1980 Republican Party presidential primaries

1980 Republican Party presidential primaries

←  1976 January 21 to June 3, 1980 1984  →
1,990 delegates to the 1980 Republican National Convention 996 (majority) votes needed to win
Candidate Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush John B. Anderson Home state California Texas Illinois Delegate count 1,407 250 59 Contests won 42 7 + DC + Puerto Rico 0 Popular vote 7,709,793 3,070,033 1,572,174 Percentage 59.79% 23.81% 12.19%
First place by first-instance vote First place by delegate allocation First place by convention roll call      Reagan     Bush     Uncommitted
Previous Republican nominee Gerald Ford Republican nominee Ronald Reagan

From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Retired Hollywood actor and two-term California governor Ronald Reagan was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the Republican National Convention held from July 14 to 17, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan.

Background

As the 1980 presidential election approached, incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter appeared vulnerable. High gas prices, economic stagflation, a renewed Cold War with the Soviet Union following the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iran hostage crisis that developed when Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran all contributed to a general dissatisfaction with Carter's presidency; his job approval rating sank to below 20 percent in late-1979 as a result. Consequently, the president faced stiff Democratic primary challenges from Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and California Governor Jerry Brown. A large field of Republican challengers also emerged.

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Ronald Reagan			Governor of California (1967–1975)	California	(Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: May 24, 1980	7,709,793 (59.79%)	44	George Bush

Withdrew during primaries

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won
George H. W. Bush			Director of Central Intelligence Agency (1976–1977)	Texas	Campaign Withdrew: May 26 (endorsed Ronald Reagan, nominated for vice president)	3,070,033 (23.81%)	8 CT, DC, IA, ME, MA, MI, PA, PR
John Anderson			U.S. Representative from Illinois (1961–1981)	Illinois	Withdrew: April 24 (ran as independent)	1,572,174 (12.19%)	None
Howard Baker			U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1967–1985)	Tennessee	Withdrew: March 5 (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	181,153 (1.41%)	None
Phil Crane			U.S. Representative from Illinois (1969–2005)	Illinois	Withdrew: April 17 [1] (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	97,793 (0.76%)	None
John Connally			Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972)	Texas	Withdrew: March 9 (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	82,625 (0.64%)	Won 1 delegate from Arkansas (Ada Mills)
Ben Fernandez			U.S. Special Envoy to Paraguay (1973)	California	Withdrew: March 30 (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	25,520 (0.20%)	None
Harold Stassen			Director of the United States Foreign Operations Administration (1953–1955)	Pennsylvania	[ data missing ]	25,425 (0.20%)	None
Bob Dole			U.S. Senator from Kansas (1969–1996)	Kansas	Withdrew: March 15	7,204 (0.06%)	None

Withdrew before primaries

Withdrawn major candidates for the 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries

Name	Born	Experience	Home state	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Campaign	Ref.
Larry Pressler	March 29, 1942 (age 37) Humboldt, South Dakota	U.S. Senator from South Dakota U.S. Representative from South Dakota	South Dakota	[ data missing ]	January 8, 1980		[ citation needed ]
Lowell Weicker	May 16, 1931 (age 48) Paris, France	United States Senator from Connecticut	Connecticut	[ data missing ]	May 16, 1979		[ citation needed ]

Declined to run

The following potential candidates declined to run for the Republican nomination in 1980. ^{[2] [3]}

• Frank Borman, former astronaut from Indiana and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Air Lines
• Bill Brock, RNC Chairman of Tennessee; former Senator from Tennessee
• John Danforth, Senator from Missouri
• Pete du Pont, Governor of Delaware
• Gerald Ford, former President of the United States
• Spiro Agnew, former Vice President of the United States
• Jesse Helms, Senator from North Carolina
• Jack Kemp, U.S. Representative from New York
• Alexander Haig, former NATO Commander
• John Heinz, Senator from Pennsylvania
• Charles Mathias, Senator from Maryland
• Charles Percy, Senator from Illinois
• Elliot Richardson, former United States Secretary of Commerce
• William Ruckelshaus, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Richard Schweiker, Senator from Pennsylvania; presumptive running mate of Ronald Reagan in 1976
• Bill Simon, former United States Secretary of the Treasury (endorsed Reagan) ^[4]
• Jim Thompson, Governor of Illinois

Polling

National polling

Poll source	Publication date	John Anderson	Howard Baker	George Bush	John Connally	Bob Dole	Gerald Ford	Ronald Reagan	Others
Gallup [5]	Aug. 1977	–	8%	–	–	–	20%	33%	3%
Gallup [5]	Apr. 1978	–	11%	–	4%	4%	40%	30%	4%
Gallup [5]	July 1978	–	9%	1%	5%	4%	37%	31%	5%
Gallup [5]	Dec. 1978	1%	9%	1%	6%	1%	24%	40%	11% [lower-alpha 1]
Gallup [5]	Apr. 1979	2%	8%	1%	12%	1%	26%	31%	11% [lower-alpha 2]
Gallup [5]	May 1979	–	10%	–	8%	3%	27%	28%	–
Gallup [5]	June 1979	0%	11%	0%	5%	0%	29%	37%	5%
Gallup [5]	July 1979	3%	11%	1%	9%	2%	27%	32%	15% [lower-alpha 3]
Gallup [5]	Aug. 1979	1%	10%	3%	8%	1%	21%	29%	16% [lower-alpha 4]
Gallup [5]	Nov. 1979	1%	14%	2%	10%	3%	22%	33%	15% [lower-alpha 5]
Gallup [5]	Nov. 1979	0%	11%	5%	8%	3%	24%	40%	—
Gallup [5]	Dec. 1979	1%	9%	7%	10%	4%	18%	40%	10% [lower-alpha 6]
Gallup [5]	Jan. 1980	3%	9%	9%	9%	0%	27%	33%	—
Gallup [5]	Jan. 1980	0%	6%	28%	7%	0%	18%	29%	—
Gallup [5]	Feb. 1980	2%	6%	17%	4%	1%	32%	34%	3% [lower-alpha 7]
Gallup [5]	Feb. 1980	3%	7%	16%	–	–	25%	44%	—

1. Including 1% for Phil Crane.
2. Including 2% for Phil Crane.
3. Including 2% for Phil Crane.
4. Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
5. Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
6. Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
7. 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.

Primary race

• 
  The Nashua debate between Reagan and Bush
• 
  A Chicago debate with Philip Crane, Bush, moderator Eric Sevareid, Reagan, and John B. Anderson

Ronald Reagan, who had narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford, was the early odds-on favorite to win the nomination in 1980. He was so far ahead in the polls that campaign director John Sears decided on an "above the fray" strategy. He did not attend many of the multi-candidate forums and straw polls in the summer and fall of 1979.

George H. W. Bush, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and chairman of the Republican National Committee, did go to all the so-called "cattle calls", and began to come in first at a number of these events. Along with the top two, a number of other Republican politicians entered the race.

In January 1980, the Iowa Republicans decided to have a straw poll as a part of their caucuses for that year. Bush defeated Reagan by a small margin. Bush declared he had "the Big Mo", and with Reagan boycotting the Puerto Rico primary in deference to New Hampshire, Bush won the territory easily, giving him an early lead going into New Hampshire.

With the other candidates in single digits, the Nashua Telegraph offered to host a debate between Reagan and Bush. Worried that a newspaper-sponsored debate might violate electoral regulations, Reagan subsequently arranged to fund the event with his own campaign money, inviting the other candidates to participate at short notice. The Bush camp did not learn of Reagan's decision to include the other candidates until the debate was due to commence. Bush refused to participate, which led to an impasse on the stage. As Reagan attempted to explain his decision, Jon Breen, the editor of the Nashua Telegraph and debate moderator, ordered Bob Malloy, the volume operator, to mute Reagan's microphone. When Malloy refused, Breen repeated his order. A visibly angry Reagan responded, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!"[ sic ] (referring to the editor and debate moderator Jon Breen). ^{[6] [7] [8]} Eventually the other candidates agreed to leave, and the debate proceeded between Reagan and Bush. Reagan's quote was often repeated as "I paid for this microphone!" and dominated news coverage of the event; Reagan sailed to an easy win in New Hampshire. ^[9]

Ronald Reagan delivering his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan, on July 17, 1980.

Lee Bandy, a writer for the South Carolina newspaper The State stated that heading into the South Carolina primary, political operative Lee Atwater worked to engineer a victory for Reagan: "Lee Atwater figured that Connally was their biggest threat here in South Carolina. So Lee leaked a story to me that John Connally was trying to buy the black vote. Well, that story got out, thanks to me, and it probably killed Connally. He spent $10 million for one delegate. Lee saved Ronald Reagan's candidacy." ^[10]

Reagan swept the South, and although he lost five more primaries to Bush—including the Massachusetts primary in which he came in third place behind John B. Anderson—the former governor had a lock on the nomination very early in the season. Reagan said he would always be grateful to the people of Iowa for giving him "the kick in the pants" he needed.

Reagan was an adherent to a policy known as supply-side economics, which argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for people to produce (supply) goods and services, such as adjusting income tax and capital gains tax rates. Accordingly, Reagan promised an economic revival that would benefit all sectors of the population. He said that cutting tax rates would actually increase tax revenues because the lower rates would cause people to work harder as they would be able to keep more of their money. Reagan also called for a drastic cut in "big government" and pledged to deliver a balanced budget for the first time since 1969. In the primaries Bush called Reagan's economic policy "voodoo economics" because it promised to lower taxes and increase revenues at the same time.

Results

Tablemaker's Note: ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Date (daily totals)	Contest	Total pledged delegates
			Delegates won and popular vote
			Ronald Reagan	George Bush	John B. Anderson	Howard Baker	Phil Crane	John Connally	Bob Dole	Others	Uncommitted
January 21	Iowa Caucus [11] 106,608	0 (of 38)	31,348 (29.40%)	33,530 (31.45%)	4,585 (4.30%)	16,773 (15.73%)	7,135 (6.69%)	9,861 (9.25%)	1,576 (1.48%)	–	1,800 (1.69%)
February 2	Arkansas District Conventions [12]	12 (of 19)	6 Del.	1 Del.	–	4 Del.	–	–	–	–	1 Del.
February 16	Arkansas State Convention [13]	7 (of 19)	1 Del.	1 Del.	–	–	–	1 Del.	–	–	4 Del.
February 17	Puerto Rico Primary [14] 187,946	14 (of 20)	–	14 Del. 112,901 (60.07%)	–	70,025 (37.26%)	–	2,039 (1.08%)	457 (0.24%)	2,524 [lower-alpha 2] (1.34%)	–
February 26	New Hampshire Primary [15] 146,782	23 (of 23)	15 Del. 72,734 (49.55%)	5 Del. 33,304 (22.69%)	14,622 (9.96%)	2 Del. 18,760 (12.78%)	2,633 (1.79%)	2,215 (1.51%)	608 (0.41%)	1,906 WI [lower-alpha 3] (1.30%)	–
March 1	Iowa County Conventions [16] 2,902 CDs	0 (of 38)	925 CDs (31.87%)	1,150 CDs (39.63%)	64 CDs (2.21%)	322 CDs (11.10%)	91 CDs (3.14%)	127 CDs (4.38%)	2 CDs (0.07%)	–	221 CDs (7.62%)
March 4	Massachusetts Primary [17] 400,826	42 (of 42)	13 Del. 115,334 (28.77%)	14 Del. 124,365 (31.03%)	13 Del. 122,987 (30.68%)	2 Del. 19,366 (4.82%)	4,669 (1.16%)	4,714 (1.18%)	577 (0.14%)	6,571 WI [lower-alpha 4] (1.64%)	2,243 (0.56%)
	Vermont Primary [18] 65,611	0 (of 19)	19,720 (30.06%)	14,226 (21.68%)	19,030 (29.00%)	8,055 (12.28%)	1,238 (1.89%)	884 WI (1.35%)	–	2,458 WI [lower-alpha 5] (3.75%)	–
March 8	South Carolina Primary [19] 145,501	25 (of 25)	25 Del. 79,549 (54.67%)	21,569 (14.82%)	–	773 (0.53%)	–	43,113 (29.63%)	117 (0.08%)	380 [lower-alpha 6] (0.26%)	–
March 11 (126)	Alabama Primary [20] 211,353	27 (of 27)	18 Del. 147,352 (69.72%)	9 Del. 54,730 (25.90%)	–	1,963 (0.93%)	5,099 (2.41%)	1,077 (0.51%)	447 (0.21%)	685 [lower-alpha 7] (0.32%)	–
	Florida Primary [21] 614,995	51 (of 51)	51 Del. 345,699 (56.21%)	185,996 (30.24%)	56,636 (9.21%)	6,345 (1.03%)	12,000 (1.95%)	4,958 (0.81%)	1,086 (0.18%)	2,275 [lower-alpha 8] (0.37%)	–
	Georgia Primary [22] 200,171	36 (of 36)	36 Del. 146,500 (73.18%)	25,293 (12.64%)	16,853 (8.42%)	1,571 (0.78%)	6,308 (3.15%)	2,388 (1.19%)	249 (0.12%)	1,009 [lower-alpha 9] (0.50%)	–
March 18	Illinois Pres. Primary [23] 1,130,081	0 (of 92)	547,355 (48.44%)	124,057 (10.98%)	415,193 (36.74%)	7,051 (0.62%)	24,865 (2.20%)	4,548 (0.40%)	1,843 (0.16%)	5,169 [lower-alpha 10] (0.46%)	–
	Illinois Del. Primary [24]	92 (of 92)	46 Del.	2 Del.	26 Del.	–	4 Del.	–	–	–	–
March 25	Connecticut Primary [25] 182,284	35 (of 35)	14 Del. 61,735 (33.87%)	15 Del. 70,367 (38.60%)	6 Del. 40,354 (22.14%)	2,446 (1.34%)	1,887 (1.04%)	598 (0.33%)	333 (0.18%)	308 [lower-alpha 11] (0.17%)	4,256 (2.33%)
	New York Del. Primary [26] [27]	117 (of 123)	72 Del.	6 Del.	1 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	38 Del.
April 1	Kansas Primary [28] 285,398	35 (of 35)	20 Del. 179,739 (62.98%)	4 Del. 35,838 (12.56%)	5 Del. 51,924 (18.19%)	3,603 (1.26%)	1,367 (0.48%)	2,067 (0.72%)	–	4,134 [lower-alpha 12] (1.45%)	6,726 (2.36%)
	Wisconsin Primary [29] 907,853	34 (of 34)	28 Del. 364,898 (40.19%)	276,164 (30.42%)	6 Del. 248,623 (27.39%)	3,298 (0.36%)	2,951 (0.33%)	2,312 (0.26%)	–	7,012 WI [lower-alpha 13] (0.77%)	4,951 (0.29%)
April 5	Louisiana Primary [30] 42,397	29 (of 29)	29 Del. 31,256 (73.72%)	8,066 (19.02%)	–	–	–	–	–	820 [lower-alpha 14] (1.93%)	2,255 (5.32%)
April 17	North Dakota State Convention [31]	28 (of 28)	12 Del.	1 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	4 Del.
April 19	Maine State Convention [32]	21 (of 21)	–	17 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	4 Del.
	Minnesota District Conventions [lower-alpha 15] [33]	6 (of 34)	6 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
April 20	Alaska State Convention [34]	19 (of 19)	19 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
April 22	Pennsylvania Pres. Primary [35] 1,241,411	0 (of 83)	527,916 (42.53%)	626,759 (50.49%)	26,890 WI (2.17%)	30,846 (2.49%)	–	10,656 (0.86%)	–	18,344 [lower-alpha 16] (1.48%)	–
	Pennsylvania Del. Primary [35]	76 (of 83)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	76 Del. [lower-alpha 17]
	Vermont Caucus [36] 979 SDs [lower-alpha 18]	0 (of 19)	318 SDs (32.48%)	67 SDs (6.84%)	13 SDs (1.33%)	–	–	–	–	–	–
April 26	Minnesota District Conventions [lower-alpha 19] [37]	3 (of 34)	3 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Missouri District Conventions [lower-alpha 20] [38] [39]	15 (of 37)	15 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
May 3	Arizona State Convention [40]	28 (of 28)	28 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Minnesota District Conventions [lower-alpha 21] [41]	12 (of 34)	4 Del.	8 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Missouri District Conventions [lower-alpha 22] [39]	15 (of 37)	15 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Oklahoma State Convention [40]	28 (of 28)	28 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Texas Primary [42] 526,769	80 (of 80)	65 Del. 268,798 (50.49%)	15 Del. 249,819 (47.43%)	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,152 (1.55%)
May 6	Washington, D.C. Pres. Primary [43] 7,529	0 (of 14)	–	4,973 (66.05%)	2,025 (26.90%)	–	–	–	–	261 [lower-alpha 23] (3.47%)	–
	Washington, D.C. Del. Primary [43]	14 (of 14)	–	14 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Indiana Primary [42] 568,313	56 (of 56)	56 Del. 419,016 (73.73%)	92,955 (16.36%)	56,342 (9.91%)	–	–	–	–	–	–
	North Carolina Primary [44] 168,391	40 (of 40)	30 Del. 113,854 (67.61%)	10 Del. 36,631 (21.75%)	8,542 (5.07%)	2,543 (1.51%)	547 (0.33%)	1,107 (0.66%)	629 (0.37%)	–	4,538 (2.70%)
	Tennessee Primary [44] 195,210	32 (of 32)	24 Del. 144,625 (74.09%)	8 Del. 35,274 (18.07%)	8,722 (4.47%)	16 WI (0.01%)	1,574 (0.81%)	1 WI (0.00%)	629 (0.37%)	22 WI [lower-alpha 24] (0.01%)	4,976 (2.55%)
May 10	Wyoming State Convention [45]	19 (of 19)	16 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3 Del.
May 13	Maryland Primary [46] 167,303	30 (of 30)	15 Del. 80,557 (48.15%)	15 Del. 68,389 (40.88%)	16,244 (9.71%)	–	2,113 (1.26%)	–	–	–	–
	Nebraska Primary [46] 205,203	25 (of 25)	25 Del. 155,995 (76.02%)	31,380 (15.29%)	11,879 (5.79%)	–	1,062 (0.52%)	–	1,420 (0.69%)	3,467 [lower-alpha 25] (1.69%)	–
May 17	Hawaii State Convention [47]	14 (of 14)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14 Del.
May 20 (116)	Michigan Primary [48] 595,176	82 (of 82)	29 Del. 189,184 (31.79%)	53 Del. 341,998 (57.46%)	48,947 (8.22%)	–	–	–	–	4,782 [lower-alpha 26] (0.80%)	10,265 (1.73%)
	Oregon Primary [48] 315,366	29 (of 29)	18 Del. 170,449 (54.05%)	11 Del. 109,210 (34.63%)	32,118 (10.18%)	–	2,324 (0.74%)	–	–	1,265 WI (0.40%)	–
May 17	Delaware State Convention [49]	21 (of 21)	4 Del.	6 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	2 Del.
May 25	Vermont State Convention [50]	19 (of 19)	16 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3 Del.
May 27	Idaho Primary [51] 134,879	17 (of 21)	15 Del. 111,868 (82.94%)	5,416 (4.02%)	2 Del. 13,130 (9.74%)	–	1,024 (0.76%)	–	–	–	3,441 (2.55%)
	Kentucky Primary [52] 94,795	27 (of 27)	27 Del. 78,072 (82.36%)	6,861 (7.24%)	4,791 (5.05%)	–	–	–	–	1,987 [lower-alpha 27] (2.10%)	3,084 (3.25%)
	Nevada Primary [53] 47,395	17 (of 17)	14 Del. 39,352 (83.03%)	1 Del. 3,078 (6.49%)	–	–	–	–	–	–	2 Del. 4,965 (10.48%)
May 30	Minnesota State Convention [54]	10 (of 34)	10 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
May 31	Colorado District Conventions [lower-alpha 28] [55]	3 (of 31)	3 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Missouri State Convention [56]	7 (of 37)	7 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
June 3	California Primary [57] 2,564,072	168 (of 168)	168 Del. 2,057,923 (80.26%)	125,113 (4.88%)	349,315 (13.62%)	–	21,465 (0.84%)	–	–	10,256 [lower-alpha 29] (0.40%)	–
	Mississippi Del. Primary [58] 25,751	22 (of 22)	22 Del. 23,028 (89.43%)	2,105 (8.17%)	–	–	–	–	–	–	618 (2.40%)
	Montana Primary [58] 79,473	0 (of 20)	68,794 (86.56%)	7,665 (9.65%)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	New Jersey Pres. Primary [59] 277,977	0 (of 66)	225,959 (81.29%)	47,447 (17.07%)	–	–	–	–	–	4,571 [lower-alpha 30] (1.64%)	–
	New Jersey Del. Primary [59] 79,473	66 (of 66)	63 Del.	2 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	1 Del.
	New Mexico Primary [60] 59,546	22 (of 22)	22 Del. 37,982 (63.79%)	5,892 (9.90%)	–	4,412 (7.41%)	–	–	–	2,742 [lower-alpha 31] (4.60%)	1,347 (2.26%)
	Ohio Primary [61] 856,773	77 (of 77)	77 Del. 692,288 (80.80%)	164,485 (19.20%)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Rhode Island Primary [57] 5,335	13 (of 13)	12 Del. 3,839 (71.96%)	1 Del. 993 (18.61%)	–	–	–	–	–	155 [lower-alpha 32] (2.91%)	348 (6.52%)
	South Dakota Primary [62] 82,905	22 (of 22)	22 Del. 72,861 (87.89%)	3,691 (4.45%)	–	–	–	–	–	987 [lower-alpha 33] (1.19%)	5,366 (6.47%)
	West Virginia Pres. Primary [57] 138,016	0 (of 18)	115,407 (83.62%)	19,509 (14.14%)	–	–	–	–	–	3,100 [lower-alpha 34] (2.25%)	–
	West Virginia Del. Primary [57] 138,016	18 (of 18)	15 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3 Del.
June 6	Iowa District Conventions [63] [64]	30 (of 37)	17 Del.	13 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Washington State Convention [65]	37 (of 37)	34 Del.	1 Del.	1 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	1 Del.
June 7	Colorado State Conventions [lower-alpha 35] [66]	28 (of 31)	28 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Iowa State Convention [64]	7 (of 30)	4 Del.	3 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
June 8	Montana State Convention [67]	20 (of 20)	20 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
June 28	Idaho State Convention [68]	4 (of 21)	4 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Utah State Convention [69]	21 (of 21)	21 Del.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1,990 delegates 12,894,286 votes			1,407 7,709,793 (59.79%)	250 3,070,033 (23.81%)	59 1,572,174 (12.19%)	8 181,153 (1.41%)	4 97,793 (0.76%)	1 82,625 (0.64%)	0 7,204 (0.06%)	0 5,702,278 (52.64%)	156 112,560 (0.87%)

The Republican National Convention was held in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to 17, 1980.

Endorsements

Ronald Reagan

• New Hampshire Union Leader of Manchester, New Hampshire ^[70]
• Former Governor Deane C. Davis of Vermont ^[71]
• Senator Bob Dole of Kansas (former candidate) ^[72]
• State Senator and former Representative Donald "Buz" Lukens of Ohio ^[73]
• Representative Thomas N. Kindness of Ohio ^[73]
• Former representative John Bell Williams of Mississippi

John B. Connally Jr.

• Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina ^[74]
• Governor Bill Clements of Texas ^[75]
• Senator Henry Bellmon of Oklahoma ^[76]
• Former Senator Clifford Hansen of Wyoming ^[76]
• Former Governor Tim Babcock of Montana ^[76]
• Mayor Buddy Cianci of Providence, Rhode Island ^[77]
• Former U.S. Postmaster General Winton M. Blount of Alabama ^[76]
• Former U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell of New York ^[76]
• Former RNC Chair Leonard Hall of New York ^[76]
• Former NY Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz of New York ^[76]
• Retired Admiral Thomas Hinman Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of Maryland ^[76]
• NASCAR driver Richard Petty of North Carolina ^[78]
• Future Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour ^[79]
• Actor Hugh O'Brian ^[80]

George H. W. Bush

• Former State Representative Francis W. Hatch Jr. of Massachusetts ^[81]
• Former United States Attorney General and Commerce Secretary Elliot Richardson of Massachusetts ^[81]
• Former Senator, Ambassador and 1960 Republican vice presidential nominee Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts ^[81]
• Former Senator Robert Taft Jr. of Ohio ^[73]
• Former Senator and U.S. Attorney General William B. Saxbe of Ohio ^[73]
• Governor William Milliken of Michigan ^[82]
• Representative Bill Green of New York ^[83]
• Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland ^[84]
• Actress Tammy Grimes ^[80]
• Pitcher Tom Seaver ^[80]
• Decathlete Bob Mathias ^[80]

John B. Anderson

• Middlesex County Sheriff John J. Buckley of Massachusetts ^[81]
• State Representative Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts ^[81]
• Former Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts ^[81]
• Representative Jim Jeffords of Vermont ^[71]
• Representative Pete McCloskey of California ^[85]
• Representative Paul Findley ^[86] of Illinois
• Representative David F. Emery ^[86] of Maine
• The Hutchinson News of Hutchinson, Kansas ^[72]

Howard Baker

• Former Governor Walter R. Peterson Jr. of New Hampshire ^[70]
• State Attorney General Thomas D. Rath ^[70]
• Former Representative Perkins Bass ^[70]
• Senator William Cohen ^[86]
• Governor Richard A. Snelling of Vermont ^[71]
• Singer Ray Stevens ^[80]
• Singer Johnny Paycheck ^[80]
• Singer Johnny Russell ^[80]

Phil Crane

• Rev. Joe Morecraft III of Cumming, Georgia ^[87]

See also

• 1980s portal
• United States portal
• Politics portal

• 1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Notes

1. This should not be taken as a finalized list of results. While a significant amount of research was done, there were a number of Delegates who were not bound by the instruction, or "Pledged" to a candidate, and to simplify the data these delegates were considered "Uncommitted". Some states also held primaries for the delegate positions, and these on occasion were where slates or candidates pledge to a certain candidate might be elected; however, as these elections allowed for a single person to vote for multiple candidates, as many as the number of positions being filled, it is difficult to determine how many people actually voted in these primaries. For this reason, while the results of some are in the table, they are not included in the popular vote summaries at the bottom of the table.
2. Includes 1,822 votes (0.97%) for Ben Fernandez and 589 votes (0.31%) for Harold Stassen.
3. Includes 380 Write-In votes (0.26%) for Gerald Ford.
4. Includes 3,398 Write-In votes (0.85%) for Gerald Ford, 374 votes (0.09%) for Benjamin Fernandez, and 218 votes (0.05%) for Harold Stassen.
5. Includes 2,300 Write-In votes (3.51%) for Harold Stassen and 105 Write-In votes (0.16%) for Harold Stassen.
6. Includes 171 votes (0.12%) for Benjamin Fernandez and 150 votes (0.10%) for Harold Stassen.
7. Includes 544 votes (0.26%) for Harold Stassen.
8. Includes 1,377 votes (0.22%) for Harold Stassen and 898 votes (0.15%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
9. Includes 809 votes (0.40%) for Benjmain Fernandez and 200 votes (0.10%) for Harold Stassen.
10. Includes 3,757 votes (0.33%) for Veldi Arvel "VA" Kelley and 1,106 Write-In votes (0.10%) for Gerald Ford.
11. All 308 votes (0.17%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
12. Includes 809 votes (0.40%) for Benjmain Fernandez and 200 votes (0.10%) for Harold Stassen.
13. Includes 1,051 votes (0.12%) for Benjmain Fernandez and 1,010 votes (0.11%) for Harold Stassen.
14. Includes 150 votes (0.35%) for Harold Stassen and 125 votes (0.29%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
15. Only two of eight districts held conventions on this date.
16. Includes 6,767 votes (0.55%) for Harold Stassen and 2,521 votes (0.20%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
17. It was generally felt that Reagan had won over the vast majority of those delegates elected, though legally they were uncommitted.
18. Results only for 537 of the 979 Delegates were accounted for in the source.
19. Only one of eight districts held conventions on this date.
20. Only five of ten districts held conventions on this date.
21. Only five of eight districts held conventions on this date.
22. Only five of ten districts held conventions on this date.
23. Includes 201 votes (2.67%) for Harold Stassen and 60 votes (0.80%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
24. Includes 14 Write-In votes (0.01%) for Gerald Ford.
25. Includes 799 votes (0.39%) for Harold Stassen and 400 votes (0.20%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
26. Includes 2,248 votes (0.38%) for Benjmain Fernandez and 1,938 votes (0.33%) for Harold Stassen.
27. Includes 1,223 votes (1.29%) for Harold Stassen and 764 votes (0.81%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
28. Only one of five districts held conventions on this date.
29. Includes 10,242 votes (0.40%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
30. All votes for Harold Stassen.
31. Includes 1,795 votes (3.01%) for Benjmain Fernandez and 947 votes (1.59%) for Harold Stassen.
32. Includes 107 votes (2.01%) for Harold Stassen and 48 votes (0.90%) for Benjmain Fernandez.
33. All votes for Harold Stassen.
34. All votes for Harold Stassen.
35. The results four district conventions are included, their exact dates not being found.

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