The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan and his running mate, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, were re-elected to a second term in a landslide. They defeated the Democratic ticket of former Vice President Walter Mondale and Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976, he was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1984 presidential election, but lost to incumbent Ronald Reagan in an Electoral College and popular vote landslide.
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as by saying Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, were running mates in relation to the presidential elections held in the United States in 2020 and Kenya in 2013 respectively.
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1984 presidential election, running alongside Walter Mondale; this made her the first female vice-presidential nominee representing a major American political party. She was also a journalist, author, and businesswoman.
In United States politics, balancing the ticket is a practice where a political candidate chooses a running mate, usually from the same party, with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to the campaign. The term is most prominently used to describe the selection of the U.S. vice presidential nominee.
The 1984 Democratic National Convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select candidates for the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was nominated for president and Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York was nominated for vice president. Ferraro became the first woman to be nominated by either major party for the presidency or vice presidency. In another first, the 1984 Democratic Convention was chaired by the female governor of Kentucky, Martha Layne Collins. The Democratic National Committee Chairman at the time, Charles T. Manatt, led the convention.
From February 20 to June 12, 1984, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1984 Democratic National Convention held from July 16 to July 19, 1984, in San Francisco, California.
The 1984 United States elections were held on November 6, and elected the members of the 99th United States Congress. Republicans won a landslide victory in the presidential election, picked up seats in the House of Representatives, and successfully defended their Senate majority.
The 1984 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 6, 1984, as part of the 1984 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1984 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Voters chose 16 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1984 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. State voters chose 24 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.
The 1984 United States presidential election in Ohio took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the election. State voters chose 23 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.
The 1984 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Georgia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1988 election. Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis won the 1988 Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate. Dukakis chose Bentsen in order to appeal to Southerners and in hopes of carrying Bentsen's home state of Texas. The strategy failed, as the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket went on to lose Texas and all other states in the South except West Virginia. The choice of Bentsen caused some backlash from Jesse Jackson, who had wanted to be chosen as the vice presidential nominee, and progressives such as Ralph Nader. Paul Brountas, a longtime Dukakis aide, led the search for Dukakis's running mate. The Dukakis–Bentsen ticket ultimately lost to the Bush–Quayle ticket in the general election. Bentsen simultaneously ran for reelection as Senator, and easily won, despite the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket's double-digit loss in Texas.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for vice president of the United States in the 1976 election. Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the 1976 Democratic nomination for president of the United States, and chose Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale as his running mate. According to Joel Goldstein, a legal professor and the author of several works on the vice presidency, 1976 marked the beginning of the modern vice presidential selection process, with candidates undergoing extensive vetting. Carter believed that his running mate might be a valuable asset to his presidential campaign, and Mondale became a significant element. The choice of Mondale helped Carter, a Southern "outsider" with little experience in Washington, rally the Democratic base to his candidacy. The Carter–Mondale ticket would go on to defeat the Ford–Dole ticket in the general election but ultimately lost to the Reagan–Bush ticket in 1980. Mondale went on to become the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984 but ultimately lost to incumbent President Ronald Reagan in the general election.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1972 election. Coming into the 1972 Democratic National Convention, South Dakota Senator George McGovern had the delegate lead, but did not have the presidential nomination locked up. After winning the Democratic nomination for president on July 13, McGovern looked for a running mate. McGovern's first choice for vice president was Ted Kennedy, but Kennedy refused to join the ticket; Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, and Connecticut Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff also declined. McGovern offered the position to Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton, who appealed to labor groups and Catholics, two groups that McGovern had alienated during the primary campaign. The ticket of McGovern and Eagleton was nominated by the 1972 Democratic National Convention. Following the convention, it was revealed that Eagleton had received treatment for depression in the 1960s. Though McGovern considered keeping Eagleton on the ticket, he ultimately chose to replace Eagleton with former ambassador Sargent Shriver. The McGovern–Shriver ticket lost the presidential election to the Nixon–Agnew ticket. After the controversy surrounding Eagleton, future campaigns spent much more time vetting vice presidential candidates.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1980 election. Former California Governor Ronald Reagan won the 1980 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose former CIA Director George H. W. Bush as his running mate.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1976 election. At the 1976 Republican National Convention, incumbent President Gerald Ford narrowly won the presidential nomination over former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Ford had decided not to choose Vice President Nelson Rockefeller as his running mate, due to Rockefeller's unpopularity with the right wing of the Republican Party. He instead chose Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Dole was acceptable to the conservative wing of the party, and Ford hoped that Dole would help the ticket win the western states and the agricultural vote. The Ford–Dole ticket ultimately lost to the Carter–Mondale ticket in the general election. Though he would not win the presidential nomination, Reagan announced before the convention that he would pick Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running mate. Dole went on to become Senate Republican leader, and the Republican presidential nominee in 1996 but ultimately lost to incumbent President Bill Clinton in the general election.
The Walter Mondale 1984 presidential campaign began on February 21, 1983, when Walter Mondale, a former Minnesota senator and vice president of the United States, announced that he was running for president in a speech at the Minnesota State Capitol. Mondale won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination after convincing Frank Lautenberg, a previously unpledged party delegate, to support him. Lautenberg's vote gave Mondale the 1,967 delegate votes needed to become the Democratic Party's nominee. Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro, a U.S. representative from New York, as his running mate. Mondale lost the general election, held on November 6, 1984, to incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan in a landslide. Had Mondale been elected, he would have been the first U.S. president from Minnesota and the first non-incumbent vice president since Richard Nixon to take office as president. Ferraro would also have been the country's first female vice president, and the first person from New York since Nelson Rockefeller to become vice president, whereas her husband, John Zaccaro, would also have been the country's first second gentleman.
This article lists the candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election. Former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, the 2020 Democratic nominee for President of the United States, considered several prominent Democrats and other individuals before selecting Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate on August 11, 2020. Harris formally won the vice presidential nomination on August 19, 2020, at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The Biden–Harris ticket would go on to defeat the Trump–Pence ticket in the general election.
