1984 United States presidential election

For related races, see 1984 United States elections.

1984 United States presidential election

November 6, 1984
538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	53.3% 0.7 pp
File:Vice President Mondale 1977 closeup.jpg Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale Party Republican Democratic Home state California Minnesota Running mate George H. W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro Electoral vote 525 13 States carried 49 1 + DC Popular vote 54,455,472 37,577,352 Percentage 58.8% 40.6%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Reagan/Bush and blue denotes those won by Mondale/Ferraro. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.
President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate, in a landslide victory, winning 525 electoral votes and 58.8 percent of the popular vote.

Reagan faced only token opposition in his bid for re-nomination by the Republicans, so he and Vice President George H. W. Bush were easily re-nominated. Mondale defeated activist Jesse Jackson and several other candidates in the 1984 Democratic primaries before eventually choosing U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his running mate, the first woman to be on a major party's presidential ticket.

Reagan touted a strong economic recovery from the 1970s stagflation and the 1981–1982 recession, as well as the widespread perception that his presidency had overseen a revival of national confidence and prestige. At 73, Reagan was, at the time, the oldest person ever to be nominated by a major party for president. The Reagan campaign produced effective television advertising and deftly neutralized concerns regarding Reagan's age. Mondale criticized Reagan's supply-side economic policies and budget deficits and he called for a nuclear freeze and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Reagan won a landslide re-election victory, carrying 49 of the 50 states, making this the second election in the 20th century in which a party won 49 states. Mondale won only his home state of Minnesota with a 0.18% margin, and the District of Columbia. Reagan won 525 of the 538 electoral votes, the most of any presidential candidate in U.S. history. In terms of electoral votes, this was the second-most lopsided presidential election in modern U.S. history; Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 victory over Alf Landon, in which he won 98.5 percent or 523 of the then-total 531 electoral votes, ranks first. Reagan won 58.8 percent of the popular vote to Mondale's 40.6 percent. His popular vote margin of victory—nearly 16.9 million votes (54.4 million for Reagan to 37.5 million for Mondale)—was exceeded only by Richard Nixon in his 1972 victory over George McGovern. Reagan was also the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to be re-elected while winning absolute popular vote majorities in both of his presidential campaigns.

At the age of 73, Reagan was the oldest person ever elected president at that point. He was surpassed by Joe Biden, 77 at the time of his election, in 2020. As of 2021, no Republican candidate has since won New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, Hawaii, or Rhode Island. Wisconsin would also not go Republican again until Donald Trump carried the state in 2016.

As of 2021, this is the most recent presidential election in which both major parties' presidential and vice presidential nominees are deceased.

Nominations

Republican Party candidates

Main article: 1984 Republican Party presidential primaries

• Ben Fernandez, former Special Ambassador to Paraguay, from California
• Ronald Reagan, President of the United States
• Harold Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota

Republican Party (United States) 1984 Republican Party ticket
Ronald Reagan	George H. W. Bush
for President	for Vice President
40th President of the United States (1981–1989)	43rd Vice President of the United States (1981–1989)
Campaign

Primaries

President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas

Ronald Reagan—the incumbent president—was the assured nominee for the Republican Party, with only token opposition. The popular vote from the Republican primaries was as follows:

• Ronald Reagan (inc.): 6,484,987 (98.78%)
• Unpledged delegates: 55,458 (0.85%)
• Harold Stassen: 12,749 (0.19%)
• Benjamin Fernandez: 202 (0.00%)

Reagan was renominated by a vote of 2,233 delegates (two delegates abstained). For the only time in American history, the vice presidential roll call was taken concurrently with the presidential roll call. Vice President George H. W. Bush was overwhelmingly renominated. This was the last time in the 20th century that the vice presidential candidate of either major party was nominated by roll call vote.

Balloting

Presidential ballot		Vice Presidential ballot
Ronald Reagan	2,233	George H. W. Bush	2,231
Abstaining	2	Abstaining	2
		Jack Kemp	1
		Jeane Kirkpatrick	1

Democratic Party candidates

Main article: 1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Mondale campaigning in Pennsylvania

• Reubin Askew, former Governor of Florida
• Alan Cranston, U.S. senator from California
• John Glenn, U.S. senator from Ohio and former NASA astronaut
• Gary Hart, U.S. senator from Colorado
• Ernest Hollings, U.S. senator from South Carolina
• Jesse Jackson, clergyman and civil rights activist from Illinois
• George McGovern, former U.S. senator and 1972 Democratic nominee from South Dakota
• Walter Mondale, former Vice President and former U.S. senator from Minnesota

Democratic Party (United States) 1984 Democratic Party ticket
Walter Mondale	Geraldine Ferraro
for President	for Vice President
File:Vice President Mondale 1977 closeup.jpg
42nd Vice President of the United States (1977–1981)	U.S. representative from New York (1979–1985)
Campaign

Primaries

Mondale celebrates his victory in the Iowa caucus.

Only three Democratic candidates won any state primaries: Mondale, Hart, and Jackson. Initially, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, after a failed bid to win the 1980 Democratic nomination for president, was considered the de facto front-runner of the 1984 primary. However, Kennedy announced in December 1982 that he did not intend to run. Former Vice-President Mondale was then viewed as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Mondale had the largest number of party leaders supporting him, and he had raised more money than any other candidate. However, both Jackson and Hart emerged as surprising, and troublesome, opponents.

South Carolina Senator Ernest Hollings's wit and experience, as well as his call for a budget freeze, won him some positive attention, but his relatively conservative record alienated liberal Democrats, and he was never really noticed in a field dominated by Walter Mondale, John Glenn, and Gary Hart. Hollings dropped out two days after losing badly in New Hampshire and endorsed Hart a week later. His disdain for his competitors was at times showcased in his comments. He notably referred to Mondale as a "lapdog", and to former astronaut Glenn as "Sky King" who was "confused in his capsule."

California Senator Alan Cranston hoped to galvanize supporters of the nuclear freeze movement that had called on the United States to halt the deployment of existing nuclear weapons and the development of new ones. Glenn and Askew hoped to capture the support of moderate and conservative Democrats. None of them possessed the fundraising ability of Mondale nor the grassroots support of Hart and Jackson, and none won any contests.

Jackson was the second African-American (after Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for the presidency, and he was the first African-American candidate to be a serious contender. He got 3.5 million votes during the primaries, third behind Hart and Mondale. He won the primaries in Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana, and split Mississippi, where there were two separate contests for Democratic delegates. Through the primaries, Jackson helped confirm the black electorate's importance to the Democratic Party in the South at the time. During the campaign, however, Jackson made an off-the-cuff reference to Jews as "Hymies" and New York City as "Hymietown", for which he later apologized. Nonetheless, the remark was widely publicized, and derailed his campaign for the nomination. Jackson ended up winning 21% of the national primary vote but received only 8% of the delegates to the national convention, and he initially charged that his campaign was hurt by the same party rules that allowed Mondale to win. He also poured scorn on Mondale, saying that Hubert Humphrey was the "last significant politician out of the St. Paul-Minneapolis" area.

Hart, from Colorado, was a more serious threat to Mondale, and after winning several early primaries it looked as if he might take the nomination away from Mondale. Hart finished a surprising second in the Iowa caucuses, with 16.5% of the vote. This established him as the main rival to Mondale, effectively eliminating John Glenn, Ernest Hollings and Alan Cranston as alternatives. Hart criticized Mondale as an "old-fashioned" New Deal Democrat who symbolized "failed policies" of the past. Hart positioned himself (just as Bill Clinton would eight years later) as a younger, fresher, and more moderate Democrat who could appeal to younger voters. He emerged as a formidable candidate, winning the key New Hampshire, Ohio, and California primaries as well as several others, especially in the West. However, Hart could not overcome Mondale's financial and organizational advantages, especially among labor union leaders in the Midwest and industrial Northeast.

Hart was also badly hurt in a televised debate with Mondale during the primaries, when the former vice president used a popular television commercial slogan to ridicule Hart's vague "New Ideas" platform. Turning to Hart on camera, Mondale told Hart that whenever he heard Hart talk about his "New Ideas", he was reminded of the Wendy's fast-food slogan "Where's the beef?" The remark drew loud laughter and applause from the viewing audience and caught Hart off-guard. Hart never fully recovered from Mondale's charge that his "New Ideas" were shallow and lacking in specifics.

Mondale celebrates several victories in March 13 primaries with Jimmy Carter (under whom Mondale had previously served as vice president) at his campaign headquarters.

At a roundtable debate between the three remaining Democratic candidates moderated by Phil Donahue, Mondale and Hart got into such a heated argument over the issue of U.S. policy in Central America that Jackson had to tap his water glass on the table to help get them to stop.

Mondale gradually pulled away from Hart in the delegate count, but, as Time reported in late May, "Mondale ... has a wide lead in total delegates (1,564 to 941) ... because of his victories in the big industrial states, his support from the Democratic Establishment and the arcane provisions of delegate-selection rules that his vanguard helped draft two years ago." After the final primary in California, on June 5, which Hart won, Mondale was about 40 delegates short of the total he needed for the nomination. However, at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco on July 16, Mondale received the overwhelming support of the unelected superdelegates from the party establishment to win the nomination.

Mondale's nomination marked the second time since the nomination of former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter in 1976 and the fourth time since the nomination of former Representative John W. Davis in 1924 that the Democratic Party nominated a private citizen for President (i.e., not serving in an official government role at the time of the nomination and election). Mondale was the last private citizen to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party until former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. Mondale was also the last former Vice President to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party after leaving office until Joe Biden in 2020.

This race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination was the closest in two generations, and, as of 2020, it was the last occasion that a major party's race for the presidential nomination went all the way to its convention.

Endorsements

Note: These are only those endorsements which occurred during or before the primary race.

Convention

This was the convention's nomination tally:

Balloting

Presidential ballot		Vice Presidential ballot
Walter F. Mondale	2,191	Geraldine A. Ferraro	3,920
Gary W. Hart	1,200.5	Shirley Chisholm	3
Jesse L. Jackson	465.5
Thomas F. Eagleton	18
George S. McGovern	4
John H. Glenn	2
Joe Biden	1
Lane Kirkland	1

When he made his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, Mondale said: "Let's tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did." Although Mondale intended to expose Reagan as hypocritical and position himself as the honest candidate, the choice of raising taxes as a discussion point likely damaged his electoral chances.

Vice presidential nominee

Ferraro with Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis at a campaign stop in Boston

Mondale chose U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro from New York as his running mate, making her the first woman nominated for that position by a major party, and the first Italian American on a major party ticket since Al Smith in 1928. Mondale wanted to establish a precedent with his vice presidential candidate; although Tonie Nathan of the Libertarian Party had already figured as an Electoral-College candidate for vice-president (1972), Ferraro would become the first woman to receive votes from all the electors of a state. Another reason for the nominee to "go for broke" instead of balancing the ticket was Reagan's lead in the polls. Mondale hoped to appeal to women, and by 1980, they were the majority of voters. In a "much criticized parade of possible Veep candidates" to his home in Minnesota, Mondale considered San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein and Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins, also female; Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, an African American; and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, a Hispanic, as other finalists for the nomination. In addition to her sex, Mondale chose Ferraro because he hoped she would attract ethnic voters with her personal background. Unsuccessful nomination candidate Jesse Jackson derided Mondale's vice-presidential screening process as a "P.R. parade of personalities", but praised Mondale for his choice, having himself pledged to name a woman to the ticket in the event he was nominated.

Mondale had wanted to choose New York Governor Mario Cuomo as his running mate, but Cuomo declined and recommended Ferraro, his protégée. Mondale might have named Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as his running mate had he wanted to make a "safe" choice", while others preferred Senator Lloyd Bentsen because he would appeal to more conservative Southern voters. Nomination rival Gary Hart stated before Ferraro's selection that he would accept an invitation to run with Mondale; Hart's supporters claimed he would do better than Mondale against President Reagan, an argument undercut by a June 1984 Gallup poll that showed both men nine points behind the president.

Other parties

National Unity Party nomination

Sources:

Former Representative
John B. Anderson
from Illinois
(declined to run – April 26, 1984)
(endorsed Mondale – August 27)

The National Unity Party was an outgrowth of John Anderson's presidential campaign from the 1980 presidential election. Anderson hoped that the party would be able to challenge the "two old parties", which he viewed as being tied to various special interest groups and incapable of responsible fiscal reform. The intention was to organize the new party in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, the New England states, and others where his previous candidacy had proven to have experienced the most success. The party was also eligible for $5.8 million in Federal election funds, but its qualification depended on it being on the ballot in at least ten states; however, it remained unclear if National Unity could actually obtain the funds, or if it needed to be Anderson himself.

Anderson initially was against running, hoping that another notable politico would take the party into the 1984 election, and feared that his own candidacy might result in the party being labeled a "personality cult". However, no candidate came forward resulting in Anderson becoming the nominee in waiting. While Anderson had found equal support from the Republicans and Democrats in the 1980 election, the grand majority of the former had since switched back, resulting in the new party being supported principally by those who normally would vote Democratic, which it was feared might make him a spoiler candidate. In light of this, in addition to difficulties in getting on the ballot in his targeted states (Utah and Kentucky were the only two, neither among those he intended to prominently campaign in), Anderson ultimately declined to run. Later he would endorse the Democratic nominee, Walter Mondale.

Anderson had hoped that the party would continue to grow and later field a candidate in 1988 (which he declared would not be him), but it floundered and ultimately dissolved.

Libertarian Party nomination

• David Bergland, Party Chairman from California
• Gene Burns, talk radio host from Florida (withdrew – August 26, 1983)
• Tonie Nathan, 1972 vice presidential nominee from Oregon (declined to contest)
• Earl Ravenal, foreign policy analyst, academic, and writer from Washington, D.C.
• Mary Ruwart, research scientist from Texas

Burns was the initial frontrunner for the nomination, but withdrew, citing concerns that the party would not be able to properly finance a campaign. The remaining candidates were Bergland; Ravenal, who had worked in the Department of Defense under Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford; and Ruwart. Bergland narrowly won the presidential nomination over Ravenal. His running mate was James A. Lewis. The ticket appeared on 39 state ballots.

Citizens Party nomination

Sonia Johnson ran in the 1984 presidential election, as the presidential candidate of the Citizens Party, Pennsylvania's Consumer Party and California's Peace and Freedom Party. Johnson received 72,161 votes (0.1%) finishing fifth. Her running mate for the Citizens Party was Richard Walton and for the Peace and Freedom Party Emma Wong Mar. One of her campaign managers, Mark Dunlea, later wrote a novel about a first female president, Madame President.

Communist Party nomination

The Communist Party USA ran Gus Hall for president and Angela Davis for vice president.

General election

Campaign

Mondale and Ferraro campaigning in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Mondale ran a liberal campaign, supporting a nuclear freeze and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). He spoke against what he considered to be unfairness in Reagan's economic policies and the need to reduce federal budget deficits.

While Ferraro's choice was popular among Democratic activists, polls immediately after the announcement showed that only 22% of women were pleased about her selection, versus 18% who agreed that it was a bad idea. 60% of all voters thought that pressure from women's groups had led to Mondale's decision, versus 22% who believed that he had chosen the best available candidate. Some members of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church criticized the Catholic Ferraro for being pro-choice on abortion. Already fighting an uphill battle with voters, Ferraro also faced a slew of allegations, mid-campaign, directed toward her husband, John Zaccaro. These allegations included Zaccaro's possible past involvement in organized crime, pornography distribution, and campaign contribution violations. Ferraro responded to these allegations against her husband by releasing her family tax returns to the media on August 21, 1984. However, the damage to the campaign was already done.

Reagan and Bush campaigning in Austin, Texas

At a campaign stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan said, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs of a man so many young Americans admire, New Jersey's Bruce Springsteen." The Reagan campaign briefly used "Born in the U.S.A.", a song criticizing the treatment of Vietnam War veterans (which they mistakenly thought was devoid of anti-war content and a very jingoistic patriotic rock song), as a campaign song, without permission, until Springsteen, a lifelong Democrat, insisted that they stop. The Reagan campaign was very skilled at producing effective television advertising. Two of the more memorable ads it produced were commonly known as "Bear in the woods" and "Morning in America".

Clip from the second debate in which Reagan responds to a question about his age

Reagan was the oldest president to have served to that time (at 73) and there were questions about his capacity to endure the grueling demands of the presidency, particularly after Reagan had a poor showing in his first debate with Mondale on October 7. He referred to having started going to church "here in Washington", although the debate was in Louisville, Kentucky, referred to military uniforms as "wardrobe", and admitted to being "confused", among other mistakes. In the next debate on October 21, however, in response to a question about his age, Reagan joked, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Mondale himself laughed at the joke, and later admitted that Reagan had effectively neutralized the age issue:

If TV can tell the truth, as you say it can, you'll see that I was smiling. But I think if you come in close, you'll see some tears coming down because I knew he had gotten me there. That was really the end of my campaign that night, I think. [I told my wife] the campaign was over, and it was.

Presidential debates

Main article: 1984 United States presidential debates

There were two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate during the 1984 general election.

No.	Date	Host	Location	Panelists	Moderator	Participants	Viewership (Millions)
P1	Sunday, October 7, 1984	The Kentucky Center	Louisville, Kentucky	James Wieghart Diane Sawyer Fred Barnes	Barbara Walters	President Ronald Reagan Vice President Walter Mondale	65.1
VP	Thursday, October 11, 1984	Philadelphia Civic Center	Philadelphia	John Bashek Jack White Robert Boyd	Sander Vanocur	Vice President George H. W. Bush Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro	56.7
P2	Sunday, October 21, 1984	Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri)	Kansas City, Missouri	Georgie Anne Geyer Marvin Kalb Morton Kondracke	Edwin Newman	President Ronald Reagan Vice President Walter Mondale	67.3

Results

• 
  Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

Election results by county

  Ronald Reagan

  Walter Mondale

Results by congressional district

Margin of victory by state

Reagan was re-elected in the November 6 election in an electoral and popular vote landslide, winning 49 states by the time the ballots were finished counting on election night at 11:34 PM in Iowa. He won a record 525 electoral votes total (of 538 possible), and received 58.8% of the popular vote; despite Ferraro's selection, 55% of women who voted did so for Reagan, and his 54 to 61% of the Catholic vote was the highest for a Republican candidate in history. Mondale's 13 electoral college votes (from his home state of Minnesota—which he won by 0.18%—and the District of Columbia) marked the lowest total of any major presidential candidate since Alf Landon's 1936 loss to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mondale's defeat was also the worst for any Democratic Party candidate in American history in the Electoral College (and his 13 electoral votes the fewest any Democrat has won since Stephen A. Douglas claimed 12 in the 1860 election, when the Democratic vote was divided), though others, including Alton B. Parker, James M. Cox, John W. Davis, and George S. McGovern, did worse in the popular vote.

Psephologists attributed a factor of the Republican victory to "Reagan Democrats", millions of Democrats who voted for Reagan, as in 1980. They characterized such Reagan Democrats as southern whites and northern blue collar workers who voted for Reagan because they credited him with the economic recovery, saw Reagan as strong on national security issues, and perceived the Democrats as supporting the poor and minorities at the expense of the middle class. The Democratic National Committee commissioned a study after the election that came to these conclusions, but destroyed all copies of the final report, afraid that it would offend the party's key voters. Reagan also benefited from a near-total collapse in the third-party vote, which dropped to just 0.67% of the popular vote, its lowest level since 1964. Despite John B. Anderson's endorsement of Mondale, the majority of the people who voted for Anderson in 1980 voted for Reagan in this 1984 election, as did the majority of those who voted for Ed Clark in 1980.

Reagan receiving a concession call from Mondale

When Reagan was asked in December 1984 what he wanted for Christmas he joked, "Well, Minnesota would have been nice". Reagan lost Minnesota in both this election and in 1980, making it the only state he failed to win in either election, and also making him the first two-term president not to carry Minnesota since Woodrow Wilson. The same feat would later be duplicated by fellow Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush who won both the 2000, and 2004 United States Presidential Elections without winning Minnesota either time. This is the last election where the Republican candidate achieved any of the following: Win every state in the Northeastern and Pacific regions of the United States; win at least one county in every state; and win any of the following states: Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.

It was also the last election where the Republican nominee won Wisconsin until 2016, Iowa until 2004, West Virginia until 2000, the last election in which the winning candidate won by a double-digit margin in the percentage of the popular vote, and the last election where the winning candidate won by an eight-digit margin in total popular votes (10 million or more). Finally, despite his narrow loss in Minnesota, Reagan still won in five out of its eight congressional districts (by contrast, Nixon had only carried one Massachusetts district twelve years earlier) thus making Reagan the only U.S. presidential candidate in history to win the popular vote in a majority of congressional districts in every state. In stark contrast, Mondale became the first major-party U.S. presidential candidate since the start of popular presidential elections not to win a majority of the popular vote in even a single state (not counting Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, and William H. Taft in 1912, elections which were both complicated by strong third-party performances, plus the Democratic vote being divided between Douglas and John C. Breckinridge in 1860), having only won a plurality of 49.7% of the vote in Minnesota.

Statistics

Electoral results

Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Popular vote		Electoral vote	Running mate
			Count	Percentage		Vice-presidential candidate	Home state	Electoral vote
Ronald Wilson Reagan (Incumbent)	Republican	California	54,455,472	58.77%	525	George Herbert Walker Bush	Texas	525
Walter Frederick Mondale	Democratic	Minnesota	37,577,352	40.56%	13	Geraldine Anne Ferraro	New York	13
David Bergland	Libertarian	California	228,111	0.25%	0	Jim Lewis	Connecticut	0
Lyndon LaRouche	Independent	Virginia	78,809	0.09%	0	Billy Davis	Mississippi	0
Sonia Johnson	Citizens	Idaho	72,161	0.08%	0	Richard Walton	Rhode Island	0
Bob Richards	Populist	Texas	66,324	0.07%	0	Maureen Salaman	California	0
Dennis L. Serrette	New Alliance	New Jersey	46,853	0.05%	0	Nancy Ross	New York	0
Gus Hall	Communist	New York	36,386	0.04%	0	Angela Davis	California	0
Melvin T. Mason	Socialist Workers	California	24,699	0.03%	0	Matilde Zimmermann	New York	0
Larry Holmes	Workers World	New York	17,985	0.02%	0	Gloria La Riva	California	0
Other			49,181	0.05%	—	Other		—
Total			92,653,233	100%	538			538
Needed to win					270			270

Source for the popular vote:
Source for the electoral vote:

Popular vote Reagan   58.77% Mondale   40.56% Bergland   0.25% Others   0.42%

Electoral vote Reagan   97.58% Mondale   2.42%

Results by state

Sources:

Legend

States/districts won by Reagan/Bush
States/districts won by Mondale/Ferraro
†	At-large results (Maine used the Congressional District Method)

		Ronald Reagan Republican			Walter Mondale Democratic			David Bergland Libertarian			Margin		State Total
State	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	#
Alabama	9	872,849	60.54	9	551,899	38.28	–	9,504	0.66	–	320,950	22.26	1,441,713	AL
Alaska	3	138,377	66.65	3	62,007	29.87	–	6,378	3.07	–	76,370	36.79	207,605	AK
Arizona	7	681,416	66.42	7	333,854	32.54	–	10,585	1.03	–	347,562	33.88	1,025,897	AZ
Arkansas	6	534,774	60.47	6	338,646	38.29	–	2,221	0.25	–	196,128	22.18	884,406	AR
California	47	5,467,009	57.51	47	3,922,519	41.27	–	49,951	0.53	–	1,544,490	16.25	9,505,423	CA
Colorado	8	821,818	63.44	8	454,974	35.12	–	11,257	0.87	–	366,844	28.32	1,295,381	CO
Connecticut	8	890,877	60.73	8	569,597	38.83	–	–	–	–	321,280	21.90	1,466,900	CT
Delaware	3	152,190	59.78	3	101,656	39.93	–	268	0.11	–	50,534	19.85	254,572	DE
D.C.	3	29,009	13.73	–	180,408	85.38	3	279	0.13	–	−151,399	−71.66	211,288	DC
Florida	21	2,730,350	65.32	21	1,448,816	34.66	–	754	0.02	–	1,281,534	30.66	4,180,051	FL
Georgia	12	1,068,722	60.17	12	706,628	39.79	–	151	0.01	–	362,094	20.39	1,776,093	GA
Hawaii	4	185,050	55.10	4	147,154	43.82	–	2,167	0.65	–	37,896	11.28	335,846	HI
Idaho	4	297,523	72.36	4	108,510	26.39	–	2,823	0.69	–	189,013	45.97	411,144	ID
Illinois	24	2,707,103	56.17	24	2,086,499	43.30	–	10,086	0.21	–	620,604	12.88	4,819,088	IL
Indiana	12	1,377,230	61.67	12	841,481	37.68	–	6,741	0.30	–	535,749	23.99	2,233,069	IN
Iowa	8	703,088	53.27	8	605,620	45.89	–	1,844	0.14	–	97,468	7.39	1,319,805	IA
Kansas	7	677,296	66.27	7	333,149	32.60	–	3,329	0.33	–	344,147	33.67	1,021,991	KS
Kentucky	9	822,782	60.04	9	539,589	39.37	–	–	–	–	283,193	20.66	1,370,461	KY
Louisiana	10	1,037,299	60.77	10	651,586	38.18	–	1,876	0.11	–	385,713	22.60	1,706,822	LA
Maine	2	336,500	60.83	2	214,515	38.78	–	–	–	–	121,985	22.05	553,144	ME
Maine-1	1	175,472	59.90	1	117,450	40.10	–	–	–	–	58,022	19.81	292,922	ME1
Maine-2	1	161,028	62.39	1	97,065	37.61	–	–	–	–	63,963	24.78	258,093	ME2
Maryland	10	879,918	52.51	10	787,935	47.02	–	5,721	0.34	–	91,983	5.49	1,675,873	MD
Massachusetts	13	1,310,936	51.22	13	1,239,606	48.43	–	–	–	–	71,330	2.79	2,559,453	MA
Michigan	20	2,251,571	59.23	20	1,529,638	40.24	–	10,055	0.26	–	721,933	18.99	3,801,658	MI
Minnesota	10	1,032,603	49.54	–	1,036,364	49.72	10	2,996	0.14	–	−3,761	−0.18	2,084,449	MN
Mississippi	7	581,477	61.85	7	352,192	37.46	–	2,336	0.25	–	229,285	24.39	940,192	MS
Missouri	11	1,274,188	60.02	11	848,583	39.98	–	–	–	–	425,605	20.05	2,122,771	MO
Montana	4	232,450	60.47	4	146,742	38.18	–	5,185	1.35	–	85,708	22.30	384,377	MT
Nebraska	5	460,054	70.55	5	187,866	28.81	–	2,079	0.32	–	272,188	41.74	652,090	NE
Nevada	4	188,770	65.85	4	91,655	31.97	–	2,292	0.80	–	97,115	33.88	286,667	NV
New Hampshire	4	267,051	68.66	4	120,395	30.95	–	735	0.19	–	146,656	37.71	388,954	NH
New Jersey	16	1,933,630	60.09	16	1,261,323	39.20	–	6,416	0.20	–	672,307	20.89	3,217,862	NJ
New Mexico	5	307,101	59.70	5	201,769	39.23	–	4,459	0.87	–	105,332	20.48	514,370	NM
New York	36	3,664,763	53.84	36	3,119,609	45.83	–	11,949	0.18	–	545,154	8.01	6,806,810	NY
North Carolina	13	1,346,481	61.90	13	824,287	37.89	–	3,794	0.17	–	522,194	24.00	2,175,361	NC
North Dakota	3	200,336	64.84	3	104,429	33.80	–	703	0.23	–	95,907	31.04	308,971	ND
Ohio	23	2,678,560	58.90	23	1,825,440	40.14	–	5,886	0.13	–	853,120	18.76	4,547,619	OH
Oklahoma	8	861,530	68.61	8	385,080	30.67	–	9,066	0.72	–	476,450	37.94	1,255,676	OK
Oregon	7	685,700	55.91	7	536,479	43.74	–	–	–	–	149,221	12.17	1,226,527	OR
Pennsylvania	25	2,584,323	53.34	25	2,228,131	45.99	–	6,982	0.14	–	356,192	7.35	4,844,903	PA
Rhode Island	4	212,080	51.66	4	197,106	48.02	–	277	0.07	–	14,974	3.65	410,492	RI
South Carolina	8	615,539	63.55	8	344,470	35.57	–	4,360	0.45	–	271,069	27.99	968,540	SC
South Dakota	3	200,267	63.00	3	116,113	36.53	–	–	–	–	84,154	26.47	317,867	SD
Tennessee	11	990,212	57.84	11	711,714	41.57	–	3,072	0.18	–	278,498	16.27	1,711,993	TN
Texas	29	3,433,428	63.61	29	1,949,276	36.11	–	–	–	–	1,484,152	27.50	5,397,571	TX
Utah	5	469,105	74.50	5	155,369	24.68	–	2,447	0.39	–	313,736	49.83	629,656	UT
Vermont	3	135,865	57.92	3	95,730	40.81	–	1,002	0.43	–	40,135	17.11	234,561	VT
Virginia	12	1,337,078	62.29	12	796,250	37.09	–	–	–	–	540,828	25.19	2,146,635	VA
Washington	10	1,051,670	55.82	10	807,352	42.86	–	8,844	0.47	–	244,318	12.97	1,883,910	WA
West Virginia	6	405,483	55.11	6	328,125	44.60	–	–	–	–	77,358	10.51	735,742	WV
Wisconsin	11	1,198,800	54.19	11	995,847	45.02	–	4,884	0.22	–	202,953	9.18	2,212,016	WI
Wyoming	3	133,241	70.51	3	53,370	28.24	–	2,357	1.25	–	79,871	42.27	188,968	WY
TOTALS:	538	54,455,472	58.77	525	37,577,352	40.56	13	228,111	0.25	–	16,878,120	18.22	92,653,233	US

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.

Close states

Margin of victory less than 1% (10 electoral votes):

1. Minnesota, 0.18% (3,761 votes)

Margin of victory more than 1%, but less than 5% (17 electoral votes):

1. Massachusetts, 2.79% (71,330 votes)
2. Rhode Island, 3.65% (14,974 votes)

Margin of victory more than 5%, but less than 10% (90 electoral votes):

1. Maryland, 5.49% (91,983 votes)
2. Pennsylvania, 7.35% (356,192 votes)
3. Iowa, 7.38% (97,468 votes)
4. New York, 8.01% (545,154 votes)
5. Wisconsin, 9.17% (202,953 votes)

Tipping point:

1. Michigan, 18.99% (721,933 votes)

Counties

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)

1. Madison County, Idaho 92.88%
2. Hansford County, Texas 89.38%
3. Ochiltree County, Texas 89.15%
4. Grant County, Nebraska 88.45%
5. Blaine County, Nebraska 88.32%

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)

1. Washington, D.C. 85.38%
2. Macon County, Alabama 82.71%
3. Shannon County, South Dakota 81.41%
4. Jefferson County, Mississippi 77.94%
5. Hancock County, Georgia 76.61%

Voter demographics

The 1984 presidential vote by demographic subgroup
Demographic subgroup	Mondale	Reagan	% of total vote
Total vote	41	59	100
Ideology
Liberals	71	29	16
Moderates	46	54	42
Conservatives	18	82	33
Party
Democrats	74	26	38
Republicans	7	93	35
Independents	36	62	26
Gender
Men	38	62	47
Women	42	58	53
Race
White	34	66	86
Black	91	9	10
Hispanic	66	34	3
Age
18–24 years old	39	61	11
25–29 years old	43	57	12
30–49 years old	42	58	34
50–64 years old	39	61	23
65 and older	36	64	19
Family income
Under $12,500	54	46	15
$12,500–25,000	42	58	27
$25,000–35,000	40	60	20
$35,000–50,000	32	68	17
Over $50,000	31	69	12
Region
East	46	53	26
Midwest	39	61	30
South	37	63	27
West	38	62	17
Union households
Union	54	46	26

Source: CBS News and The New York Times exit poll from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (9,174 surveyed)

Notable expressions and phrases

• Where's the beef?: A slogan used by Wendy's to suggest that their competitors have smaller portions of meat in their sandwiches, but used in the Democratic primaries by Mondale to criticize Gary Hart's positions as lacking substance.
• Morning in America: Slogan used by the Reagan campaign.

See also

• 1984 United States Senate elections
• 1984 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1984 United States gubernatorial elections
• History of the United States (1980–1991)
• Second inauguration of Ronald Reagan

Further reading

• Boyd, Richard W., Paul R. Mencher, Philip J. Paseltiner, Ezra Paul, Alexander S. Vanda, "The 1984 Election as Anthony Downs and Stanley Kelley Might Interpret It", Political Behavior, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 197–213.

• Goldman, Peter, et al. The quest for the presidency 1984 (1985) online
• Ladd, Everett Carll (1985). "On Mandates, Realignments, and the 1984 Presidential Election". Political Science Quarterly. 100 (1): 1–24. doi:10.2307/2150858. JSTOR 2150858.
• Leuchtenburg, William E. (1986). The 1984 Election in Historical Perspective. Waco: Baylor University Press. ISBN 0-918954-45-2.
• Morris, Lorenzo (1990). The Social and Political Implications of the 1984 Jesse Jackson Presidential Campaign. New York: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-92785-7.

• Moore, Jonathan, ed. (1986). Campaign for President: The Managers Look at '84. Dover: Auburn House. ISBN 0-86569-132-0.
• Sandoz, E.; Crabb, C. V., Jr., eds. (1985). Election 84: Landslide Without a Mandate?. New York: New American Library. ISBN 0-451-62424-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Stempel, Guido H., III; John W. Windhauser (1991). The Media in the 1984 and 1988 Presidential Campaigns. New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26527-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• United States presidential election of 1984 at the Encyclopædia Britannica
• The Election Wall's 1984 Election Video Page
• 1984 popular vote by counties
• 1984 popular vote by states
• 1984 popular vote by states (with bar graphs)
• Campaign commercials from the 1984 election
• Democratic primaries at the Wayback Machine (archived October 26, 2009)
• "How close was the 1984 election?". Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Election of 1984 in Counting the Votes Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine