Republican Party candidates Primaries in Dallas Reagan-Bush '84, under the leadership of
Ed Rollins, was organized on October 17, 1983. Reagan delayed his campaign announcement as not running would make him a
lame duck whereas running would make everything he did be viewed as part of his campaign. He announced that he would seek reelection on January 29, 1984. Vice President
George H. W. Bush and U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Howard Baker were considered as possible candidates only if Reagan did not run. Former
Minnesota governor
Harold Stassen opposed Reagan for the Republican nomination and criticized the President's foreign policy, the budget deficit, and the trade imbalance. Reagan was the first incumbent president since
Richard Nixon in
1972 to face no significant opposition for renomination. The popular vote from the Republican primaries was as follows: •
Ronald Reagan (inc.): 6,484,987 (98.6%) • Unpledged delegates: 41,411 (0.6%) • Others: 21,643 (0.3%) • "Ronald Reagan No": 14,047 (0.2%) •
Harold E. Stassen: 12,749 (0.2%) • David Kelly: 360 • Gary Arnold: 252 •
Benjamin Fernandez: 202
Endorsements Reagan had received endorsements from: ;Celebrities •
Morey Amsterdam •
Stephanie Zimbalist Former Vice President Mondale was then viewed as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Mondale had the largest number of party leaders supporting him, and he had raised more money than any other candidate. However, both Jackson and Hart emerged as surprising, and troublesome, opponents. South Carolina Senator
Ernest Hollings's wit, experience, and call for a
budget freeze all won him some positive attention, but his relatively conservative record alienated liberal Democrats, and he was never really noticed in a field dominated by Mondale,
John Glenn, and
Gary Hart. Hollings dropped out two days after losing badly in New Hampshire and endorsed Hart a week later. His disdain for his competitors was at times showcased in his comments. He notably referred to Mondale as a "lapdog", and to former astronaut Glenn as "
Sky King" who was "confused in his capsule." California Senator
Alan Cranston hoped to galvanize supporters of the nuclear freeze movement that had called on the United States to halt the deployment of existing nuclear weapons and the development of new ones. Glenn and Askew hoped to capture the support of moderate and conservative Democrats. None of them shared Mondale's fundraising prowess nor Hart's or Jackson's grassroots support, however, and none won any contests. Jackson was the second African-American (after
Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for the presidency, and he was the first black candidate to contend seriously. He got 3.5 million votes during the primaries, third behind Hart and Mondale. He won the primaries in Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana, and split Mississippi, where there were two separate contests for Democratic delegates. Through the primaries, Jackson helped confirm the black electorate's importance to the
Democratic Party in the South at the time. During the campaign, however, Jackson made an off-the-cuff reference to Jews as "Hymies" and New York City as "Hymietown", for which he later apologized. Nonetheless, the remark was widely publicized, and derailed his campaign for the nomination. Jackson ended up winning 21% of the national primary vote but received only 8% of the delegates to the national convention, and he initially charged that his campaign was hurt by the same party rules that allowed Mondale to win. He also poured scorn on Mondale, saying that
Hubert Humphrey was the "last significant politician out of the St. Paul-Minneapolis" area. Hart, from Colorado, was a more serious threat to Mondale, and after winning several early primaries it looked as if he might take the nomination away from Mondale. Hart finished a surprising second in the
Iowa caucuses, with 16.5% of the vote. This established him as the main rival to Mondale, effectively eliminating John Glenn, Ernest Hollings and Alan Cranston as alternatives. Hart criticized Mondale as an "old-fashioned"
Great Society Democrat who symbolized "failed policies" of the past. Hart positioned himself (just as
Bill Clinton would eight years later) as a younger, fresher, and more moderate Democrat who could appeal to younger voters. He emerged as a formidable candidate, winning the key New Hampshire, Ohio, and California primaries as well as several others, especially in the West. However, Hart could not overcome Mondale's financial and organizational advantages, especially among labor union leaders in the Midwest and industrial Northeast. Hart was also badly hurt in a televised debate with Mondale during the primaries, when the former vice president used a popular television commercial slogan to ridicule Hart's vague "New Ideas" platform. Turning to Hart on camera, Mondale told Hart that whenever he heard Hart talk about his "New Ideas", he was reminded of the
Wendy's fast-food slogan "
Where's the beef?" The remark drew loud laughter and applause from the viewing audience and caught Hart off-guard. Hart never fully recovered from Mondale's charge that his "New Ideas" were shallow and lacking in specifics. (under whom Mondale had previously served as vice president) clasp hands on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in New York City, 1976. At a roundtable debate between the three remaining Democratic candidates moderated by
Phil Donahue, Mondale and Hart got into such a heated argument over the issue of U.S. policy in Central America that Jackson had to tap his water glass on the table to help get them to stop. Mondale gradually pulled away from Hart in the delegate count, but, as
Time reported in late May, "Mondale ... has a wide lead in total delegates (1,564 to 941) ... because of his victories in the big industrial states, his support from the Democratic Establishment and the arcane provisions of delegate-selection rules that his vanguard helped draft two years ago." After the final primary in California, on June 5, which Hart won, Mondale was about 40 delegates short of the total he needed for the nomination. However, at the
Democratic National Convention in San Francisco on July 16, Mondale received the overwhelming support of the unelected
superdelegates from the party establishment to win the nomination. Mondale's nomination marked the second time since the nomination of former
governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter in
1976, and the fourth time since the nomination of former Representative
John W. Davis in
1924, that the Democratic Party nominated a private citizen for president (i.e., someone not serving in an official governmental role at the time of the nomination and election). Mondale was the last private citizen to be nominated for president by the Democratic Party until former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in
2016. He was also the last former vice president to be nominated for president until
Joe Biden in
2020. This race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination was the closest in two generations, and, as of 2024, it was the last occasion that a major party's race for the presidential nomination went all the way to its convention.
Endorsements Note: These are only those endorsements that occurred during or before the primary race. Mondale had received endorsements from: ;United States House of Representatives • Representative
Jim Bates of California • Representative
Edward Boland of
Massachusetts • Representative
Joseph D. Early of
Massachusetts • Representative
Sam Gejdenson of
Connecticut • Representative
Tom Harkin of
Iowa • Representative
Joe Moakley of
Massachusetts • Representative
William R. Ratchford of
Connecticut ;Former officeholders • Former President
Jimmy Carter of
Georgia ;Former diplomats, board members and other officials • Former Secretary of State
Dean Rusk of
Georgia •
National Education Association •
National Organization for Women :
California • Mayor and 1982 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee
Tom Bradley of Los Angeles :
Georgia • State Senator
Julian Bond :
Michigan • Mayor
Coleman Young of Detroit • Representative
Chuck Schumer of New York • Representative and 1976 Democratic presidential candidate
Mo Udall of
Arizona • Representative
Henry A. Waxman of California ;Celebrities, political activists, and political commentators • Actor and director
Warren Beatty Jackson had received endorsements from: ;United States House of Representatives • Delegate
Walter E. Fauntroy of Washington, D.C. ;Former officeholders • Former Representative and 1972 Democratic presidential candidate
Shirley Chisholm of New York • Former
Governor Orval E. Faubus of
Arkansas ;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders :
Alabama • State Senator Michael Figures • Mayor
Johnny Ford of
Tuskegee • State Senator Hank Sanders :
Illinois • Mayor Carl Officer of
East St. Louis ;Organizations and unions •
Church of God in Christ •
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. • National Farmers Alliance • 1980 presidential nominee of the
Citizens Party Barry Commoner Hollings had received endorsements from: ;United States Senate • Former U.S. Senator
Birch Bayh of
Indiana • Former U.S. Senator
William B. Spong, Jr. of
Virginia ;State Constitutional officers • Lieutenant Governor
Martha Griffiths of
Michigan • State Senator
Anna Belle Clement O'Brien of
Tennessee • Lieutenant Governor
Nancy Stevenson of
South Carolina • Senator
Jim Sasser of
Tennessee • Senator
Paul Tsongas of
Massachusetts ;United States House of Representatives • Representative
Jerry Huckaby of
Louisiana •
Governor Chuck Robb of
Virginia ;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders :
Georgia • Commissioner of Agriculture
Tommy Irvin ;Current and former state and local officials and party officeholders :
Florida • Mayor Eva Mack of
West Palm Beach Convention This was the
convention's nomination tally: When he made his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention, Mondale said: "Let's tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did." Although Mondale intended to expose Reagan as hypocritical and position himself as the honest candidate, the choice of raising taxes as a discussion point likely damaged his electoral chances.
Vice-presidential nominee and Massachusetts Governor
Michael Dukakis at a campaign stop in Boston Mondale wanted to establish a highly visible precedent with his vice presidential candidate. Mondale chose
U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro from New York as his running mate, making her the first woman nominated for that position by a major party. Another reason for the nominee to "go for broke" instead of
balancing the ticket was Reagan's lead in the polls. Mondale hoped to appeal to women, who were the majority of voters by 1980. In a "much criticized parade of possible Veep candidates" to his home in Minnesota, Mondale considered San Francisco Mayor
Dianne Feinstein and
Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins, also female; Los Angeles Mayor
Tom Bradley, an African American; and San Antonio Mayor
Henry Cisneros, a Hispanic, as other finalists for the nomination. In addition to her sex, Mondale chose Ferraro because he hoped she would attract ethnic voters with her personal background. Unsuccessful nomination candidate Jesse Jackson derided Mondale's vice-presidential screening process as a "P.R. parade of personalities", but praised Mondale for his choice, having himself pledged to name a woman to the ticket in the event he was nominated. Mondale had wanted to choose New York Governor
Mario Cuomo as his running mate, but Cuomo declined and recommended Ferraro, his protégée. Mondale might have named Massachusetts Governor
Michael Dukakis as his running mate had he wanted to make a "safe" choice", while others preferred Senator
Lloyd Bentsen because he would appeal to more conservative Southern voters. Nomination rival
Gary Hart stated before Ferraro's selection that he would accept an invitation to run with Mondale; Hart's supporters claimed he would do better than Mondale against President Reagan, an argument undercut by a June 1984 Gallup poll that showed both men nine points behind the president.
Other parties National Unity Party nomination declined to run on April 26, 1984, and endorsed Mondale on August 27. The National Unity Party was an outgrowth of
John B. Anderson's presidential campaign from
1980. Anderson hoped that the party would be able to challenge the "two old parties", which he viewed as being tied to various special interest groups and incapable of responsible fiscal reform. The intention was to organize the new party in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, the New England states, and others where his previous candidacy had proven to have experienced the most success. The party was also eligible for $5.8 million in Federal election funds, but its qualification depended on it being on the ballot in at least ten states; however, it remained unclear if National Unity or Anderson personally was eligible to obtain the funds. At first, Anderson opposed running, hoping that another notable politico would take the party into the 1984 election, and feared that his own candidacy might result in the party being labeled a "personality cult". However, no candidate came forward, resulting in Anderson becoming the nominee in waiting. While Anderson had found similar levels of support from the Republicans and Democrats in the 1980 election, the grand majority of the former had since switched back, resulting in the new party being supported principally by those who normally would vote Democratic, which it was feared might make him a
spoiler candidate. In light of this, in addition to difficulties in getting on the ballot in his targeted states (Utah and Kentucky were the only two, neither among those he intended to prominently campaign in), Anderson ultimately declined to run. Anderson announced that he would not run on April 26, 1984. He later endorsed Mondale and a survey of National Unity members showed that they supported his action. Anderson had hoped that the party would continue to grow and field candidates in 1986, and later a presidential candidate in 1988. •
Tonie Nathan, 1972 vice presidential nominee from
Oregon (declined to contest) •
Earl Ravenal, foreign policy analyst, academic, and writer from Washington, D.C. •
Mary Ruwart, research scientist from
Texas Burns was the initial frontrunner for the nomination, but withdrew, citing concerns that the party would not be able to properly finance a campaign. The remaining candidates were Bergland; Ravenal, who had worked in the Department of Defense under
Robert McNamara and
Clark Clifford; and Ruwart. Bergland narrowly won the presidential nomination over Ravenal. His running mate was
James A. Lewis. The ticket appeared on 39 state ballots.
Citizens Party nomination Sonia Johnson ran in the 1984 presidential election, as the presidential candidate of the
Citizens Party, Pennsylvania's Consumer Party and California's
Peace and Freedom Party. Johnson received 72,161 votes (0.1%) finishing fifth. Her running mate for the Citizens Party was
Richard Walton and for the Peace and Freedom Party
Emma Wong Mar. One of her campaign managers, Mark Dunlea, later wrote a novel about a first female president,
Madame President.
Communist Party nomination The
Communist Party USA ran
Gus Hall for president and
Angela Davis for vice president. ==General election==