1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election
November 4, 1980
 
Nominee Frank D. White Bill Clinton
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 435,684 403,241
Percentage 51.93% 48.07%
County results
White:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Clinton:      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

Bill Clinton
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Frank D. White
Republican

The 1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election was a biennial election for the governorship of Arkansas.

It was only that state's third election since Reconstruction when a Republican candidate won the governorship.

One-term Democratic Governor of Arkansas and future President Bill Clinton was narrowly defeated by Republican Frank D. White, which made Clinton, as he joked, "the youngest ex-governor in the nation." Clinton ran again two years later and regained the governorship, continuing to serve until he was elected to the presidency in 1992. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries were held on May 27.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[1]: 38 [2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) 306,736 68.87
Democratic Monroe Schwarzlose 138,670 31.13
Total votes 445,395 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Marshall Chrisman, former state representative
  • Frank D. White, Savings and Loan executive and former head of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission

Results

Republican primary results[1]: 43 
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank D. White 5,867 71.75
Republican Marshall Chrisman 2,310 28.25
Total votes 8,177 100.00

Campaign

Schwarzlose's unexpected strong challenge in primaries and his 31 percent of the primary vote foreshadowed that Clinton could be in trouble for the upcoming general election.[2]

Clinton's increase in the cost of automobile registration tags was also unpopular. He was also hurt by President Jimmy Carter's decision to send thousands of Cuban refugees, some unruly, to a detention camp at Fort Chaffee, outside Fort Smith in Sebastian County in western Arkansas.[2][3] (See Mariel boatlift.)

The 1980 general election was marked by decisive Republican victories—the GOP won the White House, a majority in United States Senate and 34 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Clinton's narrow loss was viewed as part of Reagan's coattails.

Result

Frank White narrowly won the election.[1]: 48 [2]

Arkansas gubernatorial election, 1980[1]: 48 
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Frank D. White 435,684 51.93% +15.29%
Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) 403,241 48.07% -15.29%
Total votes 838,925 100.00% N/A
Republican gain from Democratic

Effect

After Clinton lost the election in 1980, Max Brantley said: "The guy was like a death in the family. He was really destroyed after that election".[4] Rudy Moore also added: "He never blamed anybody else. He accepted the responsibility. He didn't whine about it. In fact, it was within days, we were trying to figure out what we could to do to improve his political life after that".[4]

After Clinton was defeated, an opportunity arose in which Clinton would lead the Democratic National Committee through the 1980s to battle Ronald Reagan and the Republicans, instead of running for another term for Governor of Arkansas. When Clinton campaigned for election in 1982 against White, he explained that he had learned the importance of adaptability and compromise from his defeat in two years prior.[5]

During the campaign of 1982, Clinton promised to make major strides in education, including a large investment of public money, and avoided saying he would raise taxes.[6]

There was some skepticism on whether Clinton's record on the economy in Arkansas would translate into Democrats losing in upcoming elections. The regular legislative session in Arkansas of 1985 was devoted to economic development. The legislature approved almost all of Clinton's program, which included changes in banking laws, start-up money for technology-oriented businesses, and large tax incentives for Arkansas industries that expanded their production and jobs. Arkansas was one of the best states in new job creation in the next six years, but most of the jobs did not pay high wages, and it remained one of the worst states in average income.[6] Democrats wanted a counter to Reaganomics but feared Clinton's plan would lead to more unhappy blue collar workers bolting to the Republicans, as his plan offered no real solution to stagnant wages.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1980 Arkansas Elections" (PDF). Arkansas Secretary of State. January 1982. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Frank Durward White (1933–2003)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Bill Clinton (1946–)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Takiff, Michael. A Complicated Man : The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him. New Haven, US: Yale University Press, 2010. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 19 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Clinton House Museum. CHM, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
  6. 1 2 Bill Clinton (1946–)-Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Encyclopedia of Arkansas, n.d. Web. Apr. 17, 2017.
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