1980 United States presidential election in Florida

The 1980 United States presidential election in Florida took place on Tuesday, November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Florida voters chose 17 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter and his running mate, Vice President Walter Mondale, against Republican challenger and former California Governor Ronald Reagan and his running mate and former Director of the CIA, George H.W. Bush.

1980 United States presidential election in Florida

← 1976November 4, 19801984 →
TurnoutSteady77%[1]
 
NomineeRonald ReaganJimmy CarterJohn B. Anderson
PartyRepublicanDemocraticIndependent
Home stateCaliforniaGeorgiaIllinois
Running mateGeorge H. W. BushWalter MondalePatrick Lucey
Electoral vote1700
Popular vote2,046,9511,419,475189,692
Percentage55.52%38.50%5.14%

County Results

President before election

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

The Republican ticket won Florida by a wide 17.02% margin, a particularly strong performance in this conservative leaning state that voted for Carter in 1976 by a 5.29% margin.[2] John B. Anderson, a liberal Republican Congressman from Illinois who ran as an Independent with former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Patrick Lucey, received his strongest performance of any former Confederate state in Florida, where he won 5.14% of the vote. Florida, along with Virginia, were one of only two southern states to give Anderson over 5% of the vote. Although Carter lost Florida, he is the last Democrat to win a majority of counties in the state's northern region. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is also the last time for a Democrat to win the counties of Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Jackson, Lafayette, Liberty, Suwannee, and Union.[3] This cycle also marks the most recent time that an incumbent President standing for re-election would fail to carry Florida, irrespective of the national outcome.

Reagan’s victory was the first of four consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Florida would not vote Democratic again until Bill Clinton won the state in his re-election bid in 1996. Whether Florida is a swing state or a Republican-leaning state today is disputed among political observers.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

62% of white voters supported Reagan while 31% supported Carter.[11][12]

Results

edit
Electoral results
Presidential candidatePartyHome statePopular voteElectoral
vote
Running mate
CountPercentageVice-presidential candidateHome stateElectoral vote
Ronald ReaganRepublicanCalifornia2,046,95155.52%17 George H. W. BushTexas17
Jimmy Carter (incumbent)DemocratGeorgia1,419,47538.50%0 Walter Mondale (incumbent)Minnesota0
John B. AndersonIndependentIllinois189,6925.14%0 Patrick LuceyWisconsin0
Ed ClarkLibertarianCalifornia30,5240.83%0 David KochNew York0
David McReynoldsSocialistNew York2120.01%0 Diane DrufenbrockWisconsin0
Gus HallCommunistNew York1230.00%0 Angela DavisCalifornia0
Clifton DeBerrySocialist WorkersCalifornia410.00%0 Matilde Zimmermann0
Deirdre GriswoldWorkers WorldNew York80.00%0 Larry HolmesIllinois0
Total3,687,026100%1717
Needed to win270270

Results by county

edit
CountyRonald Reagan
Republican
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
John B. Anderson
Independent
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
#%#%#%#%#%
Alachua19,80438.56%26,84952.27%4,1788.13%5331.04%-7,045-13.71%51,364
Baker2,28345.88%2,61152.47%561.13%260.52%-328-6.59%4,976
Bay20,94860.61%12,38935.85%7402.14%4841.40%8,55924.76%34,561
Bradford2,77844.50%3,34753.61%901.44%280.45%-569-9.11%6,243
Brevard69,46060.07%39,00733.73%5,8665.07%1,3031.13%30,45326.34%115,636
Broward229,69355.95%146,32335.64%31,5547.69%2,9910.73%83,37020.31%410,561
Calhoun1,50438.72%2,30059.22%521.34%280.72%-796-20.50%3,884
Charlotte20,48664.62%9,76930.82%1,2103.82%2350.74%10,71733.80%31,700
Citrus14,28658.48%9,16237.50%7873.22%1950.80%5,12420.98%24,430
Clay15,64364.85%7,63031.63%6922.87%1570.65%8,01333.22%24,122
Collier23,90071.10%7,73923.02%1,6784.99%2960.88%16,16148.08%33,613
Columbia5,64348.45%5,68048.76%2482.13%770.66%-37-0.31%11,648
DeSoto3,35653.40%2,71343.17%1552.47%610.97%64310.23%6,285
Dixie1,10134.70%2,01063.35%451.42%170.54%-909-28.65%3,173
Duval98,66450.45%90,46646.26%5,1842.65%1,2400.63%8,1984.19%195,554
Escambia51,79458.49%33,51337.84%2,6342.97%6180.70%18,28120.65%88,559
Flagler2,89551.70%2,50344.70%1542.75%480.86%3927.00%5,600
Franklin1,50844.59%1,77552.48%541.60%451.33%-267-7.89%3,382
Gadsden3,71830.41%8,22267.26%2011.64%840.69%-4,504-36.85%12,225
Gilchrist1,09339.13%1,62758.25%562.01%170.61%-534-19.12%2,793
Glades1,09845.96%1,20350.36%612.55%271.13%-105-4.40%2,389
Gulf2,12743.18%2,70054.81%611.24%380.77%-573-11.63%4,926
Hamilton1,30139.66%1,92358.63%401.22%160.49%-622-18.97%3,280
Hardee2,60348.82%2,59948.74%831.56%470.88%40.08%5,332
Hendry2,70349.93%2,54346.97%1312.42%370.68%1602.96%5,414
Hernando12,11554.99%8,85840.21%8523.87%2070.94%3,25714.78%22,032
Highlands11,92561.95%6,68834.74%5312.76%1050.55%5,23727.21%19,249
Hillsborough106,16051.71%88,27142.99%8,9654.37%1,9180.93%17,8898.72%205,314
Holmes3,22152.41%2,76745.02%691.12%891.45%4547.39%6,146
Indian River15,56862.98%7,75931.39%1,1854.79%2050.83%7,80931.59%24,717
Jackson6,34844.76%7,56753.36%1591.12%1070.75%-1,219-8.60%14,181
Jefferson1,62339.19%2,36757.16%962.32%551.33%-744-17.97%4,141
Lafayette79542.67%1,03455.50%221.18%120.64%-239-12.83%1,863
Lake26,79864.53%13,12831.61%1,2443.00%3580.86%13,67032.92%41,528
Lee61,03364.51%28,12529.73%4,2294.47%1,2261.30%32,90834.78%94,613
Leon24,91943.47%28,45049.63%3,1935.57%7641.33%-3,531-6.16%57,326
Levy3,21042.26%4,17054.90%1752.30%410.54%-960-12.64%7,596
Liberty89943.81%1,11454.29%251.22%140.68%-215-10.48%2,052
Madison2,28041.39%3,13456.89%651.18%300.54%-854-15.50%5,509
Manatee40,53561.81%21,67933.06%2,9284.47%4340.66%18,85628.75%65,576
Marion23,74358.49%15,40037.94%1,1872.92%2620.65%8,34320.55%40,592
Martin20,52168.05%8,08726.82%1,3214.38%2250.75%12,43441.23%30,154
Miami-Dade265,88850.65%210,86840.17%44,7998.53%3,3500.64%55,02010.48%524,905
Monroe11,64453.40%7,92036.32%1,9328.86%3101.42%3,72417.08%21,806
Nassau5,44050.60%5,07447.20%1831.70%540.50%3663.40%10,751
Okaloosa28,07269.62%10,84526.90%1,1162.77%2900.72%17,22742.72%40,323
Okeechobee2,78344.81%3,22851.98%1562.51%430.69%-445-7.17%6,210
Orange87,45461.06%48,76734.05%5,4033.77%1,5951.11%38,68727.01%143,219
Osceola10,86359.67%6,60336.27%5643.10%1750.96%4,26023.40%18,205
Palm Beach143,63956.79%91,99136.37%15,1936.01%2,1070.83%51,64820.42%252,930
Pasco50,12056.67%34,05438.50%3,5694.04%6990.79%16,06618.17%88,442
Pinellas185,72853.83%138,42840.12%17,8395.17%3,0080.87%47,30013.71%345,003
Polk59,65156.11%43,32740.75%2,6272.47%7100.67%16,32415.36%106,315
Putnam8,27346.67%8,90650.24%4142.34%1340.76%-633-3.57%17,727
St. Johns11,23459.67%6,89836.64%5542.94%1400.74%4,33623.03%18,826
St. Lucie18,12660.76%10,34734.69%1,1133.73%2440.82%7,77926.07%29,830
Santa Rosa13,80263.93%6,96432.26%6062.81%2181.01%6,83831.67%21,590
Sarasota68,06568.57%25,62125.81%4,7964.83%7830.79%42,44442.76%99,265
Seminole39,98966.16%17,44328.86%2,4594.07%5480.91%22,54637.30%60,439
Sumter3,67144.41%4,38052.98%1411.71%750.91%-709-8.57%8,267
Suwannee3,89946.22%4,34551.51%1351.60%570.68%-446-5.29%8,436
Taylor2,77647.31%2,96350.49%781.33%510.87%-187-3.18%5,868
Union1,12346.35%1,23751.05%451.86%180.74%-114-4.70%2,423
Volusia52,66351.69%44,51343.69%3,3103.25%1,3961.37%8,1508.00%101,882
Wakulla2,02147.26%2,08248.69%1122.62%611.43%-61-1.43%4,276
Walton4,69450.28%4,36046.70%1992.13%830.89%3343.58%9,336
Washington3,25149.92%3,11047.75%931.43%590.91%1412.17%6,513
Totals2,046,95155.52%1,419,47538.50%189,6925.14%30,9080.84%627,47617.02%3,687,026

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

edit
Ronald Reagan campaigning in Florida.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Voter Turnout". Florida Division of Elections. 2021. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1980 Presidential General Election Results - Florida
  3. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  4. ^ Nicole, Narea (November 11, 2022). "It's official: Florida is a red state". Vox.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Borressen, Jennifer (November 26, 2022). "DeSantis, Republicans win big: How Florida went from swing state to red state — in visuals". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (November 9, 2022). "Is Florida Still a Swing State?". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Brigid (November 14, 2022). "Why Florida is no longer a swing state". The Week. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Will Florida now be red forever and ever? No, it's still a swing state / Opinion". November 10, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Greenwood, Max (November 9, 2022). "Florida shifts from swing state to solid GOP". The Hill. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  10. ^ Boot, Max (November 28, 2022). "Opinion | Florida is no longer a swing state. That's good news for U.S. foreign policy". Washington Post. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  11. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
  12. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 335.

Works cited

edit