1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

January 21 to June 3, 1980

3,346 delegates to the Democratic National Convention
1,674 delegates votes needed to win
 
Candidate Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Uncommitted
Home state Georgia Massachusetts N/A
Delegate count 2,123 1,151 0
Contests won 36 12 2
Popular vote 10,043,016 7,381,693 1,288,423
Percentage 51.1% 37.6% 6.6%

Results of the 1980 Democratic National Convention

Previous Democratic nominee

Jimmy Carter

Democratic nominee

Jimmy Carter

From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States 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.

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 primary 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 that was hostile towards the United States.[1] The damage that resulted from Khomeini's rise to power was soon 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 and saw him somehow manage to evade punishment despite the fact that he had not only driven under the influence of alcohol, but also fled the scene of the accident without rescuing her and did not report the incident until the morning after it occurred.[5][6] 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."[7]

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"[8] 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.[9] 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[10] 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.[11] 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 the Dream Shall Never Die speech, considered by many as the best speech of his career, and one of the best political speeches of the 20th Century.[12] On the stage on the final day, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter.

As of 2023, 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 office Home state Campaign

Withdrawal date

Popular

vote

Contests won Running mate
Jimmy Carter Carter President of the United States
(1977–1981)

Georgia

(CampaignPositions)
Secured nomination: August 11, 1980

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 office Home state Campaign

Withdrawal date

Popular Vote Contests Won
Ted Kennedy U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts
(1962–2009)

Massachusetts

(Campaign)
Withdrew at convention: August 11, 1980

7,381,693
(37.58%)
12
AZ, MA, CT, NY, PA, ND, DC, CA, NJ, NM, RI, SD, VT, AK, MI

Other candidates

Far-right politician David Duke tried to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Despite being six years too young to be qualified to run for president Duke attempted to place his name onto the ballot in twelve states stating that he wanted to be a power broker who could "select issues and form a platform representing the majority of this country" at the Democratic National Convention.[13][14]

Results

Date[15]
(daily totals)
Contest Total
pledged delegates
Delegates won and popular vote
Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Jerry Brown Others Total vote
January 21 Iowa[16][17] caucus 45 30
(59.16%)
15
(31.23%)

(9.61%)
February 10 Maine[18][19] caucus 22 12
14,528
[lower-alpha 1](43.59%)
10
13,384[lower-alpha 2] (40.16%)

4,621[lower-alpha 3] (13.87%)

793[lower-alpha 4](2.38%)
February 26 New Hampshire[20][21] primary 19 10
52,692 (47.08%)
9
41,745 (37.30%)

10,743 (9.60%)

6,750 (6.03%)
March 4
(125)
Massachusetts[21] 112 34
260,391 (28.70%)
78
590,404 (65.07%)

31,488 (3.47%)

25,031 (2.76%)
Vermont 13 10
29,015 (73.08%)
3
10,135 (25.53%)

(0.90%)

553 (0.50%)
March 11
(325)
Alabama 47 47
194,680 (81.59%)

31,624 (13.22%)

(4.01%)

12,418 (1.19%)
Delaware 16 10
104 (60.47%)
4
40 (23.26%)
3
28 (16.28%)
Florida 98 72
665,683 (60.69%)
27
256,564 (23.20%)

53,422 (4.87%)

123,400 (11.25%)
Georgia 63 63
338,772 (88.04%)

32,315 (8.40%)

7,255 (1.89%)

6,438 (1.67%)
Oklahoma 42 42
4,440 (75.09%)

575 (9.72%)

19 (0.32%)

879 (14.87%)
Washington 59 33
2,898 (55.30%)
15
1,295 (24.71%)

25 (0.48%)
12
1,023 (19.52%)
March 15 Wyoming 12 9
135 (64.59%)
3
48 (22.97%)

26 (12.44%)
March 16 Puerto Rico 40 21
449,681 (51.57%)
19
418,068 (48.04%)

1,660 (0.19%)

826 (0.10%)
March 18 Illinois 181 124
780,787 (65.01%)
57
359,875 (29.96%)

39,168 (3.26%)

21,237 (1.77%)
March 23 Virginia 64 64
1,633 (84.26%)

154 (7.95%)

1 (0.05%)

150 (7.74%)
March 25
(340)
Connecticut 54 25
87,207 (41.47%)
29
98,662 (46.92%)

5,386 (2.56%)

19,020 (9.04%)
New York 286 117
406,305 (41.08%)
169
582,757 (58.92%)
April 1
(115)
Kansas 38 24
109,807 (56.63%)
14
61,318 (31.62%)

9,434 (4.87%)

13,359 (1.13%)
Wisconsin 77 50
353,662 (56.17%)
27
189,520 (30.10%)

74,496 (11.83%)

11,941 (1.90%)
April 5 Louisiana 51 36
199,956 (55.74%)
15
80,797 (22.52%)

16,774 (4.68%)

61,214 (17.07%)
April 12
(66)
Arizona 28 12
7,592 (43.81%)
16
9,738 (56.19%)
South Carolina 38 25
7,305 (64.25%)

579 (5.09%)
13
3,486 (30.66%)
April 22
(266)
Pennsylvania 189 94
732,332 (45.40%)
95
736,954 (45.68%)

37,669 (2.34%)

93,865 (6.60%)
Missouri 77 77
415 (76.15%)

55 (10.09%)

75 (13.76%)
Vermont caucuses[22] (32%) (45%) (23%)
April 26 Michigan caucuses[23] (46.68%) (48.08%) (5.24%)
May 3 Texas 152 87
770,390 (55.93%)
36
314,129 (22.81%)

35,585 (2.58%)
29
257,252 (18.68%)
May 6 Colorado 39 16
417 (41.70%)
12
295 (29.5%)
11
288 (28.8%)
District of Columbia 14 5
23,697 (36.94%)
9
39,561 (61.67%)

892 (1.39%)
Indiana 81 55
400,849 (67.68%)
26
193,290 (32.32%)
North Carolina 70 56
516,778 (70.09%)
14
130,684 (17.73%)

21,420 (2.91%)

68,380 (9.28%)
Tennessee 57 46
221,658 (75.22%)
11
53,258 (18.07%)

5,612 (1.90%)

14,152 (4.79%)
May 13
(85)
Maryland 60 33
226,528 (47.48%)
27
181,091 (37.96%)

14,313 (3.00%)

55,158 (11.58%)
Nebraska 25 14
72,100 (46.87%)
11
57,826 (37.58%)

5,478 (3.56%)

18,449 (11.99%)
May 20
(181)
Michigan caucuses 142 42
23,043 (29.38%)
100
55,381 (70.62%)
Oregon 39 25
208,693 (56.83%)
14
114,651 (31.22%)

(9.37%)

44,978 (2.57%)
May 27 Arkansas 33 21
269,375 (60.09%)
6
78,542 (17.52%)

100,373 (22.39%)
Idaho 17 13
31,383 (62.17%)
4
11,087 (21.96%)

2,078 (4.12%)

5,934 (11.76%)
Kentucky 50 37
160,819 (66.92%)
13
55,167 (22.96%)

24,345 (10.14%)
Nevada 13 5
25,159 (37.58%)
4
19,296 (28.82%)
4
22,493 (33.60%)
June 3
(699)
California 303 138
1,266,216 (37.64%)
165
1,507,142 (44.80%)
135,962 (4.04%)
454,538 (13.51%)
Montana 19 11
67,033 (51.46%)
8
47,991 (36.65%)

15,579 (11.89%)
New Jersey 114 46
212,387 (37.87%)
68
315,109 (56.18%)

33,412 (5.96%)
New Mexico 20 9
66,621 (41.80%)
11
73,721 (46.26%)

19,023 (11.94%)
Ohio 164 88
605,744 (51.06%)
76
523,874 (44.16%)

56,792 (4.78%)
Rhode Island 23 6
9,907 (25.85%)
17
26,177 (68.30%)
310 (0.81%)
1,931 (5.05%)
South Dakota 19 9
31,251 (45.45%)
10
33,418 (48.60%)

4,094 (5.95%)
West Virginia 37 23
197,687 (62.18%)
14
120,247 (37.82%)
Total[24] 10,043,016 (51.13%) 7,381,693 (37.58%) 575,296 (2.93%) 1,647,909 (8.36%)

Endorsements

Jimmy Carter
U.S. Senators
Federal Officials
Governors
State Officials
Municipal Officials
Ted Kennedy
U.S. Senators
House of Representatives
Governors
State Officials
Municipal Officials
Party Officials
Labor Unions
Individuals

Convention

Presidential tally[37]

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

Notes

  1. 1,017 SDE
  2. 847 SDE
  3. 263 SDE
  4. 52 SDE

References

  1. 1 2 3 "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. Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  3. "Poll: Bush approval mark at all-time low". CNN. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. U.S. News & World Report January 1969.
  5. "How Ted Kennedy's '80 Challenge To President Carter 'Broke The Democratic Party'". NPR. January 17, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  6. Sanburn, Josh (July 17, 2019). ""The Kennedy Machine Buried What Really Happened": Revisiting Chappaquiddick, 50 Years Later". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  7. "Press: Whip His What?". Time. 25 June 1979. Archived from the original on 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  8. Allis, Sam (2009-02-18). "Chapter 4: Sailing Into the Wind: Losing a quest for the top, finding a new freedom". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2009-02-22. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  9. Time Magazine, 11/12/79
  10. 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. doi:10.1177/0022002790034004002. JSTOR 174181. S2CID 154620443.
  11. "The Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  12. Kuypers, Jim A., ed. (2004). The Art of Rhetorical Criticism. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 978-0-205-37141-9, p. 185.
  13. "Duke to run". The Times. May 21, 1979. p. 10. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Ku Klux Klansman egged on Alexandria street". The Times. June 23, 1979. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "1980 Presidential Primary Calendar". Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  16. "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.
  17. Clymer, Adam (January 23, 1980). "Candidates shifting tactics". The New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
    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. Archived from the original on 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  18. "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.
  19. 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.
  20. "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.
  21. 1 2 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.
  22. "Kennedy and Bush still losing in delegates". National Journal. 12 (17): 69. April 26, 1980. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. "US President – D Primaries Race – Feb 26, 1980". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  26. "1980 Massachusetts Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  27. 1 2 "1980 Maryland Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  28. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/31/archives/carter-loses-clark-to-kennedys-camp-move-by-the-exsenator-is-seen.html)
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  30. 1 2 3 4 "1980 Connecticut Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  31. 1 2 "1980 Pennsylvania Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  32. "1980 Puerto Rico Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  33. "1980 Wisconsin Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  34. "1980 New York Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  35. "1980 California Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  36. Meyer, Theoderic (October 5, 2018). "The Worst Job in American Politics". Politico. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  37. "US President – D Convention Race – Aug 11, 1980". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. 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. JSTOR 2130931. S2CID 143610156.
  • 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. S2CID 154450840.
  • 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. JSTOR 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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