1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries
The 1980 Democratic presidential primaries were how voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1980 U.S. presidential election.
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3,315 delegates to the Democratic National Convention 1,105 delegate votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Results of the 1980 Democratic National Convention | |||||||||||||||||||
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During the primary race, the country of Iran was going through trouble and unrest. This unrest caused it to make and sell less oil. In January 1979, the leader (or Shah) of Iran left the country. After that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , who was against the Shah’s leadership, took over and made the country follow an extreme version of Islam.
Another problem during the time of this election was increased prices, especially for oil and gas. Many people blamed President Carter. Only 28% of people who were polled said they approved of Carter.
Background
changeIncumbent President Jimmy Carter was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses in the 1980 Democratic National Convention held from August 11 to August 14, 1980, in New York City.
Carter faced a major primary challenger in Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who won 12 contests and received more than seven million votes nationwide. Therefore, Kennedy didn't withdraw from the primary until the second day of the convention. This is the most recent primary where the sitting president still had an opponent at the convention.
Candidates
changeNominee
changeCandidate | Most recent position | Home state | Campaign | Popular
vote |
Contests won | Running mate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jimmy Carter | President of the United States (1977-1981) Incumbent |
Georgia |
(Campaign[broken anchor]) | 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 |
Withdrew during primaries or convention
changeCandidate | Most recent position | Home state | Campaign
Withdrawal date |
Popular Vote | Contests Won | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ted Kennedy | U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts |
Massachusetts |
Withdrew at convention | 7,381,693 (37.58%) |
12
AZ, MA, CT, NY, PA, ND |
Also withdrew during primaries
change- Jerry Brown, Governor of California
- Cliff Flinch, Governor of Mississippi