Jimmy Carter 1980 presidential campaign

In the 1980 United States presidential election, incumbent president Jimmy Carter and incumbent vice president Walter Mondale were defeated by Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan and vice presidential nominee George H. W. Bush.

President Carter launched his presidential re-election bid on December 4, 1979. He had low approval during his term; many people thought Carter mishandled the Iran hostage crisis, inflation, and severe economic downturn. In the 1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries, he was challenged by U.S. senator Ted Kennedy, whose campaign was formally launched on November 7, 1979. Carter lost 12 states and Washington, D.C., but won the remaining states and received the Democratic nomination with 1,984 delegates on August 11, 1980.

Reagan and Bush challenged Carter and Mondale in the general election. Reagan talked the most about the hostage crisis and the economy. In the second debate between Carter and Reagan, Reagan openly criticized him over the crisis; some said it was for that reason that Carter lost the election. On November 4, Carter was defeated by Reagan, receiving 49 electoral votes and 41 percent of the popular vote.

Background
Jimmy Carter, born in Plains, Georgia, the 39th president of the United States at that time, served in the United States Navy and passed the United States Naval Academy. He then ran for the Georgia State Senate and was successful. In 1971, he participated and continued to win, elected Governor of Georgia. Carter's family history was once a traditional farmer. Carter participated in his first presidential campaign on December 12, 1974, he participated in the 1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries, he defeated all his opponents with 1,130 delegates, he was then nominated in the 1980 Democratic National Convention, during his 1976 campaign, he challenged then-president Gerald Ford over the Vietnam War and the economy as well as the quality of people's lives at that time.

Carter debated with Ford three times from September 23 – October 22, 1976, after the debate, he then won the U.S. presidential election on November 2, 1976 with 297 electoral votes and 50.1% popular votes, was one of the elections with the most disparate vote rates. He assumed the presidency on January 20, 1977 and served in the White House for four years before Ronald Reagan defeated him on November 4, 1980 and took office on January 20, 1981.

1980 Democratic primaries
In the Democratic presidential primaries, Carter faced a viable candidate, Senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy addressed the crisis in Iran, rising oil prices and economic stagnation. He also spoke about the low approval ratings of the Carter administration towards the end of its term. In response, Carter said that if Kennedy ran against him in primary election, he would "kick his ass". In the Massachusetts primary, Carter lost to Kennedy with 34 delegates compared to Kennedy's 78 delegates, this was a setback for Carter and he became the most recent president to lose a state primary until President Joe Biden lost to Jason Palmer in American Samoa, although he still won most of the states and only missed 12 states and Washington D.C..

After the Democratic primaries ended, Carter received a total of 1,984 delegates and 51.1% popular votes compared to Kennedy with about 1,237 delegates and 37.6% popular votes, this was one of the rare times that a sitting president won. lose the most delegates to others, as well as the number of popular votes, because Carter's approval numbers at the end of his term remained very low.

1980 Democratic National Convention
After winning the Democratic primaries, Carter was re-nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Madison Square Garden, New York City, where he again chose Walter Mondale as his vice presidential running mate, Although he chose Mondale to be vice president, Mondale still had to go to the election round in 1980, this would also be the last time the Democratic Party voted to elect a vice president but faced opposition, Mondale received 2,429 delegates.

The 1980 convention was notable as it was the last time in the 20th century, for either major party, that a candidate tried to get delegates released from their voting commitments, done by Ted Kennedy. Kennedy spoke on August 12 and gave a speech in support of President Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Kennedy's famous speech finally ended with the lines: "For me, a few hours ago, this campaign ended. For all those whose concern is the concern of us, the work continues, the cause lives on, the hope lives on, and the dream will never die." His speech was written by Bob Shrum.

President Carter gave his speech accepting the party's nomination on August 14. This was notable for his gaffe intended to be a tribute to Hubert Humphrey, whom he referred to as "Hubert Horatio Hornblower". Carter received 2,123 delegates, Kennedy 1,151, Proxmire 10 and other candidates received under 6 delegates. The total were 3,315 delegates.

Main competitor
Ronald Reagan, a member of the Republican Party as well as former Governor of California and an actor, announced his 1980 presidential campaign on November 13, 1979, after which he participated in the presidential primaries of the Republican Party and won 1,407 delegates, he then chose George H. W. Bush as vice president at the 1980 Republican National Convention, where he won the nomination to face Carter in the 1980 general election and would be inaugurated on January 20, 1981. Reagan frequently criticized Carter for the crisis in Iran, economic stagnation, rising inflation, and falling approval ratings. Carter criticized Reagan's age and his indiscretions, saying "he lacks the connection with his home California voter base to oppose him", Carter also added that Reagan "is a warmonger and cannot be trusted with his nuclear arsenal". Carter attempted to deny Reagan's campaign $29.4 million (equivalent to $108,718,255 in 2023) in campaign funds, dependent on conservative groups that raised $60 million to help he was elected—an amount exceeding the campaign fund limit. Carter's effort was later rejected by the Federal Election Commission.

Endorsements
Here are the lists of Carter supporters in the presidential primaries:


 * U.S. Senators
 * Senator John Glenn of Ohio
 * Senator Joe Biden of Delaware
 * Federal Officials
 * Governors
 * Governor Edward J. King of Massachusetts
 * State Officials
 * Treasurer Gertrude Donahey of Ohio
 * Secretary of State Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr., of Ohio
 * State Senate president Oliver Ocasek of Ohio
 * State Representative Mary O. Boyle of Ohio
 * Municipal Officials
 * Mayor William Donald Schaefer of Baltimore
 * Individuals
 * Singer Johnny Cash
 * Singer Tom T. Hall
 * Singer Willie Nelson
 * Musician Hank Snow

Election day
On November 4, 1980, Carter lost the election to Republican nominee Ronald Reagan. Reagan won 489 electoral votes and 50.8% of the popular vote while Carter only received 49 electoral votes and 41.0% of the popular vote. Reagan carried 44 states while Carter only carried 6 states with Washington D.C., this is one of the elections where the presidential candidate defeated the incumbent president in a landslide, Carter only kept Georgia, Minnesota, Washington D.C., Rhode Island, West Virginia and Hawaii for him.

Before the election, both Carter and Reagan debated in Cleveland, Ohio on October 28, 1980, where the two talked about military, economics, inflation, politics, and the hostage crisis in Iran, Reagan later famously said during the debate which "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" to refer to inflation and Carter's economy compared to four years ago when it was worse.

Results
Source – Official 1980 Presidential Election Results

Aftermath
After Carter's 1980 campaign failed he became involved in many national and international public policy, conflict resolution, human rights, and philanthropic activities through the Carter Foundation. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his post-presidential work in finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts.

Carter and Reagan both lived post-presidency for more than 15 years. Reagan died in 2004 due to his worsening Alzheimer's disease, Carter attended his funeral.

Carter is the oldest living former president, at age 99.