1980 United States presidential election in Oregon

1980 United States presidential election in Oregon

← 1976 November 4, 1980 1984 →
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter John B. Anderson
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Home state California Georgia Illinois
Running mate George H. W. Bush Walter Mondale Patrick Lucey
Electoral vote 6 0 0
Popular vote 571,044 456,890 112,389
Percentage 48.33% 38.67% 9.51%

County Results

President before election

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

The 1980 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 4, 1980. All fifty states and The District of Columbia were part of the 1980 United States presidential election. Voters chose six electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Oregon had voted in 1976 for incumbent President Gerald Ford over challenger Carter in the previous election by an extremely narrow margin of just 1,713 votes, but had been George McGovern’s sixth-strongest state during his 1972 2,900-plus-county landslide loss.

Both Carter and Reagan won the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries held during the third week of May 1980.[1] In August early in Carter's campaign, he targeted Oregon as a state he might win despite having supported only one Democrat since 1944,[2] on the basis that independent candidate and Reagan primary rival John B. Anderson would split the GOP vote.[3]

The last week of September saw all three leading candidates visit Oregon,[4] and at the end of the month Reagan was shown as ahead by around five percentage points,[4] after having been in the lead in Oregon ever since the first polls were taken in mid-September.[5]

October saw Vice-President Walter Mondale doing extensive campaigning in the state,[6] and with polls showing Anderson winning over fifteen percent of the state's ballots and strong support for the Equal Rights Amendment opposed by Reagan,[6] the Democrats possessed substantial hope in the state. By the last week of October, Carter's spokesmen were confident they could crack a state whose loss four years previously they attributed to the presence of Eugene McCarthy on the ballot,[7] but in the days before the poll sample votes swung towards Reagan again.[8]

Oregon was ultimately won by former California Governor Ronald Reagan (R) by 9.66%.[9] Reagan dominated in the conservative, populist eastern interior and Rogue Valley, where he won a majority in every county, and Carter, despite carrying four counties, did not win a majority in any due to a strong vote west of the Cascades for Anderson, who reached double figures in all Willamette Valley counties except Columbia and Linn. This was the first time the Republicans had carried Coos County since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952.[10] As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Lane County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[11]

Primaries

[edit]
1980 Democratic Primary
Candidate Votes Delegates
Jimmy Carter (incumbent) 208,693 26
Ted Kennedy 114,651 14
Jerry Brown 34,409 0
Others 10,569 0
Totals 368,322 40
1980 Republican Primary
Candidate Votes Delegates
Ronald Reagan 170,449 17
George H.W. Bush 109,210 11
John Anderson 32,118 0
Others 2,324 0
Totals 314,101 31

Results

[edit]
Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Ronald Reagan Republican California 571,044 48.33% 6 George H.W. Bush Texas 6
Jimmy Carter (incumbent) Democratic Georgia 456,890 38.67% 0 Walter Mondale (incumbent) Minnesota 0
John B. Anderson Independent Illinois 112,389 9.51% 0 Patrick Lucey Wisconsin 0
Ed Clark Libertarian California 25,838 2.19% 0 David Koch New York 0
Barry Commoner Independent New York 13,642 1.15% 0 LaDonna Harris Oklahoma 0
Write-ins 1,713 0.14% 0 0
Total 1,181,516 100% 7 7
Needed to win 270 270

Results by county

[edit]
County Ronald Reagan
Republican
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
John B. Anderson
Independent
Ed Clark
Libertarian
Barry Commoner[12]
Independent
Various candidates
Write-ins
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Baker 4,747 59.24% 2,515 31.39% 487 6.08% 208 2.60% 56 0.70% 2,232 27.85% 8,013
Benton 14,982 43.42% 13,150 38.11% 4,950 14.34% 709 2.05% 648 1.88% 68 0.20% 1,832 5.31% 34,507
Clackamas 54,111 49.42% 40,462 36.96% 11,386 10.40% 2,676 2.44% 733 0.67% 115 0.11% 13,649 12.46% 109,483
Clatsop 6,124 40.94% 6,482 43.33% 1,854 12.39% 303 2.02% 182 1.22% 24 0.16% -358 -2.39% 14,959
Columbia 6,623 42.72% 7,124 45.95% 1,158 7.47% 486 3.13% 77 0.50% 37 0.24% -501 -3.23% 15,505
Coos 13,041 46.28% 11,817 41.94% 2,428 8.62% 636 2.26% 218 0.77% 36 0.13% 1,224 4.34% 28,176
Crook 3,113 53.10% 2,162 36.88% 435 7.42% 109 1.86% 30 0.51% 13 0.22% 951 16.22% 5,862
Curry 4,910 57.85% 2,656 31.29% 652 7.68% 185 2.18% 74 0.87% 11 0.13% 2,254 26.56% 8,488
Deschutes 15,186 52.89% 9,641 33.57% 2,909 10.13% 691 2.41% 258 0.90% 30 0.10% 5,545 19.32% 28,715
Douglas 23,101 58.46% 12,564 31.79% 2,529 6.40% 947 2.40% 330 0.84% 45 0.11% 10,537 26.67% 39,516
Gilliam 622 54.56% 394 34.56% 85 7.46% 28 2.46% 8 0.70% 3 0.26% 228 20.00% 1,140
Grant 2,519 60.16% 1,274 30.43% 273 6.52% 96 2.29% 25 0.60% 1,245 29.73% 4,187
Harney 2,313 61.11% 1,110 29.33% 255 6.74% 85 2.25% 18 0.48% 4 0.11% 1,203 31.78% 3,785
Hood River 3,450 48.65% 2,924 41.23% 530 7.47% 133 1.88% 53 0.75% 2 0.03% 526 7.42% 7,092
Jackson 32,879 55.97% 19,903 33.88% 4,019 6.84% 1,219 2.08% 624 1.06% 96 0.16% 12,976 22.09% 58,740
Jefferson 2,523 53.26% 1,654 34.92% 431 9.10% 95 2.01% 30 0.63% 4 0.08% 869 18.34% 4,737
Josephine 16,827 63.89% 7,116 27.02% 1,401 5.32% 718 2.73% 239 0.91% 35 0.13% 9,711 36.87% 26,336
Klamath 16,060 62.75% 7,371 28.80% 1,427 5.58% 598 2.34% 114 0.45% 22 0.09% 8,689 33.95% 25,592
Lake 2,234 60.56% 1,147 31.09% 201 5.45% 95 2.58% 12 0.33% 1,087 29.47% 3,689
Lane 54,750 43.59% 52,240 41.59% 12,076 9.61% 2,311 1.84% 4,024 3.20% 203 0.16% 2,510 2.00% 125,604
Lincoln 7,637 44.59% 7,009 40.92% 1,637 9.56% 559 3.26% 273 1.59% 12 0.07% 628 3.67% 17,127
Linn 18,943 52.19% 13,516 37.24% 2,823 7.78% 777 2.14% 189 0.52% 45 0.12% 5,427 14.95% 36,293
Malheur 7,705 67.80% 2,937 25.84% 472 4.15% 224 1.97% 20 0.18% 6 0.05% 4,768 41.96% 11,364
Marion 42,191 49.38% 32,134 37.61% 8,755 10.25% 1,677 1.96% 592 0.69% 100 0.12% 10,057 11.77% 85,449
Morrow 1,728 55.01% 1,077 34.29% 239 7.61% 86 2.74% 11 0.35% 651 20.72% 3,141
Multnomah 101,606 39.23% 120,487 46.53% 27,572 10.65% 5,320 2.05% 3,428 1.32% 555 0.21% -18,881 -7.30% 258,968
Polk 10,006 48.74% 7,833 38.15% 2,026 9.87% 455 2.22% 173 0.84% 38 0.19% 2,173 10.59% 20,531
Sherman 677 57.86% 389 33.25% 62 5.30% 29 2.48% 10 0.85% 3 0.26% 288 24.61% 1,170
Tillamook 4,123 41.63% 4,521 45.65% 931 9.40% 212 2.14% 100 1.01% 16 0.16% -398 -4.02% 9,903
Umatilla 12,950 57.78% 7,382 32.93% 1,531 6.83% 450 2.01% 80 0.36% 21 0.09% 5,568 24.85% 22,414
Union 6,514 57.79% 3,677 32.62% 763 6.77% 239 2.12% 71 0.63% 8 0.07% 2,837 25.17% 11,272
Wallowa 2,485 65.53% 995 26.24% 216 5.70% 68 1.79% 23 0.61% 5 0.13% 1,490 39.29% 3,792
Wasco 4,703 45.95% 4,336 42.36% 819 8.00% 245 2.39% 126 1.23% 6 0.06% 367 3.59% 10,235
Washington 57,165 51.34% 37,915 34.05% 13,076 11.74% 2,498 2.24% 578 0.52% 123 0.11% 19,250 17.29% 111,355
Wheeler 442 54.70% 282 34.90% 62 7.67% 13 1.61% 7 0.87% 2 0.25% 160 19.80% 808
Yamhill 12,054 51.15% 8,694 36.89% 1,919 8.14% 658 2.79% 218 0.92% 25 0.11% 3,360 14.26% 23,568
Totals 571,044 48.33% 456,890 38.67% 112,389 9.51% 25,838 2.19% 13,642 1.15% 1,713 0.14% 114,154 9.66% 1,181,516

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ ‘Bush Wins Michigan; Regan and Carter Are Oregon Victors – Californian Nears Majority’; The New York Times, May 21, 1980, p. A1
  2. ^ Perry, James M. and Hunt, Albert R.; ‘Negative Accent: Carter Plans to Win By Depicting Reagan As Shallow, Dangerous’; The Wall Street Journal, August 14, 1980, p. 1
  3. ^ Broder, David S.; ‘As Race Begins, Carter Trails in Key States He Must Win’; The Washington Post, August 16, 1980, p. A1
  4. ^ a b Hunt, Albert R.; ‘Pacific Northwest Just Might Hold Key To White House, Draws All 3 Contenders’; The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1980, p. 12
  5. ^ Cattani, Richard J.; ‘Reagan outstrides Carter in state-by-state quest for “electoral” support’; The Christian Science Monitor, September 18, 1980
  6. ^ a b Smith, Terence; ‘Mondale Hunts for Votes’; New York Times Special, October 5, 1980, p. 40
  7. ^ Martin, Lawrence; ‘Carter is leading, but election may hinge on debate, hostages’; The Globe and Mail; October 27, 1980, p. 13
  8. ^ Broder, David S.; ‘Carter has an uphill fight, state-by-state survey shows’; Boston Globe, November 2, 1980, p. 1
  9. ^ "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Oregon". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  10. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 285-286 ISBN 0786422173
  11. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  12. ^ Our Campaigns; OR US President Race, November 04, 1980