United States presidential election, 1984

The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated Democratic former Vice President Walter Mondale, in a landslide, winning 525 electoral votes and 58.8 percent of the popular vote. No other candidate in history has matched Reagan's electoral vote total. This is the most recent US presidential election in which a candidate received over 500 electoral votes, as well as the most recent election in which both major party candidates are deceased, and the last time that a major party candidate failed to carry more than 100 electoral votes.

Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush faced only token opposition in their bid for re-nomination. Mondale faced a competitive field in his bid, defeating Colorado Senator Gary Hart, activist Jesse Jackson and several other candidates in the 1984 Democratic primaries. He eventually chose U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York 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. At 73, Reagan was, at the time, the oldest person ever to be nominated by a major party for president until the nomination of Joe Biden in 2020. 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 and he called for a nuclear freeze and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Reagan won a landslide re-election victory, carrying 49 of the 50 states, making this the second election in the twentieth century in which a party won 49 states (after the 1972 election). Mondale won only his home state of Minnesota with a 0.18% margin of victory, and the District of Columbia.

Reagan won 525 of the 538 electoral votes, the most of any presidential candidate in U.S. history. In terms of electoral votes, this was the second-most lopsided presidential election in modern U.S. history; Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 victory over Alf Landon, in which he won 98.5 percent or 523 of the then-total 531 electoral votes, ranks first. His popular vote margin of victory—nearly 16.9 million votes (54.4 million for Reagan to 37.5 million for Mondale)—was exceeded only by Richard Nixon in his 1972 victory over George McGovern, and Reagan is the most recent presidential candidate, as of 2022, to win the popular vote by a margin of greater than 10 million votes and by a margin of greater than 10%. Reagan was also the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to be re-elected while winning absolute popular vote majorities in both of his presidential campaigns and was the first presidential candidate in history to win more than 50 million votes.

Reagan, at 73 years old, would be the oldest winner of a presidential election until Joe Biden won the 2020 election at the age of 77. As of 2020, no Republican candidate has since won New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, Hawaii, or Rhode Island. Wisconsin would also not go Republican again until Donald Trump won the state in 2016. As of 2022, this is the most recent presidential election in which both major parties' presidential and vice-presidential nominees are deceased, and the most recent in which a major party candidate failed to receive more than 100 electoral votes.

Nominations

Republican Party candidates

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

Primaries

Reagan was the assured nominee for the Republican Party, with only token opposition. The popular vote from the Republican primaries was as follows:
* Ronald Reagan (inc.): 6,484,987 (98.6%)
* Unpledged delegates: 41,411 (0.6%)
* Others: 21,643 (0.3%)
* "Ronald Reagan No": 14,047 (0.2%)
* Harold E. Stassen: 12,749 (0.2%)
* David Kelly: 360
* Gary Arnold: 252
* Benjamin Fernandez: 202

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.

Democratic Party candidates

* 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

Primaries

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. 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."

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. 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.

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. 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.

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." 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. 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 (i.e., 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. Mondale was also the last former vice president to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party after leaving office 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.

Mondale had received endorsements from:
;United States House of Representatives
* Representative Jim Bates of California
* Representative Edward Boland of Massachusetts
* Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia
* Representative Joseph D. Early of Massachusetts
* Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts
* Representative Robert García of New York
* Representative Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut
* Representative Tom Harkin of Iowa
* Representative Joe Moakley of Massachusetts
* Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York
* Representative William R. Ratchford of Connecticut
* Representative James Michael Shannon of Massachusetts
;Governors and State Constitutional officers
* New York Attorney General Robert Abrams
* Governor Mario Cuomo of New York
* Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller of Georgia
;Former officeholders
* Former President Jimmy Carter of Georgia
;Former diplomats, board members and other officials
* Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk of Georgia
;Organizations and unions
* AFL–CIO
* Alabama Democratic Conference
* National Education Association
* National Organization for Women
;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders
:Alabama
* Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. of Birmingham
:California
* Mayor and 1982 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Tom Bradley of Los Angeles
:Georgia
* State Senator Julian Bond
:Illinois
* Former Alderman, President of the City Council, 1983 mayoral candidate, and Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Edward Vrdolyak of Chicago
:Michigan
* Mayor Coleman Young of Detroit

Hart had received endorsements from:
;United States House of Representatives
* Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado
* Representative Chuck Schumer of New York
* Representative and 1976 Democratic presidential candidate Mo Udall of Arizona
* Representative Henry A. Waxman of California
;Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators
* Actor and director Warren Beatty Plotz, David (August 20, 1999
Warren Beatty
''Slate.com''

Jackson had received endorsements from:
;United States House of Representatives
* Delegate Walter E. Fauntroy of Washington, D.C.
;Former officeholders
* Former Representative and 1972 Democratic presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm of New York
* Former Governor Orval E. Faubus of Arkansas
;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders
:Alabama
* State Senator Michael Figures
* Mayor Johnny Ford of Tuskegee
* State Senator Earl Hilliard
* State Senator Hank Sanders
:Georgia
* State Representative Tyrone Brookes
:Illinois
* Mayor Carl Officer of East St. Louis
:Indiana
* Mayor Richard G. Hatcher of Gary
:Washington, D.C.
* Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, D.C.
;Organizations and unions
* Church of God in Christ
* Nation of Islam
* National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
* National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
* National Farmers Alliance
* National Hispanic Leadership Conference
;Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators
* Muhammad Ali
* 1980 presidential nominee of the Citizens Party Barry Commoner

Hollings had received endorsements from:
;United States Senate
* Former U.S. Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana
* Former U.S. Senator William B. Spong, Jr. of Virginia
;State Constitutional officers
* Lieutenant Governor Martha Griffiths of Michigan
* State Senator Anna Belle Clement O'Brien of Tennessee
* Lieutenant Governor Nancy Stevenson of South Carolina

Glenn had received endorsements from:
;United States Senate
* Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia
* Senator Jim Sasser of Tennessee
* Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts
;United States House of Representatives
* Representative Jerry Huckaby of Louisiana
;Governors and State Constitutional officers
* Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley of Alabama
* Governor Chuck Robb of Virginia
;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders
:Georgia
* Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin
:Texas
* State Representative Larry Walker
;Celebrities
* Actor and director Warren Beatty

Cranston had received endorsements from:
;United States House of Representatives
* Representative William Lehman of Florida

Askew had received endorsements from:
;United States Senate
* Senator Lawton Chiles of Florida
;United States House of Representatives
* Representative William V. Chappell, Jr. of Florida
* Representative Dante Fascell of Florida
* Representative Sam Gibbons of Florida
* Representative Dan Mica of Florida
;Governors and State Constitutional officers
* Governor Bob Graham of Florida
;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders
:Florida
* Mayor Eva Mack of West Palm Beach

Convention

This was the convention's nomination tally:

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." 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

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. 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, his protégée. Mondale might have named Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as his running mate had he wanted to make a "safe" choice", 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; 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

Sources:

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.

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. Later he would endorse the Democratic nominee, Walter Mondale.

Anderson had hoped that the party would continue to grow and later field a candidate in 1988 (which he declared would not be him), but it floundered and ultimately dissolved.

Libertarian Party nomination

* David Bergland

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases