1984 United States presidential election in Georgia

The 1984 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Georgia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

Main article: 1984 United States presidential election
1984 United States presidential election in Georgia
November 6, 1984
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Minnesota
Running mate George H. W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro
Electoral vote 12 0
Popular vote 1,068,722 706,628
Percentage 60.17% 39.79%
County Results
President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

 Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Georgia was won by incumbent United States President Ronald Reagan of California, who was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Reagan ran for a second time with former C.I.A. Director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Mondale ran with Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first major female candidate for the vice presidency. Georgia had been 1 of just 6 states that voted against Reagan in 1980, but with Jimmy Carter not on the ballot, President Reagan cruised to victory in Georgia, even winning Sumter County where Carter's hometown, Plains is located.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1984 was a very partisan election for Georgia, with just under 100% of the electorate voting either Democratic or Republican, and only those 2 parties appearing on the official ballot.[1] The majority of counties in Georgia voted in majority for Reagan in a particularly strong turnout, even in this typically conservative-leaning state. A major exception to this trend was Atlanta's Fulton County, which voted mainly for Mondale, as did many counties in the center of the state. In Hancock County, Mondale received over 76% of the vote, which made it his fourth strongest county outside the District of Columbia.[2]

Georgia weighed in for this election as 2% more Republican than the national average.

1984 marked the first time a winning candidate won over a million votes in Georgia. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Randolph County, Clarke County (home to Athens and the University of Georgia), and DeKalb County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[3]

Democratic platform

Walter Mondale accepted the Democratic nomination for presidency after pulling narrowly ahead of Senator Gary Hart of Colorado and Rev. Jesse Jackson of Illinois – his main contenders during what would be a very contentious[4] Democratic primary. During the campaign, Mondale was vocal about reduction of government spending, and, in particular, was vocal against heightened military spending on the nuclear arms race against the Soviet Union,[5] which was reaching its peak on both sides in the early 1980s.

Taking a (what was becoming the traditional liberal) stance on the social issues of the day, Mondale advocated for gun control, the right to choose regarding abortion, and strongly opposed the repeal of laws regarding institutionalized prayer in public schools. He also criticized Reagan for what he charged was his economic marginalization of the poor, stating that Reagan's reelection campaign was "a happy talk campaign," not focused on the real issues at hand.[6]

A very significant political move during this election: the Democratic Party nominated Representative Geraldine Ferraro to run with Mondale as vice-president. Ferraro is the first female candidate to receive such a nomination in United States history. She said in an interview at the 1984 Democratic National Convention that this action "opened a door which will never be closed again,"[7] speaking to the role of women in politics.

Republican platform
Reagan challenging Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!," from the Brandenburg Gate in June, 1987. Reagan's firm stance with the Soviet Union was an important contributor to his 1984 reelection.
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By 1984, Reagan was very popular with voters across the nation as the President who saw them out of the economic stagflation of the early and middle 1970's, and into a period of (relative) economic stability.[8]

The economic success seen under Reagan was politically accomplished (principally) in two ways. The first was initiation of deep tax cuts for the wealthy,[9] and the second was a wide-spectrum of tax cuts for crude oil production and refinement, namely, with the 1980 Windfall profits tax cuts.[10] These policies were augmented with a call for heightened military spending,[11] the cutting of social welfare programs for the poor,[12] and the increasing of taxes on those making less than $50,000 per year.[9] Collectively called "Reaganomics", these economic policies were established through several pieces of legislation passed between 1980 and 1987.

These new tax policies also arguably curbed several existing tax loopholes, preferences, and exceptions. Reaganomics has (along with legislation passed under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) been criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United States after 2007, such as the Great Recession.[13]

Virtually unopposed during the Republican primaries, Reagan ran on a campaign of furthering his economic policies. Reagan vowed to continue his "war on drugs," passing sweeping legislation after the 1984 election in support of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession.[14] Furthermore, taking a (what was becoming the traditional conservative) stance on the social issues of the day, Reagan strongly opposed legislation regarding comprehension of gay marriage, abortion, and (to a lesser extent) environmentalism,[15] regarding the final as simply being bad for business.

Republican victory

Reagan won the election in Georgia with a resounding 21-point sweep-out landslide. While Georgia typically voted conservative at the time, the election results in Georgia are also reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party which took place through the 1980s; called by Reagan the "second American Revolution."[8] This was most evident during the 1984 presidential election.

It is speculated that Mondale lost support with voters nearly immediately during the campaign, namely during his acceptance speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. There he stated that he intended to increase taxes. To quote Mondale, "By the end of my first term, I will reduce the Reagan budget deficit by two thirds. Let's tell the truth. It must be done, it must be done. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."[6] Despite this claimed attempt at establishing truthfulness with the electorate, this promise to raise taxes badly eroded his chances in what had already begun as an uphill battle against the charismatic Ronald Reagan.

Reagan also enjoyed high levels of bipartisan support during the 1984 presidential election, both in Georgia, and across the nation at large. Many registered Democrats who voted for Reagan (Reagan Democrats) stated that they had chosen to do so because they associated him with the economic recovery, because of his strong stance on national security issues with Russia, and because they considered the Democrats as "supporting American poor and minorities at the expense of the middle class."[15] These public opinion factors contributed to Reagan's 1984 landslide victory, in Georgia and elsewhere.

While Georgia backed its native son Jimmy Carter in the previous elections. The lack of Carter running along with Reagan's strong social conservative appeal made this state flip in large numbers. Additionally mirroring the previous trends, Reagan did very well the suburban counties which were receptive to his positions on reducing taxes and regulations.

Results
United States presidential election in Georgia, 1984
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush 1,068,722 60.17% 12
Democratic Walter Mondale Geraldine Ferraro 706,628 39.79% 0
Write-Ins 743 0.04% 0
Totals 1,776,093 100.0% 12

Results by county
County Ronald Wilson Reagan
Republican		 Walter Frederick Mondale
Democratic		 Various candidates
Write-ins		 Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Appling 2,929 59.93% 1,958 40.07% 971 19.87% 4,887
Atkinson 944 51.17% 901 48.83% 43 2.33% 1,845
Bacon 1,778 63.77% 1,010 36.23% 768 27.55% 2,788
Baker 675 49.41% 691 50.59% -16 -1.17% 1,366
Baldwin 5,717 59.74% 3,853 40.26% 1,864 19.48% 9,570
Banks 1,549 59.30% 1,063 40.70% 486 18.61% 2,612
Barrow 4,123 63.53% 2,367 36.47% 1,756 27.06% 6,490
Bartow 7,104 59.78% 4,780 40.22% 2,324 19.56% 11,884
Ben Hill 2,313 55.44% 1,859 44.56% 454 10.88% 4,172
Berrien 2,395 58.92% 1,670 41.08% 725 17.84% 4,065
Bibb 24,170 47.77% 26,427 52.23% -2,257 -4.46% 50,597
Bleckley 1,912 56.62% 1,465 43.38% 447 13.24% 3,377
Brantley 1,679 52.53% 1,517 47.47% 162 5.07% 3,196
Brooks 2,229 57.30% 1,661 42.70% 568 14.60% 3,890
Bryan 2,265 61.83% 1,398 38.17% 867 23.67% 3,663
Bulloch 6,117 62.67% 3,644 37.33% 2,473 25.34% 9,761
Burke 3,137 50.08% 3,127 49.92% 10 0.16% 6,264
Butts 2,141 54.05% 1,820 45.95% 321 8.10% 3,961
Calhoun 776 41.88% 1,077 58.12% -301 -16.24% 1,853
Camden 2,841 56.76% 2,164 43.24% 677 13.53% 5,005
Candler 1,497 59.62% 1,014 40.38% 483 19.24% 2,511
Carroll 11,436 67.17% 5,590 32.83% 5,846 34.34% 17,026
Catoosa 7,908 71.91% 3,089 28.09% 4,819 43.82% 10,997
Charlton 1,368 55.18% 1,111 44.82% 257 10.37% 2,479
Chatham 38,482 57.65% 28,271 42.35% 10,211 15.30% 66,753
Chattahoochee 459 51.75% 428 48.25% 31 3.49% 887
Chattooga 2,953 53.41% 2,576 46.59% 377 6.82% 5,529
Cherokee 11,146 76.11% 3,499 23.89% 7,647 52.22% 14,645
Clarke 11,503 53.17% 10,132 46.83% 1,371 6.34% 21,635
Clay 419 35.84% 750 64.16% -331 -28.31% 1,169
Clayton 31,553 72.84% 11,763 27.16% 19,790 45.69% 43,316
Clinch 862 57.97% 625 42.03% 237 15.94% 1,487
Cobb 97,429 77.42% 28,414 22.58% 69,015 54.84% 125,843
Coffee 4,200 61.47% 2,633 38.53% 1,567 22.93% 6,833
Colquitt 5,815 64.45% 3,208 35.55% 2,607 28.89% 9,023
Columbia 12,294 76.74% 3,727 23.26% 8,567 53.47% 16,021
Cook 1,860 55.19% 1,510 44.81% 350 10.39% 3,370
Coweta 7,981 68.62% 3,650 31.38% 4,331 37.24% 11,631
Crawford 1,298 47.70% 1,423 52.30% -125 -4.59% 2,721
Crisp 2,895 57.63% 2,128 42.37% 767 15.27% 5,023
Dade 2,750 70.51% 1,150 29.49% 1,600 41.03% 3,900
Dawson 1,322 67.28% 643 32.72% 679 34.55% 1,965
Decatur 4,134 60.88% 2,656 39.12% 1,478 21.77% 6,790
DeKalb 104,697 57.52% 77,329 42.48% 27,368 15.04% 182,026
Dodge 2,765 52.39% 2,513 47.61% 252 4.77% 5,278
Dooly 1,435 45.40% 1,726 54.60% -291 -9.21% 3,161
Dougherty 16,920 56.73% 12,904 43.27% 4,016 13.47% 29,824
Douglas 12,428 73.98% 4,371 26.02% 8,057 47.96% 16,799
Early 2,239 59.98% 1,494 40.02% 745 19.96% 3,733
Echols 453 66.62% 227 33.38% 226 33.24% 680
Effingham 4,266 67.49% 2,055 32.51% 2,211 34.98% 6,321
Elbert 3,366 55.77% 2,670 44.23% 696 11.53% 6,036
Emanuel 3,920 61.46% 2,458 38.54% 1,462 22.92% 6,378
Evans 1,601 57.30% 1,193 42.70% 408 14.60% 2,794
Fannin 4,159 67.91% 1,965 32.09% 2,194 35.83% 6,124
Fayette 12,575 81.47% 2,861 18.53% 9,714 62.93% 15,436
Floyd 15,437 63.50% 8,873 36.50% 6,564 27.00% 24,310
Forsyth 6,841 75.04% 2,275 24.96% 4,566 50.09% 9,116
Franklin 2,549 58.10% 1,838 41.90% 711 16.21% 4,387
Fulton 95,149 43.11% 125,567 56.89% -30,418 -13.78% 220,716
Gilmer 2,972 70.66% 1,234 29.34% 1,738 41.32% 4,206
Glascock 827 72.29% 317 27.71% 510 44.58% 1,144
Glynn 11,724 64.07% 6,574 35.93% 5,150 28.15% 18,298
Gordon 5,566 68.10% 2,607 31.90% 2,959 36.20% 8,173
Grady 3,886 63.22% 2,261 36.78% 1,625 26.44% 6,147
Greene 1,599 44.53% 1,992 55.47% -393 -10.94% 3,591
Gwinnett 54,749 79.48% 14,139 20.52% 40,610 58.95% 68,888
Habersham 4,647 68.62% 2,125 31.38% 2,522 37.24% 6,772
Hall 15,076 67.01% 7,421 32.99% 7,655 34.03% 22,497
Hancock 644 23.39% 2,109 76.61% -1,465 -53.21% 2,753
Haralson 3,945 67.06% 1,938 32.94% 2,007 34.12% 5,883
Harris 3,138 59.95% 2,096 40.05% 1,042 19.91% 5,234
Hart 2,842 53.24% 2,496 46.76% 346 6.48% 5,338
Heard 1,492 64.81% 810 35.19% 682 29.63% 2,302
Henry 9,142 69.06% 4,096 30.94% 5,046 38.12% 13,238
Houston 14,255 60.71% 9,226 39.29% 5,029 21.42% 23,481
Irwin 1,330 59.51% 905 40.49% 425 19.02% 2,235
Jackson 4,202 60.73% 2,717 39.27% 1,485 21.46% 6,919
Jasper 1,431 56.05% 1,122 43.95% 309 12.10% 2,553
Jeff Davis 2,233 61.80% 1,380 38.20% 853 23.61% 3,613
Jefferson 2,999 51.57% 2,816 48.43% 183 3.15% 5,815
Jenkins 1,399 55.80% 1,108 44.20% 291 11.61% 2,507
Johnson 1,733 59.11% 1,199 40.89% 534 18.21% 2,932
Jones 3,401 55.01% 2,781 44.99% 620 10.03% 6,182
Lamar 2,198 57.80% 1,605 42.20% 593 15.59% 3,803
Lanier 852 53.48% 741 46.52% 111 6.97% 1,593
Laurens 7,181 56.76% 5,471 43.24% 1,710 13.52% 12,652
Lee 2,972 69.83% 1,284 30.17% 1,688 39.66% 4,256
Liberty 3,229 53.53% 2,803 46.47% 426 7.06% 6,032
Lincoln 1,357 54.89% 1,115 45.11% 242 9.79% 2,472
Long 1,099 57.39% 816 42.61% 283 14.78% 1,915
Lowndes 10,437 62.86% 6,167 37.14% 4,270 25.72% 16,604
Lumpkin 1,991 64.21% 1,110 35.79% 881 28.41% 3,101
McDuffie 3,284 62.08% 2,006 37.92% 1,278 24.16% 5,290
McIntosh 1,512 45.71% 1,796 54.29% -284 -8.59% 3,308
Macon 1,515 37.54% 2,521 62.46% -1,006 -24.93% 4,036
Madison 3,768 69.04% 1,690 30.96% 2,078 38.07% 5,458
Marion 846 47.08% 951 52.92% -105 -5.84% 1,797
Meriwether 3,195 52.73% 2,864 47.27% 331 5.46% 6,059
Miller 1,348 71.93% 526 28.07% 822 43.86% 1,874
Mitchell 2,737 49.51% 2,791 50.49% -54 -0.98% 5,528
Monroe 2,420 52.51% 2,189 47.49% 231 5.01% 4,609
Montgomery 1,365 58.96% 950 41.04% 415 17.93% 2,315
Morgan 2,301 57.31% 1,714 42.69% 587 14.62% 4,015
Murray 3,521 68.10% 1,649 31.90% 1,872 36.21% 5,170
Muscogee 23,816 53.34% 20,835 46.66% 2,981 6.68% 44,651
Newton 5,810 63.16% 3,389 36.84% 2,421 26.32% 9,199
Oconee 3,471 70.29% 1,467 29.71% 2,004 40.58% 4,938
Oglethorpe 2,122 63.15% 1,238 36.85% 884 26.31% 3,360
Paulding 6,048 69.77% 2,621 30.23% 3,427 39.53% 8,669
Peach 2,652 44.05% 3,369 55.95% -717 -11.91% 6,021
Pickens 2,801 67.82% 1,329 32.18% 1,472 35.64% 4,130
Pierce 1,978 56.86% 1,501 43.14% 477 13.71% 3,479
Pike 1,855 60.66% 1,203 39.34% 652 21.32% 3,058
Polk 5,435 62.49% 3,262 37.51% 2,173 24.99% 8,697
Pulaski 1,509 51.17% 1,440 48.83% 69 2.34% 2,949
Putnam 1,830 57.80% 1,336 42.20% 494 15.60% 3,166
Quitman 361 42.42% 490 57.58% -129 -15.16% 851
Rabun 2,191 63.36% 1,267 36.64% 924 26.72% 3,458
Randolph 1,578 52.04% 1,454 47.96% 124 4.09% 3,032
Richmond 29,869 58.48% 21,208 41.52% 8,661 16.96% 51,077
Rockdale 10,121 75.46% 3,291 24.54% 6,830 50.92% 13,412
Schley 614 60.37% 403 39.63% 211 20.75% 1,017
Screven 2,583 59.65% 1,747 40.35% 836 19.31% 4,330
Seminole 1,636 54.79% 1,350 45.21% 286 9.58% 2,986
Spalding 8,571 63.73% 4,878 36.27% 3,693 27.46% 13,449
Stephens 4,057 64.10% 2,272 35.90% 1,785 28.20% 6,329
Stewart 805 38.10% 1,308 61.90% -503 -23.81% 2,113
Sumter 4,607 55.29% 3,725 44.71% 882 10.59% 8,332
Talbot 778 34.24% 1,494 65.76% -716 -31.51% 2,272
Taliaferro 318 36.64% 550 63.36% -232 -26.73% 868
Tattnall 3,641 65.08% 1,954 34.92% 1,687 30.15% 5,595
Taylor 1,292 49.09% 1,340 50.91% -48 -1.82% 2,632
Telfair 1,980 49.14% 2,049 50.86% -69 -1.71% 4,029
Terrell 1,744 52.18% 1,598 47.82% 146 4.37% 3,342
Thomas 6,427 61.41% 4,039 38.59% 2,388 22.82% 10,466
Tift 4,429 61.81% 2,736 38.19% 1,693 23.63% 7,165
Toombs 4,470 65.21% 2,385 34.79% 2,085 30.42% 6,855
Towns 1,960 66.06% 1,007 33.94% 953 32.12% 2,967
Treutlen 1,086 56.30% 843 43.70% 243 12.60% 1,929
Troup 9,340 63.92% 5,272 36.08% 4,068 27.84% 14,612
Turner 1,329 51.14% 1,270 48.86% 59 2.27% 2,599
Twiggs 1,143 39.44% 1,755 60.56% -612 -21.12% 2,898
Union 1,914 63.25% 1,112 36.75% 802 26.50% 3,026
Upson 4,803 62.01% 2,943 37.99% 1,860 24.01% 7,746
Walker 10,734 68.22% 5,000 31.78% 5,734 36.44% 15,734
Walton 4,995 66.81% 2,481 33.19% 2,514 33.63% 7,476
Ware 5,547 55.57% 4,435 44.43% 1,112 11.14% 9,982
Warren 1,087 46.35% 1,258 53.65% -171 -7.29% 2,345
Washington 2,887 48.76% 3,034 51.24% -147 -2.48% 5,921
Wayne 3,698 60.31% 2,434 39.69% 1,264 20.61% 6,132
Webster 402 42.95% 534 57.05% -132 -14.10% 936
Wheeler 833 51.84% 774 48.16% 59 3.67% 1,607
White 2,369 68.49% 1,090 31.51% 1,279 36.98% 3,459
Whitfield 11,957 69.35% 5,284 30.65% 6,673 38.70% 17,241
Wilcox 1,218 50.12% 1,212 49.88% 6 0.25% 2,430
Wilkes 1,837 53.67% 1,586 46.33% 251 7.33% 3,423
Wilkinson 1,756 45.52% 2,102 54.48% -346 -8.97% 3,858
Worth 2,910 63.33% 1,685 36.67% 1,225 26.66% 4,595
Totals1,068,72260.17%706,62839.79%743[lower-alpha 1]0.04%362,09420.39%1,776,093

See also

Notes
  1. These write-in votes were listed only as a statewide total and not separated by county.

References
  1. "1984 Presidential General Election Results – Georgia". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  2. "1984 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  3. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  4. Kurt Andersen, "A Wild Ride to the End", Time, May 28, 1984
  5. Trying to Win the Peace, by Even Thomas, Time, July 2, 1984
  6. Mondale's Acceptance Speech, 1984, AllPolitics
  7. Martin, Douglas (2011-03-27). "Geraldine A. Ferraro, First Woman on Major Party Ticket, Dies at 75". The New York Times. pp. A1. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  8. Raines, Howell (November 7, 1984). "Reagan Wins By a Landslide, Sweeping at Least 48 States; G.O.P. Gains Strength in House". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  9. "U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1913–2011 (Nominal and Inflation-Adjusted Brackets)". Tax Foundation. September 9, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  10. Joseph J. Thorndike (Nov 10, 2005). "Historical Perspective: The Windfall Profit Tax". Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  11. Historical tables, Budget of the United States Government Archived 2012-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, 2013, table 6.1.
  12. Niskanen, William A. (1992). "Reaganomics". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (1st ed.). Library of Economics and Liberty. OCLC 317650570, 50016270, 163149563
  13. Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  14. Alexander, Michelle (2010). The New Jim Crow. New York: The New Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1595581037.
  15. Prendergast, William B. (1999). The Catholic vote in American politics. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 186, 191–193. ISBN 0-87840-724-3.
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