1980 United States presidential election in Georgia explained

See main article: 1980 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1980 United States presidential election in Georgia
Country:	Georgia (U.S. state)
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Flag Year:	1956
Previous Election:	1976 United States presidential election in Georgia
Previous Year:	1976
Next Election:	1984 United States presidential election in Georgia
Next Year:	1984
Election Date:	November 4, 1980
Image1:	Carter cropped.jpg
Nominee1:	Jimmy Carter
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:	Georgia
Running Mate1:	Walter Mondale
Electoral Vote1:	12
Popular Vote1:	893,733
Percentage1:	55.76%
Nominee2:	Ronald Reagan
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	California
Running Mate2:	George H. W. Bush
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	655,168
Percentage2:	40.95%
Map Size:	290px
President
Before Election:	Jimmy Carter
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Ronald Reagan
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 1980 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 4, 1980, in Georgia as part of the 1980 United States presidential election. The Democratic Party candidate, incumbent President Jimmy Carter, won his home state of Georgia over former California Governor Ronald Reagan by 238,565 votes, one of just seven victories in the election (other than Georgia, Carter also carried Maryland, Minnesota, Hawaii, West Virginia, the District of Columbia and Rhode Island).

, this is the last time Georgia voted more Democratic than the nation as a whole. It is also the last time in which the counties of McDuffie, Towns, Gilmer, Whitfield, Union, Rabun, Stephens, Jackson, Banks, Murray, Habersham, Madison, Hall, White, Dawson, Gordon, Paulding, Spalding, Troup, Forsyth, Upson, Coweta, Effingham, Glascock, Bulloch, Houston, Bartow, Oconee, Glynn, Cherokee, Toombs, Thomas, Floyd, Colquitt, Camden, Echols, Charlton, Pierce, Coffee, Bryan, Walton, Ware, Oglethorpe, Evans, Tattnall, Tift, Pike, Harris, Carroll, Appling, Barrow, and Wayne voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.^[1] Henry County would not do so again until 2016.

Georgia was the only state in the Deep South between the 1980 and 1988 presidential elections to support the Democratic nominee. 50% of white voters supported Carter while 47% supported Reagan.

Primaries

1980 Democratic Primary!Candidate!Votes!Delegates

Jimmy Carter (incumbent)	338,772	66
Ted Kennedy	32,315	0
Jerry Brown	7,255	0
Others	6,438	0
Totals	384,780	66

1980 Republican Primary!Candidate!Votes!Deleagtes

Ronald Reagan	146,500	34
George H.W. Bush	25,293	6
John Anderson	16,853	0
Howard Baker	1,571	0
Others	9,953	0
Totals	200,170	40

Results

1980 United States presidential election in Georgia^[2]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Jimmy Carter (incumbent)	Walter Mondale (incumbent)	890,733	55.76%	12
	Republican	Ronald Reagan	George H. W. Bush	654,168	40.95%	0
	Independent	John B. Anderson	Patrick Lucey	36,055	2.26%	0
	Libertarian	Ed Clark	David Koch	15,627	0.99%	0
	Other write-ins			884	0.1%	0

Results by county

County^[3]	Jimmy Carter Democratic		Ronald Reagan Republican		John B. Anderson Independent		Ed Clark Libertarian		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Appling		2,985		59.62%		1,961		39.17%		41		0.82%		20		0.40%		1,024		20.45%		5,007
	Atkinson		1,449		65.21%		747		33.62%		16		0.72%		10		0.45%		702		31.59%		2,222
	Bacon		1,622		52.22%		1,427		45.94%		32		1.03%		25		0.80%		195		6.28%		3,106
	Baker		1,035		66.18%		510		32.61%		11		0.70%		8		0.51%		525		33.57%		1,564
	Baldwin		4,368		52.46%		3,639		43.71%		230		2.76%		89		1.07%		729		8.75%		8,326
	Banks		2,091		72.91%		746		26.01%		18		0.63%		13		0.45%		1,345		46.90%		2,868
	Barrow		3,876		61.44%		2,284		36.20%		99		1.57%		50		0.79%		1,592		25.24%		6,309
	Bartow		7,490		69.01%		3,135		28.89%		135		1.24%		93		0.86%		4,355		40.12%		10,853
	Ben Hill		2,544		62.55%		1,459		35.87%		41		1.01%		23		0.57%		1,085		26.68%		4,067
	Berrien		2,869		65.15%		1,487		33.76%		24		0.54%		24		0.54%		1,382		31.39%		4,404
	Bibb		31,770		66.01%		15,175		31.53%		848		1.76%		337		0.70%		16,595		34.48%		48,130
	Bleckley		2,014		58.55%		1,261		36.66%		47		1.37%		118		3.43%		753		21.89%		3,440
	Brantley		2,066		69.40%		882		29.63%		17		0.57%		12		0.40%		1,184		39.77%		2,977
	Brooks		2,230		58.27%		1,546		40.40%		39		1.02%		12		0.31%		684		17.87%		3,827
	Bryan		1,966		60.77%		1,212		37.47%		51		1.58%		6		0.19%		754		23.30%		3,235
	Bulloch		4,921		55.16%		3,750		42.04%		160		1.79%		90		1.01%		1,171		13.12%		8,921
	Burke		3,047		61.05%		1,871		37.49%		56		1.12%		17		0.34%		1,176		23.56%		4,991
	Butts		2,574		66.94%		1,210		31.47%		38		0.99%		23		0.60%		1,364		35.47%		3,845
	Calhoun		1,414		67.75%		652		31.24%		16		0.77%		5		0.24%		762		36.51%		2,087
	Camden		2,924		65.81%		1,439		32.39%		62		1.40%		18		0.41%		1,485		33.42%		4,443
	Candler		1,358		56.09%		1,030		42.54%		24		0.99%		9		0.37%		328		13.55%		2,421
	Carroll		8,202		56.66%		5,815		40.17%		294		2.03%		164		1.13%		2,387		16.49%		14,475
	Catoosa		4,921		44.50%		5,962		53.91%		121		1.09%		55		0.50%		-1,041		-9.41%		11,059
	Charlton		1,469		64.26%		779		34.08%		26		1.14%		12		0.52%		690		30.18%		2,286
	Chatham		28,413		50.04%		26,499		46.67%		1,244		2.19%		625		1.10%		1,914		3.37%		56,781
	Chattahoochee		476		63.30%		256		34.04%		16		2.13%		4		0.53%		220		29.26%		752
	Chattooga		4,279		67.60%		1,946		30.74%		61		0.96%		44		0.70%		2,333		36.86%		6,330
	Cherokee		6,020		51.55%		5,250		44.96%		230		1.97%		178		1.52%		770		6.59%		11,678
	Clarke		10,519		52.86%		8,094		40.68%		1,060		5.33%		226		1.14%		2,425		12.18%		19,899
	Clay		909		73.25%		316		25.46%		9		0.73%		7		0.56%		593		47.79%		1,241
	Clayton		17,540		46.10%		19,160		50.35%		923		2.43%		428		1.12%		-1,620		-4.25%		38,051
	Clinch		1,325		71.08%		513		27.52%		18		0.97%		8		0.43%		812		43.56%		1,864
	Cobb		39,157		40.87%		51,977		54.25%		3,229		3.37%		1,453		1.52%		-12,820		-13.38%		95,816
	Coffee		4,038		60.99%		2,499		37.74%		58		0.88%		26		0.39%		1,539		23.25%		6,621
	Colquitt		5,353		59.03%		3,593		39.62%		80		0.88%		43		0.47%		1,760		19.41%		9,069
	Columbia		5,335		44.69%		6,293		52.71%		248		2.08%		62		0.52%		-958		-8.02%		11,938
	Cook		2,461		66.80%		1,188		32.25%		25		0.68%		10		0.27%		1,273		34.55%		3,684
	Coweta		5,697		54.66%		4,480		42.99%		161		1.54%		84		0.81%		1,217		11.67%		10,422
	Crawford		1,673		70.44%		642		27.03%		35		1.47%		25		1.05%		1,031		43.41%		2,375
	Crisp		3,403		63.64%		1,861		34.80%		54		1.01%		29		0.54%		1,542		28.84%		5,347
	Dade		1,735		44.16%		2,114		53.81%		62		1.58%		18		0.46%		-379		-9.65%		3,929
	Dawson		1,072		58.36%		729		39.68%		23		1.25%		13		0.71%		343		18.68%		1,837
	Decatur		3,242		51.93%		2,919		46.76%		54		0.86%		28		0.45%		323		5.17%		6,243
	DeKalb		82,743		49.43%		74,904		44.74%		7,241		4.33%		2,517		1.50%		7,839		4.69%		167,405
	Dodge		4,635		71.83%		1,719		26.64%		56		0.87%		43		0.67%		2,916		45.19%		6,453
	Dooly		2,364		67.50%		1,083		30.93%		31		0.89%		24		0.69%		1,281		36.57%		3,502
	Dougherty		13,430		50.46%		12,726		47.82%		326		1.22%		133		0.50%		704		2.64%		26,615
	Douglas		6,807		47.81%		6,945		48.78%		304		2.14%		182		1.28%		-138		-0.97%		14,238
	Early		2,110		57.31%		1,538		41.77%		23		0.62%		11		0.30%		572		15.54%		3,682
	Echols		515		65.77%		259		33.08%		8		1.02%		1		0.13%		256		32.69%		783
	Effingham		2,783		51.76%		2,528		47.02%		38		0.71%		28		0.52%		255		4.74%		5,377
	Elbert		4,014		66.23%		1,967		32.45%		50		0.82%		30		0.49%		2,047		33.78%		6,061
	Emanuel		3,971		63.53%		2,199		35.18%		45		0.72%		36		0.58%		1,772		28.35%		6,251
	Evans		1,456		56.54%		1,090		42.33%		20		0.78%		9		0.35%		366		14.21%		2,575
	Fannin		2,526		43.34%		3,196		54.83%		61		1.05%		46		0.79%		-670		-11.49%		5,829
	Fayette		3,798		36.00%		6,351		60.20%		272		2.58%		128		1.21%		-2,553		-24.20%		10,549
	Floyd		13,710		58.10%		9,220		39.07%		398		1.69%		268		1.14%		4,490		19.03%		23,596
	Forsyth		4,325		55.91%		3,157		40.81%		160		2.07%		94		1.22%		1,168		15.10%		7,736
	Franklin		3,528		71.13%		1,387		27.96%		30		0.60%		15		0.30%		2,141		43.17%		4,960
	Fulton		118,748		61.62%		64,909		33.68%		6,738		3.50%		2,328		1.21%		53,839		27.94%		192,723
	Gilmer		2,246		49.50%		2,170		47.83%		72		1.59%		49		1.08%		76		1.67%		4,537
	Glascock		614		53.95%		510		44.82%		7		0.62%		7		0.62%		104		9.13%		1,138
	Glynn		7,540		49.69%		7,214		47.54%		296		1.95%		123		0.81%		326		2.15%		15,173
	Gordon		5,199		60.86%		3,107		36.37%		141		1.65%		95		1.11%		2,092		24.49%		8,542
	Grady		3,023		59.08%		2,018		39.44%		56		1.09%		20		0.39%		1,005		19.64%		5,117
	Greene		2,571		71.96%		961		26.90%		29		0.81%		12		0.34%		1,610		45.06%		3,573
	Gwinnett		21,958		42.68%		27,185		52.84%		1,497		2.91%		812		1.58%		-5,227		-10.16%		51,452
	Habersham		4,394		64.80%		2,224		32.80%		100		1.47%		63		0.93%		2,170		32.00%		6,781
	Hall		12,124		59.08%		7,760		37.81%		463		2.26%		174		0.85%		4,364		21.27%		20,521
	Hancock		2,205		78.50%		573		20.40%		23		0.82%		8		0.28%		1,632		58.10%		2,809
	Haralson		3,606		60.50%		2,229		37.40%		71		1.19%		54		0.91%		1,377		23.10%		5,960
	Harris		2,807		56.80%		2,001		40.49%		100		2.02%		34		0.69%		806		16.31%		4,942
	Hart		4,539		73.03%		1,577		25.37%		59		0.95%		40		0.64%		2,962		47.66%		6,215
	Heard		1,348		59.05%		875		38.33%		35		1.53%		25		1.10%		473		20.72%		2,283
	Henry		5,635		50.01%		5,326		47.27%		163		1.45%		144		1.28%		309		2.74%		11,268
	Houston		10,915		52.74%		9,005		43.51%		536		2.59%		239		1.15%		1,910		9.23%		20,695
	Irwin		1,555		59.08%		1,056		40.12%		11		0.42%		10		0.38%		499		18.96%		2,632
	Jackson		4,591		66.07%		2,209		31.79%		107		1.54%		42		0.60%		2,382		34.28%		6,949
	Jasper		1,546		62.24%		879		35.39%		38		1.53%		21		0.85%		667		26.85%		2,484
	Jeff Davis		2,059		62.19%		1,191		35.97%		40		1.21%		21		0.63%		868		26.22%		3,311
	Jefferson		3,305		66.39%		1,605		32.24%		44		0.88%		24		0.48%		1,700		34.15%		4,978
	Jenkins		1,632		65.46%		824		33.05%		24		0.96%		13		0.52%		808		32.41%		2,493
	Johnson		1,854		61.21%		1,123		37.07%		29		0.96%		23		0.76%		731		24.14%		3,029
	Jones		3,239		62.05%		1,828		35.02%		112		2.15%		41		0.79%		1,411		27.03%		5,220
	Lamar		2,453		64.08%		1,298		33.91%		42		1.10%		35		0.91%		1,155		30.17%		3,828
	Lanier		1,116		69.58%		470		29.30%		9		0.56%		9		0.56%		646		40.28%		1,604
	Laurens		7,860		62.76%		4,392		35.07%		147		1.17%		124		0.99%		3,468		27.69%		12,523
	Lee		1,670		45.62%		1,942		53.05%		26		0.71%		23		0.63%		-272		-7.43%		3,661
	Liberty		3,099		66.18%		1,507		32.18%		49		1.05%		28		0.60%		1,592		34.00%		4,683
	Lincoln		1,617		66.27%		806		33.03%		10		0.41%		7		0.29%		811		33.24%		2,440
	Long		1,202		68.96%		514		29.49%		23		1.32%		4		0.23%		688		39.47%		1,743
	Lowndes		5,989		46.38%		6,622		51.29%		214		1.66%		87		0.67%		-633		-4.91%		12,912
	Lumpkin		1,951		63.24%		1,024		33.19%		83		2.69%		27		0.88%		927		30.05%		3,085
	McDuffie		2,667		56.95%		1,928		41.17%		59		1.26%		29		0.62%		739		15.78%		4,683
	McIntosh		2,104		69.01%		876		28.73%		38		1.25%		31		1.02%		1,228		40.28%		3,049
	Macon		3,025		76.02%		894		22.47%		39		0.98%		21		0.53%		2,131		53.55%		3,979
	Madison		2,980		55.17%		2,330		43.14%		59		1.09%		32		0.59%		650		12.03%		5,401
	Marion		1,174		66.22%		567		31.98%		16		0.90%		16		0.90%		607		34.24%		1,773
	Meriwether		3,876		66.77%		1,838		31.66%		59		1.02%		32		0.55%		2,038		35.11%		5,805
	Miller		1,127		54.90%		900		43.84%		19		0.93%		7		0.34%		227		11.06%		2,053
	Mitchell		3,566		60.89%		2,231		38.10%		40		0.68%		19		0.32%		1,335		22.79%		5,856
	Monroe		2,542		65.85%		1,242		32.18%		43		1.11%		33		0.85%		1,300		33.67%		3,860
	Montgomery		1,663		62.99%		948		35.91%		23		0.87%		6		0.23%		715		27.08%		2,640
	Morgan		2,276		62.00%		1,323		36.04%		57		1.55%		15		0.41%		953		25.96%		3,671
	Murray		3,094		65.82%		1,538		32.72%		42		0.89%		27		0.57%		1,556		33.10%		4,701
	Muscogee		23,272		58.82%		15,203		38.42%		811		2.05%		280		0.71%		8,069		20.40%		39,566
	Newton		5,611		61.96%		3,206		35.40%		150		1.66%		89		0.98%		2,405		26.56%		9,056
	Oconee		2,141		49.03%		2,065		47.29%		106		2.43%		55		1.26%		76		1.74%		4,367
	Oglethorpe		1,611		56.41%		1,187		41.56%		44		1.54%		14		0.49%		424		14.85%		2,856
	Paulding		4,686		60.72%		2,845		36.87%		97		1.26%		89		1.15%		1,841		23.85%		7,717
	Peach		3,415		66.05%		1,642		31.76%		68		1.32%		45		0.87%		1,773		34.29%		5,170
	Pickens		2,358		57.84%		1,612		39.54%		73		1.79%		34		0.83%		746		18.30%		4,077
	Pierce		1,918		64.25%		1,027		34.41%		21		0.70%		19		0.64%		891		29.84%		2,985
	Pike		1,755		56.72%		1,271		41.08%		45		1.45%		23		0.74%		484		15.64%		3,094
	Polk		5,421		63.31%		2,949		34.44%		116		1.35%		76		0.89%		2,472		28.87%		8,562
	Pulaski		1,997		61.79%		1,153		35.67%		54		1.67%		28		0.87%		844		26.12%		3,232
	Putnam		1,951		61.41%		1,166		36.70%		35		1.10%		25		0.79%		785		24.71%		3,177
	Quitman		589		70.37%		240		28.67%		2		0.24%		6		0.72%		349		41.70%		837
	Rabun		2,327		66.58%		1,070		30.62%		67		1.92%		31		0.89%		1,257		35.96%		3,495
	Randolph		1,861		67.85%		879		32.05%		1		0.04%		2		0.07%		982		35.80%		2,743
	Richmond		24,104		53.72%		19,619		43.72%		887		1.98%		261		0.58%		4,485		10.00%		44,871
	Rockdale		4,395		43.66%		5,300		52.65%		219		2.18%		153		1.52%		-905		-8.99%		10,067
	Schley		613		56.50%		453		41.75%		9		0.83%		10		0.92%		160		14.75%		1,085
	Screven		2,117		57.78%		1,490		40.67%		36		0.98%		21		0.57%		627		17.11%		3,664
	Seminole		1,794		61.10%		1,117		38.04%		16		0.54%		9		0.31%		677		23.06%		2,936
	Spalding		7,176		58.19%		4,809		39.00%		248		2.01%		98		0.79%		2,367		19.19%		12,331
	Stephens		4,529		67.68%		2,045		30.56%		69		1.03%		49		0.73%		2,484		37.12%		6,692
	Stewart		1,440		69.00%		611		29.28%		23		1.10%		13		0.62%		829		39.72%		2,087
	Sumter		4,956		61.49%		2,957		36.69%		103		1.28%		44		0.55%		1,999		24.80%		8,060
	Talbot		1,635		72.89%		572		25.50%		20		0.89%		16		0.71%		1,063		47.39%		2,243
	Taliaferro		670		70.23%		270		28.30%		8		0.84%		6		0.63%		400		41.93%		954
	Tattnall		2,864		57.26%		2,082		41.62%		37		0.74%		19		0.38%		782		15.64%		5,002
	Taylor		1,845		68.38%		815		30.21%		19		0.70%		19		0.70%		1,030		38.17%		2,698
	Telfair		2,700		68.51%		1,173		29.76%		41		1.04%		27		0.69%		1,527		38.75%		3,941
	Terrell		2,010		58.77%		1,378		40.29%		21		0.61%		11		0.32%		632		18.48%		3,420
	Thomas		5,695		56.05%		4,294		42.26%		117		1.15%		55		0.54%		1,401		13.79%		10,161
	Tift		4,572		56.99%		3,280		40.89%		99		1.23%		71		0.89%		1,292		16.10%		8,022
	Toombs		3,255		52.53%		2,835		45.75%		68		1.10%		39		0.63%		420		6.78%		6,197
	Towns		1,510		49.27%		1,475		48.12%		57		1.86%		23		0.75%		35		1.15%		3,065
	Treutlen		1,307		65.22%		668		33.33%		21		1.05%		8		0.40%		639		31.89%		2,004
	Troup		7,716		57.46%		5,398		40.20%		191		1.42%		124		0.92%		2,318		17.26%		13,429
	Turner		1,990		68.13%		898		30.74%		16		0.55%		17		0.58%		1,092		37.39%		2,921
	Twiggs		2,213		74.26%		747		25.07%		8		0.27%		12		0.40%		1,466		49.19%		2,980
	Union		1,700		51.34%		1,546		46.69%		43		1.30%		22		0.66%		154		4.65%		3,311
	Upson		4,713		61.73%		2,788		36.52%		77		1.01%		57		0.75%		1,925		25.21%		7,635
	Walker		6,809		48.18%		7,088		50.16%		171		1.21%		64		0.45%		-279		-1.98%		14,132
	Walton		4,525		61.96%		2,618		35.85%		112		1.53%		48		0.66%		1,907		26.11%		7,303
	Ware		6,307		62.22%		3,715		36.65%		77		0.76%		38		0.37%		2,592		25.57%		10,137
	Warren		1,517		65.36%		779		33.56%		20		0.86%		5		0.22%		738		31.80%		2,321
	Washington		3,452		64.35%		1,822		33.97%		60		1.12%		30		0.56%		1,630		30.38%		5,364
	Wayne		3,843		62.42%		2,213		35.94%		52		0.84%		49		0.80%		1,630		26.48%		6,157
	Webster		608		64.68%		312		33.19%		8		0.85%		12		1.28%		296		31.49%		940
	Wheeler		1,599		73.15%		550		25.16%		28		1.28%		9		0.41%		1,049		47.99%		2,186
	White		2,017		61.36%		1,175		35.75%		58		1.76%		37		1.13%		842		25.61%		3,287
	Whitfield		9,691		58.95%		6,404		38.96%		229		1.39%		115		0.70%		3,287		19.99%		16,439
	Wilcox		1,780		67.68%		827		31.44%		13		0.49%		10		0.38%		953		36.24%		2,630
	Wilkes		2,350		64.86%		1,212		33.45%		31		0.86%		30		0.83%		1,138		31.41%		3,623
	Wilkinson		2,365		66.96%		1,116		31.60%		31		0.88%		20		0.57%		1,249		35.36%		3,532
	Worth		2,567		54.68%		2,076		44.22%		35		0.75%		17		0.36%		491		10.46%		4,695
Totals	890,733	55.76%	654,168	40.95%	36,055	2.26%	15,627	0.98%	236,565	14.81%	1,597,467

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Catoosa
• Clayton
• Cobb
• Columbia
• Dade
• Douglas
• Fannin
• Fayette
• Gwinnett
• Lee
• Lowndes
• Rockdale
• Walker

Works cited

• Book: Black . Earl . Earl Black (political scientist) . Black . Merle . Merle Black . The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected . . 1992 . 0674941306.
• Book: Moreland . Laurence . Steed . Robert . Baker . Tod . The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics . . 1991 . 0275931455.

Notes and References

1. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
2. Web site: 1980 Presidential General Election Results – Georgia . 2015-05-21 . Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas.
3. Book: Poythress, David B. . Official State of Georgia tabulation by counties for Presidential electors: U.S. Senator, U.S. representatives, state officers and constitutional amendments, General Election November 4, 1980 . Georgia Secretary of State . 1980 . August 12, 2024 . Digital Library of Georgia.