1980 United States presidential election in Minnesota
1980 United States presidential election in Minnesota Turnout 72.14%[ 1]
County Results
Carter
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
Reagan
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
The 1980 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election . State voters chose ten representatives, or electors to the Electoral College , who voted for President and Vice-president .
After having leaned strongly Republican until the 1930s, Minnesota had become one of the most Democratic states in the country during the 1970s: in 1972 it was George McGovern ’s second-best state in his disastrous landslide loss and more than one-seventh of the 130 counties he won nationally lay within the state. In 1974 , Governor Wendell Anderson won every county in the state in a landslide gubernatorial triumph during the aftermath of Watergate .
Late in February, Carter won the state’s Democratic Party caucus over Ted Kennedy ,[ 2] and defeated 1976 challenger Reagan did the same for the Republicans.[ 3] At the beginning of the campaign in July, Reagan aimed to focus on the problem of Carter and his lack of leadership in the industrial strongholds of the Midwest like Minnesota,[ 4] although by August polls were suggesting Carter was strong in the state despite John Anderson’s third-party candidacy.[ 5] However, by the middle of October Minnesota was once again rated as a “tossup”.[ 6]
Incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter carried the state by 80,933 votes over former California Governor Ronald Reagan . This gave him one of just seven victories in the election (the others being Maryland , West Virginia , Hawaii , Rhode Island , the District of Columbia and his home state of Georgia ). Carter became the first Democrat to win Minnesota consecutively since Franklin D. Roosevelt , who won the state every year from 1932 to 1944 . Despite Carter's win in Minnesota, Reagan became the first Republican to carry Mahnomen County since Warren G. Harding in 1920 .[ 7]
Nationally, Reagan won the election with 489 electoral votes and 50.75% of the popular vote. Minnesota was the only state not to back Reagan in either of his presidential campaigns, casting its electoral votes in favor of Walter Mondale (a Minnesota native) in 1984 .
Results
Results by county
County[ 9]
Jimmy Carter DFL
Ronald Reagan Republican
John B. Anderson Anderson Coalition
Ed Clark Libertarian
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Aitkin
3,677
47.94%
3,396
44.28%
380
4.95%
163
2.13%
54
0.70%
281
3.66%
7,670
Anoka
45,532
51.83%
33,100
37.68%
6,828
7.77%
1,631
1.86%
752
0.86%
12,432
14.15%
87,843
Becker
5,221
39.75%
6,848
52.14%
866
6.59%
151
1.15%
48
0.37%
-1,627
-12.39%
13,134
Beltrami
7,432
47.83%
6,481
41.71%
1,254
8.07%
253
1.63%
117
0.75%
951
6.12%
15,537
Benton
5,272
44.75%
5,513
46.79%
646
5.48%
213
1.81%
138
1.17%
-241
-2.04%
11,782
Big Stone
1,814
44.34%
1,950
47.67%
249
6.09%
56
1.37%
22
0.54%
-136
-3.33%
4,091
Blue Earth
10,930
41.82%
11,966
45.78%
2,698
10.32%
327
1.25%
217
0.83%
-1,036
-3.96%
26,138
Brown
4,915
34.80%
8,051
57.01%
842
5.96%
256
1.81%
58
0.41%
-3,136
-22.21%
14,122
Carlton
8,822
59.48%
4,760
32.09%
883
5.95%
279
1.88%
89
0.60%
4,062
27.39%
14,833
Carver
6,621
35.83%
9,909
53.62%
1,496
8.09%
333
1.80%
122
0.66%
-3,288
-17.79%
18,481
Cass
4,717
41.07%
6,119
53.28%
434
3.78%
178
1.55%
37
0.32%
-1,402
-12.21%
11,485
Chippewa
3,164
39.08%
4,252
52.51%
532
6.57%
117
1.44%
32
0.40%
-1,088
-13.43%
8,097
Chisago
6,240
49.83%
5,017
40.06%
939
7.50%
264
2.11%
63
0.50%
1,223
9.77%
12,523
Clay
8,940
39.72%
10,447
46.41%
2,773
12.32%
221
0.98%
127
0.56%
-1,507
-6.69%
22,508
Clearwater
1,955
47.26%
1,919
46.39%
185
4.47%
60
1.45%
18
0.44%
36
0.87%
4,137
Cook
871
38.44%
1,147
50.62%
182
8.03%
48
2.12%
18
0.79%
-276
-12.18%
2,266
Cottonwood
2,958
37.70%
4,258
54.26%
535
6.82%
77
0.98%
19
0.24%
-1,300
-16.56%
7,847
Crow Wing
9,323
43.01%
10,844
50.03%
1,046
4.83%
367
1.69%
97
0.45%
-1,521
-7.02%
21,677
Dakota
43,433
45.84%
40,708
42.96%
8,588
9.06%
1,526
1.61%
500
0.53%
2,725
2.88%
94,755
Dodge
2,698
38.00%
3,900
54.93%
367
5.17%
92
1.30%
43
0.61%
-1,202
-16.93%
7,100
Douglas
5,530
38.28%
7,778
53.85%
844
5.84%
226
1.56%
67
0.46%
-2,248
-15.57%
14,445
Faribault
3,620
34.54%
6,206
59.21%
525
5.01%
105
1.00%
25
0.24%
-2,586
-24.67%
10,481
Fillmore
4,010
35.45%
6,452
57.04%
650
5.75%
157
1.39%
43
0.38%
-2,442
-21.59%
11,312
Freeborn
8,212
46.17%
8,475
47.65%
808
4.54%
225
1.27%
65
0.37%
-263
-1.48%
17,785
Goodhue
8,566
42.31%
9,329
46.07%
1,964
9.70%
288
1.42%
101
0.50%
-763
-3.76%
20,248
Grant
1,822
42.65%
2,054
48.08%
333
7.79%
54
1.26%
9
0.21%
-232
-5.43%
4,272
Hennepin
239,592
47.41%
194,898
38.57%
56,390
11.16%
6,647
1.32%
7,845
1.55%
44,694
8.84%
505,372
Houston
3,218
33.94%
5,582
58.88%
477
5.03%
149
1.57%
55
0.58%
-2,364
-24.94%
9,481
Hubbard
2,840
37.80%
4,172
55.53%
365
4.86%
105
1.40%
31
0.41%
-1,332
-17.73%
7,513
Isanti
5,457
50.49%
4,480
41.45%
641
5.93%
179
1.66%
52
0.48%
977
9.04%
10,809
Itasca
12,134
54.59%
8,368
37.65%
1,080
4.86%
487
2.19%
159
0.72%
3,766
16.94%
22,228
Jackson
3,062
43.35%
3,391
48.00%
463
6.55%
123
1.74%
25
0.35%
-329
-4.65%
7,064
Kanabec
2,654
48.18%
2,500
45.39%
269
4.88%
68
1.23%
17
0.31%
154
2.79%
5,508
Kandiyohi
8,038
44.42%
8,480
46.86%
1,244
6.87%
276
1.53%
57
0.32%
-442
-2.44%
18,095
Kittson
1,407
39.33%
1,875
52.42%
243
6.79%
36
1.01%
16
0.45%
-468
-13.09%
3,577
Koochiching
4,181
50.68%
3,433
41.61%
496
6.01%
110
1.33%
30
0.36%
748
9.07%
8,250
Lac qui Parle
2,457
41.62%
2,981
50.50%
334
5.66%
112
1.90%
19
0.32%
-524
-8.88%
5,903
Lake
3,864
55.75%
2,414
34.83%
443
6.39%
160
2.31%
50
0.72%
1,450
20.92%
6,931
Lake of the Woods
763
38.15%
1,052
52.60%
128
6.40%
44
2.20%
13
0.65%
-289
-14.45%
2,000
Le Sueur
5,161
44.40%
5,478
47.12%
731
6.29%
187
1.61%
68
0.58%
-317
-2.72%
11,625
Lincoln
1,640
39.80%
2,122
51.49%
295
7.16%
48
1.16%
16
0.39%
-482
-11.69%
4,121
Lyon
5,626
43.58%
5,852
45.33%
1,129
8.74%
237
1.84%
67
0.52%
-226
-1.75%
12,911
Mahnomen
1,175
44.59%
1,275
48.39%
153
5.81%
23
0.87%
9
0.34%
-100
-3.80%
2,635
Marshall
2,636
38.91%
3,638
53.70%
397
5.86%
80
1.18%
24
0.35%
-1,002
-14.79%
6,775
Martin
4,301
34.98%
7,057
57.40%
751
6.11%
148
1.20%
37
0.30%
-2,756
-22.42%
12,294
McLeod
4,987
35.53%
7,819
55.71%
852
6.07%
308
2.19%
69
0.49%
-2,832
-20.18%
14,035
Meeker
4,238
41.98%
5,032
49.85%
668
6.62%
124
1.23%
33
0.33%
-794
-7.87%
10,095
Mille Lacs
4,443
49.30%
3,860
42.83%
550
6.10%
126
1.40%
34
0.38%
583
6.47%
9,013
Morrison
6,930
49.44%
6,296
44.91%
559
3.99%
174
1.24%
59
0.42%
634
4.53%
14,018
Mower
10,538
51.85%
7,908
38.91%
1,465
7.21%
281
1.38%
133
0.65%
2,630
12.94%
20,325
Murray
2,714
43.87%
3,004
48.56%
359
5.80%
88
1.42%
21
0.34%
-290
-4.69%
6,186
Nicollet
5,400
39.64%
6,436
47.25%
1,519
11.15%
201
1.48%
66
0.48%
-1,036
-7.61%
13,622
Nobles
4,703
45.37%
4,706
45.40%
657
6.34%
178
1.72%
121
1.17%
-3
-0.03%
10,365
Norman
2,253
46.17%
2,192
44.92%
369
7.56%
46
0.94%
20
0.41%
61
1.25%
4,880
Olmsted
13,983
34.18%
22,704
55.50%
3,638
8.89%
438
1.07%
148
0.36%
-8,721
-21.32%
40,911
Otter Tail
9,108
34.85%
15,091
57.74%
1,538
5.88%
331
1.27%
70
0.27%
-5,983
-22.89%
26,138
Pennington
3,101
41.81%
3,715
50.09%
465
6.27%
69
0.93%
66
0.89%
-614
-8.28%
7,416
Pine
5,121
52.86%
3,899
40.25%
467
4.82%
152
1.57%
48
0.50%
1,222
12.61%
9,687
Pipestone
2,392
38.31%
3,207
51.37%
561
8.99%
72
1.15%
11
0.18%
-815
-13.06%
6,243
Polk
7,151
40.53%
9,036
51.21%
1,207
6.84%
163
0.92%
87
0.49%
-1,885
-10.68%
17,644
Pope
2,527
41.07%
3,159
51.34%
354
5.75%
75
1.22%
38
0.62%
-632
-10.27%
6,153
Ramsey
124,774
53.61%
78,860
33.88%
23,222
9.98%
3,650
1.57%
2,238
0.96%
45,914
19.73%
232,744
Red Lake
1,318
48.69%
1,223
45.18%
116
4.29%
31
1.15%
19
0.70%
95
3.51%
2,707
Redwood
2,952
30.44%
5,993
61.79%
548
5.65%
151
1.56%
55
0.57%
-3,041
-31.35%
9,699
Renville
4,058
38.85%
5,544
53.08%
653
6.25%
155
1.48%
34
0.33%
-1,486
-14.23%
10,444
Rice
9,531
46.10%
8,168
39.51%
2,414
11.68%
350
1.69%
210
1.02%
1,363
6.59%
20,673
Rock
2,089
36.57%
3,164
55.38%
397
6.95%
54
0.95%
9
0.16%
-1,075
-18.81%
5,713
Roseau
2,616
41.41%
3,358
53.16%
259
4.10%
55
0.87%
29
0.46%
-742
-11.75%
6,317
St. Louis
69,403
60.52%
33,407
29.13%
8,719
7.60%
2,202
1.92%
943
0.82%
35,996
31.39%
114,674
Scott
9,115
45.49%
9,018
45.00%
1,475
7.36%
356
1.78%
74
0.37%
97
0.49%
20,038
Sherburne
6,229
45.73%
6,035
44.31%
985
7.23%
300
2.20%
71
0.52%
194
1.42%
13,620
Sibley
2,521
32.99%
4,460
58.36%
509
6.66%
121
1.58%
31
0.41%
-1,939
-25.37%
7,642
Stearns
21,862
42.43%
24,888
48.31%
3,555
6.90%
861
1.67%
356
0.69%
-3,026
-5.88%
51,522
Steele
5,095
35.68%
7,805
54.66%
1,087
7.61%
240
1.68%
52
0.36%
-2,710
-18.98%
14,279
Stevens
2,559
39.52%
3,283
50.69%
524
8.09%
74
1.14%
36
0.56%
-724
-11.17%
6,476
Swift
3,245
47.56%
2,943
43.13%
511
7.49%
102
1.49%
22
0.32%
302
4.43%
6,823
Todd
4,975
41.08%
6,451
53.27%
451
3.72%
194
1.60%
40
0.33%
-1,476
-12.19%
12,111
Traverse
1,258
41.52%
1,574
51.95%
159
5.25%
28
0.92%
11
0.36%
-316
-10.43%
3,030
Wabasha
3,712
39.27%
4,986
52.75%
549
5.81%
165
1.75%
41
0.43%
-1,274
-13.48%
9,453
Wadena
2,635
37.10%
4,089
57.57%
265
3.73%
97
1.37%
17
0.24%
-1,454
-20.47%
7,103
Waseca
3,535
38.01%
4,801
51.62%
777
8.35%
163
1.75%
25
0.27%
-1,266
-13.61%
9,301
Washington
25,634
46.69%
22,718
41.38%
5,050
9.20%
1,183
2.15%
317
0.58%
2,916
5.31%
54,902
Watonwan
2,442
37.07%
3,629
55.09%
415
6.30%
80
1.21%
21
0.32%
-1,187
-18.02%
6,587
Wilkin
1,496
36.43%
2,224
54.15%
318
7.74%
58
1.41%
11
0.27%
-728
-17.72%
4,107
Winona
9,814
42.85%
10,332
45.11%
1,780
7.77%
573
2.50%
404
1.76%
-518
-2.26%
22,903
Wright
12,383
45.88%
12,293
45.54%
1,692
6.27%
526
1.95%
97
0.36%
90
0.34%
26,991
Yellow Medicine
2,833
38.18%
4,004
53.95%
456
6.14%
111
1.50%
17
0.23%
-1,171
-15.77%
7,421
Totals
954,174
46.50%
873,241
42.56%
174,990
8.53%
31,592
1.54%
17,956
0.88%
80,933
3.94%
2,051,953
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
See also
References
^ "Office of the State Of Minnesota Secretary of State" . www.sos.state.mn.us . Retrieved July 22, 2017 .
^ ‘Carter Beats Kennedy In Minnesota Voting; Reagan Takes a Lead: Carter Runaway Was Expected’; The New York Times , February 27, 1980, p. A18
^ ‘Carter and Reagan Win in Minnesota’; The Boston Globe , February 27, 1980, p. 1
^ ‘Reagan to Attack “Failed Presidency”: Reagan to Make Carter the Issue in Democratic Strongholds’; The Washington Post , 19 July 1980, p. A1
^ Cattani, richard J.; ‘Carter, Reagan hustle to bolster bids in key states’; The Christian Science Monitor ; September 22, 1980
^ ‘Campaign Report: Associated Press-NBC Poll Says Reagan Leads Carter’; The New York Times , October 14, 1980, p. D22
^ Menendez, Albert J. The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004 , pp. 228-232 ISBN 0786422173
^ "1980 Presidential Election Results – Minnesota" . Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved January 23, 2014 .
^ "MN US President Race, November 04, 1980" . Our Campaigns.
Notes