Recalling the "Reagan Revolution"

Updated July 24, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

The Question:

What states didn't Reagan win in his 1980 and 1984 election?

The Answer:

In the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan, with running mate George Bush, captured the Presidency with 489 electoral votes from 44 states. The states he lost and the percentages received are as follows:

Carter Reagan
The District of Columbia 74.82% 13.44%
Georgia 55.78% 40.97%
Hawaii 44.80% 42.90%
Maryland 47.14% 44.18%
Minnesota 46.50% 42.56%
Rhode Island 44.67% 37.20%
West Virginia 49.81% 45.30%

Together those states combined for 49 electoral votes for Jimmy Carter and running mate Walter Mondale. It was not enough to re-elect President Carter, but better than Mr. Mondale would do on his own four years later.

In 1984 Reagan was re-elected with 525 electoral votes from 49 states. His opponent Walter Mondale, this time running with Geraldine Ferraro, managed only 13 electoral votes. The only states that Reagan did not win in his landslide victory were Minnesota (where he received 49.54% of the vote) and the District of Columbia (where he received 13.73% of the vote).

-The Editors

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