1980 United States presidential election in California
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| Turnout | 77.24% (of registered voters)  4.29 pp 57.04% (of eligible voters) 0.28 pp[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County Results
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| Elections in California |
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The 1980 United States presidential election in California took place on November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
California voted for the Republican nominee, the state's former governor Ronald Reagan, in a landslide over the Democratic incumbent, Jimmy Carter. Reagan won his home state by a wide 16.78% point margin and carried all but three counties. Carter carried only three of the state's 58 counties: Alameda, San Francisco and Yolo.
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time for a Republican candidate to carry the counties of Marin and Santa Cruz in a presidential election.[2] This election indeed constitutes the most Republican California has voted relative to the whole nation since 1928; here, it was widely believed that Carter lacked understanding of critical Western issues, most importantly water development.[3] This also remains the last time a Republican won the San Francisco Bay Area, and the last one in which San Francisco gave less than 60% of the vote to the Democratic candidate. California came out of this election about 7% more Republican — the last time the Golden State voted to the right of the nation at large.[citation needed]
Primaries
[edit]| Candidate | Votes | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
| Ted Kennedy | 1,507,142 | 151 |
| Jimmy Carter (incumbent) | 1,266,216 | 127 |
| Jerry Brown | 135,962 | 0 |
| Others | 71,779 | 0 |
| Uncommitted | 382,759 | 38 |
| Totals | 3,363,858 | 317 |
| Candidate | Votes | Delegates |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan | 2,057,923 | 146 |
| John Anderson | 349,315 | 25 |
| George H.W. Bush | 125,113 | 0 |
| Others | 31,707 | 0 |
| Totals | 2,564,058 | 171 |
Results
[edit]| 1980 United States presidential election in California[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Ronald Reagan | 4,524,858 | 52.69% | 45 | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter (incumbent) | 3,083,661 | 35.91% | 0 | |
| Independent | John B. Anderson | 739,833 | 8.62% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Ed Clark | 148,434 | 1.73% | 0 | |
| Independent | Barry Commoner | 61,063 | 0.71% | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Maureen Smith | 18,116 | 0.21% | 0 | |
| American Independent | John Rarick | 9,856 | 0.11% | 0 | |
| No party | Gus Hall (write-in) | 847 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| No party | Andrew Pulley (write-in) | 231 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Percy Greaves, Jr. (write-in) | 87 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Ben Bubar (write-in) | 36 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Write-ins | 26 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Deirdre Griswold (write-in) | 15 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | — | ||||
| Totals | 8,587,063 | 100.00% | 45 | ||
| Voter turnout | — | ||||
Results by county
[edit]| County | Ronald Reagan Republican |
Jimmy Carter Democratic |
John B. Anderson Independent |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 158,531 | 37.96% | 201,720 | 48.30% | 40,834 | 9.78% | 16,532 | 3.96% | -43,189 | -10.34% | 417,617 |
| Alpine | 254 | 55.10% | 133 | 28.85% | 50 | 10.85% | 24 | 5.21% | 121 | 26.25% | 461 |
| Amador | 5,401 | 55.85% | 3,191 | 33.00% | 788 | 8.15% | 290 | 3.00% | 2,210 | 22.85% | 9,670 |
| Butte | 38,188 | 57.85% | 19,520 | 29.57% | 6,108 | 9.25% | 2,196 | 3.33% | 18,668 | 28.28% | 66,012 |
| Calaveras | 6,054 | 58.92% | 3,076 | 29.94% | 776 | 7.55% | 369 | 3.59% | 2,978 | 28.98% | 10,275 |
| Colusa | 2,897 | 58.00% | 1,605 | 32.13% | 325 | 6.51% | 168 | 3.36% | 1,292 | 25.87% | 4,995 |
| Contra Costa | 144,112 | 50.12% | 107,398 | 37.35% | 28,209 | 9.81% | 7,826 | 2.72% | 36,714 | 12.77% | 287,545 |
| Del Norte | 4,016 | 57.48% | 2,338 | 33.46% | 486 | 6.96% | 147 | 2.10% | 1,678 | 24.02% | 6,987 |
| El Dorado | 21,238 | 58.27% | 10,765 | 29.53% | 3,287 | 9.02% | 1,159 | 3.18% | 10,473 | 28.74% | 36,449 |
| Fresno | 82,515 | 51.13% | 65,254 | 40.43% | 10,727 | 6.65% | 2,890 | 1.79% | 17,261 | 10.70% | 161,386 |
| Glenn | 5,386 | 64.80% | 2,227 | 26.79% | 537 | 6.46% | 162 | 1.95% | 3,159 | 38.01% | 8,312 |
| Humboldt | 24,047 | 49.39% | 17,113 | 35.15% | 5,440 | 11.17% | 2,092 | 4.30% | 6,934 | 14.24% | 48,692 |
| Imperial | 12,068 | 55.92% | 7,961 | 36.89% | 1,203 | 5.57% | 347 | 1.61% | 4,107 | 19.03% | 21,579 |
| Inyo | 5,201 | 64.79% | 2,080 | 25.91% | 515 | 6.42% | 231 | 2.88% | 3,121 | 38.88% | 8,027 |
| Kern | 72,842 | 59.65% | 41,097 | 33.65% | 5,799 | 4.75% | 2,383 | 1.95% | 31,745 | 26.00% | 122,121 |
| Kings | 10,531 | 55.37% | 7,299 | 38.37% | 901 | 4.74% | 290 | 1.52% | 3,232 | 17.00% | 19,021 |
| Lake | 8,934 | 53.64% | 5,978 | 35.90% | 1,157 | 6.95% | 585 | 3.51% | 2,956 | 17.74% | 16,654 |
| Lassen | 4,464 | 54.45% | 2,941 | 35.87% | 543 | 6.62% | 250 | 3.05% | 1,523 | 18.58% | 8,198 |
| Los Angeles | 1,224,533 | 50.18% | 979,830 | 40.15% | 175,882 | 7.21% | 59,940 | 2.46% | 244,703 | 10.03% | 2,440,185 |
| Madera | 10,599 | 53.58% | 7,783 | 39.35% | 1,013 | 5.12% | 385 | 1.95% | 2,816 | 14.23% | 19,780 |
| Marin | 49,678 | 45.78% | 39,231 | 36.16% | 13,805 | 12.72% | 5,793 | 5.34% | 10,447 | 9.62% | 108,507 |
| Mariposa | 3,082 | 54.96% | 1,889 | 33.68% | 458 | 8.17% | 179 | 3.19% | 1,193 | 21.28% | 5,608 |
| Mendocino | 12,432 | 44.05% | 10,784 | 38.21% | 2,747 | 9.73% | 2,261 | 8.01% | 1,648 | 5.84% | 28,224 |
| Merced | 18,043 | 48.77% | 15,886 | 42.94% | 2,316 | 6.26% | 751 | 2.03% | 2,157 | 5.83% | 36,996 |
| Modoc | 2,579 | 64.48% | 1,046 | 26.15% | 293 | 7.32% | 82 | 2.05% | 1,533 | 38.33% | 4,000 |
| Mono | 2,132 | 62.32% | 865 | 25.29% | 302 | 8.83% | 122 | 3.57% | 1,267 | 37.03% | 3,421 |
| Monterey | 47,452 | 54.67% | 29,086 | 33.51% | 8,008 | 9.23% | 2,248 | 2.59% | 18,366 | 21.16% | 86,794 |
| Napa | 23,632 | 53.67% | 14,898 | 33.83% | 4,218 | 9.58% | 1,287 | 2.92% | 8,734 | 19.84% | 44,035 |
| Nevada | 15,207 | 57.91% | 7,605 | 28.96% | 2,235 | 8.51% | 1,214 | 4.62% | 7,602 | 28.95% | 26,261 |
| Orange | 529,797 | 67.90% | 176,704 | 22.65% | 55,299 | 7.09% | 18,412 | 2.36% | 353,093 | 45.25% | 780,212 |
| Placer | 28,179 | 54.78% | 17,311 | 33.65% | 4,356 | 8.47% | 1,594 | 3.10% | 10,868 | 21.13% | 51,440 |
| Plumas | 4,182 | 51.24% | 2,911 | 35.67% | 783 | 9.59% | 285 | 3.49% | 1,271 | 15.57% | 8,161 |
| Riverside | 145,642 | 59.87% | 76,650 | 31.51% | 16,362 | 6.73% | 4,624 | 1.90% | 68,992 | 28.36% | 243,278 |
| Sacramento | 153,721 | 47.72% | 130,031 | 40.37% | 29,655 | 9.21% | 8,713 | 2.70% | 23,690 | 7.35% | 322,120 |
| San Benito | 4,054 | 53.33% | 2,749 | 36.16% | 552 | 7.26% | 247 | 3.25% | 1,305 | 17.17% | 7,602 |
| San Bernardino | 172,957 | 59.68% | 91,790 | 31.67% | 19,106 | 6.59% | 5,959 | 2.06% | 81,167 | 28.01% | 289,812 |
| San Diego | 435,910 | 60.81% | 195,410 | 27.26% | 67,491 | 9.41% | 18,055 | 2.52% | 240,500 | 33.55% | 716,866 |
| San Francisco | 80,967 | 31.87% | 133,184 | 52.43% | 29,365 | 11.56% | 10,512 | 4.14% | -52,217 | -20.56% | 254,028 |
| San Joaquin | 64,718 | 55.38% | 41,551 | 35.56% | 8,416 | 7.20% | 2,178 | 1.86% | 23,167 | 19.82% | 116,863 |
| San Luis Obispo | 38,631 | 55.56% | 20,508 | 29.50% | 8,407 | 12.09% | 1,981 | 2.85% | 18,123 | 26.06% | 69,527 |
| San Mateo | 116,491 | 48.82% | 87,335 | 36.60% | 27,985 | 11.73% | 6,826 | 2.86% | 29,156 | 12.22% | 238,637 |
| Santa Barbara | 69,629 | 53.98% | 40,650 | 31.51% | 14,786 | 11.46% | 3,930 | 3.05% | 28,979 | 22.47% | 128,995 |
| Santa Clara | 229,048 | 48.02% | 166,995 | 35.01% | 65,481 | 13.73% | 15,479 | 3.25% | 62,053 | 13.01% | 477,003 |
| Santa Cruz | 37,347 | 43.53% | 32,346 | 37.70% | 10,590 | 12.34% | 5,521 | 6.43% | 5,001 | 5.83% | 85,804 |
| Shasta | 27,547 | 58.09% | 15,364 | 32.40% | 3,220 | 6.79% | 1,287 | 2.71% | 12,183 | 25.69% | 47,418 |
| Sierra | 855 | 49.77% | 651 | 37.89% | 156 | 9.08% | 56 | 3.26% | 204 | 11.88% | 1,718 |
| Siskiyou | 9,331 | 55.75% | 5,664 | 33.84% | 1,269 | 7.58% | 474 | 2.83% | 3,667 | 21.91% | 16,738 |
| Solano | 40,919 | 50.72% | 30,952 | 38.37% | 6,713 | 8.32% | 2,092 | 2.59% | 9,967 | 12.35% | 80,676 |
| Sonoma | 60,722 | 48.20% | 45,596 | 36.19% | 14,068 | 11.17% | 5,599 | 4.44% | 15,126 | 12.01% | 125,985 |
| Stanislaus | 41,595 | 49.41% | 33,683 | 40.01% | 7,134 | 8.47% | 1,774 | 2.11% | 7,912 | 9.40% | 84,186 |
| Sutter | 11,778 | 63.47% | 5,103 | 27.50% | 1,089 | 5.87% | 587 | 3.16% | 6,675 | 35.97% | 18,557 |
| Tehama | 9,140 | 59.13% | 4,832 | 31.26% | 1,014 | 6.56% | 471 | 3.05% | 4,308 | 27.87% | 15,457 |
| Trinity | 3,048 | 54.96% | 1,734 | 31.27% | 506 | 9.12% | 258 | 4.65% | 1,314 | 23.69% | 5,546 |
| Tulare | 41,317 | 58.32% | 25,155 | 35.51% | 3,244 | 4.58% | 1,130 | 1.60% | 16,162 | 22.81% | 70,846 |
| Tuolumne | 8,810 | 54.85% | 5,449 | 33.92% | 1,390 | 8.65% | 414 | 2.58% | 3,361 | 20.93% | 16,063 |
| Ventura | 114,930 | 60.28% | 56,311 | 29.54% | 14,887 | 7.81% | 4,522 | 2.37% | 58,619 | 30.74% | 190,650 |
| Yolo | 19,603 | 39.45% | 21,527 | 43.32% | 6,669 | 13.42% | 1,891 | 3.81% | -1,924 | -3.87% | 49,690 |
| Yuba | 7,942 | 56.28% | 4,896 | 34.70% | 878 | 6.22% | 395 | 2.80% | 3,046 | 21.58% | 14,111 |
| Total | 4,524,858 | 52.69% | 3,083,661 | 35.91% | 739,833 | 8.62% | 238,711 | 2.78% | 1,441,197 | 16.78% | 8,587,063 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]- Amador
- Del Norte
- El Dorado
- Fresno
- Humboldt
- Lake
- Lassen
- Los Angeles
- Madera
- Merced
- Mariposa
- Mendocino
- Placer
- Plumas
- Sacramento
- Santa Cruz
- Shasta
- Sierra
- Solano
- Stanislaus
- Tehama
- Trinity
- Tuolumne
- Yuba
References
[edit]- ^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
- ^ Reisner, Marc; Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water; p. 11 ISBN 0140178244
- ^ "1980 Presidential General Election Results – California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
