1984 United States presidential election
The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan and his running mate, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, were re-elected to a second term in a landslide. They defeated the Democratic ticket of former Vice President Walter Mondale and Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.
538 members of the Electoral College
270 electoral votes needed to win
Reagan and Bush faced only token opposition in their bid for re-nomination. Mondale faced a competitive field in his bid, defeating Colorado Senator Gary Hart, activist Jesse Jackson, and several other candidates in the 1984 Democratic primaries. He eventually chose New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro 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, and the widespread perception that his presidency had overseen a revival of national confidence and prestige.[2] At 73, Reagan was the oldest person to be nominated by a major party for president, a record that stood until 2020. 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. He also called for a nuclear freeze and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Reagan won re-election in a landslide victory, carrying 525 electoral votes, 49 states, and 58.8% of the popular vote. Mondale won 13 electoral votes, 10 from his home state of Minnesota which he won by a narrow margin of 0.18% and 3 from the District of Columbia, which has always voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidate.[3] This was the second-largest share of the electoral college since 1820 (and the largest for a Republican), and the most raw electoral votes received by a candidate. This is the last time any candidate won the popular vote by double digits.[4]
Since Mondale's death in April 2021, this is the latest election where all of the major party nominees for president or vice president are deceased.
As of 2020, this marked the last time the Republican nominee carried the states of Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. Meanwhile, West Virginia would not vote Republican again until 2000, Iowa would not vote Republican again until 2004, and Wisconsin has only voted Republican once since, in 2016. As of 2020, this is the only time an incumbent president defeated a former vice president and it is also the only time a major party presidential candidate defeated both the incumbent president and the latter's former vice president in consecutive presidential elections. As of 2024, this is the most recent election in which the Republican nominee won the popular vote for the second time in succession.
Background[edit]
Ronald Reagan entered the presidency with an unemployment rate of 7.3% and it peaked at 10.6% in December 1982. The United States had a negative gross domestic product growth in 1982.[5]
The Republicans performed poorly in the 1982 elections. Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter lost an average of 12 seats in the United States House of Representatives in their first midterm. The Republicans lost 26 seats in the U.S. House elections. The Republicans lost seven governorships as well.[6]
Reagan's approval rating fell to 35% by January 1983. Polling showed him losing to Democratic candidates, including Walter Mondale and John Glenn.[6] However, unemployment fell to 7.7% by March 1984,[5] and Reagan's approval rating was at 54% in January 1984. His approval rating was aided by the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and the invasion of Grenada.[7] Polling by CBS News and The New York Times in January 1984 showed him leading Mondale by 16%.[8]