1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Jimmy Carter was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses, culminating in the 1980 Democratic National Convention, held from August 11 to 14, 1980, in New York City.

1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 1976
January 21 to June 3, 1980
1984 →

3,346 delegates to the Democratic National Convention
1,674 (majority) votes needed to win
 
Candidate Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Uncommitted
Home state Georgia Massachusetts
Delegate count 1,984 1,237 96
Contests won 37 13 1
Popular vote 10,043,016 7,381,693 1,288,423
Percentage 51.1% 37.6% 6.6%

     Carter      Kennedy      Uncommitted

Previous Democratic nominee

Jimmy Carter

Democratic nominee

Jimmy Carter

Carter faced a major primary challenger in Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who won 12 contests and received more than seven million votes nationwide, enough for him to refuse to concede the nomination until the second day of the convention. This remains the last primary election in which an incumbent president's party nomination was still contested going into the convention.

Carter would be the last incumbent president to lose a primary in any contest until Joe Biden lost to Jason Palmer in the 2024 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses. For the Democrats in 1980, a then-record of 37 primary races were held.

Primary race

At the time, Iran was experiencing a major uprising that severely damaged its oil infrastructure and greatly weakened its capability to produce oil. In January 1979, shortly after Iran's leader Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled the country, lead Iranian opposition figure Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from a 14-year exile and with the help of the Iranian people toppled the Shah which in turn led to the installation of a new government that was hostile towards the United States. The damage that resulted from Khomeini's rise to power was soon felt throughout many American cities. In the spring and summer of 1979 inflation was on the rise and various parts of the country were experiencing energy shortages. The gas lines last seen just after the Arab/Israeli war of 1973 were back and President Carter was widely blamed.

President Carter's approval ratings were very low—28% according to Gallup, with some other polls giving even lower numbers. In July Carter returned from Camp David and announced a reshuffling of his cabinet on national television, giving a speech whose downcast demeanor resulted in it being widely labelled the "malaise speech." While the speech caused a brief upswing in the president's approval rating, the decision to dismiss several cabinet members was widely seen as a rash act of desperation, causing his approval rating to plummet back into the twenties. Some Democrats felt it worth the risk to mount a challenge to Carter in the primaries. Although Hugh Carey and William Proxmire decided not to run, Senator Edward M. Kennedy finally made his long-expected run at the presidency.

Ted Kennedy had been asked to take his brother Robert's place at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and had refused. He ran for Senate Majority Whip in 1969, with many thinking that he was going to use this as a platform for the 1972 race. However, then came the notorious Chappaquiddick incident that killed Kennedy's car passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy subsequently refused to run for president in 1972 and 1976. Many of his supporters suspected that Chappaquiddick had destroyed any ability he had to win on a national level. Despite this, in the summer of 1979, Kennedy consulted with his extended family, and that fall, he let it leak out that because of Carter's failings, 1980 might indeed be the year he would try for the nomination. Gallup had him beating the president by over two to one, but Carter remained confident, famously claiming at a June White House gathering of Congressmen that if Kennedy ran against him in the primary, he would "whip his ass."

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" answer to the question of why he was running, and the polls, which showed him leading the President by 58–25 in August now had him ahead 49–39. Meanwhile, U.S. animosity towards the Khomeini régime greatly accelerated after 52 American hostages were taken by a group of Islamist students and militants at the U.S. embassy in Tehran and Carter's approval ratings jumped in the 60-percent range in some polls, due to a "rally ‘round the flag" effect and an appreciation of Carter's calm handling of the crisis. Taking advantage of Kennedy's separation from his then-wife Joan, one notable campaign bumper sticker from the 1980 campaign read "Vote Jimmy Carter, Free Joan Kennedy."

Kennedy was suddenly left far behind. Carter beat Kennedy decisively in Iowa and New Hampshire. Carter decisively defeated Kennedy everywhere except Massachusetts, until impatience began to build with the President's strategy on Iran. When the primaries in New York and Connecticut came around, it was Kennedy who won.

Momentum built for Ted Kennedy after Carter's attempt to rescue the hostages on April 25 ended in disaster and drew further skepticism towards Carter's leadership ability. Nevertheless, Carter was still able to maintain a substantial lead even after Kennedy won the key states of California and New Jersey in June. Despite this, Kennedy refused to drop out, and the 1980 Democratic National Convention was one of the nastiest on record. On the penultimate day, Kennedy conceded the nomination and called for a more liberal party platform in the Dream Shall Never Die speech, considered by many as the best speech of his career, and one of the best political speeches of the 20th Century. On the stage on the final day, Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter.

Schedule and results

Date
(daily totals)
Pledged

delegates

Contest Delegates won and popular vote
Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Jerry Brown Lyndon LaRouche Others Uncommitted
January 21 3,220 SDEs Iowa
caucuses
1,830 SDEs 968 SDEs 297 SDEs
February 10 2,247 SDs Maine
caucuses (33,326)
1,017 SDs
14,528 (43.59%)
847 SDs
13,384 (40.16%)
263 SDs
4,626 (13.88%)
52 SDs
793 (2.38%)
February 26 0 (of 75) Minnesota
caucuses
(~73.7%) (~10.4%)
19 New Hampshire
111,930
10
52,692 (47.08%)
9
41,745 (37.30%)

10,743 (9.60%)

2,326 (2.08%)

4,424 (3.95%)
March 4 111 Massachusetts
907,323
34
260,401 (28.70%)
77
590,393 (65.07%)

31,498 (3.47%)

5,368 (0.59%)

19,663 (2.17%)
0 (of 12) Vermont
39,703
29,015 (73.08%) 10,135 (25.53%) 358 (0.90%) 6 (0.02%) 189 (0.48%)
March 8 3,220 SDs Iowa
county conventions
1,966 SDs 1,116 SDs 121 SDs
March 11
(207)
45 Alabama
237,464
43
193,734 (81.59%)
2
31,382 (13.22%)

9,529 (4.01%)

1,149 (0.48%)

1,670 (0.70%)
2,367 SDs Alaska
caucuses
392 SDs 110 SDs 10 SDs 847 SDs
99 Florida
1,098,003
76
666,321 (60.69%)
23
254,727 (23.20%)

53,474 (4.87%)

19,160 (1.75%)
1
104,321 (9.50%)
63 Georgia
384,780
62
338,772 (88.04%)
1
32,315 (8.40%)
7,255 (1.89%) 2,731 (0.71%) 3,707 (0.96%)
6,097 CDs Oklahoma
caucuses
4,638 CDs 593 CDs 19 CDs 847 CDs
March 15 0 (of 32) Mississippi
caucuses
(~78%) (~5%) (~1%) (~1%) (~16%)
11,107 CDs South Carolina
caucuses
7,035 CDs 579 CDs 7 CDs 3,486 CDs
March 16 41 Puerto Rico
870,235
21
449,681 (51.67%)
20
418,068 (48.04%)

1,660 (0.19%)

826 (0.10%)

March 18 179 Illinois
1,201,067
165
780,787 (65.01%)
14
359,875 (29.96%)

39,168 (3.26%)

19,192 (1.60%)

2,045 (1.77%)
9,811 CDs Washington
caucuses
5,264 CDs 2,491 CDs 63 CDs 1,993 CDs
March 22 2,999 SDs Virginia
caucuses
2,169 SDs 355 SDs 1 SD 186 SDs
March 24 11,107 CDs South Carolina
county conventions
(~69%) (~6%) (~25%)
March 25

(336)

54 Connecticut
210,275
25
87,207 (41.47%)
29
98,662 (46.92%)

5,386 (2.56%)

5,617 (2.67%)

13,403 (6.37%)
282 New York
989,062
118
406,305 (41.08%)
164
582,757 (58.92%)
March 29 932 SDs Oklahoma
county conventions
723 SDs 88 SDs 1 SDs 120 SDs
April 1
(112)
37 Kansas
193,918
23
109,807 (56.63%)
14
61,318 (31.62%)

9,434 (4.87%)

2,196 (1.13%)

9,434 (4.87%)
75 Wisconsin
629,619
48
353,662 (56.17%)
26
189,520 (30.10%)
1
74,496 (11.83%)

6,896 (1.10%)

2,351 (0.37%)

2,694 (0.43%)
April 5 51 Louisiana
358,741
39
199,956 (55.74%)
12
80,797 (22.52%)

16,774 (4.68%)

19,600 (5.46%)

41,614 (11.60%)
April 6 22 (of 32) Mississippi
district conventions
22
April 12

(60)

0 (of 29) Arizona
caucuses (19,600)
8,342 (42.56%) 10,241 (52.25%) 95 (0.49%) 8 (0.04%) 914 (4.66%)
37 South Carolina
convention
34 1 2
23 (of 64) Virginia
district conventions
21 2
April 17 380 SDs Idaho
caucuses
185 SDs 111 SDs 84 SDs
April 18 1,310 SDs Washington
county conventions
744 SDs 368 SDs 198 SDs
April 19

(108)

34 (of 60) Iowa
district conventions
21 11 2
18 (of 75) Minnesota
district conventions
12 1 5
10 (of 32) Mississippi
district conventions
10
29 (of 42)
932 SDs
Oklahoma
district conventions
24 3 2
17 (of 64) Virginia
district conventions
14 3
April 22 793 SDs Missouri
caucuses
550 SDs 108 SDs 135 SDs
185 Pennsylvania
1,613,223
91
732,332 (45.40%)
94
736,854 (45.68%)
37,669 (2.34%) 12,503 (0.78%) 93,865 (5.82%)
1,535 SDs Vermont
caucuses
366 SDs 516 SDs 262 SDs
April 26 141 Michigan
caucuses
7,567 (46.68%) 7,793 (48.08%) 850 (5.24%)
May 3
(63)
33 (of 75) Minnesota
district conventions
15 4 14
13 (of 42) Oklahoma
convention (932 SDs)
10 3
0 (of 152) Texas
1,377,356
770,390 (55.93%) 314,129 (22.81%) 35,585 (2.58%) 257,252 (18.68%)
17 (of 64) Virginia
district conventions
4
May 5 2,918 SDs Colorado
caucuses
1,174 SDs 852 SDs 892 SDs
May 6

(223)

19 Washington, D.C.
64,150
8
23,697 (36.94%)
11
39,561 (61.67%)

892 (1.39%)
80 Indiana
589,441
53
398,949 (67.68%)
27
190,492 (32.32%)
69 North Carolina
737,262
53
516,778 (70.09%)
13
130,684 (17.73%)

21,420 (2.91%)

68,380 (9.28%)
55 Tennessee
294,680
44
221,658 (75.22%)
11
53,258 (18.07%)
5,612 (1.90%) 925 (0.31%) 1,684 (0.57%) 11,515 (3.91%)
May 10 3,900 SDs Texas
caucuses
1,431 SDs 644 SDs 312 SDs
11 Wyoming
convention
8 3
May 13
(54)
30 Maryland
477,090
32
226,528 (47.48%)
26
181,091 (37.96%)

14,313 (3.00%)

4,388 (0.92%)

4,891 (1.03%)
1
45,879 (9.62%)
24 Nebraska
153,881
14
72,120 (46.87%)
10
57,826 (37.58%)

5,478 (3.56%)

1,169 (0.76%)

1,247 (0.81%)

16,041 (10.42%)
May 17
(53)
11 Alaska
convention
0.61 1.83 8.56
22 Maine
convention
11 11
20 (of 64) Virginia
convention
20
May 20 0 (of 141) Michigan
78,424
23,043 (29.38%) 8,948 (11.41%) 10,048 (12.81%) 36,385 (46.40%)
39 Oregon
367,204
26
208,693 (56.83%)
13
114,651 (31.22%)

34,409 (9.37%)

9,451 (2.57%)
3,760 SDs Utah
caucuses
1,779 SDs 876 SDs 1,105 SDs
May 24

(48)

22 Arizona
convention
13 16
14 Delaware
convention
10 4
12 Vermont
convention
5 7
May 27

(95)

33 Arkansas
448,290
23
269,375 (60.09%)
5
78,542 (17.52%)

19,469 (4.34%)
5
80,904 (18.05%)
0 (of 20) Idaho
50,482
31,383 (62.17%) 11,087 (21.96%) 2,078 (4.12%) 5,934 (11.76%)
50 Kentucky
240,331
38
160,819 (66.92%)
12
55,167 (22.96%)

5,126 (2.13%)

19,219 (8.00%)
12 Nevada
66,948
5
25,159 (37.58%)
3
19,296 (28.82%)
4
22,493 (33.60%)
May 30 19 Hawaii
convention
15 4
May 31 6 (of 40) Colorado
district conventions
3 2 1
June 3

(738)

298 California
3,363,969
137
1,266,276 (37.64%)
167
1,507,142 (44.80%)
135,962 (4.04%) 71,779 (2.13%) 51 (0.00%) 382,759 (11.38%)
53 (of 77) Missouri
district conventions
40 5 8
19 Montana
130,059
10
66,922 (51.46%)
9
47,671 (36.65%)

15,466 (11.89%)
113 New Jersey
560,908
45
212,387 (37.87%)
68
315,109 (56.18%)

13,913 (2.48%)

19,499 (3.48%)
20 New Mexico
159,364
10
66,621 (41.80%)
10
73,721 (46.26%)

4,798 (3.01%)

4,490 (2.82%)

9,734 (6.11%)
161 Ohio
1,186,410
84
605,744 (51.06%)
77
523,874 (44.16%)

35,268 (2.97%)

21,524 (1.81%)
23 Rhode Island
38,327
6
9,907 (25.85%)
17
26,179 (68.30%)

310 (0.81%)

1,160 (3.03%)

771 (2.01%)
19 South Dakota
68,763
9
31,251 (45.45%)
10
33,418 (48.60%)

4,094 (5.95%)
32 West Virginia
317,934
24
197,687 (62.18%)
8
120,247 (37.82%)
June 7 24 (of 75) Minnesota
convention
12 7 5
June 8 14 North Dakota
convention
7 5 2
June 14

(132)

13 (of 40) Colorado
convention
6 4 3
21 (of 40) Colorado
district conventions
11 8 2
16 (of 60) Iowa
convention
10 6
24 (of 77) Missouri
convention
17 7
58 Washington
convention
36 21 1
June 21 152 Texas
convention
104 38 10
June 28 17 Idaho
convention
8 5 4
July 12 20 Utah
convention (3,760 SDs)
10 4 6
3,346 delegates
19,649,458 votes
1,979.61
10,043,016 (51.11%)
1,229.83
7,381,693 (37.57%)
1
575,296 (2.93%)
0
177,784 (0.91%)
0
183,246 (0.93%)
96.56
1,288,423 (6.56%)

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate Most recent office Home state Campaign

Withdrawal date

Popular vote Contests won Running mate
Jimmy Carter President of the United States
(1977–1981)
Georgia
(Campaign • Positions)
Secured nomination: August 11, 1980
10,043,016
(51.13%)
36
IA, ME, NH, VT, AL, FL, GA, PR, IL, KS, WI, LA, TX, IN, NC, TN, NE, MD, OK, AR ID, KY, NV, MT, OH, WV, MO, OR, WA
Walter Mondale

Other major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Candidate Most recent office Home state Campaign Popular vote Contests won
Ted Kennedy U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts (1962–2009)
Massachusetts

(Campaign)

Announced campaign: November 7, 1979

Withdrew at convention: August 11, 1980

7,381,693
(37.58%)
12
AZ, MA, CT, NY, PA, ND, DC, CA, NJ, NM, RI, SD, VT, AK, MI
Jerry Brown Governor of
California

(1975–1983) Secretary of State of California (1971–1975)

California

(Campaign)
Withdrew: April 2, 1980

575,296
(2.93%)
None

Minor candidates

Lyndon LaRouche Cliff Finch David Duke
Leader of the National Caucus of Labor Committees

(1968–2019)

Governor
of Mississippi

(1976–1980)

Grand Wizard

of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

177,784 votes 48,032 votes [data missing]

Far-right politician David Duke tried to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Despite being six years too young to be qualified to run for president, Duke attempted to place his name onto the ballot in twelve states stating that he wanted to be a power broker who could "select issues and form a platform representing the majority of this country" at the Democratic National Convention.

Alice Tripp attempted to run in order to garner support for the anti-power line movement. She was unable to gain the required number of delegate signatures[clarification needed] and endorsed Ron Dellums and spoke in his support at the national convention. She ultimately received votes from two delegates at the convention.

Declined to run

  • Governor Hugh Carey of New York
  • Representative Ron Dellums of California
  • Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin

Polling

National polling

Poll source Publication
Jerry Brown
Jimmy Carter
Ted Kennedy
Other
Undecided
Gallup April 1978 12% 29% 36% 16% 7%
Gallup July 1978 11% 20% 44% 16% 9%
Gallup September 1978 8% 34% 39% 12% 7%
Gallup November 1978 10% 32% 58%
Gallup April 1979 9% 31% 58% 2%
Gallup June 1979 8% 17% 52% 9% 14%
Gallup June 1979 9% 22% 54% 6% 9%
Gallup July 1979 9% 21% 53% 16% 1%
Gallup November 1979 9% 34% 51% 6%
Gallup November 1979 8% 32% 39% 5% 16%
Gallup December 1979 46% 42% 12%
Gallup January 1980 51% 37% 12%
Gallup January 1980 63% 24% 13%
Gallup February 1980 61% 32% 7%
Gallup March 1980 66% 27% 7%
Gallup March 1980 60% 28% 12%
Gallup March 1980 59% 31% 10%
Gallup April 1980 53% 33% 14%
Gallup May 1980 51% 36% 13%
Gallup May 1980 58% 31% 11%
Gallup July 1980 60% 34% 6%
Gallup August 1980 48% 38% 14%
  1. This is an estimate provided by the source.
  2. This should not be taken as a finalized list of results. While a significant amount of research was done, there were a number of Delegates who were not bound by the instruction, or "Pledged" to a candidate, and to simplify the data these delegates were considered "Uncommitted". Some states also held primaries for the delegate positions, and these on occasion were where slates or candidates pledge to a certain candidate might be elected; however, as these elections allowed for a single person to vote for multiple candidates, as many as the number of positions being filled, it is difficult to determine how many people actually voted in these primaries. For this reason, while the results of some are in the table, they are not included in the popular vote summaries at the bottom of the table.
  3. Three percent of the precincts had not yet reported their results in the source used.
  4. 20 communities of 503 had not yet reported their results in the source used.
  5. Only 98 of 100 precincts were tallied in the source, and only by percentages.
  6. Only 57% of the seats were decided in the source.
  7. Includes 1,378 votes (0.36%) for Cliff Finch, 513 votes (0.13%) for Lyndon LaRouche.
  8. Only 82% of the precincts were called in the source. The number of delegates elected was also unclear.
  9. Only 63% of the delegate selections were given in the source, and only by percentages.
  10. Only 1,079 of 1,629 precincts were called in the source.
  11. There were two primaries in this state: a non-binding preference primary in which eligible voters cast ballots directly for a candidate and a delegate primary in which delegates to the National Convention were elected.
  12. Only 90% of meetings were accounted for in the source.
  13. Only 37 of 45 counties were called in the source.
  14. Includes 629 votes (0.32%) for Cliff Finch.
  15. Includes 1,842 votes (0.29%) for Cliff Finch.
  16. Includes 11,153 votes (3.11%) for Cliff Finch.
  17. 8 polling places out of 84 had not yet reported their results in the source used.
  18. Includes 5 votes (0.03%) for Cliff Finch.
  19. Only 37 of 45 counties were called in the source.
  20. Only five of ten districts held conventions on this date.
  21. Only three of eight districts held conventions on this date.
  22. Only four of ten districts held conventions on this date.
  23. Results only for 1,144 of the 1,535 Delegates were accounted for in the source.
  24. Only five of eight districts held conventions on this date.
  25. Only one of ten districts held conventions on this date.
  26. With only 65% of precincts tallied, no vote beyond percentages.
  27. Includes 1,663 votes (0.56%) for Cliff Finch.
  28. Results only for 2,387 of the 3,900 Delegates were accounted for in the source.
  29. All votes for Cliff Finch.
  30. All votes for Cliff Finch.
  31. Includes 2,517 votes (1.05%) for Cliff Finch.
  32. Only one of five districts held conventions on this date.
  33. All ten districts held conventions on this date.
  34. All votes for Cliff Finch.
  35. Only four of five districts held conventions on this date.
  36. This is an assumption; no sources were found for the other District Conventions, but they occurred sometime before or during the State Convention.

Endorsements

Convention

Presidential tally

  • 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.

Results

See also

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