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1980 United States presidential election in Mississippi

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Main article: 1980 United States presidential election
1980 United States presidential election in Mississippi
← 1976 November 4, 1980 1984 →
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Georgia
Running mate George H. W. Bush Walter Mondale
Electoral vote 7 0
Popular vote 441,089 429,281
Percentage 49.42% 48.09%
County Results
President before election

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elections in Mississippi
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The 1980 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 4, 1980. All fifty states and The District of Columbia were part of the 1980 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose seven electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Campaign

Both major party candidates targeted the state,[1] with Governor William F. Winter giving incumbent president and Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter extensive support — support that had not been given to a Democratic nominee since Adlai Stevenson II during the 1950s.[2] Mississippi, alongside Alabama, Florida and Texas, was a key state in Reagan’s plan to win the presidency by eating into Carter’s 1976 Southern support,[3] especially as Carter’s Baptist identity held less weight than it had in 1976.[4]

Philadelphia, notorious for the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers, was where Reagan began his campaign with a proclamation of “states’ rights” frequently compared with George Wallace’s 1968 campaign,[5] which had won over five-eighths of Mississippi’s total vote and over four-fifths of the white vote.[6] Late in September, the state would be the target of simultaneous campaigning by Jimmy Carter’s mother Lilian, and simultaneously by Republican nominee, California Governor Ronald Reagan.[7] Later in the campaign, however, Governor Winter issued a severe criticism of Reagan’s campaign for failing to debate agricultural policy.[8]

62% of white voters supported Reagan while 35% supported Carter.[9][10]

Predictions

Source Rating As of
Bristol Herald Courier[11] Lean R (Flip) October 5, 1980
Kansas City Star[12] Lean R (Flip) October 12, 1980
The Clarion-Ledger[13] Lean R (Flip) October 26, 1980
The Greenwood Commonwealth[14] Lean R (Flip) October 31, 1980
Fort Worth Star-Telegram[15] Tilt R (Flip) October 31, 1980
Daily Press[16] Tossup November 3, 1980

Results

1980 United States presidential election in Mississippi[17]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan 441,089 49.42% 7
Democrat Jimmy Carter (incumbent) 429,281 48.09% 0
Independent John B. Anderson 12,036 1.35% 0
Independent Edward Clark 5,465 0.61% 0
Independent Deirdre Griswold 2,402 0.27% 0
Independent Andrew Pulley 2,347 0.26% 0
Totals 892,620 100.0% 7

Results by county

1980 United States presidential election in Mississippi by county[18]
County Ronald Reagan
Republican 		Jimmy Carter
Democratic 		John B. Anderson
Independent 		Edward E. Clark
Independent 		Deidre Griswold
Independent 		Andrew Pulley
Independent 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Adams 7,523 48.97% 7,228 47.05% 151 0.98% 245 1.59% 166 1.08% 50 0.33% 295 1.92% 15,363
Alcorn 5,196 41.25% 6,242 49.56% 898 7.13% 119 0.94% 37 0.29% 103 0.82% -1,046 -8.30% 12,595
Amite 2,653 44.43% 3,229 54.08% 43 0.72% 24 0.40% 11 0.18% 11 0.18% -576 -9.65% 5,971
Attala 3,975 48.39% 4,117 50.12% 71 0.86% 27 0.33% 13 0.16% 11 0.13% -142 -1.73% 8,214
Benton 1,254 36.59% 2,094 61.10% 35 1.02% 20 0.58% 13 0.38% 11 0.32% -840 -24.51% 3,427
Bolivar 5,148 35.53% 8,839 61.00% 280 1.93% 110 0.76% 37 0.26% 77 0.53% -3,691 -25.47% 14,491
Calhoun 2,579 42.85% 3,295 54.74% 64 1.06% 44 0.73% 21 0.35% 16 0.27% -716 -11.90% 6,019
Carroll 2,153 50.92% 2,037 48.18% 22 0.52% 11 0.26% 3 0.07% 2 0.05% 116 2.74% 4,228
Chickasaw 2,540 40.13% 3,622 57.23% 71 1.12% 47 0.74% 28 0.44% 21 0.33% -1,082 -17.10% 6,329
Choctaw 1,927 52.15% 1,729 46.79% 26 0.70% 10 0.27% 2 0.05% 1 0.03% 198 5.36% 3,695
Claiborne 1,129 26.70% 3,032 71.71% 22 0.52% 22 0.52% 16 0.38% 7 0.17% -1,903 -45.01% 4,228
Clarke 3,303 49.14% 3,303 49.14% 41 0.61% 48 0.71% 17 0.25% 9 0.13% 0 0.00% 6,721
Clay 3,439 43.18% 4,275 53.68% 124 1.56% 55 0.69% 39 0.49% 32 0.40% -836 -10.50% 7,964
Coahoma 4,592 38.22% 7,030 58.51% 256 2.13% 62 0.52% 38 0.32% 37 0.31% -2,438 -20.29% 12,015
Copiah 4,461 43.99% 5,517 54.41% 76 0.75% 45 0.44% 21 0.21% 20 0.20% -1,056 -10.41% 10,140
Covington 3,471 53.15% 2,956 45.26% 39 0.60% 28 0.43% 20 0.31% 17 0.26% 515 7.89% 6,531
DeSoto 9,655 58.80% 6,344 38.64% 237 1.44% 103 0.63% 41 0.25% 39 0.24% 3,311 20.17% 16,419
Forrest 12,656 59.34% 8,274 38.80% 275 1.29% 95 0.45% 17 0.08% 10 0.05% 4,382 20.55% 21,327
Franklin 2,026 49.31% 2,040 49.65% 23 0.56% 9 0.22% 4 0.10% 7 0.17% -14 -0.34% 4,109
George 3,052 51.45% 2,757 46.48% 64 1.08% 31 0.52% 8 0.13% 20 0.34% 295 4.97% 5,932
Greene 1,772 50.04% 1,740 49.14% 23 0.65% 5 0.14% 1 0.03% 0 0.00% 32 0.90% 3,541
Grenada 3,993 48.11% 4,182 50.39% 59 0.71% 38 0.46% 14 0.17% 14 0.17% -189 -2.28% 8,300
Hancock 5,088 57.07% 3,544 39.75% 159 1.78% 51[a] 0.57% 25[a] 0.28% 28[a] 0.31% 1,544 17.36% 8,895
Harrison 25,175 58.70% 16,318 38.05% 822 1.92% 371 0.87% 81 0.19% 121 0.28% 8,857 20.65% 42,888
Hinds 48,135 53.44% 39,369 43.71% 1,414 1.57% 623 0.69% 294 0.33% 239 0.27% 8,766 9.73% 90,074
Holmes 2,693 32.31% 5,463 65.54% 57 0.68% 54 0.65% 39 0.47% 30 0.36% -2,770 -33.23% 8,336
Humphreys 1,841 36.67% 2,970 59.16% 68 1.35% 74 1.47% 37 0.74% 30 0.60% -1,129 -22.49% 5,020
Issaquena 349 36.05% 598 61.78% 5 0.52% 6 0.62% 5 0.52% 5 0.52% -249 -25.72% 968
Itawamba 2,906 37.00% 4,852 61.79% 57 0.73% 26 0.33% 7 0.09% 5 0.06% -1,946 -24.78% 7,853
Jackson 22,498 62.57% 12,226 34.00% 653 1.82% 394 1.09% 100 0.28% 127 0.35% 10,272 28.57% 35,958
Jasper 2,781 41.68% 3,813 57.14% 34 0.51% 23 0.34% 14 0.21% 8 0.12% -1,032 -15.47% 6,673
Jefferson 751 20.17% 2,871 77.09% 41 1.10% 28 0.75% 15 0.40% 18 0.48% -2,120 -56.93% 3,724
Jefferson Davis 2,280 36.85% 3,831 61.92% 24 0.39% 26 0.42% 19 0.31% 7 0.11% -1,551 -25.07% 6,187
Jones 12,900 53.11% 11,117 45.77% 155 0.64% 60 0.25% 24 0.10% 33 0.14% 1,783 7.34% 24,289
Kemper 1,822 41.05% 2,601 58.59% 12 0.27% 4 0.09% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% -779 -17.55% 4,439
Lafayette 4,366 45.62% 4,887 51.06% 243 2.54% 42 0.44% 19 0.20% 14 0.15% -521 -5.44% 9,571
Lamar 5,395 63.13% 3,005 35.16% 84 0.98% 39 0.46% 13 0.15% 10 0.12% 2,390 27.97% 8,546
Lauderdale 14,727 56.38% 9,918 37.97% 784 3.00% 438 1.68% 71 0.27% 181 0.69% 4,809 18.41% 26,119
Lawrence 2,781 50.02% 2,692 48.42% 49 0.88% 22 0.40% 5 0.09% 11 0.20% 89 1.60% 5,560
Leake 3,624 46.83% 4,033 52.12% 40 0.52% 14 0.18% 15 0.19% 12 0.16% -409 -5.29% 7,738
Lee 8,326 44.08% 10,047 53.19% 321 1.70% 100 0.53% 37 0.20% 58 0.31% -1,721 -9.11% 18,889
Leflore 5,798 42.40% 7,498 54.83% 166 1.21% 83 0.61% 71 0.52% 59 0.43% -1,700 -12.43% 13,675
Lincoln 7,286 57.78% 5,213 41.34% 75 0.59% 19 0.15% 7 0.06% 10 0.08% 2,073 16.44% 12,610
Lowndes 9,973 60.98% 6,187 37.83% 140 0.86% 45 0.28% 7 0.04% 3 0.02% 3,786 23.15% 16,355
Madison 6,024 42.91% 7,621 54.28% 276 1.97% 61 0.43% 16 0.11% 41 0.29% -1,597 -11.38% 14,039
Marion 5,218 48.73% 5,366 50.12% 62 0.58% 36 0.34% 12 0.11% 3 0.03% -148 -1.38% 10,707
Marshall 3,455 31.85% 7,153 65.94% 121 1.12% 63 0.58% 22 0.20% 24 0.22% -3,698 -34.09% 10,848
Monroe 4,793 39.16% 6,998 57.18% 177 1.45% 143 1.17% 55 0.45% 73 0.60% -2,205 -18.02% 12,239
Montgomery 2,479 46.55% 2,730 51.26% 42 0.79% 28 0.53% 20 0.38% 27 0.51% -251 -4.71% 5,326
Neshoba 5,165 56.45% 3,872 42.32% 72 0.79% 19 0.21% 12 0.13% 9 0.10% 1,293 14.13% 9,149
Newton 4,317 54.36% 3,455 43.51% 86 1.08% 33 0.42% 36 0.45% 14 0.18% 862 10.86% 7,941
Noxubee 1,970 35.46% 3,434 61.82% 47 0.85% 41 0.74% 41 0.74% 22 0.40% -1,464 -26.35% 5,555
Oktibbeha 6,300 49.70% 6,039 47.64% 258 2.04% 54 0.43% 15 0.12% 9 0.07% 261 2.06% 12,675
Panola 4,219 39.33% 6,179 57.60% 149 1.39% 90 0.84% 47 0.44% 44 0.41% -1,960 -18.27% 10,728
Pearl River 6,822 56.19% 5,028 41.41% 161 1.33% 77 0.63% 25 0.21% 28 0.23% 1,794 14.78% 12,141
Perry 2,255 52.90% 1,957 45.91% 25 0.59% 14 0.33% 8 0.19% 4 0.09% 298 6.99% 4,263
Pike 6,661 48.56% 6,694 48.80% 129 0.94% 115 0.84% 57 0.42% 60 0.44% -33 -0.24% 13,716
Pontotoc 3,198 40.99% 4,499 57.66% 58 0.74% 33 0.42% 7 0.09% 7 0.09% -1,301 -16.68% 7,802
Prentiss 3,264 39.91% 4,832 59.09% 40 0.49% 29 0.35% 5 0.06% 8 0.10% -1,568 -19.17% 8,178
Quitman 1,691 35.16% 2,926 60.83% 83 1.73% 34 0.71% 32 0.67% 44 0.91% -1,235 -25.68% 4,810
Rankin 16,650 66.25% 8,047 32.02% 296 1.18% 81 0.32% 29 0.12% 29 0.12% 8,603 34.23% 25,132
Scott 4,645 52.59% 4,043 45.78% 72 0.82% 32 0.36% 16 0.18% 24 0.27% 602 6.82% 8,832
Sharkey 996 32.97% 1,957 64.78% 28 0.93% 21 0.70% 11 0.36% 8 0.26% -961 -31.81% 3,021
Simpson 5,190 55.60% 4,015 43.01% 70 0.75% 23 0.25% 29 0.31% 7 0.07% 1,175 12.59% 9,334
Smith 3,772 59.50% 2,474 39.02% 46 0.73% 27 0.43% 8 0.13% 13 0.21% 1,298 20.47% 6,340
Stone 1,888 49.21% 1,821 47.46% 53 1.38% 50 1.30% 15 0.39% 10 0.26% 67 1.75% 3,837
Sunflower 3,728 41.76% 5,035 56.40% 82 0.92% 40 0.45% 26 0.29% 16 0.18% -1,307 -14.64% 8,927
Tallahatchie 2,183 37.79% 3,467 60.02% 45 0.78% 24 0.42% 37 0.64% 20 0.35% -1,284 -22.23% 5,776
Tate 3,343 45.38% 3,892 52.84% 80 1.09% 28 0.38% 16 0.22% 7 0.10% -549 -7.45% 7,366
Tippah 3,338 44.97% 3,878 52.24% 116 1.56% 53 0.71% 23 0.31% 15 0.20% -540 -7.27% 7,423
Tishomingo 2,489 34.47% 4,595 63.63% 79 1.09% 29 0.40% 9 0.12% 20 0.28% -2,106 -29.16% 7,221
Tunica 954 29.77% 2,198 68.58% 24 0.75% 14 0.44% 8 0.25% 7 0.22% -1,244 -38.81% 3,205
Union 3,545 40.68% 5,001 57.38% 94 1.08% 46 0.53% 19 0.22% 10 0.11% -1,456 -16.71% 8,715
Walthall 2,703 46.91% 2,960 51.37% 34 0.59% 35 0.61% 12 0.21% 18 0.31% -257 -4.46% 5,762
Warren 10,151 56.00% 7,489 41.31% 274 1.51% 82 0.45% 77 0.42% 55 0.30% 2,662 14.68% 18,128
Washington 8,978 44.63% 10,722 53.30% 186 0.92% 89 0.44% 89 0.44% 53 0.26% -1,744 -8.67% 20,117
Wayne 3,844 52.07% 3,494 47.32% 26 0.35% 17 0.23% 2 0.03% 0 0.00% 350 4.74% 7,383
Webster 2,386 50.64% 2,178 46.22% 75 1.59% 39 0.83% 19 0.40% 15 0.32% 208 4.41% 4,712
Wilkinson 1,442 32.04% 2,981 66.24% 25 0.56% 22 0.49% 14 0.31% 16 0.36% -1,539 -34.20% 4,500
Winston 3,998 46.79% 4,416 51.68% 65 0.76% 29 0.34% 19 0.22% 18 0.21% -418 -4.89% 8,545
Yalobusha 2,224 38.46% 3,432 59.35% 78 1.35% 25 0.43% 12 0.21% 12 0.21% -1,208 -20.89% 5,783
Yazoo 4,819 45.90% 5,468 52.09% 99 0.94% 49 0.47% 30 0.29% 33 0.31% -649 -6.18% 10,498
Totals 441,089 49.42% 429,281 48.09% 12,036 1.35% 5,465 0.61% 2,402 0.27% 2,347 0.26% 11,808 1.33% 892,620

Analysis

Mississippi was won, fairly consistently with predictions, by Reagan with a slim margin of 1.33 points.[17] However, in future elections, the state would become a Republican stronghold, and no Democratic presidential candidate has carried the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Winston County, Tippah County, Itawamba County, Union County, Prentiss County, Pontotoc County, Lee County, Lafayette County, Attala County, Monroe County, Madison County, Calhoun County, Tate County, Marion County, Leake County, Grenada County, and Franklin County voted for the Democratic candidate, as well as the last time that Clarke County was not carried by the Republican candidate;[19] as Reagan and Carter ended up in a tie in Clarke County.

This is the last presidential election in which Mississippi voted more Democratic than the nation at large. At the time it was the election with the largest number of votes in Mississippi history.[20] This is the second-closest election in Mississippi after 1848 and the only time that a Republican has won Mississippi by a margin of less than 5 points.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c These is an error in the totals for this county at Our Campaigns for the minor candidates, by which totals for neighbouring Harrison County are substituted but which do not match statewide totals from that site or Dave Leip’s Atlas. Totals have been adjusted to match statewide totals.

References

  1. ^ Minor, Bill (September 2, 1980). "Mississippi Voters Courted by Both Parties". The Greenwood Commonwealth. Jackson Reporter. p. 4.
  2. ^ Minor, Bill (November 2, 1980). "And He Sees Reagan Carrying State". Enterprise-Journal. McComb, Mississippi. p. 2.
  3. ^ "Alabama Among Key States in Reagan Plan". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. September 1, 1980. p. 21.
  4. ^ Weidie, Wayne W. (October 9, 1980). "Don't Mortgage Your Home To Bet on Reagan". The Winona Times. Winona, Mississippi. p. 2.
  5. ^ Cohen, Michael A. (2016). American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and Politics of Division. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 347. ISBN 9780199777563.
  6. ^ Black, Earl (2021). "Competing Responses to the New Southern Politics: Republican and Democratic Southern Strategies, 1964-76". In Reed, John Shelton; Black, Merle (eds.). Perspectives on the American South: An Annual Review of Society, Politics, and Culture. ISBN 9781136764882.
  7. ^ "President's Mother To Visit Jackson School". The Clarksdale Press Register. Clarksdale, Mississippi. Jackson Associated Press. September 21, 1980. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Agricultural Issues: Reagan Forces Won't Debate". Enterprise-Journal. McComb, Mississippi. October 23, 1980. p. 10.
  9. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
  10. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 335.
  11. ^ Pettys, Dick (October 5, 1980). "Dixie Remains Political Background with No "Home Turf Odds" for Carter". Bristol Herald Courier. Bristol, Virginia. p. 5A.
  12. ^ Mears, Walter R. (October 26, 1980). "Carter–Reagan Race Tightens Near Finish". Kansas City Star. pp. 1A, 14A.
  13. ^ Newman, Johanna; Kubissa, David W. (October 26, 1980). "Carter Must Get Strong Mississippi Black Vote to Take State". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. pp. 1A, 16A.
  14. ^ Minor, Bill (October 31, 1980). "Carter May Not Carry Mississippi Voting". The Greenwood Commonwealth. Jackson Reporter. p. 4.
  15. ^ Pettys, Dick (October 31, 1980). "Reagan Quietly Undermining Carter's '76 Support". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Associated Press. p. 8A.
  16. ^ "Down by the Wire: State by State, It's Just too Close to Call". Daily Press. Victorville, California. November 3, 1980. p. B-1.
  17. ^ a b "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Mississippi". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  18. ^ "MS US President Race, November 04, 1980".
  19. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  20. ^ "Record number of voters expected at state polls". The Greenwood Commonwealth. November 4, 1984. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

Works cited

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