United States presidential election in Virginia, 1984

United States presidential election in Virginia, 1984

November 6, 1984

Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale Party Republican Democratic Home state California Minnesota Running mate George H.W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro Electoral vote 12 0 Popular vote 1,337,078 796,250 Percentage 62.29% 37.09%

County Results   Mondale—60-70%   Mondale—50-60%   Mondale—<50%   Reagan—<50%   Reagan—50-60%   Reagan—60-70%   Reagan—70-80%   Reagan—80-90%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

The 1984 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 6, 1984. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Virginia voters chose twelve electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

Virginia was won by incumbent United States President Ronald Reagan of California, who was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Reagan ran for a second time with incumbent Vice President and former C.I.A. Director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Mondale ran with Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first major female candidate for the vice presidency.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1984 was a very partisan election for Virginia, with just under 99 percent of the electorate voting only either Democratic or Republican, and only three candidates appearing on the ballot.^[1] The majority of counties in Virginia voted for the Republican candidate in a particularly strong turn out, in what was at the time a typically conservative-leaning state. Mondale did gain majorities in largely African-American counties in the east, highly unionized coal counties in southwest Virginia, and the independent cities of Alexandria, Norfolk, and Richmond.^[2]

Virginia weighed in for this election as five percent more Republican than the national average. As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which the independent cities of Franklin, Roanoke, and Falls Church voted for the Republican candidate.

Democratic platform

Walter Mondale accepted the Democratic nomination for presidency after pulling narrowly ahead of Senator Gary Hart of Colorado and Rev. Jesse Jackson of Illinois - his main contenders during what would be a very contentious^[3] Democratic primary. During the campaign, Mondale was vocal about reduction of government spending, and, in particular, was vocal against heightened military spending on the nuclear arms race against the Soviet Union,^[4] which was reaching its peak on both sides in the early 1980s.

Taking a (what was becoming the traditional liberal) stance on the social issues of the day, Mondale advocated for gun control, the right to choose regarding abortion, and strongly opposed the repeal of laws regarding institutionalized prayer in public schools. He also criticized Reagan for his economic marginalization of the poor, stating that Reagan's reelection campaign was "a happy talk campaign," not focused on the real issues at hand.^[5]

A very significant political move during this election: the Democratic Party nominated Representative Geraldine Ferraro to run with Mondale as Vice-President. Ferraro is the first female candidate to receive such a nomination from the party in United States history. She said in an interview at the 1984 Democratic National Convention that this action "opened a door which will never be closed again,"^[6] speaking to the role of women in politics.

Republican platform

Away from the campaign trail, Reagan (center, far left frame) attends the interment ceremony for the Vietnam Era serviceman, at the Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. May 28, 1984.

Elections in Virginia
Federal government Presidential elections 1788-89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential primaries Democratic 2008 2016 Republican 2008 2012 U.S. Senate elections 1922 1924 1928 1930 1934 1936 1940 1942 1946 1948 1952 1954 1958 1960 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 U.S. House elections 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special elections U.S. Senate, 1920 U.S. Senate, 1933 U.S. Senate, 1946 U.S. Senate, 1966 1st congressional district, 2007
State government Gubernatorial elections 1851 1855 1859 1863 (Confederate) 1863 (Union) 1869 1873 1877 1881 1885 1889 1893 1897 1901 1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 Lieutenant Governor elections 2013 2017 Attorney General elections 2005 2013 2017 House of Delegates elections 1975 1977 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 Senate elections 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 Other elections 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017
Ballot measures 1970 1972 1974 1976 1977 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2010 2012 2014 2016 2016 Fairfax County Meals Tax Referendum
Norfolk Mayoral elections 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Richmond Mayoral elections 2004 2008 2012 2016 City Council elections 2016
Virginia Beach Mayoral elections 2004 2008 2012 2016

By 1984, Reagan was very popular with voters across the nation as the President who saw them out of the economic stagflation of the early and middle 1970s, and into a period of (relative) economic stability.^[7]

The economic success seen under Reagan was politically accomplished (principally) in two ways. The first was initiation of deep tax cuts for the wealthy,^[8] and the second was a wide-spectrum of tax cuts for crude oil production and refinement, namely, with the 1980 Windfall profits tax cuts.^[9] These policies were augmented with a call for heightened military spending,^[10] the cutting of social welfare programs for the poor,^[11] and the increasing of taxes on those making less than $50,000 per year.^[8] Collectively called "Reaganomics", these economic policies were established through several pieces of legislation passed between 1980 and 1987.

These new tax policies also arguably curbed several existing tax loopholes, preferences, and exceptions, but Reaganomics is typically remembered for its trickle down effect of taxing poor Americans more than rich ones. Reaganomics has (along with legislation passed under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) been criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United State after 2007, such as the Great Recession.^[12]

Virtually unopposed during the Republican primaries, Reagan ran on a campaign of furthering his economic policies. Reagan vowed to continue his "war on drugs," passing sweeping legislation after the 1984 election in support of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession.^[13] Furthermore, taking a (what was becoming the traditional conservative) stance on the social issues of the day, Reagan strongly opposed legislation regarding comprehension of gay marriage, abortion, and (to a lesser extent) environmentalism,^[14] regarding the final as simply being bad for business.

Republican victory

Reagan won the election in Virginia with a resounding 25 point sweep-out landslide. While Virginia typically voted conservative at the time, the election results in Virginia are also reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party which took place through the 1980s; called by Reagan the "second American Revolution."^[7] This was most evident during the 1984 presidential election.

It is speculated that Mondale lost support with voters nearly immediately during the campaign, namely during his acceptance speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. There he stated that he intended to increase taxes. To quote Mondale, "By the end of my first term, I will reduce the Reagan budget deficit by two thirds. Let's tell the truth. It must be done, it must be done. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."^[5] Despite this claimed attempt at establishing truthfulness with the electorate, this promise to raise taxes badly eroded his chances in what had already begun as an uphill battle against the charismatic Ronald Reagan.

Reagan also enjoyed high levels of bipartisan support during the 1984 presidential election, both in Virginia, and across the nation at large. Many registered Democrats who voted for Reagan (Reagan Democrats) stated that they had chosen to do so because they associated him with the economic recovery, because of his strong stance on national security issues with Russia, and because they considered the Democrats as "supporting American poor and minorities at the expense of the middle class."^[14] These public opinion factors contributed to Reagan's 1984 landslide victory, in Virginia and elsewhere.

Results

See also

• Iran–Contra affair
• Nicaragua guerrilla war
• Presidency of Ronald Reagan

References