1980 Republican Party presidential primaries

← 1976 January 21 to June 3, 1980 1984 →
1,990 delegates to the 1980 Republican National Convention 996 (majority) votes needed to win
Candidate Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush John B. Anderson Home state California Texas Illinois Delegate count 1,407 250 59 Contests won 42 7 + DC + Puerto Rico 0 Popular vote 7,709,793 3,070,033 1,572,174 Percentage 59.79% 23.81% 12.19%
First place by first-instance vote First place by delegate allocation First place by convention roll call      Reagan      Bush      Uncommitted
Previous Republican nominee Gerald Ford Republican nominee Ronald Reagan

From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Retired Hollywood actor and two-term California governor Ronald Reagan was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the Republican National Convention held from July 14 to 17, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan.

Background

As the 1980 presidential election approached, incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter appeared vulnerable. High gas prices, economic stagflation, a renewed Cold War with the Soviet Union following the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iran hostage crisis that developed when Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran all contributed to a general dissatisfaction with Carter's presidency; his job approval rating sank to below 20 percent in late-1979 as a result. Consequently, the president faced stiff Democratic primary challenges from Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and California Governor Jerry Brown. A large field of Republican challengers also emerged.

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Ronald Reagan			Governor of California (1967–1975)	California	(Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: May 24, 1980	7,709,793 (59.79%)	44	George Bush

Withdrew during primaries

Candidate			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won
George H. W. Bush			Director of Central Intelligence Agency (1976–1977)	Texas	Campaign Withdrew: May 26 (endorsed Ronald Reagan, nominated for vice president)	3,070,033 (23.81%)	8 CT, DC, IA, ME, MA, MI, PA, PR
John Anderson			U.S. Representative from Illinois (1961–1981)	Illinois	Withdrew: April 24 (ran as independent)	1,572,174 (12.19%)	None
Howard Baker			U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1967–1985)	Tennessee	Withdrew: March 5 (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	181,153 (1.41%)	None
Phil Crane			U.S. Representative from Illinois (1969–2005)	Illinois	Withdrew: April 17[1] (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	97,793 (0.76%)	None
John Connally			Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972)	Texas	Withdrew: March 9 (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	82,625 (0.64%)	Won 1 delegate from Arkansas (Ada Mills)
Ben Fernandez			U.S. Special Envoy to Paraguay (1973)	California	Withdrew: March 30 (endorsed Ronald Reagan)	25,520 (0.20%)	None
Harold Stassen			Director of the United States Foreign Operations Administration (1953–1955)	Pennsylvania	[data missing]	25,425 (0.20%)	None
Bob Dole			U.S. Senator from Kansas (1969–1996)	Kansas	Withdrew: March 15	7,204 (0.06%)	None

Withdrew before primaries

Withdrawn major candidates for the 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries

Name	Born	Experience	Home state	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Campaign	Ref.
Larry Pressler	March 29, 1942 (age 37) Humboldt, South Dakota	U.S. Senator from South Dakota U.S. Representative from South Dakota	South Dakota	[data missing]	January 8, 1980		[citation needed]
Lowell Weicker	May 16, 1931 (age 48) Paris, France	United States Senator from Connecticut	Connecticut	[data missing]	May 16, 1979		[citation needed]

Declined to run

The following potential candidates declined to run for the Republican nomination in 1980.^[2][3]

• Frank Borman, former astronaut from Indiana and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Air Lines
• Bill Brock, RNC Chairman of Tennessee; former Senator from Tennessee
• John Danforth, Senator from Missouri
• Pete du Pont, Governor of Delaware
• Gerald Ford, former President of the United States
• Spiro Agnew, former Vice President of the United States
• Jesse Helms, Senator from North Carolina
• Jack Kemp, U.S. Representative from New York
• Alexander Haig, former NATO Commander
• John Heinz, Senator from Pennsylvania
• Charles Mathias, Senator from Maryland
• Charles Percy, Senator from Illinois
• Elliot Richardson, former United States Secretary of Commerce
• William Ruckelshaus, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Richard Schweiker, Senator from Pennsylvania; presumptive running mate of Ronald Reagan in 1976
• Bill Simon, former United States Secretary of the Treasury (endorsed Reagan)^[4]
• Jim Thompson, Governor of Illinois

Polling

National polling