1984 United States presidential election in Indiana

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

1984 United States presidential elections in Indiana

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 1,377,230 841,481
Percentage 61.67% 37.68%

County Results

President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

President Ronald Reagan of California won the state of Indiana against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota by a substantial 23.99% margin. Reagan ran for a second time with incumbent Vice President and 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.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1984 was a rather partisan election in Indiana, with less than one percent of the state voting for third-party candidates, and only two third parties appearing on the ballot. In trend with the state's typically conservative-leaning history, Reagan carried every county in the Hoosier state except for Lake County in the northwest corner. Lake County is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and has a substantial African American population in contrast with the rest of Indiana. Perry County in the southern part in the state was the only other county that failed to give Reagan an absolute majority of the vote.

Indiana weighed in around three percentage points more Republican than the national average.

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 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, 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.

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," speaking to the role of women in politics.

Republican platform

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.

The economic success seen under Reagan was politically accomplished (principally) in two ways. The first was initiation of deep tax cuts for the wealthy, and the second was a wide-spectrum of tax cuts for crude oil production and refinement, namely, with the 1980 Windfall profits tax cuts. These policies were augmented with a call for heightened military spending, the cutting of social welfare programs for the poor, and the increasing of taxes on those making less than $50,000 per year. 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.

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. 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, regarding the final as simply being bad for business.

Republican victory

Reagan won Indiana by a margin of 24%. While Indiana had long been the most Republican leaning state in the Great Lakes region, the election results in Indiana 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." 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." 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 Indiana, 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." These public opinion factors contributed to Reagan's 1984 landslide victory, in Indiana and elsewhere.

Reagan's victory came marked the fifth consecutive time that Republicans had carried the state since the 1964 presidential election. This streak would continue for an additional five presidential elections until Barack Obama's victory in 2008.

Results

1984 United States presidential election in Indiana[1]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan 1,377,230 61.67% 12
Democratic Walter Mondale 841,481 37.68% 0
American Party Delmar Dennis 7,617 0.34% 0
Libertarian David Bergland 6,741 0.30% 0
Totals 2,233,069 100.00% 12

Results by county

County Ronald Wilson Reagan
Republican
Walter Frederick Mondale
Democratic
Delmar Dennis[2]
American
David Peter Bergland[2]
Libertarian
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 7,958 66.58% 3,923 32.82% 47 0.39% 24 0.20% 4,035 33.76% 11,952
Allen 75,505 65.67% 38,462 33.45% 709 0.62% 299 0.26% 37,043 32.22% 114,975
Bartholomew 18,704 69.35% 8,075 29.94% 93 0.34% 98 0.36% 10,629 39.41% 26,970
Benton 3,281 70.38% 1,357 29.11% 6 0.13% 18 0.39% 1,924 41.27% 4,662
Blackford 3,787 60.79% 2,395 38.44% 34 0.55% 14 0.22% 1,392 22.34% 6,230
Boone 11,790 74.38% 3,982 25.12% 30 0.19% 48 0.30% 7,808 49.26% 15,850
Brown 3,517 56.74% 2,657 42.87% 5 0.08% 19 0.31% 860 13.88% 6,198
Carroll 5,528 66.09% 2,774 33.17% 27 0.32% 35 0.42% 2,754 32.93% 8,364
Cass 12,355 68.75% 5,521 30.72% 66 0.37% 29 0.16% 6,834 38.03% 17,971
Clark 19,419 57.48% 14,138 41.85% 180 0.53% 48 0.14% 5,281 15.63% 33,785
Clay 6,957 64.87% 3,707 34.56% 29 0.27% 32 0.30% 3,250 30.30% 10,725
Clinton 8,969 67.12% 4,329 32.40% 32 0.24% 33 0.25% 4,640 34.72% 13,363
Crawford 2,633 53.63% 2,256 45.95% 15 0.31% 6 0.12% 377 7.68% 4,910
Daviess 7,721 68.26% 3,545 31.34% 20 0.18% 25 0.22% 4,176 36.92% 11,311
Dearborn 9,149 64.74% 4,920 34.81% 49 0.35% 14 0.10% 4,229 29.92% 14,132
Decatur 6,551 69.97% 2,766 29.54% 25 0.27% 21 0.22% 3,785 40.43% 9,363
DeKalb 8,769 64.82% 4,617 34.13% 108 0.80% 34 0.25% 4,152 30.69% 13,528
Delaware 30,092 59.98% 19,791 39.45% 126 0.25% 162 0.32% 10,301 20.53% 50,171
Dubois 9,391 62.77% 5,423 36.25% 126 0.84% 22 0.15% 3,968 26.52% 14,962
Elkhart 34,621 71.98% 13,240 27.53% 103 0.21% 133 0.28% 21,381 44.45% 48,097
Fayette 7,142 62.95% 4,122 36.33% 44 0.39% 38 0.33% 3,020 26.62% 11,346
Floyd 15,466 58.85% 10,616 40.40% 159 0.61% 38 0.14% 4,850 18.46% 26,279
Fountain 5,450 64.90% 2,897 34.50% 31 0.37% 19 0.23% 2,553 30.40% 8,397
Franklin 5,202 69.62% 2,225 29.78% 22 0.29% 23 0.31% 2,977 39.84% 7,472
Fulton 6,057 70.14% 2,527 29.26% 27 0.31% 24 0.28% 3,530 40.88% 8,635
Gibson 8,618 54.62% 7,082 44.89% 49 0.31% 28 0.18% 1,536 9.74% 15,777
Grant 20,482 66.78% 9,986 32.56% 146 0.48% 59 0.19% 10,496 34.22% 30,673
Greene 8,438 60.71% 5,267 37.90% 163 1.17% 30 0.22% 3,171 22.82% 13,898
Hamilton 30,254 82.30% 6,364 17.31% 36 0.10% 107 0.29% 23,890 64.99% 36,761
Hancock 12,880 73.58% 4,550 25.99% 27 0.15% 47 0.27% 8,330 47.59% 17,504
Harrison 7,255 60.61% 4,634 38.72% 53 0.44% 27 0.23% 2,621 21.90% 11,969
Hendricks 21,307 75.73% 6,659 23.67% 82 0.29% 87 0.31% 14,648 52.06% 28,135
Henry 11,926 62.56% 7,064 37.06% 39 0.20% 33 0.17% 4,862 25.51% 19,062
Howard 22,386 67.74% 10,458 31.65% 109 0.33% 93 0.28% 11,928 36.10% 33,046
Huntington 10,805 69.77% 4,598 29.69% 50 0.32% 34 0.22% 6,207 40.08% 15,487
Jackson 9,879 64.85% 5,163 33.89% 158 1.04% 34 0.22% 4,716 30.96% 15,234
Jasper 6,537 69.22% 2,821 29.87% 55 0.58% 31 0.33% 3,716 39.35% 9,444
Jay 5,975 64.90% 3,174 34.47% 32 0.35% 26 0.28% 2,801 30.42% 9,207
Jefferson 7,482 59.20% 4,952 39.18% 178 1.41% 27 0.21% 2,530 20.02% 12,639
Jennings 6,356 65.48% 3,264 33.63% 61 0.63% 26 0.27% 3,092 31.85% 9,707
Johnson 23,482 74.86% 7,715 24.60% 83 0.26% 88 0.28% 15,767 50.26% 31,368
Knox 10,872 62.27% 6,417 36.75% 134 0.77% 36 0.21% 4,455 25.52% 17,459
Kosciusko 17,560 77.88% 4,877 21.63% 48 0.21% 62 0.27% 12,683 56.25% 22,547
LaGrange 4,772 71.31% 1,884 28.15% 20 0.30% 16 0.24% 2,888 43.16% 6,692
Lake 94,870 44.30% 117,984 55.10% 805 0.38% 484 0.23% -23,114 -10.79% 214,143
LaPorte 23,346 59.00% 15,904 40.20% 124 0.31% 193 0.49% 7,442 18.81% 39,567
Lawrence 11,440 66.71% 5,608 32.70% 73 0.43% 29 0.17% 5,832 34.01% 17,150
Madison 36,510 61.87% 22,254 37.71% 122 0.21% 128 0.22% 14,256 24.16% 59,014
Marion 184,880 58.29% 130,185 41.05% 693 0.22% 1,390 0.44% 54,695 17.25% 317,148
Marshall 11,100 68.76% 4,931 30.54% 61 0.38% 52 0.32% 6,169 38.21% 16,144
Martin 3,363 63.07% 1,937 36.33% 15 0.28% 17 0.32% 1,426 26.74% 5,332
Miami 9,551 68.75% 4,224 30.41% 88 0.63% 29 0.21% 5,327 38.35% 13,892
Monroe 21,772 59.12% 14,719 39.97% 121 0.33% 214 0.58% 7,053 19.15% 36,826
Montgomery 11,119 74.96% 3,626 24.44% 39 0.26% 50 0.34% 7,493 50.51% 14,834
Morgan 14,884 75.91% 4,627 23.60% 47 0.24% 49 0.25% 10,257 52.31% 19,607
Newton 3,560 68.54% 1,596 30.73% 17 0.33% 21 0.40% 1,964 37.81% 5,194
Noble 8,459 65.74% 4,237 32.93% 99 0.77% 72 0.56% 4,222 32.81% 12,867
Ohio 1,503 58.32% 1,068 41.44% 2 0.08% 4 0.16% 435 16.88% 2,577
Orange 5,909 69.40% 2,571 30.19% 16 0.19% 19 0.22% 3,338 39.20% 8,515
Owen 4,204 66.49% 2,082 32.93% 20 0.32% 17 0.27% 2,122 33.56% 6,323
Parke 5,052 69.26% 2,205 30.23% 16 0.22% 21 0.29% 2,847 39.03% 7,294
Perry 4,785 49.91% 4,760 49.65% 22 0.23% 21 0.22% 25 0.26% 9,588
Pike 3,689 52.98% 3,231 46.40% 25 0.36% 18 0.26% 458 6.58% 6,963
Porter 32,505 64.14% 17,862 35.24% 125 0.25% 190 0.37% 14,643 28.89% 50,682
Posey 6,472 59.07% 4,452 40.63% 16 0.15% 17 0.16% 2,020 18.44% 10,957
Pulaski 4,167 66.93% 2,008 32.25% 36 0.58% 15 0.24% 2,159 34.68% 6,226
Putnam 7,820 69.38% 3,392 30.09% 30 0.27% 30 0.27% 4,428 39.28% 11,272
Randolph 7,793 66.77% 3,805 32.60% 37 0.32% 36 0.31% 3,988 34.17% 11,671
Ripley 7,143 67.99% 3,336 31.75% 15 0.14% 12 0.11% 3,807 36.24% 10,506
Rush 5,429 69.86% 2,307 29.69% 18 0.23% 17 0.22% 3,122 40.18% 7,771
Saint Joseph 54,404 53.08% 47,513 46.36% 288 0.28% 288 0.28% 6,891 6.72% 102,493
Scott 4,110 54.16% 3,460 45.60% 9 0.12% 9 0.12% 650 8.57% 7,588
Shelby 11,056 66.92% 5,357 32.42% 58 0.35% 51 0.31% 5,699 34.49% 16,522
Spencer 5,816 59.07% 4,005 40.68% 11 0.11% 14 0.14% 1,811 18.39% 9,846
Starke 5,104 57.42% 3,674 41.33% 86 0.97% 25 0.28% 1,430 16.09% 8,889
Steuben 6,424 72.01% 2,441 27.36% 23 0.26% 33 0.37% 3,983 44.65% 8,921
Sullivan 4,771 54.14% 4,006 45.46% 17 0.19% 19 0.22% 765 8.68% 8,813
Switzerland 1,857 55.48% 1,484 44.34% 2 0.06% 4 0.12% 373 11.14% 3,347
Tippecanoe 29,706 64.75% 15,789 34.42% 88 0.19% 293 0.64% 13,917 30.34% 45,876
Tipton 5,687 70.48% 2,328 28.85% 31 0.38% 23 0.29% 3,359 41.63% 8,069
Union 1,970 70.36% 816 29.14% 4 0.14% 10 0.36% 1,154 41.21% 2,800
Vanderburgh 40,994 56.68% 31,049 42.93% 131 0.18% 156 0.22% 9,945 13.75% 72,330
Vermillion 4,428 54.30% 3,666 44.96% 37 0.45% 23 0.28% 762 9.35% 8,154
Vigo 26,259 58.39% 18,429 40.98% 128 0.28% 157 0.35% 7,830 17.41% 44,973
Wabash 9,862 70.30% 4,077 29.06% 44 0.31% 45 0.32% 5,785 41.24% 14,028
Warren 2,525 65.38% 1,309 33.89% 12 0.31% 16 0.41% 1,216 31.49% 3,862
Warrick 10,202 61.32% 6,345 38.14% 44 0.26% 46 0.28% 3,857 23.18% 16,637
Washington 5,874 62.62% 3,334 35.54% 135 1.44% 37 0.39% 2,540 27.08% 9,380
Wayne 18,955 64.80% 10,173 34.78% 52 0.18% 71 0.24% 8,782 30.02% 29,251
Wells 7,579 69.40% 3,274 29.98% 30 0.27% 37 0.34% 4,305 39.42% 10,920
White 7,279 69.33% 3,157 30.07% 28 0.27% 35 0.33% 4,122 39.26% 10,499
Whitley 7,763 67.21% 3,690 31.95% 41 0.35% 57 0.49% 4,073 35.26% 11,551
Totals1,377,23061.67%841,48137.68%7,6170.34%6,7410.30%535,74923.99%2,233,069

See also

References

  1. "1984 Presidential General Election Results – Indiana". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  2. Our Campaigns; IN US President 1984
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