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1980 United States presidential election in California

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Main article: 1980 United States presidential election
1980 United States presidential election in California
← 1976 November 4, 1980 1984 →
Turnout77.24% (of registered voters) Decrease 4.29 pp
57.04% (of eligible voters) Decrease 0.28 pp
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter John B. Anderson
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Home state California Georgia Illinois
Running mate George H. W. Bush Walter Mondale Patrick Lucey
Electoral vote 45 0 0
Popular vote 4,524,858 3,083,661 739,833
Percentage 52.69% 35.91% 8.62%
County Results

Reagan

  40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

Carter

  40–50%   50–60%

President before election

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

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The 1980 United States presidential election in California took place on November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

California voted for the Republican nominee, the state's former governor Ronald Reagan, in a landslide over the Democratic incumbent, Jimmy Carter. Reagan won his home state by a wide 16.78% point margin and carried all but three counties. Carter carried only three of the state's 58 counties: Alameda, San Francisco and Yolo.

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time for a Republican candidate to carry the counties of Marin and Santa Cruz in a presidential election. This election was also the most Republican California has voted relative to the whole nation since 1928 and was the last time it was more Republican than the nation as a whole. It was widely believed that Carter lacked understanding of critical Western issues, most importantly water development. This also remains the last time a Republican won the San Francisco Bay Area, and the last one in which San Francisco gave less than 60% of the vote to the Democratic candidate.

Primaries

1980 Democratic Primary
Candidate Votes Delegates
Ted Kennedy 1,507,142 151
Jimmy Carter (incumbent) 1,266,216 127
Jerry Brown 135,962 0
Others 71,779 0
Uncommitted 382,759 38
Totals 3,363,858 317
1980 Republican Primary
Candidate Votes Delegates
Ronald Reagan 2,057,923 146
John Anderson 349,315 25
George H.W. Bush 125,113 0
Others 31,707 0
Totals 2,564,058 171

Results

1980 United States presidential election in California
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan 4,524,858 52.69% 45
Democratic Jimmy Carter (incumbent) 3,083,661 35.91% 0
Independent John B. Anderson 739,833 8.62% 0
Libertarian Ed Clark 148,434 1.73% 0
Independent Barry Commoner 61,063 0.71% 0
Peace and Freedom Maureen Smith 18,116 0.21% 0
American Independent John Rarick 9,856 0.11% 0
No party Gus Hall (write-in) 847 0.01% 0
No party Andrew Pulley (write-in) 231 0.00% 0
No party Percy Greaves, Jr. (write-in) 87 0.00% 0
No party Ben Bubar (write-in) 36 0.00% 0
No party Write-ins 26 0.00% 0
No party Deirdre Griswold (write-in) 15 0.00% 0
Invalid or blank votes —
Totals 8,587,063 100.00% 45
Voter turnout —

Results by county

County Ronald Reagan
Republican 		Jimmy Carter
Democratic 		John B. Anderson
Independent 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Alameda 158,531 37.96% 201,720 48.30% 40,834 9.78% 16,532 3.96% -43,189 -10.34% 417,617
Alpine 254 55.10% 133 28.85% 50 10.85% 24 5.21% 121 26.25% 461
Amador 5,401 55.85% 3,191 33.00% 788 8.15% 290 3.00% 2,210 22.85% 9,670
Butte 38,188 57.85% 19,520 29.57% 6,108 9.25% 2,196 3.33% 18,668 28.28% 66,012
Calaveras 6,054 58.92% 3,076 29.94% 776 7.55% 369 3.59% 2,978 28.98% 10,275
Colusa 2,897 58.00% 1,605 32.13% 325 6.51% 168 3.36% 1,292 25.87% 4,995
Contra Costa 144,112 50.12% 107,398 37.35% 28,209 9.81% 7,826 2.72% 36,714 12.77% 287,545
Del Norte 4,016 57.48% 2,338 33.46% 486 6.96% 147 2.10% 1,678 24.02% 6,987
El Dorado 21,238 58.27% 10,765 29.53% 3,287 9.02% 1,159 3.18% 10,473 28.74% 36,449
Fresno 82,515 51.13% 65,254 40.43% 10,727 6.65% 2,890 1.79% 17,261 10.70% 161,386
Glenn 5,386 64.80% 2,227 26.79% 537 6.46% 162 1.95% 3,159 38.01% 8,312
Humboldt 24,047 49.39% 17,113 35.15% 5,440 11.17% 2,092 4.30% 6,934 14.24% 48,692
Imperial 12,068 55.92% 7,961 36.89% 1,203 5.57% 347 1.61% 4,107 19.03% 21,579
Inyo 5,201 64.79% 2,080 25.91% 515 6.42% 231 2.88% 3,121 38.88% 8,027
Kern 72,842 59.65% 41,097 33.65% 5,799 4.75% 2,383 1.95% 31,745 26.00% 122,121
Kings 10,531 55.37% 7,299 38.37% 901 4.74% 290 1.52% 3,232 17.00% 19,021
Lake 8,934 53.64% 5,978 35.90% 1,157 6.95% 585 3.51% 2,956 17.74% 16,654
Lassen 4,464 54.45% 2,941 35.87% 543 6.62% 250 3.05% 1,523 18.58% 8,198
Los Angeles 1,224,533 50.18% 979,830 40.15% 175,882 7.21% 59,940 2.46% 244,703 10.03% 2,440,185
Madera 10,599 53.58% 7,783 39.35% 1,013 5.12% 385 1.95% 2,816 14.23% 19,780
Marin 49,678 45.78% 39,231 36.16% 13,805 12.72% 5,793 5.34% 10,447 9.62% 108,507
Mariposa 3,082 54.96% 1,889 33.68% 458 8.17% 179 3.19% 1,193 21.28% 5,608
Mendocino 12,432 44.05% 10,784 38.21% 2,747 9.73% 2,261 8.01% 1,648 5.84% 28,224
Merced 18,043 48.77% 15,886 42.94% 2,316 6.26% 751 2.03% 2,157 5.83% 36,996
Modoc 2,579 64.48% 1,046 26.15% 293 7.32% 82 2.05% 1,533 38.33% 4,000
Mono 2,132 62.32% 865 25.29% 302 8.83% 122 3.57% 1,267 37.03% 3,421
Monterey 47,452 54.67% 29,086 33.51% 8,008 9.23% 2,248 2.59% 18,366 21.16% 86,794
Napa 23,632 53.67% 14,898 33.83% 4,218 9.58% 1,287 2.92% 8,734 19.84% 44,035
Nevada 15,207 57.91% 7,605 28.96% 2,235 8.51% 1,214 4.62% 7,602 28.95% 26,261
Orange 529,797 67.90% 176,704 22.65% 55,299 7.09% 18,412 2.36% 353,093 45.25% 780,212
Placer 28,179 54.78% 17,311 33.65% 4,356 8.47% 1,594 3.10% 10,868 21.13% 51,440
Plumas 4,182 51.24% 2,911 35.67% 783 9.59% 285 3.49% 1,271 15.57% 8,161
Riverside 145,642 59.87% 76,650 31.51% 16,362 6.73% 4,624 1.90% 68,992 28.36% 243,278
Sacramento 153,721 47.72% 130,031 40.37% 29,655 9.21% 8,713 2.70% 23,690 7.35% 322,120
San Benito 4,054 53.33% 2,749 36.16% 552 7.26% 247 3.25% 1,305 17.17% 7,602
San Bernardino 172,957 59.68% 91,790 31.67% 19,106 6.59% 5,959 2.06% 81,167 28.01% 289,812
San Diego 435,910 60.81% 195,410 27.26% 67,491 9.41% 18,055 2.52% 240,500 33.55% 716,866
San Francisco 80,967 31.87% 133,184 52.43% 29,365 11.56% 10,512 4.14% -52,217 -20.56% 254,028
San Joaquin 64,718 55.38% 41,551 35.56% 8,416 7.20% 2,178 1.86% 23,167 19.82% 116,863
San Luis Obispo 38,631 55.56% 20,508 29.50% 8,407 12.09% 1,981 2.85% 18,123 26.06% 69,527
San Mateo 116,491 48.82% 87,335 36.60% 27,985 11.73% 6,826 2.86% 29,156 12.22% 238,637
Santa Barbara 69,629 53.98% 40,650 31.51% 14,786 11.46% 3,930 3.05% 28,979 22.47% 128,995
Santa Clara 229,048 48.02% 166,995 35.01% 65,481 13.73% 15,479 3.25% 62,053 13.01% 477,003
Santa Cruz 37,347 43.53% 32,346 37.70% 10,590 12.34% 5,521 6.43% 5,001 5.83% 85,804
Shasta 27,547 58.09% 15,364 32.40% 3,220 6.79% 1,287 2.71% 12,183 25.69% 47,418
Sierra 855 49.77% 651 37.89% 156 9.08% 56 3.26% 204 11.88% 1,718
Siskiyou 9,331 55.75% 5,664 33.84% 1,269 7.58% 474 2.83% 3,667 21.91% 16,738
Solano 40,919 50.72% 30,952 38.37% 6,713 8.32% 2,092 2.59% 9,967 12.35% 80,676
Sonoma 60,722 48.20% 45,596 36.19% 14,068 11.17% 5,599 4.44% 15,126 12.01% 125,985
Stanislaus 41,595 49.41% 33,683 40.01% 7,134 8.47% 1,774 2.11% 7,912 9.40% 84,186
Sutter 11,778 63.47% 5,103 27.50% 1,089 5.87% 587 3.16% 6,675 35.97% 18,557
Tehama 9,140 59.13% 4,832 31.26% 1,014 6.56% 471 3.05% 4,308 27.87% 15,457
Trinity 3,048 54.96% 1,734 31.27% 506 9.12% 258 4.65% 1,314 23.69% 5,546
Tulare 41,317 58.32% 25,155 35.51% 3,244 4.58% 1,130 1.60% 16,162 22.81% 70,846
Tuolumne 8,810 54.85% 5,449 33.92% 1,390 8.65% 414 2.58% 3,361 20.93% 16,063
Ventura 114,930 60.28% 56,311 29.54% 14,887 7.81% 4,522 2.37% 58,619 30.74% 190,650
Yolo 19,603 39.45% 21,527 43.32% 6,669 13.42% 1,891 3.81% -1,924 -3.87% 49,690
Yuba 7,942 56.28% 4,896 34.70% 878 6.22% 395 2.80% 3,046 21.58% 14,111
Total 4,524,858 52.69% 3,083,661 35.91% 739,833 8.62% 238,711 2.78% 1,441,197 16.78% 8,587,063

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Results by congressional district

District Reagan Carter Representative
1st 59.0% 32.7% Harold T. Johnson (96th Congress)
Eugene A. Chappie (97th Congress)
2nd 51.7% 37.4% Donald H. Clausen
3rd 49.2% 41.1% Bob Matsui
4th 49.2% 41.1% Vic Fazio
5th 40.6% 45.9% John L. Burton
6th 34.2% 54.8% Phillip Burton
7th 50.2% 40.2% George Miller
8th 33.5% 54.8% Ron Dellums
9th 46.0% 44.9% Pete Stark
10th 46.5% 42.5% Don Edwards
11th 50.4% 38.0% William Royer (96th Congress)
Tom Lantos (97th Congress)
12th 47.5% 36.1% Pete McCloskey
13th 54.2% 32.7% Norman Mineta
14th 57.0% 35.0% Norman D. Shumway
15th 48.5% 44.4% Tony Coelho
16th 52.6% 35.7% Leon Panetta
17th 57.2% 36.7% Chip Pashayan
18th 63.9% 31.0% Bill Thomas
19th 55.6% 33.9% Bob Lagomarsino
20th 65.5% 26.3% Barry Goldwater Jr.
21st 52.6% 39.2% James C. Corman (96th Congress)
Bobbi Fiedler (97th Congress)
22nd 62.4% 30.2% Carlos Moorhead
23rd 47.4% 42.0% Anthony Beilenson
24th 42.8% 48.4% Henry Waxman
25th 36.0% 57.5% Edward R. Roybal
26th 65.3% 28.0% John H. Rousselot
27th 59.1% 31.2% Bob Dornan
28th 24.8% 69.9% Julian Dixon
29th 17.5% 80.3% Augustus Hawkins
30th 44.8% 49.1% George E. Danielson
31st 35.1% 60.3% Charles H. Wilson (96th Congress)
Mervyn Dymally (97th Congress)
32nd 49.3% 44.1% Glenn M. Anderson
33rd 64.0% 29.6% Wayne R. Grisham
34th 62.4% 29.7% Dan Lungren
35th 63.2% 29.5% James F. Lloyd (96th Congress)
David Dreier (97th Congress)
36th 54.0% 38.3% George Brown Jr.
37th 64.0% 29.7% Jerry Lewis
38th 64.8% 28.5% Jerry M. Patterson
39th 71.4% 21.8% William E. Dannemeyer
40th 70.8% 21.4% Robert Badham
41st 59.0% 29.2% Bob Wilson (96th Congress)
Bill Lowery (97th Congress)
42nd 53.9% 37.5% Lionel Van Deerlin (96th Congress)
Duncan L. Hunter (97th Congress)
43rd 67.6% 24.2% Clair Burgener

References

  1. "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  2. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  3. Reisner, Marc; Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water; p. 11 ISBN 0140178244
  4. "1980 Presidential General Election Results – California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
State and district results of the 1980 United States presidential election
Electoral map, 1980 election
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