then-total) 531 electoral votes. At 73 years old, Reagan again became the oldest person elected to the presidency, breaking his own record in 1980.
Republican presidential primaries 1984 Republican Party presidential primaries* denotes incumbent Party Candidate Aggregate votes % CW Republican Ronald Reagan* 6,484,987 98.78 50 Unpledged 55,458 0.85 0 Harold Stassen 12,749 0.19 0
Republican National Convention 1984 Republican presidential nomination* denotes incumbent Party Candidate Votes % Republican Ronald Reagan* 2,233 99.91 Abstentions 2 0.09
Presidential election 1984 United States presidential election* denotes incumbent Party Presidentialcandidate Vice presidentialCandidate PV(%) EV Republican Ronald Reagan* George H. W. Bush* 54,455,472(58.77) 525(97.6) Democratic Walter Mondale Geraldine Ferraro 37,577,352(40.56) 13(2.4) Libertarian David Bergland James Lewis 228,111(0.25) Others 393,298(0.42) Total votes: 92,653,233 538 Votes necessary: 270
See also Reagan coalition, the combination of voters who supported Reagan and his election campaigns. Reagan Democrat, a traditionally Democratic voter who defected from their party to support Reagan in 1980 and 1984. Reagan's coattails, the influence of Reagan's popularity on elections other than his own, after the American political expression to "ride in on another's coattails."
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