1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

The 1980 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1980 U.S. presidential election. Incumbent President Jimmy Carter was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1980 Democratic National Convention held from August 11 to August 14, 1980, in New York City.

1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries
January 21 to June 3, 1980
3,315 delegates to the Democratic National Convention
1,105 delegate votes needed to win
 
Candidate Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy
Home state Georgia Massachusetts
Contests won 36 12
Popular vote 10,043,016 7,381,693
Percentage 51.13% 37.58%
Results of the 1980 Democratic National Convention
Previous Democratic nominee

Jimmy Carter

 Democratic nominee

Jimmy Carter

Carter faced a major primary challenger in Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who won 12 contests and received more than seven million votes nationwide, enough for him to refuse to concede the nomination until the second day of the convention. This remains the last election in which an incumbent president's party nomination was still contested going into the convention.

Primary race

At the time, Iran was experiencing a major uprising that severely damaged its oil infrastructure and greatly weakened its capability to produce oil.[1] In January 1979, shortly after Iran's leader Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled the country, lead Iranian opposition figure Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from a 14-year exile and with the help of the Iranian people toppled the Shah which in turn led to the installation of a new government form that was hostile towards the United States.[1] The damage that resulted from Khomeini's rise to power would soon be felt throughout many American cities.[1] In the spring and summer of 1979 inflation was on the rise and various parts of the country were experiencing energy shortages.[2] The gas lines last seen just after the Arab/Israeli war of 1973 were back and President Carter was widely blamed.

President Carter's approval ratings were very low—28% according to Gallup,[3] with some other polls giving even lower numbers. In July Carter returned from Camp David and announced a reshuffling of his cabinet on national television, giving a speech whose downcast demeanor resulted in it being widely labelled the "malaise speech." While the speech caused a brief upswing in the president's approval rating, the decision to dismiss several cabinet members was widely seen as a rash act of desperation, causing his approval rating to plummet back into the twenties. Some Democrats felt it worth the risk to mount a challenge to Carter in the primaries. Although Hugh Carey and William Proxmire decided not to run, Senator Edward M. Kennedy finally made his long-expected run at the presidency.

Ted Kennedy had been asked to take his brother Robert’s place at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and had refused. He ran for Senate Majority Whip in 1969, with many thinking that he was going to use this as a platform for the 1972 race.[4] However, then came the notorious Chappaquiddick incident that killed Kennedy's car passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy subsequently refused to run for president in 1972 and 1976. Many of his supporters suspected that Chappaquiddick had destroyed any ability he had to win on a national level. Despite this, in the summer of 1979, Kennedy consulted with his extended family, and that fall, he let it leak out that because of Carter’s failings, 1980 might indeed be the year he would try for the nomination. Gallup had him beating the president by over two to one, but Carter remained confident, famously claiming at a June White House gathering of Congressmen that if Kennedy ran against him in the primary, he would "whip his ass."[5]

Kennedy's official announcement was scheduled for early November. A television interview with Roger Mudd of CBS a few days before the announcement went badly, however. Kennedy gave an "incoherent and repetitive"[6] answer to the question of why he was running, and the polls, which showed him leading the President by 58–25 in August now had him ahead 49–39.[7] Meanwhile, U.S. animosity towards the Khomeini régime greatly accelerated after 52 American hostages were taken by a group of Islamist students and militants at the U.S. embassy in Tehran and Carter's approval ratings jumped in the 60-percent range in some polls, due to a "rally ‘round the flag" effect[8] and an appreciation of Carter's calm handling of the crisis. Kennedy was suddenly left far behind. Carter beat Kennedy decisively in Iowa and New Hampshire. Carter decisively defeated Kennedy everywhere except Massachusetts, until impatience began to build with the President's strategy on Iran. When the primaries in New York and Connecticut came around, it was Kennedy who won.

Momentum built for Ted Kennedy after Carter's attempt to rescue the hostages on April 25 ended in disaster and drew further skepticism towards Carter's leadership ability.[9] Nevertheless, Carter was still able to maintain a substantial lead even after Kennedy won the key states of California and New Jersey in June. Despite this, Kennedy refused to drop out, and the 1980 Democratic National Convention was one of the nastiest on record. On the penultimate day, Kennedy conceded the nomination and called for a more liberal party platform in what many saw as the best speech of his career. On the stage on the final day, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter.

As of 2020, Kennedy remains the last challenger to defeat an incumbent in any of his/her party's statewide presidential primary contests.

Candidates

Nominee
Candidate Most recent position Home state Campaign Popular

vote

 Contests won Running mate
Jimmy Carter
President of the United States
(1977-1981)
Incumbent
Georgia		 (Campaign) 10,043,016
(51.13%)		 36

IA, ME, NH, VT, AL, FL, GA, PR,

IL, KS, WI, LA, TX, IN, NC, TN,

NE, MD, OK, AR ID, KY, NV, MT,

OH, WV, MO, OR, WA

 Walter Mondale

Withdrew during primaries or convention
Candidate Most recent position Home state Campaign

Withdrawal date

 Popular Vote Contests Won
Ted Kennedy U.S. Senator

from Massachusetts
(1962-2009)
Massachusetts		 Withdrew at convention 7,381,693
(37.58%)		 12

AZ, MA, CT, NY, PA, ND
DC, CA, NJ, NM, RI, SD
VT, AK, MI

Also withdrew during primaries

Results
Date[10] State/territory Calculated
delegates		 Type Popular vote or equivalent Estimated delegates
Jimmy Carter
 Edward Kennedy
 Jerry Brown
 Other
 Jimmy Carter
campaign		 Ted Kennedy
campaign		 Jerry Brown
campaign		 Other
P P P P P
Jan 21 Iowa[11] 0Caucus (59.16%) (31.23%) (0.00%) (9.61%) 30 15 0 0
Feb 10 Maine[12][13] 0Caucus 14,528 (43.59%) 13,384 (40.16%) 4,621 (13.87%) 793 (2.38%) 12 and
1,017 SDE		 10 and
847 SDE		 0 and
263 SDE		 0 and
52 SDE
Feb 26 New Hampshire[14][15] 23Primary 52,692 (47.08%) 41,745 (37.30%) 10,743 (9.60%) 6,750 (6.03%) 10 9 0 0
March 4 Massachusetts 112 Primary 260,391 590,404 31,488 25,031 34 78 0 0
March 4 Vermont 13 Primary 29,015 10,135 553 10 3 0 0
March 11 Alabama 47 Primary 194,680 31,624 12,418 47 0 0 0
March 11 Delaware 16 Caucus 104 40 0 28 10 4 0 3
March 11 Florida 98 Primary 665,683 256,564 53,422 123,400 71 27 0 0
March 11 Georgia 63 Primary 338,772 32,315 7,255 6,438 63 0 0 0
March 11 Oklahoma 42 Caucus 4,440 575 19 879 42 0 0 0
March 11 Washington 59 Caucus 2,898 1,295 25 1,023 33 15 0 12
March 15 Wyoming 12 Caucus 135 48 0 26 9 3 0 0
March 16 Puerto Rico 40 Primary 449,681 418,068 1,660 826 21 19 0 0
March 18 Illinois 181 Primary 780,787 359,875 39,168 21,237 124 57 0 0
March 23 Virginia 64 Caucus 1,633 154 1 150 64 0 0 0
March 25 Connecticut 54 Primary 87,207 98,662 5,386 19,020 25 29 0 0
March 25 New York 286 Primary 406,305 582,757 0 0 117 169 0 0
April 1 Kansas 38 Primary 109,807 61,318 9,434 13,359 24 14 0 0
April 1 Wisconsin 77 Primary 353,662 189,520 74,496 11,941 50 27 0 0
April 5 Louisiana 51 Primary 199,956 80,797 16,774 61,214 36 15 0 0
April 12 Arizona 28 Caucus 7,592 9,738 0 0 12 16 0 0
April 12 South Carolina 38 Caucus 7,305 579 0 3,486 25 0 0 13
April 22 Pennsylvania 189 Primary 732,332 736,954 37,669 93,865 94 95 0 0
April 22 Missouri 77 Caucus 415 55 0 75 77 0 0 0
April 26 Michigan 142 Caucus 0 0 23,043 55,381 0 0 42 100
May 3 Texas 152 Primary 770,390 314,129 35,585 257,252 87 36 0 29
May 6 Colorado 39 Caucus 417 295 0 288 16 12 0 11
May 6 District of Columbia 14 Primary 23,697 39,561 0 892 5 9 0 0
May 6 Indiana 81 Primary 400,849 193,290 0 0 55 26 0 0
May 6 North Carolina 70 Primary 516,778 130,684 21,420 68,380 56 14 0 0
May 6 Tennessee 57 Primary 221,658 53,258 5,612 14,152 46 11 0 0
May 13 Maryland 60 Primary 226,528 181,091 14,313 55,158 33 27 0 0
May 13 Nebraska 25 Primary 72,100 57,826 5,478 18,449 14 11 0 0
May 20 Oregon 39 Primary 208,693 114,651 0 44,978 25 14 0 0
May 27 Arkansas 33 Primary 269,375 78,542 0 100,373 21 6 0 6
May 27 Idaho 17 Primary 31,383 11,087 2,078 5,934 13 4 0 0
May 27 Kentucky 50 Primary 160,819 55,167 0 24,345 37 13 0 0
May 27 Nevada 13 Primary 25,159 19,296 0 22,493 5 4 0 4
June 3 California 303 Primary 1,266,216 1,507,142 135,962 454,538 138 165 0 0
June 3 Montana 19 Primary 67,033 47,991 0 15,579 11 8 0 0
June 3 New Jersey 114 Primary 212,387 315,109 0 33,412 46 68 0 0
June 3 New Mexico 20 Primary 66,621 73,721 0 19,023 9 11 0 0
June 3 Ohio 164 Primary 605,744 523,874 0 56,792 88 76 0 0
June 3 Rhode Island 23 Primary 9,907 26,177 310 1,931 6 17 0 0
June 3 South Dakota 19 Primary 31,251 33,418 0 4,094 9 10 0 0
June 3 West Virginia 37 Primary 197,687 120,247 0 0 23 14 0 0
Date State/territory P Type Carter Kennedy Brown Other P P P P
Calculated
delegates		 Popular vote or equivalent Carter
delegates		 Kennedy
delegates		 Brown
delegates		 Other
delegates

Statewide contest by winner

Results by state

Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Jerry Brown Lyndon LaRouche Cliff Finch Richard Kay Unpledged Others
 
January 21 Iowa caucuses 59.16%[16] 31.23%[16] - - - - 9.61%[16] -
February 10 Maine caucuses 43.6%[13] 40.2%[13] 13.9%[13] - - - 2.4%[13] -
February 26 New Hampshire 47.08%[15] 37.30%[15] 9.60%[15] 2.08%[15] - 0.51%[15] - 3.45%[15]
March 4 Massachusetts 28.70%[15] 65.07%[15] 3.47%[15] - - - 2.17%[15] 0.59%[15]
March 4 Vermont * 73.08% 25.53% 0.90% 0.02% - - - 0.48%
March 11 Alabama 81.59% 13.22% 4.01% - - - 0.70% 0.49%
March 11 Florida 60.69% 23.20% 4.87% - - 1.75% 9.50% -
March 11 Georgia 88.04% 8.40% 1.89% 0.13% 0.36% 0.22% 0.96% -
March 16 Puerto Rico 51.67% 48.04% 0.19% - - - - 0.10%
March 18 Illinois 65.01% 29.96% 3.26% 1.60% - - - 0.17
March 25 Connecticut 41.47% 46.92% 2.56% 2.67% - - 6.37% -
March 25 New York 406,305

41.08%

 582,757

58.92%

 - - - - - -
April 1 Kansas 56.63% 31.62% 4.87% - 0.32% - - 0.81%
April 1 Wisconsin 56.17% 30.10% 11.83% 1.10% 0.29% - 0.43% 0.08%
April 5 Louisiana 55.74% 22.52% 4.68% - 3.11% 0.94% 11.60% 1.42%
April 22 Pennsylvania 45.40% 45.68% 2.34% - - - 5.82% 0.78%
April 22 Vermont caucuses 32%[17] 45%[17] - - - - 23%[17] -
April 26 Michigan caucuses 46.68%[18] 48.08%[18] - - - - 5.24%[18] -
May 3 Texas 55.93% 22.81% 2.58% - - - 18.68% -
May 6 Washington D.C. 36.94% 61.67% - 1.39% - - - -
May 6 Indiana 67.68% 32.32% - - - - - -
May 6 North Carolina 70.09% 17.73% 2.91% - - - 9.28% -
May 6 Tennessee 75.22% 18.07% 1.90% 0.31% 0.56% - 3.91% 0.01%
May 13 Nebraska 46.87% 37.58% 3.56% 0.76% - - 10.42% 0.81%
May 13 Maryland 47.48% 37.96% 3.00% 0.92% 1.03% - 9.62% -
May 20 Oregon 56.83% 31.22% 9.37% - - - - 2.57%
May 20 Michigan caucuses ** - - 29.38% 11.41% - - 46.40% 12.81%
May 27 Arkansas 60.09% 17.52% - - 4.34% - 18.05% -
May 27 Idaho 62.17% 21.96% 4.12% - - - 11.76% -
May 27 Kentucky 66.92% 22.96% - - 1.05% 1.09% 8.00% -
May 27 Nevada 37.58% 28.82% - - - - 33.60% -
June 3 California 37.64% 44.80% 4.04% 2.13% - - 11.38% -
June 3 Montana 51.46% 36.65% - - - - 11.89% -
June 3 New Jersey 37.87% 56.18% - - - - 3.48% 2.48%
June 3 New Mexico 41.80% 46.26% - 3.01% 2.82% - 6.11% -
June 3 Ohio 51.06% 44.16% - 2.97% - 1.81% - -
June 3 Rhode Island 25.85% 68.30% 0.81% 3.03% - - 2.01% -
June 3 South Dakota 45.45% 48.60% - - - - 5.95% -
June 3 West Virginia 62.18% 37.82% - - - - - -
Legend:   1st place
(popular vote)		 2nd place
(popular vote)		 3rd place
(popular vote)

*  Vermont delegates selected via caucus process beginning April 22
** Michigan delegates selected via caucus process beginning April 26

Primaries total popular vote[19]

  • Jimmy Carter (inc.) - 10,043,016 (51.13%)
  • Ted Kennedy - 7,381,693 (37.58%)
  • Unpledged - 1,288,423 (6.56%)
  • Jerry Brown - 575,296 (2.93%)
  • Lyndon LaRouche - 177,784 (0.91%)
  • Others - 79,352 (0.40%)
  • Richard B Kay - 48,061 - (0.25%)
  • Cliff Finch - 48,032 (0.25%)
  • Bob Maddox - 4,002 (0.02%)
  • Donald J Reaux - 2,255 (0.01%)

Endorsements

Jimmy Carter

Ted Kennedy

Convention
Main article: 1980 Democratic National Convention

Presidential tally[51]

In the vice-presidential roll call, Mondale was re-nominated with 2,428.7 votes to 723.3 not voting and 179 scattering.

See also

References
  1. "Oil Squeeze". Time magazine. 1979-02-05. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  2. "Inflation-proofing". ConsumerReports.org. 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  3. "Poll: Bush approval mark at all-time low". CNN. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. US News and World Report January 1969.
  5. "Press: Whip His What?".
  6. Allis, Sam (2009-02-18). "Chapter 4: Sailing Into the Wind: Losing a quest for the top, finding a new freedom". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  7. Time Magazine, 11/12/79
  8. Marra, Robin F.; Ostrom, Charles W.; Simon, Dennis M. (1 January 1990). "Foreign Policy and Presidential Popularity: Creating Windows of Opportunity in the Perpetual Election". The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 34 (4): 588–623. JSTOR 174181.
  9. The Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission
  10. "1980 Presidential Primary Calendar".
  11. "Kennedy has failed to exploit changes in delegate selection". The Courier-Journal. February 3, 1980. p. 51. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Maine officials say Carter victory was slim". The Courier-News. February 16, 1980. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Lindsay, Christopher (Associated Press) (February 15, 1980). "Carter margin over Kennedy smaller than first believed". LexisNexis Academic. Carter received 14,528 caucus votes, 43.6 percent; Kennedy received 13,384 votes, 40.2 percent; Brown received 4,621 votes, 13.9 percent; Uncommitted were 793 votes, 2.4 percent.
  14. "New Hampshire winners look to future contests". The Courier. February 27, 1980. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Elections Research Center (1981). Scammon, Richard M.; McGillivray, Alice V. (eds.). America votes 14: a handbook of contemporary American election statistics. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. pp. 33–39. ISSN 0065-678X. OCLC 1240412.
  16. Clymer, Adam (January 23, 1980). "Candidates shifting tactics". The New York Times. p. A1.
    Winebrenner, Hugh; Goldford, Dennis J. (2010). "The 1980 caucuses: a media event becomes an institution". The Iowa precinct caucuses: the making of a media event (3rd ed.). Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-58729-915-5.
  17. . (April 26, 1980). "Kennedy and Bush still losing in delegates". National Journal. 12 (17): 69. ISSN 0360-4217. Vermont—Kennedy did surprisingly well in Democratic town and city caucuses on April 22 to choose delegates to the May 24 state convention, where the state's 12 national convention seats will be filled on the basis of the caucus vote. Kennedy won roughly 45 per cent of the vote to Carter's 32 per cent; the rest were uncommitted.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. Johnson, Malcolm (Associated Press) (April 28, 1980). "Kennedy wins again but gains little". LexisNexis Academic. The final totals showed Kennedy with 7,793 votes and Carter with 7,567. About 850 votes were divided between uncommitted and other candidates, but neither category had enough votes to win a delegate.
  19. "US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 26, 1980". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  20. "1980 Massachusetts Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  21. "1980 Maryland Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  22. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  23. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  24. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  25. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  26. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  27. "1980 Puerto Rico Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  28. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  29. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  30. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  31. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  32. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  33. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  34. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  35. "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  36. "1980 Connecticut Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  37. "1980 Connecticut Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  38. "1980 Connecticut Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  39. "1980 Connecticut Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  40. "1980 New York Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  41. "1980 Wisconsin Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  42. "1980 Pennsylvania Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  43. "1980 Pennsylvania Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  44. "1980 Maryland Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  45. "1980 California Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  46. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  47. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  48. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  49. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  50. "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  51. "US President - D Convention Race - Aug 11, 1980". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2011-01-22.

Further reading
  • Norrander, Barbara (1986). "Correlates of Vote Choice in the 1980 Presidential Primaries". Journal of Politics. 48 (1): 156–166. doi:10.2307/2130931.
  • Southwell, Priscilla L. (1986). "The Politics of Disgruntlement: Nonvoting and Defection among Supporters of Nomination Losers, 1968–1984". Political Behavior. 8 (1): 81–95. doi:10.1007/BF00987593.
  • Stanley, Timothy (2010). Kennedy vs. Carter: The 1980 Battle for the Democratic Party's Soul. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1702-9.
  • Stone, Walter J. (1984). "Prenomination Candidate Choice and General Election Behavior: Iowa Presidential Activists in 1980". American Journal of Political Science. 28 (2): 361–378. doi:10.2307/2110877.
  • Ward, Jon (2019). Camelot's End : Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party. New York: Twelve. ISBN 978-1-4555-9138-1.
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