1980 Republican Party presidential primaries
January 21 to June 3, 1980
1,990 delegates to the 1980 Republican National Convention
996 (majority) votes needed to win
 
Candidate Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush John B. Anderson
Home state California Texas Illinois
Delegate count 1,222 637 128
Contests won 44 6 + DC + Puerto Rico 0
Popular vote 7,709,793 3,070,033 1,572,174
Percentage 59.8% 23.8% 12.2%
Red indicates a win by Reagan, blue a win by Bush.
Previous Republican nominee

Gerald Ford

 Republican nominee

Ronald Reagan

From January 21 to June 3, 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 July 17, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan.

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 20 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 mate
Ronald Reagan Governor of California
(1967–1975)		 California
California
(Campaign • Positions)
Secured nomination:
May 24, 1980		 7,709,793
(59.79%)		 44 George Bush

Withdrew during primaries

Candidate Most recent office Home state Campaign

Withdrawal date

 Popular vote Contests won
George H. W. Bush Director of Central Intelligence Agency
(1976–1977)		 Texas
Texas
Campaign
Withdrew: May 26
(endorsed Ronald Reagan, nominated for Vice President)		 3,070,033

(23.81%)

 8

CT, DC, IA, ME, MA, MI, PA, PR

John Anderson U.S. Representative
from Illinois
(1961–1981)
Illinois
Withdrew: April 24
(ran as independent)		 1,572,174

(12.19%)

 None
Howard Baker U.S. Senator
from Tennessee
(1967–1985)		 Tennessee
Tennessee
Withdrew: March 5
(endorsed Ronald Reagan)		 181,153

(1.41%)

 None
Phil Crane U.S. Representative
from Illinois
(1969–2005)
Illinois
Withdrew: April 17[1]
(endorsed Ronald Reagan)		 97,793

(0.76%)

 None
John Connally Secretary of the Treasury
(1971–1972)		 Texas
Texas
Withdrew: March 9
(endorsed Ronald Reagan)		 82,625

(0.64%)

 Won 1 delegate from Arkansas (Ada Mills)
Ben Fernandez U.S. Special Envoy to Paraguay (1973)
 California
California
Withdrew: March 30
(endorsed Ronald Reagan)		 25,520

(0.20%)

 None
Harold Stassen Director of the United States Foreign Operations Administration
(1953–1955)		 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania		 [data missing] 25,425

(0.20%)

 None
Bob Dole U.S. Senator
from Kansas
(1969–1996)		 Kansas
Kansas
Withdrew: March 15		 7,204

(0.06%)

 None

Withdrew before primaries

Withdrawn major candidates for the 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries
Name Born Experience Home state Campaign
announced		 Campaign
suspended		 Campaign Ref.

Larry Pressler		 March 29, 1942
(age 37)
Humboldt, South Dakota		 U.S. Senator from South Dakota
U.S. Representative from South Dakota		  South Dakota [data missing] January 8, 1980

Lowell Weicker		 May 16, 1931
(age 48)
Paris, France		 United States Senator from Connecticut
  Connecticut [data missing] May 16, 1979

Declined to run

The following potential candidates declined to run for the Republican nomination in 1980.[2][3]

Polling

National polling

Poll source Publication date
John Anderson
Howard Baker
George Bush
John Connally
Bob Dole
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
Others
Gallup[5] Aug. 1977 – 8% – – – 20% 33% 3%
Gallup[5] Apr. 1978 – 11% – 4% 4% 40% 30% 4%
Gallup[5] July 1978 – 9% 1% 5% 4% 37% 31% 5%
Gallup[5] Dec. 1978 1% 9% 1% 6% 1% 24% 40% 11%[lower-alpha 1]
Gallup[5] Apr. 1979 2% 8% 1% 12% 1% 26% 31% 11%[lower-alpha 2]
Gallup[5] May 1979 – 10% – 8% 3% 27% 28% –
Gallup[5] June 1979 0% 11% 0% 5% 0% 29% 37% 5%
Gallup[5] July 1979 3% 11% 1% 9% 2% 27% 32% 15%[lower-alpha 3]
Gallup[5] Aug. 1979 1% 10% 3% 8% 1% 21% 29% 16%[lower-alpha 4]
Gallup[5] Nov. 1979 1% 14% 2% 10% 3% 22% 33% 15%[lower-alpha 5]
Gallup[5] Nov. 1979 0% 11% 5% 8% 3% 24% 40% —
Gallup[5] Dec. 1979 1% 9% 7% 10% 4% 18% 40% 10%[lower-alpha 6]
Gallup[5] Jan. 1980 3% 9% 9% 9% 0% 27% 33% —
Gallup[5] Jan. 1980 0% 6% 28% 7% 0% 18% 29% —
Gallup[5] Feb. 1980 2% 6% 17% 4% 1% 32% 34% 3%[lower-alpha 7]
Gallup[5] Feb. 1980 3% 7% 16% – – 25% 44% —
  1. ↑ Including 1% for Phil Crane.
  2. ↑ Including 2% for Phil Crane.
  3. ↑ Including 2% for Phil Crane.
  4. ↑ Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
  5. ↑ Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
  6. ↑ Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
  7. ↑ 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.

Primary race

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 so-called "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 Bob Malloy, the volume operator, to mute Reagan's microphone. When Malloy refused, Breen repeated his order. A visibly angry Reagan responded, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!" [sic] (referring to the editor and debate moderator Jon Breen).[6][7][8] 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.[9]

Ronald Reagan delivering his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan, on July 17, 1980.

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."[10]

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.

Results

Date
(daily totals)		 Contest Total
pledged delegates
Delegates won and popular vote
Ronald Reagan George Bush John B. Anderson Howard Baker Others Total vote
January 21 Iowa caucus 38 12
31,348		 13
33,530
4,585		 6
16,216		 8
20,372		 106,051
February 2 Arkansas convention 22 9 8 0 0 5
February 17 Puerto Rico primary 20 — 14
111,940		 —
68,934
5,497		 186,371
February 22 Alaska caucus 20 12
1,789		 5
818
0
34		 3
459		 3,100
February 26 New Hampshire primary 23 13
72,983		 6
33,443
14,458		 3
18,943
6,707		 146,534
March 4 Massachusetts primary 46 15
115,334		 16
124,365		 16
122,987
19,366
18,771		 400,823
Vermont 20 6
19,720		 5
14,226		 6
19,030		 3
8,055
4,580		 65,611
March 8 South Carolina primary 28 15
78,854		 4
21,458
0
753		 8
42,287		 143,352
March 11
(126)		 Alabama primary 31 23
146,042		 8
53,232
0
1,963
7,564		 208,800
Florida primary 55 36
345,093		 19
185,527
56,447
6,294
20,224		 613,585
Georgia primary 40 34
146,500		 6
25,293
16,853
1,571
9,953		 200,170
March 18 Illinois 103 52
547,355		 12
124,057		 39
415,193
7,051
36,425		 1,130,081
March 25 Connecticut 38 14
61,735		 16
70,367		 9
40,354
2,446
7,382		 182,284
New York primary 127[lower-alpha 1] 71 8 1 0 43
April 1 Kansas 34 23
177,988		 5
35,408		 7
51,493
3,603
14,147		 282,639
Wisconsin 37 15
364,898		 11
276,164		 10
248,623
3,298
9,919		 902,902
April 5 Louisiana 34 27
31,212		 7
7,818
0		 –
2,653		 41,683
April 19 Maine 23 3 17 0 0 3
April 22 Pennsylvania 85 39
527,916		 46
626,759
30,848		 —
26,311		 1,211,834
May 3 Arizona 31 31 0 0 0 0
Missouri 40 27 0 0 0 13
Oklahoma 38 34 0 0 0 4
Texas 82 42
268,169		 40
250,219		 – –
8,112		 526,500
May 6 Washington, D.C. 13
0		 9
4,973		 4
2,025		 –
531		 7,529
Indiana 56 46
419,556		 10
92,955
56,342		 — — 568,853
North Carolina 43 33
113,854		 10
36,631
8,542
2,543
6,821		 168,391
Tennessee 34 27
144,625		 7
35,274
8,722
10
6,589		 195,210
May 13 Maryland 45 24
80,557		 21
68,389
16,244
—
2,113		 167,303
Nebraska 27 22
155,995		 5
31,380
11,879
–
2,882		 202,136
May 20
(116)		 Michigan 85 30
189,184		 55
341,998
48,947
–
15,047		 595,176
Oregon 31 17
170,449		 11
109,210		 3
32,118
–
2,324		 314,101
May 27 Idaho 23 23
111,868
5,416
13,130
–
4,465		 134,879
Kentucky 31 31
78,601
6,869
4,791
–
5,068		 95,329
Nevada 20 18
39,352
3,078
–
–		 2
4,965		 47,395
June 3 California 171 146
2,057,923
125,113		 25
349,315		 –
31,707		 2,564,058
Mississippi 25 25
(89%)
(8%)		 – —
(0%)
Montana 23 23
68,744
7,665		 – –
3,014		 79,423
New Jersey 70 58
225,959		 12
45,447		 – –
4,571		 275,977
New Mexico 23 16
37,982
5,892		 3
7,171		 – 4
8,501		 59,546
Ohio 79 62
615,233		 17
164,485		 – – — 779,719
Rhode Island 16 13
3,839		 3
962		 – –
503		 5,304
South Dakota 23 23
72,861
3,691		 – –
6,353		 82,905
West Virginia 22 19
115,407		 3
19,509		 – –
3,100		 138,016
2,152 1,222
7,637,219		 637
3,102,808		 128
1,549,249		 20
191,935		 99
541,342		 12,830,618


Nationwide

Primaries, total popular vote:[11]

The Republican National Convention was held in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980.

Endorsements

Ronald Reagan

John B. Connally, Jr.

George H. W. Bush

John B. Anderson

Howard Baker

Phil Crane

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Votes cast for delegate slates by CD, not for candidates

References

  1. ↑ "Reagan Maneuvering His Bandwagon," Washington Post, April 18, 1980.
  2. ↑ Sidey, Hugh (29 May 1978). "The Presidency: Roses with a Touch of Ragweed". Time.
  3. ↑ "Republicans: There's Life in the Old Party Yet". time. 15 November 1976.
  4. ↑ Clymer, Adam (March 8, 1979). "Backers of Reagan Open His Campaign". New York Times. p. A18. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "US President - R Primaries". OurCampaigns.com. 16 Nov 2004. Retrieved 29 Oct 2020.
  6. ↑ "Reagan's Nashua Moment"
  7. ↑ "Nation: We Were Sandbagged". Time. 10 March 1980.
  8. ↑ "Molloy Sound and Video Contractors: Articles (1/1/11)". Molloysoundandvideo.com. 2000-02-10. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  9. ↑ Dunham, Richard (20 October 2009). "New book tells inside story of pivotal Bush-Reagan debate in Nashua". The Houston Chronicle.
  10. ↑ Forbes, Stefan (2008). "Transcript – Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story". PBS Frontline.
  11. ↑ "US President - R Primaries Race - Feb 17, 1980". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  12. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "1980 Vermont Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "1980 Kansas Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "1980 Ohio Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "1980 Ohio Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "1980 South Carolina Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  18. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  19. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  20. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  21. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  22. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  23. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  24. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  25. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  26. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  27. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary".
  28. ↑ "Some race car drivers have become so successful they have become capitalists". The Boston Globe. February 13, 1980.
  29. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110221004153/http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Haley_Barbour
  30. ↑ "1980 Massachusetts Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  31. ↑ "1980 Massachusetts Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  32. ↑ "1980 Massachusetts Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "1980 Ohio Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  34. ↑ "1980 Ohio Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  35. ↑ "1980 Massachusetts Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  36. ↑ "1980 Massachusetts Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  37. ↑ "1980 Massachusetts Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  38. ↑ "1980 Vermont Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  39. ↑ "McCloskey Buries the Hatchet by Endorsing Reagan". September 26, 1980.
  40. 1 2 3 "John Anderson: The Nice Guy Syndrome". February 1980.
  41. ↑ "1980 Kansas Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  42. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  43. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  44. ↑ "1980 New Hampshire Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  45. ↑ "1980 Vermont Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  46. ↑ "1980 Georgia Republican Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
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