The United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 4, 1980. Former

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

Ronald Reagan narrowly won the state and its 9 electoral votes, winning 48.8% to Incumbent President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

’s 47.5%. John B. Anderson came in third place, winning 1.23%, although Alabama was Anderson’s weakest state in the entire country. Two other candidates, Conservative Party nominee

John Rarick John Richard Rarick (January 29, 1924 - September 14, 2009) was an American lawyer, jurist, and World War II veteran who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Louisiana's 6th congressional district from 1967 to 1975. ...

and

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

candidate

Ed Clark Edward E. Clark (born May 4, 1930) is an American lawyer and politician who ran for governor of California in 1978, and for president of the United States as the nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1980 presidential election. Clark is an h ...

, each received close to one percent of the vote. Reagan's margin of victory largely rested upon his strong performances in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

and Baldwin counties along the Gulf Coast, and Jefferson and Shelby counties in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

metropolitan area. Reagan also won three counties home to large cities:

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

( Huntsville), Montgomery and

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of ...

. In contrast, Carter’s local appeal remained strong in the more rural counties of the state (except Winston County, a Republican bastion since the late 19th Century), and he won overwhelming victories in the Black Belt, where Carter’s 80.10% in Macon County was the highest proportion he received in any county nationwide.Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas
1980 Presidential Election Statistics
/ref> The 1980 election would set up Alabama to become a Republican stronghold for future presidential elections, after having been part of the Democratic

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

for most of its statehood since 1824. , this is the last election in which Limestone County, Morgan County, Marshall County, Talladega County, Cullman County, Tallapoosa County, Bibb County,

Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States: *Randolph County, Alabama *Randolph County, Arkansas *Randolph County, Georgia *Randolph County, Illinois *Randolph County, Indiana *Randolph County, Missouri *Randolph County, Nort ...

, Henry County, Lamar County, and

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.Sullivan, Robert David
‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’
''America Magazine'' in ''The National Catholic Review''; June 29, 2016

Results

Result by county

References

{{State results of the 1980 U.S. presidential election 1980

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

1980 Alabama elections