1980 United States presidential election in Florida

Summary

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

← 1976 November 4, 1980 1984 →
TurnoutSteady77%[1]
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter John B. Anderson
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Home state California Georgia Illinois
Running mate George H. W. Bush Walter Mondale Patrick Lucey
Electoral vote 17 0 0
Popular vote 2,046,951 1,419,475 189,692
Percentage 55.52% 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. Carter is also the last 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 candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Ronald Reagan Republican California 2,046,951 55.52% 17 George Bush Texas 17
Jimmy Carter Democrat Georgia 1,419,475 38.50% 0 Walter Mondale Minnesota 0
John B. Anderson Independent Illinois 189,692 5.14% 0 None 0
Ed Clark Libertarian California 30,524 0.83% 0 David Koch New York 0
David McReynolds Socialist New York 212 0.01% 0 Diane Drufenbrock Wisconsin 0
Gus Hall Communist New York 123 0.00% 0 Angela Davis California 0
Clifton DeBerry Socialist Workers California 41 0.00% 0 Matilde Zimmermann 0
Deirdre Griswold Workers World New York 8 0.00% 0 Larry Holmes Illinois 0
Total 3,687,026 100% 17 17
Needed to win 270 270

Results by county edit

County Ronald Wilson Reagan
Republican
James Earl Carter
Democratic
John Bayard Anderson
Independent
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % #
Alachua 19,804 38.56% 26,849 52.27% 4,178 8.13% 533 1.04% -7,045 -13.72% 51,364
Baker 2,283 45.88% 2,611 52.47% 56 1.13% 26 0.52% -328 -6.59% 4,976
Bay 20,948 60.61% 12,389 35.85% 740 2.14% 484 1.40% 8,559 24.76% 34,561
Bradford 2,778 44.50% 3,347 53.61% 90 1.44% 28 0.45% -569 -9.11% 6,243
Brevard 69,460 60.07% 39,007 33.73% 5,866 5.07% 1,303 1.13% 30,453 26.34% 115,636
Broward 229,693 55.95% 146,323 35.64% 31,554 7.69% 2,991 0.73% 83,370 20.31% 410,561
Calhoun 1,504 38.72% 2,300 59.22% 52 1.34% 28 0.72% -796 -20.49% 3,884
Charlotte 20,486 64.62% 9,769 30.82% 1,210 3.82% 235 0.74% 10,717 33.81% 31,700
Citrus 14,286 58.48% 9,162 37.50% 787 3.22% 195 0.80% 5,124 20.97% 24,430
Clay 15,643 64.85% 7,630 31.63% 692 2.87% 157 0.65% 8,013 33.22% 24,122
Collier 23,900 71.10% 7,739 23.02% 1,678 4.99% 296 0.88% 16,161 48.08% 33,613
Columbia 5,643 48.45% 5,680 48.76% 248 2.13% 77 0.66% -37 -0.32% 11,648
Dade 265,888 50.65% 210,868 40.17% 44,799 8.53% 3,350 0.64% 55,020 10.48% 524,905
Desoto 3,356 53.40% 2,713 43.17% 155 2.47% 61 0.97% 643 10.23% 6,285
Dixie 1,101 34.70% 2,010 63.35% 45 1.42% 17 0.54% -909 -28.65% 3,173
Duval 98,664 50.45% 90,466 46.26% 5,184 2.65% 1,240 0.63% 8,198 4.19% 195,554
Escambia 51,794 58.49% 33,513 37.84% 2,634 2.97% 618 0.70% 18,281 20.64% 88,559
Flagler 2,895 51.70% 2,503 44.70% 154 2.75% 48 0.86% 392 7.00% 5,600
Franklin 1,508 44.59% 1,775 52.48% 54 1.60% 45 1.33% -267 -7.89% 3,382
Gadsden 3,718 30.41% 8,222 67.26% 201 1.64% 84 0.69% -4,504 -36.84% 12,225
Gilchrist 1,093 39.13% 1,627 58.25% 56 2.01% 17 0.61% -534 -19.12% 2,793
Glades 1,098 45.96% 1,203 50.36% 61 2.55% 27 1.13% -105 -4.40% 2,389
Gulf 2,127 43.18% 2,700 54.81% 61 1.24% 38 0.77% -573 -11.63% 4,926
Hamilton 1,301 39.66% 1,923 58.63% 40 1.22% 16 0.49% -622 -18.96% 3,280
Hardee 2,603 48.82% 2,599 48.74% 83 1.56% 47 0.88% 4 0.08% 5,332
Hendry 2,703 49.93% 2,543 46.97% 131 2.42% 37 0.68% 160 2.96% 5,414
Hernando 12,115 54.99% 8,858 40.21% 852 3.87% 207 0.94% 3,257 14.78% 22,032
Highlands 11,925 61.95% 6,688 34.74% 531 2.76% 105 0.55% 5,237 27.21% 19,249
Hillsborough 106,160 51.71% 88,271 42.99% 8,965 4.37% 1,918 0.93% 17,889 8.71% 205,314
Holmes 3,221 52.41% 2,767 45.02% 69 1.12% 89 1.45% 454 7.39% 6,146
Indian River 15,568 62.98% 7,759 31.39% 1,185 4.79% 205 0.83% 7,809 31.59% 24,717
Jackson 6,348 44.76% 7,567 53.36% 159 1.12% 107 0.75% -1,219 -8.60% 14,181
Jefferson 1,623 39.19% 2,367 57.16% 96 2.32% 55 1.33% -744 -17.97% 4,141
Lafayette 795 42.67% 1,034 55.50% 22 1.18% 12 0.64% -239 -12.83% 1,863
Lake 26,798 64.53% 13,128 31.61% 1,244 3.00% 358 0.86% 13,670 32.92% 41,528
Lee 61,033 64.51% 28,125 29.73% 4,229 4.47% 1,226 1.30% 32,908 34.78% 94,613
Leon 24,919 43.47% 28,450 49.63% 3,193 5.57% 764 1.33% -3,531 -6.16% 57,326
Levy 3,210 42.26% 4,170 54.90% 175 2.30% 41 0.54% -960 -12.64% 7,596
Liberty 899 43.81% 1,114 54.29% 25 1.22% 14 0.68% -215 -10.48% 2,052
Madison 2,280 41.39% 3,134 56.89% 65 1.18% 30 0.54% -854 -15.50% 5,509
Manatee 40,535 61.81% 21,679 33.06% 2,928 4.47% 434 0.66% 18,856 28.75% 65,576
Marion 23,743 58.49% 15,400 37.94% 1,187 2.92% 262 0.65% 8,343 20.55% 40,592
Martin 20,521 68.05% 8,087 26.82% 1,321 4.38% 225 0.75% 12,434 41.23% 30,154
Monroe 11,644 53.40% 7,920 36.32% 1,932 8.86% 310 1.42% 3,724 17.08% 21,806
Nassau 5,440 50.60% 5,074 47.20% 183 1.70% 54 0.50% 366 3.40% 10,751
Okaloosa 28,072 69.62% 10,845 26.90% 1,116 2.77% 290 0.72% 17,227 42.72% 40,323
Okeechobee 2,783 44.81% 3,228 51.98% 156 2.51% 43 0.69% -445 -7.17% 6,210
Orange 87,454 61.06% 48,767 34.05% 5,403 3.77% 1,595 1.11% 38,687 27.01% 143,219
Osceola 10,863 59.67% 6,603 36.27% 564 3.10% 175 0.96% 4,260 23.40% 18,205
Palm Beach 143,639 56.79% 91,991 36.37% 15,193 6.01% 2,107 0.83% 51,648 20.42% 252,930
Pasco 50,120 56.67% 34,054 38.50% 3,569 4.04% 699 0.79% 16,066 18.17% 88,442
Pinellas 185,728 53.83% 138,428 40.12% 17,839 5.17% 3,008 0.87% 47,300 13.71% 345,003
Polk 59,651 56.11% 43,327 40.75% 2,627 2.47% 710 0.67% 16,324 15.35% 106,315
Putnam 8,273 46.67% 8,906 50.24% 414 2.34% 134 0.76% -633 -3.57% 17,727
St. Johns 11,234 59.67% 6,898 36.64% 554 2.94% 140 0.74% 4,336 23.03% 18,826
St. Lucie 18,126 60.76% 10,347 34.69% 1,113 3.73% 244 0.82% 7,779 26.08% 29,830
Santa Rosa 13,802 63.93% 6,964 32.26% 606 2.81% 218 1.01% 6,838 31.67% 21,590
Sarasota 68,065 68.57% 25,621 25.81% 4,796 4.83% 783 0.79% 42,444 42.76% 99,265
Seminole 39,989 66.16% 17,443 28.86% 2,459 4.07% 548 0.91% 22,546 37.30% 60,439
Sumter 3,671 44.41% 4,380 52.98% 141 1.71% 75 0.91% -709 -8.58% 8,267
Suwannee 3,899 46.22% 4,345 51.51% 135 1.60% 57 0.68% -446 -5.29% 8,436
Taylor 2,776 47.31% 2,963 50.49% 78 1.33% 51 0.87% -187 -3.19% 5,868
Union 1,123 46.35% 1,237 51.05% 45 1.86% 18 0.74% -114 -4.70% 2,423
Volusia 52,663 51.69% 44,513 43.69% 3,310 3.25% 1,396 1.37% 8,150 8.00% 101,882
Wakulla 2,021 47.26% 2,082 48.69% 112 2.62% 61 1.43% -61 -1.43% 4,276
Walton 4,694 50.28% 4,360 46.70% 199 2.13% 83 0.89% 334 3.58% 9,336
Washington 3,251 49.92% 3,110 47.75% 93 1.43% 59 0.91% 141 2.16% 6,513
Totals 2,046,951 55.52% 1,419,475 38.50% 189,692 5.14% 30,908 0.84% 627,476 17.02% 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