1984 United States presidential election in North Dakota

The 1984 United States presidential election in North Dakota 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 3 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

1984 United States presidential election in North Dakota

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 3 0
Popular vote 200,336 104,429
Percentage 64.84% 33.80%

County Results

President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

North Dakota 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.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1984 was a very partisan election for North Dakota, with over 98% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, though several parties appeared on the ballot.[1] Every county gave either Mondale or Reagan a majority; the vast majority--all but two--gave Reagan a majority. Reagan's best county was McIntosh County, where he got 81.5% of the vote; Mondale's was Sioux County, where he got 58.6% of the vote. Reagan exceeded 70% in 15 counties, including Stark (Dickinson), the state's seventh-largest at the time.

North Dakota weighed in for this election as 13% 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[2] Democratic primary. During the primary 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,[3] 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 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.[4]

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,"[5] 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.

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.[6]

The economic success seen under Reagan was politically accomplished (principally) in two ways. The first was initiation of deep tax cuts for the wealthy,[7] and the second was a wide-spectrum of tax cuts for crude oil production and refinement, namely, with the 1980 Windfall profits tax cuts.[8] These policies were augmented with a call for heightened military spending,[9] the cutting of social welfare programs for the poor,[10] and the increasing of taxes on those making less than $50,000 per year.[7] Collectively called "Reaganomics", these economic policies were established through several pieces of legislation passed between 1980 and 1987.

Some of these new policies also arguably curbed several existing tax loopholes, preferences, and exceptions, but Reaganomics is typically remembered for its trickle down effect of taxing poor Americans more than rich ones. 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.[11]

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.[12] 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,[13] regarding the final as simply being bad for business.

Republican victory

Reagan won North Dakota by a landslide 31-point margin. His 64.84% vote share made it his twelfth-best state. He carried every county in the state save the majority Native American counties of Sioux and Rolette. He performed well in both the more populous counties--earning over 60% of the vote in Cass County (Fargo) and Grand Forks County (Grand Forks), and over 2/3 of the vote in Burleigh County (Bismarck) and Ward County (Minot)--as well as in its more rural areas. In only eight counties (including the two he lost) did his vote share even dip below his national share of 58.8%, and in only two (Sargent and Benson) was the margin less than 5%. None of these counties cast more than 4,000 votes.

Apart from its vote for Woodrow Wilson in the nationally close election of 1916 and its vote for Populist James Weaver in 1892, North Dakota has been a typically Republican state since its admittance in 1889. Indeed, no Republican has won the White House without North Dakota since its admittance to the Union. Alone amongst the free-soil Plains West states, it resisted the appeal of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, and was Warren Harding's best state in 1920. Even so, Reagan's victory in the state was one of the stronger ones compared to other recent Republican landslide winners. His vote share exceeded, for example, Nixon's in 1972 and Eisenhower's in 1956 (although not Eisenhower's in 1952). Reagan's particularly strong appeal in the Flickertail State was first on display in 1980, when Reagan exceeded his national vote share by over 10% in the state (already exceeding the vote shares won by both Nixon in 1972 and Eisenhower in 1956). Reagan's 64.84% vote share would remain unsurpassed until 2020, when Donald Trump received 65.11% in the state.

For the 16th election in a row, North Dakota voted the same as the other three free-soil Plains West states (South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas). Since the Dakotas were admitted to the Union in 1889, the four states have disagreed only in 1892, 1896, 1908, 1912, and 1916. This region has been a stronghold for the Republican Party since shortly after its founding and, aside from partial flirtations with Bryan and Wilson, has remained so ever since; Kansas was Lincoln's best state in 1864.

Results

1984 United States presidential election in North Dakota
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan 200,336 64.84% 3
Democratic Walter Mondale 104,429 33.80% 0
Independent Lyndon LaRouche 1,278 0.41% 0
America First Bob Richards 1,077 0.35% 0
Libertarian David Bergland 703 0.23% 0
Citizen's Party Sonia Johnson 368 0.12% 0
Socialist Workers Party Melvin Mason 239 0.08% 0
Prohibition Earl Dodge 220 0.07% 0
Communist Party Gus Hall 169 0.05% 0
New Alliance Party Dennis Serrette 152 0.05% 0
Totals 308,971 100.00% 3

Results by county

County[14] Ronald Wilson Reagan
Republican
Walter Frederick Mondale
Democratic
Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche
Independent
Robert Eugene Richards
America First
David Peter Bergland
Libertarian
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Adams 1,343 70.68% 530 27.89% 17 0.89% 5 0.26% 3 0.16% 2 0.11% 813 42.79% 1,900
Barnes 4,348 62.79% 2,507 36.20% 18 0.26% 20 0.29% 10 0.14% 22 0.32% 1,841 26.58% 6,925
Benson 1,729 51.41% 1,599 47.55% 17 0.51% 5 0.15% 5 0.15% 8 0.24% 130 3.87% 3,363
Billings 505 77.34% 133 20.37% 5 0.77% 8 1.23% 1 0.15% 1 0.15% 372 56.97% 653
Bottineau 3,356 71.59% 1,279 27.28% 24 0.51% 12 0.26% 6 0.13% 11 0.23% 2,077 44.30% 4,688
Bowman 1,559 72.55% 562 26.15% 12 0.56% 6 0.28% 1 0.05% 9 0.42% 997 46.39% 2,149
Burke 1,298 69.45% 543 29.05% 11 0.59% 14 0.75% 2 0.11% 1 0.05% 755 40.40% 1,869
Burleigh 19,913 68.25% 8,781 30.10% 149 0.51% 135 0.46% 77 0.26% 121 0.41% 11,132 38.15% 29,176
Cass 29,221 61.35% 18,054 37.91% 89 0.19% 40 0.08% 121 0.25% 104 0.22% 11,167 23.45% 47,629
Cavalier 2,661 69.95% 1,110 29.18% 13 0.34% 9 0.24% 4 0.11% 7 0.18% 1,551 40.77% 3,804
Dickey 2,460 69.37% 1,051 29.64% 18 0.51% 5 0.14% 2 0.06% 10 0.28% 1,409 39.73% 3,546
Divide 1,165 63.32% 626 34.02% 39 2.12% 6 0.33% 1 0.05% 3 0.16% 539 29.29% 1,840
Dunn 1,583 68.12% 716 30.81% 10 0.43% 9 0.39% 1 0.04% 5 0.22% 867 37.31% 2,324
Eddy 1,049 56.40% 796 42.80% 4 0.22% 1 0.05% 8 0.43% 2 0.11% 253 13.60% 1,860
Emmons 1,885 73.46% 620 24.16% 24 0.94% 21 0.82% 2 0.08% 14 0.55% 1,265 49.30% 2,566
Foster 1,422 64.23% 765 34.55% 13 0.59% 3 0.14% 4 0.18% 7 0.32% 657 29.67% 2,214
Golden Valley 964 73.09% 325 24.64% 17 1.29% 5 0.38% 4 0.30% 4 0.30% 639 48.45% 1,319
Grand Forks 15,898 60.70% 10,050 38.37% 52 0.20% 33 0.13% 85 0.32% 73 0.28% 5,848 22.33% 26,191
Grant 1,607 74.92% 507 23.64% 19 0.89% 2 0.09% 4 0.19% 6 0.28% 1,100 51.28% 2,145
Griggs 1,254 59.89% 828 39.54% 2 0.10% 3 0.14% 4 0.19% 3 0.14% 426 20.34% 2,094
Hettinger 1,646 74.75% 524 23.80% 17 0.77% 7 0.32% 2 0.09% 6 0.27% 1,122 50.95% 2,202
Kidder 1,240 68.62% 506 28.00% 11 0.61% 39 2.16% 2 0.11% 9 0.50% 734 40.62% 1,807
LaMoure 1,978 63.64% 1,086 34.94% 15 0.48% 7 0.23% 6 0.19% 16 0.51% 892 28.70% 3,108
Logan 1,222 72.91% 401 23.93% 3 0.18% 41 2.45% 2 0.12% 7 0.42% 821 48.99% 1,676
McHenry 2,485 65.38% 1,283 33.75% 19 0.50% 10 0.26% 2 0.05% 2 0.05% 1,202 31.62% 3,801
McIntosh 2,047 81.46% 427 16.99% 12 0.48% 8 0.32% 1 0.04% 18 0.72% 1,620 64.46% 2,513
McKenzie 2,610 71.96% 974 26.85% 15 0.41% 9 0.25% 14 0.39% 5 0.14% 1,636 45.11% 3,627
McLean 3,673 62.82% 2,062 35.27% 30 0.51% 44 0.75% 11 0.19% 27 0.46% 1,611 27.55% 5,847
Mercer 3,705 67.24% 1,729 31.38% 28 0.51% 24 0.44% 11 0.20% 13 0.24% 1,976 35.86% 5,510
Morton 7,146 62.93% 3,996 35.19% 61 0.54% 70 0.62% 19 0.17% 64 0.56% 3,150 27.74% 11,356
Mountrail 1,959 55.11% 1,565 44.02% 17 0.48% 4 0.11% 3 0.08% 7 0.20% 394 11.08% 3,555
Nelson 1,445 57.50% 1,026 40.83% 10 0.40% 14 0.56% 9 0.36% 9 0.36% 419 16.67% 2,513
Oliver 915 67.43% 419 30.88% 8 0.59% 6 0.44% 2 0.15% 7 0.52% 496 36.55% 1,357
Pembina 2,895 65.99% 1,367 31.16% 24 0.55% 58 1.32% 29 0.66% 14 0.32% 1,528 34.83% 4,387
Pierce 1,883 71.71% 691 26.31% 18 0.69% 16 0.61% 6 0.23% 12 0.46% 1,192 45.39% 2,626
Ramsey 4,150 63.33% 2,304 35.16% 34 0.52% 16 0.24% 15 0.23% 34 0.52% 1,846 28.17% 6,553
Ransom 1,706 59.38% 1,122 39.05% 11 0.38% 5 0.17% 8 0.28% 21 0.73% 584 20.33% 2,873
Renville 1,163 65.56% 592 33.37% 13 0.73% 4 0.23% 1 0.06% 1 0.06% 571 32.19% 1,774
Richland 5,980 65.48% 3,047 33.36% 27 0.30% 36 0.39% 13 0.14% 30 0.33% 2,933 32.11% 9,133
Rolette 1,479 39.43% 2,179 58.09% 22 0.59% 25 0.67% 14 0.37% 32 0.85% -700 -18.66% 3,751
Sargent 1,385 50.83% 1,295 47.52% 17 0.62% 7 0.26% 2 0.07% 19 0.70% 90 3.30% 2,725
Sheridan 1,075 77.01% 306 21.92% 8 0.57% 3 0.21% 2 0.14% 2 0.14% 769 55.09% 1,396
Sioux 442 39.53% 655 58.59% 12 1.07% 3 0.27% 2 0.18% 4 0.36% -213 -19.05% 1,118
Slope 419 69.26% 174 28.76% 4 0.66% 7 1.16% 1 0.17% 0 0.00% 245 40.50% 605
Stark 7,641 71.15% 2,759 25.69% 63 0.59% 63 0.59% 47 0.44% 167 1.55% 4,882 45.46% 10,740
Steele 941 54.08% 781 44.89% 6 0.34% 3 0.17% 4 0.23% 5 0.29% 160 9.20% 1,740
Stutsman 6,591 64.57% 3,495 34.24% 30 0.29% 40 0.39% 20 0.20% 32 0.31% 3,096 30.33% 10,208
Towner 1,242 60.15% 789 38.21% 10 0.48% 14 0.68% 5 0.24% 5 0.24% 453 21.94% 2,065
Traill 3,037 64.70% 1,580 33.66% 21 0.45% 28 0.60% 12 0.26% 16 0.34% 1,457 31.04% 4,694
Walsh 4,347 64.84% 2,264 33.77% 26 0.39% 13 0.19% 22 0.33% 32 0.48% 2,083 31.07% 6,704
Ward 16,077 68.06% 7,336 31.05% 75 0.32% 57 0.24% 32 0.14% 46 0.19% 8,741 37.00% 23,623
Wells 2,426 69.20% 1,036 29.55% 17 0.48% 20 0.57% 2 0.06% 5 0.14% 1,390 39.65% 3,506
Williams 8,166 70.87% 3,177 27.57% 41 0.36% 36 0.31% 42 0.36% 61 0.53% 4,989 43.30% 11,523
Totals200,33664.84%104,42933.80%1,2780.41%1,0770.35%7030.23%1,1480.37%95,90731.04%308,971

See also

References

  1. "1984 Presidential General Election Results – North Dakota". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  2. Kurt Andersen, "A Wild Ride to the End", Time, May 28, 1984
  3. Trying to Win the Peace, by Even Thomas, Time, July 2, 1984
  4. Mondale's Acceptance Speech, 1984, AllPolitics
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. "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.
  8. Joseph J. Thorndike (Nov 10, 2005). "Historical Perspective: The Windfall Profit Tax". Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  9. Historical tables, Budget of the United States Government Archived 2012-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, 2013, table 6.1.
  10. 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
  11. Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  12. Alexander, Michelle (2010). The New Jim Crow. New York: The New Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1595581037.
  13. Prendergast, William B. (1999). The Catholic vote in American politics. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 186, 191–193. ISBN 0-87840-724-3.
  14. "ND US President Race, November 06, 1984". Our Campaigns.
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