Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1980
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| Democratic Presidential Primaries, 1980 |
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| 1980 | ||||
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.jpg/120px-TedKennedy(D-MA).jpg) |
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| Nominee | Jimmy Carter (inc.) | Ted Kennedy | Jerry Brown | |
| Party | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic | |
| Home state | Georgia | Massachusetts | California | |
| States carried | 37 | 12 | 1 | |
| Popular vote | 10,043,016 | 7,381,693 | 575,296 | |
| Percentage | 51.13% | 37.58% | 2.93% | |
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1980 Democratic Party Presidential primaries and caucuses
Contents |
[edit] Candidates
.jpg/88px-TedKennedy(D-MA).jpg) Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts |
[edit] The primaries
In the spring and summer of 1979 inflation was on the rise and various parts of the country were experiencing energy shortages.[1] The gas lines last seen just after the Arab/Israeli war of 1973 were back and President Carter was widely blamed.
The President’s approval ratings were very low -- 28% according to Gallup,[2] with some other polls giving even lower numbers. In July Carter returned from Camp David to reshuffle his cabinet and give a televised address to the nation widely dubbed the "malaise" speech, though the word malaise was never used. 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 Kennedy finally made his long-expected run at the Presidency.
Ted Kennedy had been asked to take his brother’s place at the 1968 Democratic Convention and had refused. He ran for Senate Majority Whip in 1969, however, and many thought that he was going to use that as a platform for 1972.[3] But then came the notorious Chappaquiddick incident.
Kennedy refused to run in 1972, and again in 1976. Many suspected that Chappaquiddick had destroyed any ability he had to win on a national level. However, in the summer of 1979, he consulted with his family, and that fall, he let it leak out that because of Carter’s failings, 1980 might indeed be the year. Gallup had him beating the president by over two to one.
Kennedy’s official announcement was scheduled for early November. There was a prime time interview with CBS’s Roger Mudd and it was a minor disaster. Kennedy flubbed a number of the questions and couldn’t exactly explain why he was running, and the polls, which showed him leading the President by 58-25 in August now had him ahead 49-39.[4] Then the hostages were taken in Tehran, Iran and the bottom fell out of the Kennedy campaign.
Carter’s approval ratings jumped in the 60-percent range in some polls, due to a "rally ‘round the flag" effect [5] 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.
Carter was still able to maintain a substantial lead even after Kennedy swept the last batch of primaries 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 what many saw as the best speech of his career. On the platform on the final day, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter.
[edit] States carried by candidates
Statewide contest by winners[6]:
Carter
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia (his home state)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Ohio
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Kennedy
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts (his home state)
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
Brown
[edit] Popular vote
Primaries total popular vote[7]
- Jimmy Carter (inc.) - 10,043,016 (51.13%)
- Ted Kennedy - 7,381,693 (37.58%)
- Unpledged - 1,288,423 (6.56%)
- Jerry Brown - 575,296 (2.93%)
- Lyndon LaRouche - 177,784 (0.91%)
- Cliff Finch - 48,032 (0.25%)
[edit] Convention
Presidential tally[8]
- Jimmy Carter (inc.) - 2,123 (64.04%)
- Ted Kennedy - 1,151 (34.72%)
- William Proxmire - 10 (0.30%)
- Koryne Kaneski Horbal - 5 (0.15%)
- Scott M. Matheson - 5 (0.15%)
- Ron Dellums - 3 (0.09%)
- Robert Byrd - 2 (0.06%)
- John Culver - 2 (0.06%)
- Kent Hance - 2 (0.06%)
- Jennings Randolph - 2 (0.06%)
- Warren Spannaus - 2 (0.06%)
- Alice Tripp - 2 (0.06%)
- Jerry Brown - 1 (0.03%)
- Dale Bumpers - 1 (0.03%)
- Hugh L. Carey - 1 (0.03%)
- Walter Mondale - 1 (0.03%)
- Edmund Muskie - 1 (0.03%)
- Thomas J. Steed - 1 (0.03%)
In the vice presidential roll call, Mondale was re-nominated with 2,428.7 votes to 723.3 not voting and 179 scattering.
[edit] Iowa caucus
| 1980 Iowa Caucus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| [[{{{party}}}|{{Template:{{{party}}}/meta/shortname}}]] | Jimmy Carter (Incumbent) | 59,100 | 59.16% | ||
| [[{{{party}}}|{{Template:{{{party}}}/meta/shortname}}]] | Edward Kennedy | 31,200 | 31.23% | - | |
| Majority | 27,900 | 27.93% | |||
[edit] New Hampsire primary
[edit] Massachusetts primary
[edit] References
- ^ ConsumerReports.org - Inflation-proofing
- ^ CNN.com - Poll: Bush approval mark at all-time low - Nov 14, 2005
- ^ US News and World Report Jan. 1969.
- ^ Time Magazine, 11/12/79
- ^ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0027(199012)34%3A4%3C588%3AFPAPPC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7
- ^ Elections
- ^ Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 26, 1980
- ^ Our Campaigns - US President - D Convention Race - Aug 11, 1980
| 1980 New Hampshire primary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| [[{{{party}}}|{{Template:{{{party}}}/meta/shortname}}]] | Jimmy Carter (Incumbent) | 52,692 | 47.08% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| [[{{{party}}}|{{Template:{{{party}}}/meta/shortname}}]] | Edward Kennedy | 41,745 | 37.30% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 10,947 | 9.78% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 Massachusetts primary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| [[{{{party}}}|{{Template:{{{party}}}/meta/shortname}}]] | Edward Kennedy | 590,393 | 65.07% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| [[{{{party}}}|{{Template:{{{party}}}/meta/shortname}}]] | Jimmy Carter (Incumbent) | 260,401 | 28.70% | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 329,992 | 36.37% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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