Tuesday, November 4, 1980
1980 presidential election results
Ronald Reagan (Republican) and running mate George Bush won with 489 electoral votes and 50.7% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Illinois, R+7.9 (nation R+9.7). It delivered electoral vote number 270 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan Won | George Bush | Republican | 489 | 43,904,153 | 50.70% | 44 |
| Jimmy Carter | Walter Mondale | Democratic | 49 | 35,483,883 | 41.00% | 7 |
| John Anderson | Patrick Lucey | Independent | 0 | 5,720,060 | 6.60% | 0 |
| Total popular votes counted | 86,513,813 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | Ronald Reagan | Jimmy Carter | John Anderson | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 48.8% 9 | 47.4% | 1.2% | 1.3 | 9 | 1,341,929 |
| Alaska | 54.3% 3 | 26.4% | 7.0% | 27.9 | 3 | 158,445 |
| Arizona | 60.6% 6 | 28.2% | 8.8% | 32.4 | 6 | 873,945 |
| Arkansas | 48.1% 6 | 47.5% | 2.7% | 0.6 | 6 | 837,582 |
| California | 52.7% 45 | 35.9% | 8.6% | 16.8 | 45 | 8,587,063 |
| Colorado | 55.1% 7 | 31.1% | 11.0% | 24.0 | 7 | 1,184,415 |
| Connecticut | 48.2% 8 | 38.5% | 12.2% | 9.6 | 8 | 1,406,285 |
| Delaware | 47.2% 3 | 44.8% | 6.9% | 2.3 | 3 | 235,900 |
| District of Columbia | 13.4% | 74.8% 3 | 9.3% | 61.4 | 3 | 175,237 |
| Florida | 55.5% 17 | 38.5% | 5.1% | 17.0 | 17 | 3,686,930 |
| Georgia | 41.0% | 55.8% 12 | 2.3% | 14.8 | 12 | 1,596,695 |
| Hawaii | 42.9% | 44.8% 4 | 10.6% | 1.9 | 4 | 303,287 |
| Idaho | 66.5% 4 | 25.2% | 6.2% | 41.3 | 4 | 437,431 |
| Illinois | 49.6% 26 | 41.7% | 7.3% | 7.9 | 26 | 4,749,721 |
| Indiana | 56.0% 13 | 37.7% | 5.0% | 18.4 | 13 | 2,242,033 |
| Iowa | 51.3% 8 | 38.6% | 8.8% | 12.7 | 8 | 1,317,661 |
| Kansas | 57.9% 7 | 33.3% | 7.0% | 24.6 | 7 | 979,795 |
| Kentucky | 49.1% 9 | 47.6% | 2.4% | 1.5 | 9 | 1,294,627 |
| Louisiana | 51.2% 10 | 45.7% | 1.7% | 5.5 | 10 | 1,548,591 |
| Maine | 45.6% 4 | 42.3% | 10.2% | 3.4 | 4 | 523,011 |
| Maryland | 44.2% | 47.1% 10 | 7.8% | 3.0 | 10 | 1,540,496 |
| Massachusetts | 41.9% 14 | 41.7% | 15.2% | 0.2 | 14 | 2,522,890 |
| Michigan | 49.0% 21 | 42.5% | 7.0% | 6.5 | 21 | 3,909,725 |
| Minnesota | 42.6% | 46.5% 10 | 8.5% | 3.9 | 10 | 2,051,980 |
| Mississippi | 49.4% 7 | 48.1% | 1.3% | 1.3 | 7 | 892,620 |
| Missouri | 51.2% 12 | 44.3% | 3.7% | 6.8 | 12 | 2,099,824 |
| Montana | 56.8% 4 | 32.4% | 8.0% | 24.4 | 4 | 363,952 |
| Nebraska | 65.5% 5 | 26.0% | 7.0% | 39.5 | 5 | 640,854 |
| Nevada | 62.5% 3 | 26.9% | 7.1% | 35.6 | 3 | 247,885 |
| New Hampshire | 57.7% 4 | 28.4% | 12.9% | 29.4 | 4 | 383,990 |
| New Jersey | 52.0% 17 | 38.6% | 7.9% | 13.4 | 17 | 2,975,684 |
| New Mexico | 54.9% 4 | 36.7% | 6.4% | 18.2 | 4 | 456,971 |
| New York | 46.7% 41 | 44.0% | 7.5% | 2.7 | 41 | 6,201,959 |
| North Carolina | 49.3% 13 | 47.2% | 2.8% | 2.1 | 13 | 1,855,833 |
| North Dakota | 64.2% 3 | 26.3% | 7.8% | 38.0 | 3 | 301,545 |
| Ohio | 51.5% 25 | 40.9% | 5.9% | 10.6 | 25 | 4,283,603 |
| Oklahoma | 60.5% 8 | 35.0% | 3.3% | 25.5 | 8 | 1,149,708 |
| Oregon | 48.3% 6 | 38.7% | 9.5% | 9.7 | 6 | 1,181,516 |
| Pennsylvania | 49.6% 27 | 42.5% | 6.4% | 7.1 | 27 | 4,561,501 |
| Rhode Island | 37.2% | 47.7% 4 | 14.4% | 10.5 | 4 | 416,072 |
| South Carolina | 49.4% 8 | 48.1% | 1.6% | 1.3 | 8 | 894,071 |
| South Dakota | 60.5% 4 | 31.7% | 6.5% | 28.8 | 4 | 327,703 |
| Tennessee | 48.7% 10 | 48.4% | 2.2% | 0.3 | 10 | 1,617,616 |
| Texas | 55.3% 26 | 41.4% | 2.5% | 13.9 | 26 | 4,541,636 |
| Utah | 72.8% 4 | 20.6% | 5.0% | 52.2 | 4 | 604,222 |
| Vermont | 44.4% 3 | 38.4% | 14.9% | 5.9 | 3 | 213,299 |
| Virginia | 53.0% 12 | 40.3% | 5.1% | 12.7 | 12 | 1,866,032 |
| Washington | 49.7% 9 | 37.3% | 10.6% | 12.3 | 9 | 1,742,394 |
| West Virginia | 45.3% | 49.8% 6 | 4.3% | 4.5 | 6 | 737,715 |
| Wisconsin | 47.9% 11 | 43.2% | 7.1% | 4.7 | 11 | 2,273,221 |
| Wyoming | 62.6% 3 | 28.0% | 6.8% | 34.7 | 3 | 176,713 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1980
- Massachusetts Ronald Reagan by 3,829 votes (0.15 pts)
- Tennessee Ronald Reagan by 4,710 votes (0.29 pts)
- Arkansas Ronald Reagan by 5,123 votes (0.61 pts)
- South Carolina Ronald Reagan by 11,456 votes (1.28 pts)
- Alabama Ronald Reagan by 17,462 votes (1.30 pts)
- Mississippi Ronald Reagan by 11,808 votes (1.32 pts)
- Kentucky Ronald Reagan by 18,857 votes (1.46 pts)
- Hawaii Jimmy Carter by 5,767 votes (1.90 pts)
Flipped since 1976
- Alabama: Democratic → Republican (9 EV)
- Arkansas: Democratic → Republican (6 EV)
- Delaware: Democratic → Republican (3 EV)
- Florida: Democratic → Republican (17 EV)
- Kentucky: Democratic → Republican (9 EV)
- Louisiana: Democratic → Republican (10 EV)
- Massachusetts: Democratic → Republican (14 EV)
- Mississippi: Democratic → Republican (7 EV)
- Missouri: Democratic → Republican (12 EV)
- New York: Democratic → Republican (41 EV)
- North Carolina: Democratic → Republican (13 EV)
- Ohio: Democratic → Republican (25 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Democratic → Republican (27 EV)
- South Carolina: Democratic → Republican (8 EV)
- Tennessee: Democratic → Republican (10 EV)
- Texas: Democratic → Republican (26 EV)
- Wisconsin: Democratic → Republican (11 EV)
Source: 1980
Questions and answers
Who won the 1980 presidential election?
Ronald Reagan (Republican) won the 1980 election with 489 electoral votes, with George Bush as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1980?
Ronald Reagan 489; Jimmy Carter 49 (out of 538).
Who won the popular vote in 1980?
Ronald Reagan received the most popular votes: 43,904,153 (50.7%) of 86,513,813 counted.
What was the closest state in 1980?
Massachusetts, which Ronald Reagan won by 3,829 votes (0.15 points).
Which states flipped in 1980?
Compared with 1976, 17 states changed party: Alabama (to Republican), Arkansas (to Republican), Delaware (to Republican), Florida (to Republican), Kentucky (to Republican), Louisiana (to Republican), Massachusetts (to Republican), Mississippi (to Republican), Missouri (to Republican), New York (to Republican), North Carolina (to Republican), Ohio (to Republican), Pennsylvania (to Republican), South Carolina (to Republican), Tennessee (to Republican), Texas (to Republican) and Wisconsin (to Republican).
What was the tipping-point state in 1980?
Illinois. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 270; it voted Republican by 7.9 points, against Republican by 9.7 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data