1980 United States presidential election in Florida explained

See main article: 1980 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1980 United States presidential election in Florida
Country:	Florida
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1976 United States presidential election in Florida
Previous Year:	1976
Next Election:	1984 United States presidential election in Florida
Next Year:	1984
Election Date:	November 4, 1980
Image1:	Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981-cropped.jpg
Nominee1:	Ronald Reagan
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	California
Running Mate1:	George H. W. Bush
Electoral Vote1:	17
Popular Vote1:	2,046,951
Percentage1:	55.52%
Nominee2:	Jimmy Carter
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Georgia
Running Mate2:	Walter Mondale
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	1,419,475
Percentage2:	38.50%
Image3:	John B. Anderson in New Jersey (cropped).jpg
Nominee3:	John B. Anderson
Party3:	Independent (United States)
Home State3:	Illinois
Running Mate3:	Patrick Lucey
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	189,692
Percentage3:	5.14%
Map Size:	350px
President
Before Election:	Jimmy Carter
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Ronald Reagan
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Flag Year:	1900
Turnout:	77%^[1]

The 1980 United States presidential election in Florida took place on Tuesday, November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Florida voters chose 17 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter and his running mate, Vice President Walter Mondale, against Republican challenger and former California Governor Ronald Reagan and his running mate and former Director of the CIA, George H.W. Bush.

The Republican ticket won Florida by a wide 17.02% margin, a particularly strong performance in this conservative leaning state that voted for Carter in 1976 by a 5.29% margin.^[2] John B. Anderson, a liberal Republican Congressman from Illinois who ran as an Independent with former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Patrick Lucey, received his strongest performance of any former Confederate state in Florida, where he won 5.14% of the vote. Florida, along with Virginia, were one of only two southern states to give Anderson over 5% of the vote. Although Carter lost Florida, he is the last Democrat to win a majority of counties in the state's northern region. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is also the last time for a Democrat to win the counties of Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Jackson, Lafayette, Liberty, Suwannee, and Union.^[3] This cycle also marks the most recent time that an incumbent president standing for re-election would fail to carry Florida, irrespective of the national outcome.

Reagan's victory was the first of four consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Florida would not vote Democratic again until Bill Clinton won the state in his re-election bid in 1996. Whether Florida is a swing state or a Republican-leaning state today is disputed among political observers.^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}

62% of white voters supported Reagan while 31% supported Carter.

Results

Results by county

County	Ronald Reagan Republican		Jimmy Carter Democratic		John B. Anderson Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Alachua		19,804		38.56%		26,849		52.27%		4,178		8.13%		533		1.04%		-7,045		-13.71%		51,364
	Baker		2,283		45.88%		2,611		52.47%		56		1.13%		26		0.52%		-328		-6.59%		4,976
	Bay		20,948		60.61%		12,389		35.85%		740		2.14%		484		1.40%		8,559		24.76%		34,561
	Bradford		2,778		44.50%		3,347		53.61%		90		1.44%		28		0.45%		-569		-9.11%		6,243
	Brevard		69,460		60.07%		39,007		33.73%		5,866		5.07%		1,303		1.13%		30,453		26.34%		115,636
	Broward		229,693		55.95%		146,323		35.64%		31,554		7.69%		2,991		0.73%		83,370		20.31%		410,561
	Calhoun		1,504		38.72%		2,300		59.22%		52		1.34%		28		0.72%		-796		-20.50%		3,884
	Charlotte		20,486		64.62%		9,769		30.82%		1,210		3.82%		235		0.74%		10,717		33.80%		31,700
	Citrus		14,286		58.48%		9,162		37.50%		787		3.22%		195		0.80%		5,124		20.98%		24,430
	Clay		15,643		64.85%		7,630		31.63%		692		2.87%		157		0.65%		8,013		33.22%		24,122
	Collier		23,900		71.10%		7,739		23.02%		1,678		4.99%		296		0.88%		16,161		48.08%		33,613
	Columbia		5,643		48.45%		5,680		48.76%		248		2.13%		77		0.66%		-37		-0.31%		11,648
	DeSoto		3,356		53.40%		2,713		43.17%		155		2.47%		61		0.97%		643		10.23%		6,285
	Dixie		1,101		34.70%		2,010		63.35%		45		1.42%		17		0.54%		-909		-28.65%		3,173
	Duval		98,664		50.45%		90,466		46.26%		5,184		2.65%		1,240		0.63%		8,198		4.19%		195,554
	Escambia		51,794		58.49%		33,513		37.84%		2,634		2.97%		618		0.70%		18,281		20.65%		88,559
	Flagler		2,895		51.70%		2,503		44.70%		154		2.75%		48		0.86%		392		7.00%		5,600
	Franklin		1,508		44.59%		1,775		52.48%		54		1.60%		45		1.33%		-267		-7.89%		3,382
	Gadsden		3,718		30.41%		8,222		67.26%		201		1.64%		84		0.69%		-4,504		-36.85%		12,225
	Gilchrist		1,093		39.13%		1,627		58.25%		56		2.01%		17		0.61%		-534		-19.12%		2,793
	Glades		1,098		45.96%		1,203		50.36%		61		2.55%		27		1.13%		-105		-4.40%		2,389
	Gulf		2,127		43.18%		2,700		54.81%		61		1.24%		38		0.77%		-573		-11.63%		4,926
	Hamilton		1,301		39.66%		1,923		58.63%		40		1.22%		16		0.49%		-622		-18.97%		3,280
	Hardee		2,603		48.82%		2,599		48.74%		83		1.56%		47		0.88%		4		0.08%		5,332
	Hendry		2,703		49.93%		2,543		46.97%		131		2.42%		37		0.68%		160		2.96%		5,414
	Hernando		12,115		54.99%		8,858		40.21%		852		3.87%		207		0.94%		3,257		14.78%		22,032
	Highlands		11,925		61.95%		6,688		34.74%		531		2.76%		105		0.55%		5,237		27.21%		19,249
	Hillsborough		106,160		51.71%		88,271		42.99%		8,965		4.37%		1,918		0.93%		17,889		8.72%		205,314
	Holmes		3,221		52.41%		2,767		45.02%		69		1.12%		89		1.45%		454		7.39%		6,146
	Indian River		15,568		62.98%		7,759		31.39%		1,185		4.79%		205		0.83%		7,809		31.59%		24,717
	Jackson		6,348		44.76%		7,567		53.36%		159		1.12%		107		0.75%		-1,219		-8.60%		14,181
	Jefferson		1,623		39.19%		2,367		57.16%		96		2.32%		55		1.33%		-744		-17.97%		4,141
	Lafayette		795		42.67%		1,034		55.50%		22		1.18%		12		0.64%		-239		-12.83%		1,863
	Lake		26,798		64.53%		13,128		31.61%		1,244		3.00%		358		0.86%		13,670		32.92%		41,528
	Lee		61,033		64.51%		28,125		29.73%		4,229		4.47%		1,226		1.30%		32,908		34.78%		94,613
	Leon		24,919		43.47%		28,450		49.63%		3,193		5.57%		764		1.33%		-3,531		-6.16%		57,326
	Levy		3,210		42.26%		4,170		54.90%		175		2.30%		41		0.54%		-960		-12.64%		7,596
	Liberty		899		43.81%		1,114		54.29%		25		1.22%		14		0.68%		-215		-10.48%		2,052
	Madison		2,280		41.39%		3,134		56.89%		65		1.18%		30		0.54%		-854		-15.50%		5,509
	Manatee		40,535		61.81%		21,679		33.06%		2,928		4.47%		434		0.66%		18,856		28.75%		65,576
	Marion		23,743		58.49%		15,400		37.94%		1,187		2.92%		262		0.65%		8,343		20.55%		40,592
	Martin		20,521		68.05%		8,087		26.82%		1,321		4.38%		225		0.75%		12,434		41.23%		30,154
	Miami-Dade		265,888		50.65%		210,868		40.17%		44,799		8.53%		3,350		0.64%		55,020		10.48%		524,905
	Monroe		11,644		53.40%		7,920		36.32%		1,932		8.86%		310		1.42%		3,724		17.08%		21,806
	Nassau		5,440		50.60%		5,074		47.20%		183		1.70%		54		0.50%		366		3.40%		10,751
	Okaloosa		28,072		69.62%		10,845		26.90%		1,116		2.77%		290		0.72%		17,227		42.72%		40,323
	Okeechobee		2,783		44.81%		3,228		51.98%		156		2.51%		43		0.69%		-445		-7.17%		6,210
	Orange		87,454		61.06%		48,767		34.05%		5,403		3.77%		1,595		1.11%		38,687		27.01%		143,219
	Osceola		10,863		59.67%		6,603		36.27%		564		3.10%		175		0.96%		4,260		23.40%		18,205
	Palm Beach		143,639		56.79%		91,991		36.37%		15,193		6.01%		2,107		0.83%		51,648		20.42%		252,930
	Pasco		50,120		56.67%		34,054		38.50%		3,569		4.04%		699		0.79%		16,066		18.17%		88,442
	Pinellas		185,728		53.83%		138,428		40.12%		17,839		5.17%		3,008		0.87%		47,300		13.71%		345,003
	Polk		59,651		56.11%		43,327		40.75%		2,627		2.47%		710		0.67%		16,324		15.36%		106,315
	Putnam		8,273		46.67%		8,906		50.24%		414		2.34%		134		0.76%		-633		-3.57%		17,727
	St. Johns		11,234		59.67%		6,898		36.64%		554		2.94%		140		0.74%		4,336		23.03%		18,826
	St. Lucie		18,126		60.76%		10,347		34.69%		1,113		3.73%		244		0.82%		7,779		26.07%		29,830
	Santa Rosa		13,802		63.93%		6,964		32.26%		606		2.81%		218		1.01%		6,838		31.67%		21,590
	Sarasota		68,065		68.57%		25,621		25.81%		4,796		4.83%		783		0.79%		42,444		42.76%		99,265
	Seminole		39,989		66.16%		17,443		28.86%		2,459		4.07%		548		0.91%		22,546		37.30%		60,439
	Sumter		3,671		44.41%		4,380		52.98%		141		1.71%		75		0.91%		-709		-8.57%		8,267
	Suwannee		3,899		46.22%		4,345		51.51%		135		1.60%		57		0.68%		-446		-5.29%		8,436
	Taylor		2,776		47.31%		2,963		50.49%		78		1.33%		51		0.87%		-187		-3.18%		5,868
	Union		1,123		46.35%		1,237		51.05%		45		1.86%		18		0.74%		-114		-4.70%		2,423
	Volusia		52,663		51.69%		44,513		43.69%		3,310		3.25%		1,396		1.37%		8,150		8.00%		101,882
	Wakulla		2,021		47.26%		2,082		48.69%		112		2.62%		61		1.43%		-61		-1.43%		4,276
	Walton		4,694		50.28%		4,360		46.70%		199		2.13%		83		0.89%		334		3.58%		9,336
	Washington		3,251		49.92%		3,110		47.75%		93		1.43%		59		0.91%		141		2.17%		6,513
Totals	2,046,951	55.52%	1,419,475	38.50%	189,692	5.14%	30,908	0.84%	627,476	17.02%	3,687,026

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Bay
• Brevard
• Broward
• Citrus
• Dade
• Desoto
• Duval
• Flagler
• Hendry
• Hernando
• Hardee
• Hillsborough
• Holmes
• Marion
• Monroe
• Nassau
• Pasco
• Polk
• St. Johns
• St. Lucie
• Volusia
• Walton
• Washington

Works cited

• Book: Black . Earl . Earl Black (political scientist) . Black . Merle . Merle Black . The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected . . 1992 . 0674941306.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021. Voter Turnout. live. Florida Division of Elections. https://web.archive.org/web/20150602000936/http://dos.myflorida.com:80/elections/data-statistics/elections-data/voter-turnout/ . 2015-06-02 .
2. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1980 Presidential General Election Results - Florida
3. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
4. News: Nicole . Narea . It’s official: Florida is a red state . 15 March 2023 . Vox.com . 11 November 2022.
5. News: Borressen . Jennifer . DeSantis, Republicans win big: How Florida went from swing state to red state — in visuals . 15 March 2023 . www.usatoday.com . 26 November 2022 . en.
6. News: Friedersdorf . Conor . Is Florida Still a Swing State? . 15 March 2023 . The Atlantic . 9 November 2022 . en.
7. News: Kennedy . Brigid . Why Florida is no longer a swing state . 15 March 2023 . The Week . 14 November 2022 . en.
8. News: Will Florida now be red forever and ever? No, it’s still a swing state / Opinion . 15 March 2023 . 10 November 2022.
9. News: Greenwood . Max . Florida shifts from swing state to solid GOP . 15 March 2023 . The Hill . 9 November 2022.
10. News: Boot . Max . Opinion Florida is no longer a swing state. That’s good news for U.S. foreign policy. . 15 March 2023 . Washington Post . 28 November 2022.