1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

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1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 1976 January 21 to June 3, 1980 1984 →

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 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.

Jimmy Carter would be the last incumbent president to lose a primary in any contest, until Joe Biden did in 2024 to Jason Palmer in the 2024 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses.[1]

Primary race[edit]

At the time, Iran was experiencing a major uprising that severely damaged its oil infrastructure and greatly weakened its capability to produce oil.[2] 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.[2] The damage that resulted from Khomeini's rise to power was soon felt throughout many American cities.[2] In the spring and summer of 1979 inflation was on the rise and various parts of the country were experiencing energy shortages.[3] 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,[4] 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.[5] However, then came the notorious Chappaquiddick incident that killed Kennedy's car passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. 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."[6]

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"[7] 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.[8] 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[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] On the stage on the final day, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter.

Candidates[edit]

Nominee[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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.[12][13]

Results[edit]

Date[14]
(daily totals)
Total
pledged delegates
Contest Delegates won and popular vote
Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Jerry Brown Others Total vote
January 21 45 Iowa[15][16] caucus 30
(59.16%)
15
(31.23%)

(9.61%)
February 10 22 Maine[17][18] caucus 12
14,528
[a](43.59%)
10
13,384[b] (40.16%)

4,621[c] (13.87%)

793[d](2.38%)
33,326
February 26 19 New Hampshire[19][20] 10
52,692 (47.08%)
9
41,745 (37.30%)

10,743 (9.60%)

6,750 (6.03%)
111,930
March 4
(125)
112 Massachusetts[20] 34
260,391 (28.70%)
78
590,404 (65.07%)

31,488 (3.47%)

25,031 (2.76%)
907,314
13 Vermont 10
29,015 (73.08%)
3
10,135 (25.53%)

(0.90%)

553 (0.50%)
39,703
March 11
(325)
47 Alabama 47
194,680 (81.59%)

31,624 (13.22%)

(4.01%)

12,418 (1.19%)
238,722
16 Delaware

caucus

10
104 (60.47%)
4
40 (23.26%)
3
28 (16.28%)
172
98 Florida 72
665,683 (60.69%)
27
256,564 (23.20%)

53,422 (4.87%)

123,400 (11.25%)
1,099,069
63 Georgia 63
338,772 (88.04%)

32,315 (8.40%)

7,255 (1.89%)

6,438 (1.67%)
384,780
42 Oklahoma 42
4,440 (75.09%)

575 (9.72%)

19 (0.32%)

879 (14.87%)
5,843
59 Washington 33
2,898 (55.30%)
15
1,295 (24.71%)

25 (0.48%)
12
1,023 (19.52%)
5,241
March 15 12 Wyoming

caucus

9
135 (64.59%)
3
48 (22.97%)

26 (12.44%)
209
March 16 40 Puerto Rico 21
449,681 (51.57%)
19
418,068 (48.04%)

1,660 (0.19%)

826 (0.10%)
450,167
March 18 181 Illinois 124
780,787 (65.01%)
57
359,875 (29.96%)

39,168 (3.26%)

21,237 (1.77%)
1,201,067
March 23 64 Virginia

caucus

64
1,633 (84.26%)

154 (7.95%)

1 (0.05%)

150 (7.74%)
1,938
March 25
(340)
54 Connecticut 25
87,207 (41.47%)
29
98,662 (46.92%)

5,386 (2.56%)

19,020 (9.04%)
210,275
286 New York 117
406,305 (41.08%)
169
582,757 (58.92%)
989,062
April 1
(115)
38 Kansas 24
109,807 (56.63%)
14
61,318 (31.62%)

9,434 (4.87%)

13,359 (1.13%)
193,918
77 Wisconsin 50
353,662 (56.17%)
27
189,520 (30.10%)

74,496 (11.83%)

11,941 (1.90%)
629,619
April 5 51 Louisiana 36
199,956 (55.74%)
15
80,797 (22.52%)

16,774 (4.68%)

61,214 (17.07%)
358,741
April 12
(66)
28 Arizona

caucus

12
7,592 (43.81%)
16
9,738 (56.19%)
17,330
38 South Carolina

caucus

25
7,305 (64.25%)

579 (5.09%)
13
3,486 (30.66%)
7,884
April 22
(266)
189 Pennsylvania 94
732,332 (45.40%)
95
736,954 (45.68%)

37,669 (2.34%)

93,865 (6.60%)
1,600,820
77 Missouri

caucus

77
415 (76.15%)

55 (10.09%)

75 (13.76%)
545
Vermont caucuses[21] (32%) (45%) (23%)
April 26 Michigan caucuses[22] (46.68%) (48.08%) (5.24%)
May 3 152 Texas

caucus

87
770,390 (55.93%)
36
314,129 (22.81%)

35,585 (2.58%)
29
257,252 (18.68%)
1,377,356
May 6 39 Colorado

caucus

16
417 (41.70%)
12
295 (29.5%)
11
288 (28.8%)
1,000
14 District of Columbia 5
23,697 (36.94%)
9
39,561 (61.67%)

892 (1.39%)
64,150
81 Indiana 55
400,849 (67.68%)
26
193,290 (32.32%)
594,139
70 North Carolina 56
516,778 (70.09%)
14
130,684 (17.73%)

21,420 (2.91%)

68,380 (9.28%)
737,082
57 Tennessee 46
221,658 (75.22%)
11
53,258 (18.07%)

5,612 (1.90%)

14,152 (4.79%)
294,680
May 13
(85)
60 Maryland 33
226,528 (47.48%)
27
181,091 (37.96%)

14,313 (3.00%)

55,158 (11.58%)
477,090
25 Nebraska 14
72,100 (46.87%)
11
57,826 (37.58%)

5,478 (3.56%)

18,449 (11.99%)
154,123
May 20
(181)
142 Michigan caucuses 42
23,043 (29.38%)
100
55,381 (70.62%)
78,424
39 Oregon 25
208,693 (56.83%)
14
114,651 (31.22%)

(9.37%)

44,978 (2.57%)
368,322
May 27 33 Arkansas 21
269,375 (60.09%)
6
78,542 (17.52%)

100,373 (22.39%)
448,290
17 Idaho

caucus

13
31,383 (62.17%)
4
11,087 (21.96%)

2,078 (4.12%)

5,934 (11.76%)
50,482
50 Kentucky 37
160,819 (66.92%)
13
55,167 (22.96%)

24,345 (10.14%)
240,331
13 Nevada 5
25,159 (37.58%)
4
19,296 (28.82%)
4
22,493 (33.60%)
66,948
June 3
(699)
303 California 138
1,266,216 (37.64%)
165
1,507,142 (44.80%)
135,962 (4.04%)
454,538 (13.51%)
3,363,858
19 Montana 11
67,033 (51.46%)
8
47,991 (36.65%)

15,579 (11.89%)
130,603
114 New Jersey 46
212,387 (37.87%)
68
315,109 (56.18%)

33,412 (5.96%)
560,908
20 New Mexico 9
66,621 (41.80%)
11
73,721 (46.26%)

19,023 (11.94%)
159,365
164 Ohio 88
605,744 (51.06%)
76
523,874 (44.16%)

56,792 (4.78%)
1,186,410
23 Rhode Island 6
9,907 (25.85%)
17
26,177 (68.30%)
310 (0.81%)
1,931 (5.05%)
38,325
19 South Dakota 9
31,251 (45.45%)
10
33,418 (48.60%)

4,094 (5.95%)
68,763
37 West Virginia 23
197,687 (62.18%)
14
120,247 (37.82%)
317,934
Total[23] 10,043,016 (51.13%) 7,381,693 (37.58%) 575,296 (2.93%) 1,647,909 (8.36%) 19,266,258

Endorsements[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Notes[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bickerton, James (March 7, 2024). "Joe Biden is first incumbent president to lose a primary in 44 years". Newsweek. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Oil Squeeze". Time magazine. February 5, 1979. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "Inflation-proofing". ConsumerReports.org. February 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  4. ^ "Poll: Bush approval mark at all-time low". CNN. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  5. ^ U.S. News & World Report January 1969.
  6. ^ "Press: Whip His What?". Time. June 25, 1979. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Allis, Sam (February 18, 2009). "Chapter 4: Sailing Into the Wind: Losing a quest for the top, finding a new freedom". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  8. ^ Time Magazine, 11/12/79
  9. ^ Marra, Robin F.; Ostrom, Charles W.; Simon, Dennis M. (January 1, 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.
  10. ^ "The Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  11. ^ Kuypers, Jim A., ed. (2004). The Art of Rhetorical Criticism. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 978-0-205-37141-9, p. 185.
  12. ^ "Duke to run". The Times. May 21, 1979. p. 10. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "1980 Presidential Primary Calendar". Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ 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 June 18, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ a b 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.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ "US President – D Primaries Race – Feb 26, 1980". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1980 Ohio Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  25. ^ "1980 Massachusetts Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  26. ^ a b "1980 Maryland Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  27. ^ "McGovern for Kennedy As Democratic Nominee". New York Times Archives. New York Times. July 27, 1979. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  28. ^ "Carter loses Clark to Kennedy's Camp". The New York Times. October 31, 1979. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h "1980 Illinois Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  30. ^ a b c d "1980 Connecticut Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  31. ^ a b "1980 Pennsylvania Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  32. ^ "1980 Puerto Rico Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  33. ^ "1980 Wisconsin Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  34. ^ "1980 New York Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  35. ^ "1980 California Democratic Primary". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 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 May 16, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2011.

Further reading[edit]

  • 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.