1984 United States presidential election in Vermont

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1984 United States presidential election in Vermont
Flag of Vermont.svg
  1980 November 6, 1984 1988  
  Ronald Reagan presidential portrait (cropped).jpg Walter Mondale 1977 vice presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale
Party Republican Democratic
Alliance Progressive
Home state California Minnesota
Running mate George H. W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro
Electoral vote30
Popular vote135,86595,730
Percentage57.92%40.81%

Vermont Presidential Election Results 1984.svg
Vermont Presidential Election Results 1984 by Municipality.svg

President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

The 1984 United States presidential election in Vermont 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 three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

Vermont voted for incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan over Democratic former Vice President Walter Mondale, by a margin of 17.11%, with Reagan taking 57.92% of the vote to Mondale's 40.81%. This result nonetheless made Vermont 1.1% more Democratic than the nation-at-large. Along with running as a Democrat, Mondale would also be supported by the Vermont Progressive Party. [1] [2]

1984 would prove to be the last election in which Vermont stayed safely in Republican hands. It would go on to become a swing state in the next election, and eventually one of the most heavily Democratic states in the nation after the 1992 election and especially the 2004 election.

While Reagan won the state comfortably, the Republican Party’s shift to the right under his leadership greatly weakened its standing in Vermont, which was home to a very large number of liberal and moderate Republicans. Between 1856 and 1960, Vermont had been the most reliably Republican state in the nation, and prior to Reagan, had voted more Republican than the nation in every election except 1964 (when another staunch conservative, Barry Goldwater, was the Republican nominee).

However, 1984 was the second consecutive election in which the state weighed in as more Democratic than the nation. Nevertheless, Reagan's 135,865 votes are the most received by a Republican presidential candidate in the state's history. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time in which a Republican presidential nominee carried every county in Vermont, and the last when the GOP carried Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Windham Counties. [3]

Democratic Primary

Gary Hart won the non-binding primary on March 6. [4] [5] None of the candidates campaigned in the primary. [6] M. Jerome Diamond and Nola Denslow co-chaired Hart's campaign in Vermont. [7] Hart won the caucus. [8]

Results

1984 United States presidential election in Vermont [9]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan (incumbent)135,86557.92%3
Democratic/Progressive Walter Mondale 95,73040.81%0
Libertarian David Bergland 1,0020.43%0
No party Write-ins 7120.30%0
Independent Lyndon LaRouche 4230.18%0
Liberty Union (New Alliance) Dennis L. Serrette 3230.14%0
Citizens Sonia Johnson 2640.11%0
Socialist Workers Melvin T. Mason 1270.05%0
Communist Gus Hall 1150.05%0
Totals234,561100.00%3
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)60%/70%

Results by county

CountyRonald Reagan [10]
Republican
Walter Mondale [10]
Democratic
David Bergland [10]
Libertarian
Various candidates [10]
Write-ins
Various candidates [10]
Other parties
MarginTotal
# %# %# %# %# %# %
Addison 7,58958.26%5,29940.68%460.35%400.31%510.39%2,29017.58%13,025
Bennington 9,03559.11%6,03939.51%820.54%160.10%1120.73%2,99619.60%15,284
Caledonia 7,24968.32%3,22330.38%480.45%370.35%530.50%4,02637.94%10,610
Chittenden 30,21754.11%24,83044.46%3350.60%2060.37%2570.46%5,3879.65%55,845
Essex 1,63269.48%69329.50%50.21%40.17%150.64%93939.98%2,349
Franklin 8,68359.63%5,75539.52%450.31%270.19%520.36%2,92820.11%14,562
Grand Isle 1,53760.27%98038.43%150.59%30.12%150.59%55721.84%2,550
Lamoille 4,67462.10%2,74636.49%320.43%240.32%500.66%1,92825.61%7,526
Orange 6,40760.24%4,08838.44%460.43%470.44%470.44%2,31921.80%10,635
Orleans 5,96663.53%3,29435.08%400.43%340.36%570.61%2,67228.45%9,391
Rutland 15,23660.98%9,54538.20%690.28%350.14%1000.40%5,69122.78%24,985
Washington 13,70654.48%11,16344.37%1150.46%590.23%1150.46%2,54310.11%25,158
Windham 9,88054.05%8,20644.89%390.21%600.33%940.51%1,6749.16%18,279
Windsor 14,05457.96%9,86940.70%850.35%1200.49%1190.49%4,18517.26%24,247
Totals135,86557.92%95,73040.81%1,0020.43%7120.30%1,2520.53%40,13517.11%234,561

Counties flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

  1. "Election Archive 1984 US Presidential Election in Vermont". electionarchive.vermont.gov.
  2. "Burlington Free Press 8/7/1984 Burlington Free Press: Coalition to Back Mondale Candidacy". newspapers.com.
  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. & Vermont 1984, p. 26.
  5. "Vermont Lines Up With Hart". Concord Monitor . March 7, 1984. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Hart thrashes Mondale in non-binding Vermont vote". Bangor Daily News . March 7, 1984. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "State Hart Backers Want Open Convention". Brattleboro Reformer . April 27, 1984. p. 10. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Hart". Rutland Herald . May 24, 1984. p. 8. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "1984 Presidential General Election Results - Vermont". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Our Campaigns; VT US Presidential Election Race; November 06, 1984

Works cited