1980 United States presidential election

{{Further|Foreign policy of the Jimmy Carter administration}}

Throughout the 1970s, the United States underwent a wrenching period of stagflation (low economic growth, high inflation, and interest rates), and intermittent energy crises.{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|last=Frum|first=David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-465-04195-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/292 292]|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/292}} By October 1978, Iran—a major oil supplier to the United States at the time—was experiencing a major uprising that severely damaged its oil infrastructure and greatly weakened its capability to produce oil.{{cite magazine |title=Oil Squeeze |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946222,00.html |magazine=Time |date=1979-02-05 |access-date=December 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307085655/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946222,00.html |archive-date=7 March 2008 |url-status=dead}} In January 1979, shortly after Iran's leader Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled the country, Iranian opposition figure Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ended his 14-year exile in France and returned to Iran to establish an Islamic Republic, largely hostile to American interests and influence in the country. In the spring and summer of 1979, inflation was on the rise and various parts of the United States were experiencing energy shortages.{{cite web |url=http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/retirement-planning/inflation-proofing-6-07/overview/0607_inflation_proofing_ov.htm |title=Inflation-proofing |publisher=ConsumerReports.org |date=2010-02-11 |access-date=December 18, 2013 |archive-date=March 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328194412/http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/retirement-planning/inflation-proofing-6-07/overview/0607_inflation_proofing_ov.htm |url-status=live }}

Carter was widely blamed for the return of the long gas lines in the summer of 1979 that were last seen just after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He planned on delivering his fifth major speech on energy, but he felt that the American people were no longer listening. Carter left for the presidential retreat of Camp David. "For more than a week, a veil of secrecy enveloped the proceedings. Dozens of prominent Democratic Party leaders—members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, academics and clergy—were summoned to the mountaintop retreat to confer with the beleaguered president." His pollster, Pat Caddell, told him that the American people simply faced a crisis of confidence because of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.; the Vietnam War; and Watergate.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-crisis-speech/ |publisher=PBS |work=American Experience |title=Jimmy Carter |access-date=September 17, 2017 |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019101602/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-crisis-speech/ |url-status=dead}} On July 15, 1979, Carter gave a nationally televised address in which he identified what he believed to be a "crisis of confidence" among the American people. This came to be known as his "Malaise speech", although Carter never used the word in the speech.{{cite web |url=http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402 |title="Crisis of Confidence" Speech (July 15, 1979) |publisher=Miller Center, University of Virginia |format=text and video |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721024329/http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402 |archive-date=July 21, 2009 |df=mdy-all |date=October 20, 2016}}

Many expected Senator Ted Kennedy to successfully challenge Carter in the upcoming Democratic primary. 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"{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/02/18/chapter_4_sailing_into_the_wind/ |title=Chapter 4: Sailing Into the Wind: Losing a quest for the top, finding a new freedom |author=Allis, Sam |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=2009-02-18 |access-date=March 10, 2009 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174031/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/02/18/chapter_4_sailing_into_the_wind/ |url-status=live }} answer to the question of why he was running, and the polls, which showed him leading Carter by 58–25 in August now had him ahead 49–39.Time Magazine, 11/12/79 Kennedy was also politically scarred by the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident;{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/01/17/686186156/how-ted-kennedys-80-challenge-to-president-carter-broke-the-democratic-party|title=How Ted Kennedy's '80 Challenge To President Carter 'Broke The Democratic Party'|publisher=NPR|date=January 17, 2019|access-date=October 26, 2023|archive-date=March 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314233440/https://www.npr.org/2019/01/17/686186156/how-ted-kennedys-80-challenge-to-president-carter-broke-the-democratic-party|url-status=live}} the controversy had been a major reason for Kennedy's decision to not run for president in 1972 and 1976.{{cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/07/chappaquiddick-anniversary-kennedy-kopechne|title="The Kennedy Machine Buried What Really Happened": Revisiting Chappaquiddick, 50 Years Later|first=Josh|last=Sanburn|publisher=Vanity Fair|date=July 17, 2019|access-date=October 26, 2023|archive-date=February 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222094911/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/07/chappaquiddick-anniversary-kennedy-kopechne|url-status=live}}

Meanwhile, Carter was given an opportunity for political redemption when the Khomeini regime again gained public attention and allowed the taking of 52 American hostages by a group of Islamist students and militants at the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979. Carter's calm approach towards the handling of this crisis resulted in his approval ratings jump in the 60-percent range in some polls, due to a "rally round the flag" effect.{{cite journal|jstor=174181|title=Foreign Policy and Presidential Popularity: Creating Windows of Opportunity in the Perpetual Election|first1=Robin F.|last1=Marra|first2=Charles W.|last2=Ostrom|first3=Dennis M.|last3=Simon|date=1 January 1990|journal=The Journal of Conflict Resolution|volume=34|issue=4|pages=588–623|doi=10.1177/0022002790034004002|s2cid=154620443}}

By the beginning of the election campaign, the prolonged Iran hostage crisis had sharpened public perceptions of a national crisis.{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/01/19/iran/main265499.shtml |title=CBS News | Reagan's Lucky Day |website=CBS News |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021016003953/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/01/19/iran/main265499.shtml |archive-date=16 October 2002 |url-status=dead}} On April 25, 1980, Carter's ability to use the hostage crisis to regain public acceptance eroded when his high risk attempt to rescue the hostages ended in disaster when eight servicemen were killed. The unsuccessful rescue attempt drew further skepticism towards his leadership skills.{{cite web|url=http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472108670-03.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472108670-03.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Chapter 3 : The Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission |website=Press.umich.edu |access-date=2016-08-18}}

Following the failed rescue attempt, Carter took overwhelming blame for the Iran hostage crisis, in which the followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini burned American flags and chanted anti-American slogans, paraded the captured American hostages in public, and burned Carter in effigy. Carter's critics saw him as an inept leader who had failed to solve the worsening economic problems at home. His supporters defended the president as a decent, well-intentioned man being unfairly criticized for problems that had been escalating for years.{{cite news |title=A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver? |author=Jerry Lanson |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date=November 6, 2008 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1106/p09s02-coop.html |access-date=November 5, 2008 |archive-date=May 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501071734/http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1106/p09s02-coop.html |url-status=live }}

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979, Carter seized international leadership in rallying opposition. He cut off American grain sales, which hurt Soviet consumers and annoyed American farmers. In terms of prestige, the Soviets were deeply hurt by the large-scale boycott of their 1980 Summer Olympics. Furthermore, Carter began secret support of the rebel forces in Afghanistan that successfully tied down the Soviet army for a decade. The effect was to end détente and reopen the Cold War.Gaddis Smith, Morality, Reason and Power: American Diplomacy in the Carter Years (1986) pp 224–228.Odd Arne Westad, ed. "The Fall of Détente." in Soviet-American Relations during the Carter Years (Scandinavian University Press, 1997).

{{Main|1980 Republican Party presidential primaries}}

{{Ronald Reagan series}}

{{George H. W. Bush series}}

The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks and cable news channels, were listed in publicly published national polls, or had held a public office. Reagan received 7,709,793 votes in the primaries.

Former governor Ronald Reagan of California was the odds-on favorite to win his party's nomination for president after nearly beating incumbent President Gerald Ford just four years earlier. Reagan dominated the primaries early, driving from the field Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker from Tennessee, former governor John Connally of Texas, Senator Robert Dole from Kansas, Representative Phil Crane from Illinois, and Representative John Anderson from Illinois, who dropped out of the race to run as an Independent. George H. W. Bush from Texas posed the strongest challenge to Reagan with his victories in the Pennsylvania and Michigan primaries, but it was not enough to turn the tide. Reagan won the nomination on the first round at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan, in July, then chose Bush (his top rival) as his running mate. Reagan, Bush, and Dole would all go on to be the nominees in the next four elections. (Reagan in 1984, Bush in 1988 and 1992, and Dole in 1996).

{{Main|1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries}}

{{Jimmy Carter series}}

The following candidates were frequently interviewed by major broadcast networks, were listed in published national polls, or had held public office. Carter received 10,043,016 votes in the primaries.

The three major Democratic candidates in early 1980 were incumbent President Jimmy Carter, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and Governor Jerry Brown of California. Brown withdrew on April 2. Carter and Kennedy faced off in 34 primaries. Not counting the 1968 election in which Lyndon Johnson withdrew his candidacy, this was the most tumultuous primary race that an elected incumbent president had encountered since President Taft, during the highly contentious election of 1912.

During the summer of 1980, there was a short-lived "Draft Muskie" movement; Secretary of State Edmund Muskie was seen as a favorable alternative to a deadlocked convention. One poll showed that Muskie would be a more popular alternative to Carter than Kennedy, implying that the attraction was not so much to Kennedy as to the fact that he was not Carter. Muskie was polling even with Ronald Reagan at the time, while Carter was seven points behind.{{cite web |author=Robbins, James S. |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clinton-campaign-reminiscent-of-1980-race/ |title=Clinton Campaign Reminiscent of 1980 Race |publisher=CBS News |date=2008-05-13 |access-date=2016-08-18 |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605020402/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clinton-campaign-reminiscent-of-1980-race/ |url-status=live }} Although the underground "Draft Muskie" campaign failed, it became a political legend.{{cite web |url=http://www.startribune.com/business/15887132.html |title=Steenland: Odd man out? |website=Star Tribune |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226161048/http://www.startribune.com/business/15887132.html |archive-date=26 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}

After defeating Kennedy in 24 of 34 primaries, Carter entered the party's convention in New York in August with 60 percent of the delegates pledged to him on the first ballot. Still, Kennedy refused to drop out. At the convention, after a futile last-ditch attempt by Kennedy to alter the rules to free delegates from their first-ballot pledges, Carter was renominated with 2,129 votes to 1,146 for Kennedy. Vice President Walter Mondale was also renominated. In his acceptance speech, Carter warned that Reagan's conservatism posed a threat to world peace and progressive social welfare programs from the New Deal to the Great Society.William DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Gramercy 1997

John B. Anderson was defeated in the Republican primaries, but entered the general election as an independent candidate. He campaigned as a liberal Republican alternative to Reagan's conservatism. Anderson's campaign appealed primarily to frustrated anti-Carter voters from Republican and Democratic backgrounds.{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/books/history/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/04/04/third_party_myth_easterbrook|title=The myths that just won't die - History - Salon.com|last=Kornacki|first=Steve|date=2011-04-06|website=Salon.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406213710/http://www.salon.com/books/history/index.html?story=%2Fpolitics%2Fwar_room%2F2011%2F04%2F04%2Fthird_party_myth_easterbrook|archive-date=April 6, 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=2017-02-07|df=mdy-all}} Anderson's running mate was Patrick Lucey, a Democratic former Governor of Wisconsin and then ambassador to Mexico, appointed by President Carter.

The Libertarian Party nominated Ed Clark for president and David Koch for vice president. They were on the ballot in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. The Libertarian Party platform was the only political party in 1980 to contain a plank advocating for the equal rights of homosexual men and women as well as the only party platform to advocate explicitly for "amnesty" for all illegal non-citizens.{{multiref2|{{cite web | title=Political Party Platforms | website=presidency.ucsb.edu | date=2008-04-16 | url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/platforms.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523221423/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/platforms.php | archive-date=2008-05-23 | url-status=dead }} |{{cite web | title=1980 Libertarian Party Platform - Victimless Crimes | website=lpedia.org | date=2016-05-12 | url=http://www.lpedia.org/1980_Libertarian_Party_Platform#3._Victimless_Crimes | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119182240/http://www.lpedia.org/1980_Libertarian_Party_Platform#3._Victimless_Crimes | archive-date=2016-11-19 | url-status=dead }}}}

The Citizens Party ran biologist Barry Commoner for president and Comanche Native American activist LaDonna Harris for vice president. The Commoner–Harris ticket was on the ballot in twenty-nine states{{Which|date=April 2024}} and in the District of Columbia.{{Cite book|title=Elections A-Z|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uVVcAgAAQBAJ&q=commoner+harris+ticket&pg=PA73|publisher=Routledge|date=2013-12-16|isbn=9781135938703|first=John|last=Moore}}

The following graph depicts the standing of each candidate in the poll aggregators from July 1979 to November 1980.

[[File:OpinionPolling1980UnitedStatesPresidentialElection.svg|thumb|800px|center| {{columns-list|colwidth=18em|

{{Legend-line|#e81b23 solid 5px|Ronald Reagan}}

{{Legend-line|#3333ff solid 5px|Jimmy Carter}}

{{Legend-line|#ffd700 solid 5px|John B. Anderson}}

}}]]

{{See also|Nationwide opinion polling for the 1980 United States presidential election}}

Reagan gained in former Democratic strongholds such as the South and white ethnics dubbed "Reagan Democrats",Julio Borquez, "Partisan Appraisals of Party Defectors: Looking Back at the Reagan Democrats." American Review of Politics 26 (2005): 323-346 [https://journals.shareok.org/arp/article/view/368/345 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111231/https://journals.shareok.org/arp/article/view/368/345 |date=September 21, 2024 }}. and exuded upbeat optimism.{{cite book |title=The Strategy of Campaigning |author1=Skinner |author2=Kudelia |author3=Mesquita |author4=Rice |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0dCiDh4fMsC |access-date=October 20, 2008 |isbn=978-0-472-11627-0 |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111129/https://books.google.com/books?id=F0dCiDh4fMsC |url-status=live }} David Frum says Carter ran an attack-based campaign based on "despair and pessimism" which "cost him the election."{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|last=Frum|first=David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-465-04195-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/161 161]|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/161}} Carter emphasized his record as a peacemaker, and said Reagan's election would threaten civil rights and social programs that stretched back to the New Deal. Reagan's platform also emphasized the importance of peace, as well as a prepared self-defense.

Immediately after the conclusion of the primaries,{{date?}} a Gallup poll held that Reagan was ahead, with 58% of voters upset by Carter's handling of the presidency. One analysis of the election has suggested that "Both Carter and Reagan were perceived negatively by a majority of the electorate."Wayne, Stephen J. (1984). The Road to the White House (2nd ed.), p. 210. New York: St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0-312-68526-2}}. While the three leading candidates (Reagan, Anderson and Carter) were religious Christians, Carter had the most support of evangelical Christians according to a Gallup poll. However, in the end, Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority lobbying group is credited with giving Reagan two-thirds of the white evangelical vote.{{cite news |title=When worlds collide: politics, religion, and media at the 1970 East Tennessee Billy Graham Crusade. (appearance by President Richard M. Nixon) |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19592304.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517015119/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19592304.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 17, 2011|publisher=Journal of Church and State |date=March 22, 1997 |access-date=August 18, 2007}} According to Carter: "that autumn [1980] a group headed by Jerry Falwell purchased $10 million in commercials on southern radio and TV to brand me as a traitor to the South and no longer a Christian."{{Cite book |page=469 |last=Carter |first=Jimmy |title=White House Diary |year=2010 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |location=New York, NY}}

The election of 1980 was a key turning point in American politics. It signaled the new electoral power of the suburbs and the Sun Belt. Reagan's success as a conservative would initiate a realigning of the parties, as Rockefeller-style Republicans and conservative Democrats would either leave politics or change party affiliations through the 1980s and 1990s to leave the parties much more ideologically polarized. While during Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign, many voters saw his warnings about a too-powerful government as hyperbolic and only 30% of the electorate agreed that government was too powerful, by 1980 a majority of Americans believed that government held too much power.{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|last=Frum|first=David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-465-04195-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/283 283]|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/283}}

Reagan promised a restoration of the nation's military strength, at the same time 60% of Americans polled felt defense spending was too low.{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|last=Frum|first=David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-465-04195-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/344 344]|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/344}} Reagan also promised an end to "trust me government" and to restore economic health by implementing a supply-side economic policy. Reagan promised a balanced budget within three years (which he said would be "the beginning of the end of inflation"), accompanied by a 30% reduction in tax rates over those same years. With respect to the economy, Reagan famously said, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." Reagan also criticized the "windfall profit tax" that Carter and Congress enacted that year in regards to domestic oil production and promised to attempt to repeal it as president.{{cite web |last=Thorndike |first=Joseph J. |title=Historical Perspective: The Windfall Profit Tax -- Career of a Concept |work=TaxHistory.org |date=November 10, 2005 |url=http://www.taxhistory.org/thp/readings.nsf/cf7c9c870b600b9585256df80075b9dd/edf8de04e58e4b14852570ba0048848b |access-date=November 6, 2008 |archive-date=November 26, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126011759/http://www.taxhistory.org/thp/readings.nsf/cf7c9c870b600b9585256df80075b9dd/edf8de04e58e4b14852570ba0048848b |url-status=live }} The tax was not a tax on profits, but on the difference between the price control-mandated price and the market price.{{cite web|url=http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33305_20060309.pdf |title=The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of the 1980s: Implications for Current Energy Policy |access-date=January 12, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211074013/http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33305_20060309.pdf |archive-date=February 11, 2012}}, CRS Report RL33305, "The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of the 1980s: Implications for Current Energy Policy," by Salvatore Lazzari, p. 5.

On the issue of women's rights there was much division, with many feminists frustrated with Carter, the only major-party candidate who supported the Equal Rights Amendment. After a bitter Convention fight between Republican feminists and antifeminists the Republican Party dropped their forty-year endorsement of the ERA.{{cite web |last=Melich |first=Tanya |url=http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2379/context/archive |title=O'Connor's Tenure Began One Hot Summer |publisher=Women's eNews |date=July 18, 2005 |access-date=May 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817044630/http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2379/context/archive |archive-date=August 17, 2009 |df=mdy-all}} Reagan, however, announced his dedication to women's rights and his intention to, if elected, appoint women to his cabinet and the first female justice to the Supreme Court.{{cite book |title=Presidential Leadership |author1=James Taranto |author2=Leonard Leo |publisher=Wall Street Journal Books |year=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/presidentiallead00tara |url-access=registration |access-date=October 20, 2008 |isbn=978-0-7432-7226-1}} He also pledged to work with all 50 state governors to combat discrimination against women and to equalize federal laws as an alternative to the ERA. Reagan was convinced to give an endorsement of women's rights in his nomination acceptance speech.

Carter was criticized by his own aides for not having a "grand plan" for the recovery of the economy, nor did he ever make any campaign promises; he often criticized Reagan's economic recovery plan, but did not create one of his own in response.

File:Reagan 1980 campaign.jpg in Columbia, South Carolina, October 10, 1980]] File:Ronald Reagan campaigning in Florida (8102550796).jpg campaigning in Florida]]

In August, after the Republican National Convention, Ronald Reagan gave a campaign speech at the annual Neshoba County Fair on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Mississippi, where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964. He was the first presidential candidate ever to campaign at the fair.Kornacki, Steve (February 3, 2011) [http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/03/reagan_southern_strategy/index.html The "Southern Strategy," fulfilled] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413151441/http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/03/reagan_southern_strategy/index.html |date=April 13, 2011}}, Salon.com Reagan famously announced, "Programs like education and others should be turned back to the states and local communities with the tax sources to fund them. I believe in states' rights. I believe in people doing as much as they can at the community level and the private level." Reagan also stated, "I believe we have distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended to be given in the Constitution to that federal establishment." He went on to promise to "restore to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them."{{cite news |first=Douglas E. |last=Kneeland |title=Reagan Campaigns at Mississippi Fair; Nominee Tells Crowd of 10,000 He Is Backing States' Rights |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/04/archives/reagan-campaigns-at-mississippi-fair-nominee-tells-crowd-of-10000.html |work=The New York Times |date=August 4, 1980 |page=A11 |access-date=July 23, 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709065418/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/04/archives/reagan-campaigns-at-mississippi-fair-nominee-tells-crowd-of-10000.html |url-status=live }} President Carter criticized Reagan for injecting "hate and racism" by the "rebirth of code words like 'states' rights'".{{YouTube|RpHZdreWz3E|'The Made-for-TV Election with Martin Sheen' clip 14}}

File:Ronald Reagan Shaking Hands with Supporters on a Campaign Stop in Indiana.jpg shaking hands with supporters at a campaign stop in Indiana]]

Two days later, Reagan appeared at the Urban League convention in New York, where he said, "I am committed to the protection and enforcement of the civil rights of black Americans. This commitment is interwoven into every phase of the plans I will propose." He then said that he would develop "enterprise zones" to help with urban renewal.

The media's main criticism of Reagan centered on his gaffes. When Carter kicked off his general election campaign in Tuscumbia, Reagan—referring to the Southern U.S. as a whole—claimed that Carter had begun his campaign in the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. In doing so, Reagan seemed to insinuate that the KKK represented the South, which caused many Southern governors to denounce Reagan's remarks.White House Diary, by Jimmy Carter, pp 461–462. Additionally, Reagan was widely ridiculed by Democrats for saying that trees caused pollution; he later said that he meant only certain types of pollution and his remarks had been misquoted.{{cite news |title=Here We Go Again! |first=Andrew |last=Bridges |work=CBS News |date=March 17, 2003 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/17/tech/main544188.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031003195921/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/17/tech/main544188.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 3, 2003 |access-date=October 20, 2008}}

Meanwhile, Carter was burdened by a continued weak economy and the Iran hostage crisis. Inflation, high interest rates, and unemployment continued through the course of the campaign, and the ongoing hostage crisis in Iran became, according to David Frum in How We Got Here: The '70s, a symbol of American impotence during the Carter years. John Anderson's independent candidacy, aimed at eliciting support from liberals, especially former supporters of Ted Kennedy, was also seen as hurting Carter more than Reagan, especially in reliably Democratic states such as Massachusetts and New York.

{{Main|1980 United States presidential debates}}

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| video1 = {{YouTube|_8YxFc_1b_0|Reagan-Carter presidential debate, October 28, 1980}}

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The League of Women Voters, which had sponsored the 1976 Ford/Carter debate series, announced that it would do so again for the next cycle in the spring of 1979. Carter steadfastly refused to participate in a debate if Anderson was included, and Reagan refused to debate without him. A League-sponsored debate was held on September 21, 1980, in the Baltimore Convention Center. Of Carter's refusal to debate, Reagan said: "He [Carter] knows that he couldn't win a debate even if it were held in the Rose Garden before an audience of Administration officials with the questions being asked by Jody Powell".{{cite book |title=Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America|last=Shirley|first=Craig|author-link=Craig Shirley|year=2009|publisher=ISI Books|location=Wilmington, Delaware|isbn=978-1-933859-55-2|page=478}} Anderson, who many thought would handily dispatch Reagan, managed only a narrow win, according to many in the media at that time, with Reagan putting up a much stronger performance than expected. Despite the narrow win in the debate, Anderson, who had been as high as 20% in some polls, and at the time of the debate was over 10%, dropped to about 5% soon after. Anderson failed to substantively engage Reagan enough on their social issue differences and on Reagan's advocation of supply-side economics. Instead, Anderson started off by criticizing Carter: "Governor Reagan is not responsible for what has happened over the last four years, nor am I. The man who should be here tonight to respond to those charges chose not to attend," to which Reagan added: "It's a shame now that there are only two of us here debating, because the two that are here are in more agreement than disagreement."{{cite book |title=Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America|last=Shirley|first=Craig|author-link=Craig Shirley|year=2009|publisher=ISI Books|location=Wilmington, Delaware |isbn=978-1-933859-55-2 |page=479}} In one moment in the debate, Reagan commented on a rumor that Anderson had invited Senator Ted Kennedy to be his running mate by asking the candidate directly, "John, would you really prefer Teddy Kennedy to me?"{{cite web |url=http://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/fred-barnes/ |title=Fred Barnes on Conversations with Bill Kristol |website=Conversationswithbillkristol.org |access-date=2016-08-18 |archive-date=October 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020162346/http://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/fred-barnes/ |url-status=live }}

As September turned into October, the situation remained essentially the same. Reagan insisted Anderson be allowed to participate in a three-way debate, while Carter remained steadfastly opposed to this. As the standoff continued, the second debate was canceled, as was the vice presidential debate.

File:Carter Reagan Debate 10-28-80.png

With two weeks to go to the election, the Reagan campaign decided at that point that the best thing to do was to accede to all of President Carter's demands. The final debate, featuring only Carter and Reagan, was rescheduled for October 28 in Cleveland, Ohio. The showdown ranked among the highest ratings of any television program in the previous decade. Debate topics included the Iranian hostage crisis and nuclear arms. Carter's campaign sought to portray Reagan as a reckless "war hawk", as well as a "dangerous right-wing radical". But it was President Carter's reference to his consultation with 12-year-old daughter Amy concerning nuclear weapons policy that became the focus of post-debate analysis and fodder for late-night television jokes. President Carter said he had asked Amy what the most important issue in that election was and she said, "the control of nuclear arms." A famous political cartoon, published the day after Reagan's landslide victory, showed Amy Carter sitting in Jimmy's lap with her shoulders shrugged asking "the economy? the hostage crisis?"{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

When President Carter criticized Reagan's record, which included voting against Medicare and Social Security benefits, former Governor Reagan audibly sighed and replied: "There you go again".{{cite web |title=The Second 1980 Presidential Debate |publisher=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/80debates/cart1.html |access-date=October 20, 2008 |archive-date=September 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922233925/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/80debates/cart1.html |url-status=dead }}

In his closing remarks, Reagan asked viewers: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we're as strong as we were four years ago? And if you answer all of those questions 'yes', why then, I think your choice is very obvious as to whom you will vote for. If you don't agree, if you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have".{{Cite web|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/1980-ronald-reagan-and-jimmy-carter-presidential-debate|title=1980 Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter Presidential Debate|website=Ronald Reagan|access-date=August 6, 2023|archive-date=July 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722040804/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/1980-ronald-reagan-and-jimmy-carter-presidential-debate|url-status=live}}

After trailing Carter by eight points among registered voters (and by three points among likely voters) right before their debate, Reagan moved into a three-point lead among likely voters immediately afterward.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/111451/late-upsets-rare-happened.aspx|title=Late Upsets Are Rare, but Have Happened|last=Saad|first=Lydia|date=October 27, 2008|access-date=2016-08-25|archive-date=August 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826040529/http://www.gallup.com/poll/111451/late-upsets-rare-happened.aspx|url-status=live}}

In September 1980, former Watergate scandal prosecutor Leon Jaworski accepted a position as honorary chairman of Democrats for Reagan. Five months earlier, Jaworski had harshly criticized Reagan as an "extremist"; he said after accepting the chairmanship, "I would rather have a competent extremist than an incompetent moderate."

Former Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota (who in 1968 had challenged Lyndon B. Johnson from the left, causing the then-President to all but abdicate) endorsed Reagan.MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour (December 12, 2005). [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/july-dec05/mccarthy_12-12.html Online NewsHour: "Remembering Sen. Eugene McCarthy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218074245/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/july-dec05/mccarthy_12-12.html |date=February 18, 2006 }}. December 12, 2005. PBS.

Three days before the election, the National Rifle Association of America endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in its history, backing Reagan.{{cite news |author1=Matthew Lacombe |title=Trump is at the NRA today. It didn't used to be a Republican ally. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/26/how-nra-became-core-member-republican-coalition/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=9 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426125637/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/26/how-nra-became-core-member-republican-coalition/ |archive-date=April 26, 2019 |language=English |date=April 26, 2019 |url-status=live}} Reagan had received the California Rifle and Pistol Association's Outstanding Public Service Award. Carter had appointed Abner J. Mikva, a fervent proponent of gun control, to a federal judgeship and had supported the Alaska Lands Bill, closing {{convert|40000000|acre|km2}} to hunting.Facts on File 1980 Yearbook, p.844

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#cff|title=List of John B. Anderson endorsements|contentstyle=border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

Anderson had received endorsements from:

;Former officeholders

• Former Representative (Arizona's 2nd congressional district) and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall (D-AZ){{Cite news |last=Meissner |first=Steve |date=July 19, 1980 |title=Stewart Udall calls Carter weak, endorses Anderson |pages=2 |work=Arizona Daily Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/163783305/?terms=%22Stewart%20Udall%22%20John%20Anderson%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615223513/https://www.newspapers.com/image/163783305/?terms=%22Stewart%20Udall%22%20John%20Anderson%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |url-status=live }}

;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders

:Massachusetts

• Middlesex County Sheriff John J. Buckley (D-MA){{Cite news |date=July 18, 1980 |title=Some Bay State GOP uneasy over G. Bush |pages=3 |work=North Adams Transcript |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/544925654/?terms=%22John%20J.%20Buckley%22%20John%20B.%20Anderson%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616154221/https://www.newspapers.com/image/544925654/?terms=%22John%20J.%20Buckley%22%20John%20B.%20Anderson%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |url-status=live }}
• Former Massachusetts State Representative Francis W. Hatch Jr. (R-MA){{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Benjamin |date=June 12, 1980 |title=Hatch breaks ranks, backs Anderson |pages=7 |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/428232105/?terms=Francis%20W.%20Hatch%20John%20B.%20Anderson%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616154223/https://www.newspapers.com/image/428232105/?terms=Francis%20W.%20Hatch%20John%20B.%20Anderson%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |url-status=live }}
• Former Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Josiah Spaulding (R-MA){{Cite news |date=March 27, 1983 |title=Josiah Spaulding Dies at 60; Massachusetts G.O.P. Leader |pages=40 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/27/obituaries/josiah-spaulding-dies-at-60-massachusetts-gop-leader.html |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616154223/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/27/obituaries/josiah-spaulding-dies-at-60-massachusetts-gop-leader.html |url-status=live }}

;Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators

• Band The Cars{{cite news |title=Politics and Hollywood

|newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/03/09/politics-and-hollywood/586384d1-c5ef-45d5-a794-6005cd2705bd/|date=8 March 1980}}

• Actor Stockard Channing
• Band Cheap Trick
• Screenwriter Norman Lear
• Actress Dina Merrill
• Actor Paul Newman
• Actor Cliff Robertson
• Band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• Actress Joanne Woodward

;Newspapers

• The Hutchinson News in Hutchinson, Kansas{{Cite news |date=October 10, 1980 |title=Independent presidential candidate John Anderson will receive editorial endorsement |work=United Press International |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/10/10/Independent-presidential-candidate-John-Anderson-will-receive-editorial-endorsement/4782339998400/ |access-date=June 15, 2022}}
• The Burlington Free Press in Burlington, VT{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1980 |title=Anderson Offers Intelligent Solutions to Problems |pages=10 |work=The Burlington Free Press |url=https://burlingtonfreepress.newspapers.com/image/200067471/?terms=john%20b.%20anderson%20editorial%20board&match=1 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=August 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817191531/https://burlingtonfreepress.newspapers.com/image/200067471/?terms=john%20b.%20anderson%20editorial%20board&match=1 |url-status=live }}

{{hidden end}}

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#cff|title=List of Jimmy Carter endorsements|contentstyle=border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

Carter had received endorsements from:

;Newspapers

• The Des Moines Register in Des Moines, Iowa{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2016 |title=25 photos: Register presidential endorsements (1912-2012) |url=https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/picture-gallery/news/politics/2015/06/03/25-photos-register-presidential-endorsements-1912-2012/28434019/ |access-date=June 15, 2022 |website=The Des Moines Register |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111233/https://www.desmoinesregister.com/picture-gallery/news/politics/2015/06/03/25-photos-register-presidential-endorsements-1912-2012/28434019/ |url-status=live }}
• The Penn State Daily Collegian in State College, Pennsylvania{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1980 |title=Election '80 Endorsements |pages=2 |work=The Daily Collegian |url=https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn85054904/1980-11-04/ed-1/seq-2/ |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816170801/https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn85054904/1980-11-04/ed-1/seq-2/ |url-status=live }}

{{hidden end}}

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#cff|title=List of Barry Commoner endorsements|contentstyle=border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

Commoner had received endorsements from:

;Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators

• Montgomery County precinct committeeman and Consumer Party Auditor General candidate Darcy Richardson (D-PA){{Cite web |last=Gemma |first=Peter B. |date=August 5, 2016 |title=An Interview with Darcy Richardson, Reform Party Presidential Candidate. |url=http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/08/an-interview-with-darcy-richardson-reform-party-presidential-candidate/ |access-date=June 15, 2022 |website=Independent Political Report |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625061421/http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/08/an-interview-with-darcy-richardson-reform-party-presidential-candidate/ |url-status=live }}

{{hidden end}}

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#cff|title=List of Clifton DeBerry endorsements|contentstyle=border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

DeBerry had received endorsements from:

;Celebrities, political activists and political commentators

• American People's Historical Society director Bernie Sanders of Vermont{{Cite news |date=November 12, 1990 |title=Socialist Vows to Be Capitol Outsider |pages=9 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/12/us/socialist-vows-to-be-capitol-outsider.html |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615202836/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/12/us/socialist-vows-to-be-capitol-outsider.html |url-status=live }}

{{hidden end}}

{{hidden begin|titlestyle=background:#cff|title=List of Ronald Reagan endorsements|contentstyle=border:solid 1px silver; padding:8px; background:white;}}

Reagan had received endorsements from:

;United States Senate

• Arizona Senator Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ){{Cite book |last1=DeConcini |first1=Dennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPAAc-ossjAC&q=Senator+Dennis+DeConcini |title=Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisle |last2=August |first2=Jack L. Jr. |publisher=University of Arizona Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780816525690 |pages=83 |quote=I viewed his leadership and administration with no small amount of frustration and concern, and in 1980 I crossed party lines and voted for Ronald Reagan for president. |access-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821002234/https://books.google.com/books?id=TPAAc-ossjAC&q=Senator+Dennis+DeConcini |url-status=live }}
• Virginia Senator Harry Byrd Jr. (D-VA){{Cite news |last=Frankel |first=Glenn |date=October 15, 1980 |title=Sen. Harry Byrd Endorses Reagan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/10/15/sen-harry-byrd-endorses-reagan/6bd21c82-3ef7-49c7-b4b1-411f88fe425c/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828154009/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/10/15/sen-harry-byrd-endorses-reagan/6bd21c82-3ef7-49c7-b4b1-411f88fe425c/ |url-status=live }}
• New York Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY){{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/09/24/why-carter-is-wooing-javits/65ddb1ee-9589-4639-8e9c-bacd5fca1973/ |title=Why Carter Is Wooing Javits|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 24, 1980 }}
• Maryland Senator Charles Mathias (R-MD){{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/09/15/mac-mathias-agonistes/91e76242-5361-4865-b865-341f1c27cbec/ |title=Mac Mathias Agonistes |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 14, 1980 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828155646/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/09/15/mac-mathias-agonistes/91e76242-5361-4865-b865-341f1c27cbec/ |url-status=live }}
• Former Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke (R-MA){{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/26/archives/reagan-preparing-for-debate.html |title=Reagan Preparing for Debate|website=The New York Times | date=October 26, 1980 }}
• Former Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-MN)

;United States House of Representatives

• Representative (California's 12th congressional district) Pete McCloskey (R-CA){{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/09/26/mccloskey-buries-the-hatchet-by-endorsing-reagan/65911bc2-4c8a-41d0-aa87-628ff78f72c0/ |title=McCloskey Buries the Hatchet by Endorsing Reagan|newspaper=The Washington Post | date=September 26, 1980 }}
• Former Representative (California's 26th congressional district) James Roosevelt (D-CA; son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt){{Cite news |date=1980-10-27 |title=FDR son gives Reagan backing |pages=27 |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |agency=UPI |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KBczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WjIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=4659,7154351&dq=james-roosevelt+ronald-reagan&hl=en |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616161104/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KBczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WjIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=4659,7154351&dq=james-roosevelt+ronald-reagan&hl=en |url-status=live }}

;Governors and State Constitutional officers

• Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox (D-GA){{Cite news |last=Daniel |first=Leon |date=October 24, 1980 |title=Nobody Listens To Maddox Anymore, Who Relishes Chance To Rap Carter |pages=5 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lJwcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2mcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6797,4141131&dq=lester+maddox+endorsement&hl=en |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615194211/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lJwcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2mcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6797,4141131&dq=lester+maddox+endorsement&hl=en |url-status=live }}
• Former Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson (D-AL){{Cite news |date=August 29, 1980 |title=GOP leaders, Demo ex-governor back Selden |pages=6 |work=Birmingham Post-Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/794766735/?terms=John%20Patterson%20endorse%20endorses%20Ronald%20Reagan&match=1 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615194700/https://www.newspapers.com/image/794766735/?terms=John%20Patterson%20endorse%20endorses%20Ronald%20Reagan&match=1 |url-status=live }}
• Former Texas Governor Preston Smith (D-TX){{Cite news |date=October 28, 1980 |title=Last Minute Blitz |pages=4 |work=Abilene Reporter-News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/763277616/?terms=%22Preston%20Smith%22%20%22Ronald%20Reagan%22%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616154223/https://www.newspapers.com/image/763277616/?terms=%22Preston%20Smith%22%20%22Ronald%20Reagan%22%20endorse%20endorses&match=1 |url-status=live }}
• Former Mississippi Governor John Bell Williams (D-MS){{Cite news |date=November 3, 1980 |title=Republicans turnout to hear Reagan |pages=9 |work=Sun Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/743423334/?terms=%22John%20Bell%20Williams%22%20endorse%20endorses%20Ronald%20Reagan&match=1 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615195445/https://www.newspapers.com/image/743423334/?terms=%22John%20Bell%20Williams%22%20endorse%20endorses%20Ronald%20Reagan&match=1 |url-status=live }}

;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders

:Florida

• Fort Lauderdale City Advisory Board member Jim Naugle (D-FL){{Cite web |last=Norman |first=Bob |date=October 26, 2000 |title=Politically Incorrect |url=http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/politically-incorrect-6324763 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121015339/http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/politically-incorrect-6324763 |archive-date=January 21, 2016 |website=New Times Broward-Palm Beach}}

:New York

• Former New York State Senator Jeremiah B. Bloom (D-NY){{Cite news |date=August 5, 1980 |title=Bloom Agrees to Head Democrats for Reagan |pages=16 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/05/archives/bloom-agrees-to-head-democrats-for-reagan.html |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615224715/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/05/archives/bloom-agrees-to-head-democrats-for-reagan.html |url-status=live }}

;Celebrities, political activists and political commentators

• Former UCLA men's basketball head coach John Wooden{{Cite magazine |last=Davis |first=Seth |date=2009-08-24 |title=Checking in on John Wooden |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/seth_davis/08/24/john.wooden/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827193402/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/seth_davis/08/24/john.wooden/index.html |archive-date=2009-08-27 |access-date=2022-06-16 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}
• Retired United States Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt (D-VA){{Cite news |last=Boodman |first=Sandra G. |date=October 13, 1980 |title=Zumwalt Dismays Va. Democrats With Z-Grams for Reagan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/10/13/zumwalt-dismays-va-democrats-with-z-grams-for-reagan/942df155-a9bb-4e31-91dc-05e3ff881f76/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828155428/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/10/13/zumwalt-dismays-va-democrats-with-z-grams-for-reagan/942df155-a9bb-4e31-91dc-05e3ff881f76/ |url-status=live }}

;Newspaper endorsements

• The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2016 |title=Coming Tuesday: Who will The Arizona Republic endorse? |url=https://eu.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2016/09/26/presidential-endorsement-preview/90904896/ |access-date=June 15, 2022 |website=The Arizona Republic |archive-date=August 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817015459/https://eu.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2016/09/26/presidential-endorsement-preview/90904896/ |url-status=live }}
• The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, California{{Cite web |date=2016-09-30 |title=Through the years: Desert Sun presidential endorsements |url=https://eu.desertsun.com/picture-gallery/news/2016/09/29/through-the-years-desert-sun-presidential-endorsements/91300646/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Desert Sun}}
• The Omaha World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska{{Cite news |last=World-Herald editorial |date=October 16, 2019 |title=Editorial: Hillary Clinton is prudent pick for president |work=Omaha World-Herald |url=https://omaha.com/opinion/editorial-hillary-clinton-is-prudent-pick-for-president/article_94a58d80-9341-11e6-a7e8-cf8bfd4f296a.html |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=April 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429035513/https://omaha.com/opinion/editorial-hillary-clinton-is-prudent-pick-for-president/article_94a58d80-9341-11e6-a7e8-cf8bfd4f296a.html |url-status=live }}
• The Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa{{Cite web |date=October 25, 2008 |title=A history of Times presidential endorsements |url=https://qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/a-history-of-times-presidential-endorsements/article_e0a998f0-e69d-5681-bd30-51dce8d44bc6.html |access-date=June 15, 2022 |website=Quad-City Times |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615201141/https://qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/a-history-of-times-presidential-endorsements/article_e0a998f0-e69d-5681-bd30-51dce8d44bc6.html |url-status=live }}
• The Record in Stockton, California{{Cite web |date=2016-10-08 |title=Record Endorsements, President: Clinton best for country |url=http://www.recordnet.com/opinion/20161008/record-endorsements-president-clinton-best-for-country |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Recordnet |archive-date=July 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730192617/https://www.recordnet.com/opinion/20161008/record-endorsements-president-clinton-best-for-country |url-status=live }}
• The Repository in Canton, Ohio{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Gary |date=October 11, 2016 |title=Repository presidential endorsements through history |url=https://eu.cantonrep.com/story/news/politics/elections/presidential/2016/10/11/repository-presidential-endorsements-through-history/24839102007/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=The Repository}}
• The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio{{Cite web |date=October 20, 2012 |title=Plain Dealer presidential endorsements: Every pick we made since 1936 |url=https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2012/10/plain_dealer_presidential_endo.html |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Plain Dealer |archive-date=May 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525083938/https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2012/10/plain_dealer_presidential_endo.html |url-status=live }}
• The Blade in Toledo, Ohio{{Cite web |date=November 3, 1980 |title=Ronald Reagan got most of the new newspaper endorsements,... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/03/Ronald-Reagan-got-most-of-the-new-newspaper-endorsements/6748342075600/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=UPI |archive-date=October 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012102135/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/03/Ronald-Reagan-got-most-of-the-new-newspaper-endorsements/6748342075600/ |url-status=live }}
• Houston Chronicle in Houston, Texas{{Cite web |last1=Dunham |first1=Richard |date=October 19, 2008 |title=A half-century of Chronicle endorsements: 11 R, 2 D |url=https://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/10/a-half-century-of-chronicle-endorsements-11-r-2-d/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Texas on the Potomac |language=en-US |archive-date=June 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608114603/https://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/10/a-half-century-of-chronicle-endorsements-11-r-2-d/ |url-status=live }}
• Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia{{Cite web |date=September 1, 2016 |title=A brief history of Richmond Times-Dispatch presidential endorsements |url=https://richmond.com/opinion/our-opinion/article_e8b7da3b-9981-5ca1-9b63-d4ee072c1dc2.html |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Richmond Times-Dispatch |archive-date=May 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527080225/https://richmond.com/opinion/our-opinion/article_e8b7da3b-9981-5ca1-9b63-d4ee072c1dc2.html |url-status=live }}

{{hidden end}}

The election was held on November 4, 1980.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=feST4K8J0scC&dat=19801104&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=Voters the choice is yours|date=4 November 1980|work=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=January 16, 2014|archive-date=September 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920171304/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=feST4K8J0scC&dat=19801104&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|url-status=live}} Ronald Reagan and running mate George H. W. Bush defeated the Carter-Mondale ticket by almost 10 percentage points in the popular vote. The electoral college vote was a landslide, with 489 votes (representing 44 states) for Reagan and 49 for Carter (representing six states and Washington, D.C.). Republicans also gained control of the Senate for the first time since 1954.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19801105&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=Reagan in a landslide|date=5 November 1980|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=January 16, 2014|archive-date=September 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920151642/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19801105&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|url-status=live}}

NBC News projected Reagan as the winner at 8:15 pm EST (5:15 PST), before voting was finished in the West, based on exit polls; it was the first time a broadcast network used exit polling to project a winner, and it took the other broadcast networks by surprise. Carter conceded defeat at 9:50 pm EST.Facts on File Yearbook 1980 p. 865Facts on File Yearbook 1980 p. 838 Some of Carter's advisors urged him to wait until 11:00 pm EST to allow poll results from the West Coast to come in, but Carter decided to concede earlier in order to avoid the impression that he was sulking. Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill angrily accused Carter of weakening the party's performance in the Senate elections by doing this.{{Cite book|last=Farris|first=Scott|url=http://archive.org/details/almostpresidentm0000farr|title=Almost president : the men who lost the race but changed the nation|date=2012|publisher=Lyons Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-7627-6378-8|location=Guilford, CN|pages=7}}

John Anderson won 6.6% of the popular vote but no states.{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0928/p09s02-coop.html|title=Let the most popular candidate win|last=Anderson|first=John B.|date=2007-09-28|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=2017-09-01|issn=0882-7729|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902053638/https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0928/p09s02-coop.html|url-status=live}} He had the most support in New England, fueled by liberal and moderate Republicans who felt Reagan was too far to the right, and with voters who normally leaned Democratic but were dissatisfied with the Carter administration's policies. His best showing was in Massachusetts, where he won 15% of the vote.

Anderson performed worst in the South, receiving under 2% of the vote in South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. He said he was accused of spoiling the election by receiving votes that might have otherwise been cast for Carter, but 37% of Anderson voters polled preferred Reagan as their second choice.{{Cite web |last=Kornacki |first=Steve |date=2011-04-04 |title=The myths that just won't die |url=http://www.salon.com/2011/04/04/third_party_myth_easterbrook/ |access-date=2017-08-01 |website=Salon |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801123934/http://www.salon.com/2011/04/04/third_party_myth_easterbrook/ |url-status=live }} Libertarian Party nominee Ed Clark received 921,299 popular votes (1.06%).

Carter's loss was the worst performance by an incumbent president since Herbert Hoover lost to Franklin Roosevelt by a margin of 18% in 1932, and his 49 Electoral College votes were the fewest won by an incumbent since William Howard Taft won eight in 1912. Carter was the first incumbent Democrat to serve only one full term since James Buchanan, and the last until Joe Biden. This was the third and most recent presidential election in which the incumbent Democrat lost reelection, after 1840 and 1888. This was the first time since 1840 that an incumbent Democrat lost the popular vote. Reagan had the most lopsided Electoral College victory for a first-time president-elect, with the exception of George Washington's unanimous victory in 1788.{{Cite web|date=2020-09-30|title=The 10 biggest landslides in presidential election history|url=https://thelistwire.usatoday.com/lists/the-10-biggest-landslides-in-presidential-election-history/|access-date=2021-02-09|website=List Wire|language=en-US|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120165619/https://thelistwire.usatoday.com/lists/the-10-biggest-landslides-in-presidential-election-history/|url-status=live}}

This election was the last time a Republican won the presidency without winning Georgia. It was the first time Massachusetts voted for a Republican candidate since 1956. 1980 is one of only two occurrences of pairs of consecutive elections seeing the incumbent presidents defeated, the other happening in 1892. This is the first time since 1892 that a party was voted out after a single four-year term, and the first for Democrats since 1896. This did not occur again for either party until 2020, and for the Democrats until 2024.

This election began an ongoing pattern in which Rust Belt states Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin voted for the same presidential candidate, with the sole exception of 1988.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/17/politics/blue-wall-states-harris-trump-analysis/index.html|title=Why these three states are the most consistent tipping point in American politics|publisher=CNN|last=Brownstein|first=Ronald|date=September 16, 2024|access-date=September 16, 2024}}

Reagan won 53% of the vote in reliably Democratic South Boston, one example of the so-called Reagan Democrat. Although he won an even larger Electoral College majority in 1984, the 1980 election nonetheless stands as the last time some now very strongly Democratic counties gave a Republican a majority or plurality. Notable examples are Jefferson County in Washington State, Lane County, Oregon, Marin and Santa Cruz Counties in California, McKinley County, New Mexico, and Rock Island County, Illinois.Sullivan, Robert David; [http://www.americamagazine.org/content/unconventional-wisdom/how-red-and-blue-map-evolved-over-past-century 'How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116163625/http://www.americamagazine.org/content/unconventional-wisdom/how-red-and-blue-map-evolved-over-past-century |date=November 16, 2016 }}; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Survey research and post-election polling indicated that the landslide result had been more a repudiation of Carter than an embrace of Reagan. But the public was aware that Reagan would move the nation in a more conservative direction, and was apparently willing to give it a chance to avoid four more years of Carter.{{cite book |last1=Brauer |first1=Carl M. |title=Presidential Transitions: Eisenhower Through Reagan |date=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195040511 |page=220}}

At age 69, Reagan was the oldest non-incumbent to win a presidential election. Thirty-six years later, in 2016, this record was surpassed by Donald Trump at age 70,{{cite web|title=Joe Biden will become the oldest president in American history, a title previously held by Ronald Reagan|last=Peter|first=Josh|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/05/oldest-president-joe-biden/6181672002/|website=USA Today|access-date=November 9, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107182039/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/05/oldest-president-joe-biden/6181672002/|url-status=live}} and four years later by Joe Biden at age 77,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/us/politics/joe-biden-age-oldest-presidents.html|title=Biden Is the Oldest President to Take the Oath (Published 2021)|website=The New York Times|date=January 18, 2021|access-date=August 6, 2023|archive-date=December 28, 2021|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/us/politics/joe-biden-age-oldest-presidents.html|url-status=live}} and another four years after by Donald Trump again at age 78.

{{start U.S. presidential ticket box| pv_footnote=| ev_footnote=}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Ronald Reagan| party=Republican| state=California| pv=43,903,230| pv_pct=50.75%| ev=489| vp_name=George H. W. Bush| vp_state=Texas}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Jimmy Carter (incumbent)| party=Democratic| state=Georgia| pv=35,481,115| pv_pct=41.01%| ev=49| vp_name=Walter Mondale (incumbent)| vp_state=Minnesota}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=John B. Anderson| party=Independent| state=Illinois| pv=5,719,850| pv_pct=6.61%| ev=0| vp_name=Patrick Lucey| vp_state=Wisconsin}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Ed Clark| party=Libertarian| state=California| pv=921,128| pv_pct=1.06%| ev=0| vp_name=David Koch| vp_state=Kansas}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Barry Commoner| party=Citizens| state=Missouri| pv=233,052| pv_pct=0.27%| ev=0| vp_name=LaDonna Harris| vp_state=Oklahoma}}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Gus Hall| party=Communist| state=New York | pv=44,933| pv_pct=0.05%| ev=0| vp_name=Angela Davis| vp_state=California }}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=John Rarick| party=American Independent| state=Louisiana | pv=40,906| pv_pct=0.05%| ev=0| vp_name=Eileen Shearer| vp_state=California }}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Clifton DeBerry| party=Socialist Workers| state=California | pv=38,738| pv_pct=0.04%| ev=0| vp_name=Matilde Zimmermann| vp_state=New York }}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Ellen McCormack| party=Right to Life| state=New York | pv=32,320| pv_pct=0.04%| ev=0| vp_name=Carroll Driscoll| vp_state=New Jersey }}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Maureen Smith| party=Peace and Freedom| state=California | pv=18,116| pv_pct=0.02%| ev=0| vp_name=Elizabeth Cervantes Barron| vp_state=California }}

{{U.S. presidential ticket box other| footnote=| pv=77,290| pv_pct=0.09%}}

{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=86,509,678| ev=538| to_win=270}}

Source (popular vote): {{Leip PV source 2| year=1980| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Source (electoral vote): {{National Archives EV source| year=1980| as of=August 7, 2005}}

{{bar box

|title=Popular vote

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=600px

|barwidth=410px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Reagan|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|50.75}}

{{bar percent|Carter|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|41.01}}

{{bar percent|Anderson|{{party color|Independent}}|6.61}}

{{bar percent|Clark|{{party color|Libertarian Party (US)}}|1.06}}

{{bar percent|Commoner|{{party color|Citizens Party (United States)}}|0.27}}

{{bar percent|Others|#777777|0.30}}

}}

{{bar box

|title=Electoral vote

|titlebar=#ddd

|width=600px

|barwidth=410px

|bars=

{{bar percent|Reagan|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|90.89}}

{{bar percent|Carter|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|9.11}}

}}

File:1980 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

File:1980 United States Presidential election by congressional districts.svg|Results by congressional district, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

Image:1976-1980 United States Presidential swing by county margin.svg|Change in vote margins at the county level from the 1976 election to the 1980 election.

Source:{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1980&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1980 Presidential General Election Data - National|website=Uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 18, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029153844/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1980&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|url-status=live}}

Maine allowed its electoral votes to be split between candidates. Two electoral votes were awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. Reagan won all four votes.{{cite book |last1=Barone |first1=Michael |last2=Ujifusa |first2=Grant|title=The Almanac of American Politics, 1982 |date=1981}}

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Wisconsin

Margin of victory less than 1% (30 electoral votes):

1. Massachusetts, 0.15% (3,829 votes)
2. Tennessee, 0.29% (4,710 votes)
3. Arkansas, 0.61% (5,123 votes)

Margin of victory less than 5% (135 electoral votes):

1. Alabama, 1.30% (17,462 votes)
2. Mississippi, 1.32% (11,808 votes)
3. Kentucky, 1.46% (18,857 votes)
4. South Carolina, 1.53% (13,647 votes)
5. Hawaii, 1.90% (5,767 votes)
6. North Carolina, 2.12% (39,383 votes)
7. Delaware, 2.33% (5,498 votes)
8. New York, 2.67% (165,459 votes)
9. Maryland, 2.96% (45,555 votes)
10. Maine's 1st Congressional District, 3.15% (8,661 votes)
11. Maine, 3.36% (17,548 votes)
12. Maine's 2nd Congressional District, 3.73% (8,887 votes)
13. Minnesota, 3.94% (80,933 votes)
14. West Virginia, 4.51% (33,256 votes)
15. Wisconsin, 4.72% (107,261 votes)

Margin of victory more than 5%, but less than 10% (113 electoral votes):

1. Louisiana, 5.45% (84,400 votes)
2. Vermont, 5.96% (12,707 votes)
3. Michigan, 6.49% (253,693 votes)
4. Missouri, 6.81% (142,999 votes)
5. Pennsylvania, 7.11% (324,332 votes)
6. Illinois, 7.93% (376,636 votes) (tipping-point state)
7. Connecticut, 9.64% (135,478 votes)
8. Oregon, 9.66% (114,154 votes)

Counties with highest percentage of the vote (Republican)

1. Banner County, Nebraska 90.41%
2. Madison County, Idaho 88.41%
3. McIntosh County, North Dakota 86.01%
4. McPherson County, South Dakota 85.60%
5. Franklin County, Idaho 85.31%

Counties with highest percentage of the vote (Democratic)

1. Macon County, Alabama 80.10%
2. Hancock County, Georgia 78.50%
3. Duval County, Texas 77.91%
4. Jefferson County, Mississippi 77.84%
5. Greene County, Alabama 77.09%

Counties with highest percentage of the vote (Other)

1. Pitkin County, Colorado 27.76%
2. Nantucket, Massachusetts 21.63%
3. Winnebago County, Illinois 21.50%
4. Dukes County, Massachusetts 20.88%
5. Story County, Iowa 19.41%

Source: CBS News and The New York Times exit poll from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (15,201 surveyed){{cite news|url=https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-1980|title=How Groups Voted in 1980|website=ropercenter.cornell.edu|access-date=December 11, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625160507/https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-1980|archive-date=June 25, 2022}}

In 1986, it was revealed that Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos had allegedly donated money to both Carter's and Reagan's campaigns.{{cite news |title=Mr. Marcos' Money? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/07/30/mr-marcos-money/310a0cb9-780a-43d5-ab66-6e26047c4641/ |work=The Washington Post |date=July 29, 1986|access-date=January 18, 2025}}

{{Portal|United States|Politics|1980s|Conservatism}}

• 1980 United States Senate elections
• 1980 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1980 United States gubernatorial elections
• History of the United States (1964–1980)
• History of the United States (1980–1991)
• Anderson v. Celebrezze
• Political activities of the Koch brothers
• Debategate per allegations of Carter's briefing books being leaked to Reagan campaign prior to their debate

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Busch |first=Andrew E. |title=Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right |year=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence |isbn=0-7006-1407-9 }}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070409014740/http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.1103/article_detail.asp online review by Michael Barone]
• Davies, Gareth, and Julian E. Zelizer, eds. America at the Ballot Box: Elections and Political History (2015) pp. 196–218.
• {{Cite book |last=Ehrman |first=John |title=The Eighties: American in the Age of Reagan |year=2005 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-10662-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/eightiesamericai00ehrm }}
• {{cite book| last1=Ferguson| first1=Thomas|author-link1=Thomas Ferguson (academic)| first2=Joel |last2= Rogers| author-link2=Joel Rogers| year=1986| title=Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and the Future of American Politics| publisher=Hill and Wang| location=New York| isbn=0-8090-8191-1| url=https://archive.org/details/rightturndecline00ferg_0}}
• {{cite book| last1=Germond| first1=Jack W.|author-link1=Jack Germond|first2=Jules|last2= Witcover|author-link2=Jules Witcover| year=1981| title=Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won & Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980 | url=https://archive.org/details/bluesmokemirrors00germ| url-access=registration|publisher=Viking |location=New York |isbn=0-670-51383-0 }}
• Hogue, Andrew P. Stumping God: Reagan, Carter, and the Invention of a Political Faith (Baylor University Press; 2012) 343 pages; A study of religious rhetoric in the campaign
• Johnstone, Andrew, and Andrew Priest, eds. US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy: Candidates, Campaigns, and Global Politics from FDR to Bill Clinton (2017) pp 250–270. [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/50578/ online]
• Mason, Jim (2011). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#1980 No Holding Back: The 1980 John B. Anderson Presidential Campaign]. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. {{ISBN|0761852263}}.
• {{Cite book |last1=Pomper |first1=Gerald M. |author1-link=Gerald M. Pomper |first2=Ross K.|last2= Baker|first3= Kathleen A.|last3= Frankovic|first4= Charles E.|last4= Jacob|first5= Wilson Carey |last5=McWilliams|first6= Henry A.|last6= Plotkin |editor1-last=Pomper |editor1-first=Marlene M. |year=1981 |title=The Election of 1980: Reports and Interpretations |location=Chatham, NJ |publisher=Chatham House|isbn=0-934540-10-1|url=https://archive.org/details/electionof1980re0000unse}}
• {{Cite book |last=Shirley |first=Craig |author-link= Craig Shirley |title=Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America |year=2009 |publisher=Intercollegiate Studies Institute |location=Wilmington, Del. |isbn=978-1-933859-55-2 }}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#1980 online review by Lou Cannon]
• Stanley, Timothy. Kennedy vs. Carter: The 1980 Battle for the Democratic Party's Soul (University Press of Kansas, 2010) 298 pages. A revisionist history of the 1970s and their political aftermath that argues that Ted Kennedy's 1980 campaign was more popular than has been acknowledged; describes his defeat by Jimmy Carter in terms of a "historical accident" rather than perceived radicalism.
• {{Cite book |last=Troy |first=Gil |author-link=Gil Troy |year=2005 |title=Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s |url=https://archive.org/details/morninginamerica00troy |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton |isbn=0-691-12166-4}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ward |first=Jon |year=2019 |title=Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party |location=New York; Boston |publisher=Twelve |isbn=9781455591381 |oclc=1085989134}}
• {{Cite book |last=West |first=Darrell M. |year=1984 |title=Making Campaigns Count: Leadership and Coalition-Building in 1980 |url=https://archive.org/details/makingcampaignsc00west |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Ct. |isbn=0-313-24235-6}}

• {{cite journal| first1=Jerome |last1=Himmelstein |author2=J. A. McRae Jr.| title=Social Conservatism, New Republicans and the 1980 Election| journal=Public Opinion Quarterly| volume=48| year=1984| pages=595–605| doi=10.1086/268860| issue=3}}
• {{cite journal| first1=Seymour M.| last1=Lipset|author-link1=Seymour Martin Lipset|first2=Earl |last2= Raab| title=Evangelicals and the Elections| journal=Commentary| volume=71| year=1981| pages=25–31}}
• {{cite journal| first=Arthur H.| last=Miller|first2=Martin P. |last2=Wattenberg|author-link2=Martin Wattenberg (political scientist)| title=Politics from the Pulpit: Religiosity and the 1980 Elections| journal=Public Opinion Quarterly| volume=48| year=1984| pages=300–12| doi=10.1093/poq/48.1b.301 |s2cid=144534190}}

• {{Cite news |last=Knickerbocker |first=Brad |date=21 October 1981 |title=Did TV change Election '80? |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/1021/102132.html |work=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=3 November 2020}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#1980 The Election Wall's 1980 Election Video Page]
• [http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1980.htm 1980 popular vote by counties]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070516080353/http://presidentelect.org/e1980.html 1980 popular vote by states]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#1980 1980 popular vote by states (with bar graphs)]
• [http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980 Campaign commercials from the 1980 election]
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#1980 |date=August 25, 2012 |title=How close was the 1980 election? }}—Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• {{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20101026115349/http://cccp.tv/video/Mezhdunarodnaja_panorama_u_finis/ Portrayal of 1980 presidential elections in the U.S. by the Soviet television]
• [http://www.countingthevotes.com/1980/ Election of 1980 in Counting the Votes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311083117/http://www.countingthevotes.com/1980 |date=March 11, 2016 }}

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{{State results of the 1980 U.S. presidential election}}

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{{Notable third party performances in United States elections}}

{{Ronald Reagan}}

{{George H. W. Bush}}

{{Jimmy Carter}}

{{Walter Mondale}}

{{Ted Kennedy}}

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1980 United States Presidential Election

1980

Category:Ronald Reagan

Category:Jimmy Carter

Category:Walter Mondale

Category:George H. W. Bush

Category:November 1980 in the United States

United States