The 1980 United States presidential election was the 49th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1980. Republican nominee Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory. This was the second successive election in which the incumbent president was defeated, after Carter himself defeated Gerald Ford four years earlier in 1976, marking only the second time in American history that this occurred, after 1892. Additionally, it was only the third time that an incumbent Democrat lost re-election, and the second time that a Republican defeated an incumbent Democrat ever. Additionally, this was the second time in history that an incumbent Democrat lost the popular vote, after 1840, and the only time it occurred against a Republican. Due to the rise of conservatism following Reagan's victory, some historians consider the election to be a political realignment that began with Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign in 1964, and the 1980 election marked the start of the Reagan Era.
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he was later elected Attorney General of California in 1950, before becoming the state's governor after the 1958 California gubernatorial election.
Paul Dominique Laxalt was an American attorney and politician who served as the 22nd governor of Nevada from 1967 to 1971 and a United States senator from Nevada from 1974 until 1987. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of Ronald Reagan's closest friends in politics. After Reagan was elected president in 1980, many in the national press referred to Laxalt as "the first friend". He was the older brother of writer Robert Laxalt and grandfather of Adam Laxalt, who served as the 33rd attorney general of Nevada from 2015 to 2019.
Franklyn Curran "Lyn" Nofziger was an American journalist, conservative Republican political consultant and author. He served as press secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration as Governor of California, and as a White House advisor during the Richard Nixon administration and again during the Reagan presidency.
John Patrick Sears was an American attorney, and a Republican political strategist. He served as Deputy Counsel to President Richard M. Nixon from 1969–70, and assisted both Nixon and Ronald Reagan in their presidential campaigns.
The 1980 Republican National Convention convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The Republican National Convention nominated retired Hollywood actor and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California for president and former Representative George H. W. Bush of Texas for vice president.
The 1966 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. The election was a contest between incumbent Governor Pat Brown, the Democratic candidate, and former actor Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate. Reagan mobilized conservative voters and defeated Brown in a landslide. This was the second consecutive gubernatorial election in which Brown ran against a future Republican U.S. president, having defeated former U.S. vice president Richard Nixon in 1962.
Edward Rollins is a Republican campaign consultant and advisor who has worked on several high-profile political campaigns in the United States. In 1983 and 1984, he was national campaign director for the successful Reagan-Bush 1984 campaign. Rollins is currently the chairman of the pro–Donald Trump Great America PAC.
The 1970 California gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. The incumbent governor, Republican Ronald Reagan, won re-election over Democrat and Speaker of the Assembly Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh.
The 1962 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1962. The Democratic incumbent, Pat Brown, ran for re-election against former U.S. vice president and 1960 Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon. In his concession speech, Nixon accused the media of favoring his opponent Brown, stating that it was his "last press conference" and "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more." Six years later, Nixon was elected President of the United States.
The 1958 California gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1958. Democratic nominee won the first of his two terms as governor of California against Republican senator William Knowland.
Kenneth L. Khachigian is an American political consultant, speechwriter, and attorney. He is best known for being a longtime aide to President Richard Nixon and chief speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan.
This bibliography of Ronald Reagan includes major books and articles about Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and his policies.
This is the electoral history of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, a Republican, served as the 40th president of the United States (1981–89) and earlier as the 33rd governor of California (1967–75). At 69 years, 349 days of age at the time of his first inauguration, Reagan was the oldest person to assume the presidency in the nation's history, until Donald Trump was inaugurated in 2017 at the age of 70 years, 220 days. In 1984, Reagan won re-election at the age of 73 years, 274 days, and was the oldest person to win a US presidential election until Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election at the age of 77 years, 349 days.
The 1984 United States presidential election in California took place on November 6, 1984, as part of the 1984 United States presidential election. State voters chose 47 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush were elected president and vice president of the United States. They defeated the incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale.
Ronald Reagan was the 33rd Governor of California for two terms, the first beginning in 1967 and the second in 1971. He left office in 1975, declining to run for a third term. Robert Finch, Edwin Reinecke and John L. Harmer served as lieutenant governors over the course of his governorship.
Frederick L. "Rick" Ahearn is an American political and corporate consultant, currently serving as executive vice president of Potomac Communications Strategies in Alexandria, Virginia. He is best known for his long service as lead advanceman for Ronald Reagan, as a candidate in 1979–1980 and for most of his two terms as president; he was standing close to Reagan during his attempted assassination on March 30, 1981. Ahearn was also a senior adviser and planner for the presidential funerals and burials of Reagan and Gerald Ford, as well as Jack Kemp and First Lady Nancy Reagan. In all, he has served five U.S. presidents and six vice presidents, and aided 14 presidential campaigns from 1968 to 2016.
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.
