1984 United States presidential election in Minnesota explained

See main article: 1984 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1984 United States presidential election in Minnesota
Country:	Minnesota
Flag Year:	1983
Flag Image:	File:Flag of Minnesota (1983-2024).svg
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1980 United States presidential election in Minnesota
Previous Year:	1980
Next Election:	1988 United States presidential election in Minnesota
Turnout:	70.94%^[1]
Next Year:	1988
Election Date:	November 6, 1984
Nominee2:	Ronald Reagan
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	California
Running Mate2:	George H. W. Bush
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	1,032,603
Percentage2:	49.54%
Image1:	Walter Mondale 1977 vice presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Walter Mondale
Party1:	Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Home State1:	Minnesota
Running Mate1:	Geraldine Ferraro
Electoral Vote1:	10
Popular Vote1:	1,036,364
Percentage1:	49.72%
Map Size:	350px
President
Before Election:	Ronald Reagan
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Ronald Reagan
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

The 1984 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 6, 1984, as part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Voters chose ten representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Minnesota voted for the Democratic Party candidate, former Vice President Walter Mondale. He narrowly won his home state over incumbent President Ronald Reagan by just 3,761 votes, giving him his only state victory in the election (Mondale also carried the District of Columbia), resulting in the state weighing in at around 18 percentage points more Democratic than the nation at large. Minnesota was the only state not to back Reagan in either of his two presidential campaigns. Although Mondale won only twenty of the state's 87 counties – making Reagan the only presidential nominee to win a majority of counties in every state – his large majorities in the heavily unionized Iron Range of the northeast overbalanced Reagan's majorities in the more Republican west of the state.

Since the Republican Reagan won all 49 other states in 1984, this established Minnesota's status as the state with the longest streak of voting Democratic., it still has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon carried it when he was re-elected in 1972. However, the District of Columbia has voted Democratic in all presidential elections since 1964, when it was first granted the right to vote in presidential elections. As of 2020, only five of the 20 counties Mondale won in 1984 were won by either Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020. Some examples of counties that have been lost to the Republican Party include those after 1996 (Anoka County), after 2008 (Aitkin County), or after 2012 (Itasca County). Minnesota regenerated as a left-leaning force in the 1990s, late 2000s and early 2010s, but has become a Democratic-leaning state in the 21st century, ironically with many former rural Mondale counties voting Republican in the 21st century. As Mondale won the state with a plurality, he became the only major party nominee to fail to get a majority of the vote in any state since William Howard Taft in 1912.

Despite Mondale carrying his home state, Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz was re-elected the same night. When Reagan was asked in December 1984 what he wanted for Christmas, he joked, "Well, Minnesota would have been nice".^[2] This marked the first time that a Republican won two terms without ever winning the state at least once and the second time since it's statehood after 1916.

Results

1984 United States presidential election in Minnesota^[3] ^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic (DFL)	Walter Mondale	1,036,364	49.72%	10
	Republican	Ronald Reagan (incumbent)	1,032,603	49.54%	0
	Independent Democrat	Lyndon LaRouche	3,865	0.19%	0
	Socialist Workers	Melvin Mason	3,180	0.15%	0
	Libertarian	David Bergland	2,996	0.14%	0
	America First	Bob Richards	2,377	0.11%	0
	Citizens	Sonia Johnson	1,219	0.06%	0
	Write-ins	Write-ins	723	0.03%	0
	Communist	Gus Hall	630	0.03%	0
	Workers League	Edward Winn	260	0.01%	0
	New Alliance	Dennis Serrette	232	0.01%	0
Invalid or blank votes					—
Totals			2,084,449	100.00%	10
Voter turnout			68%		—

Results by county

County	Walter Mondale DFL		Ronald Reagan Republican		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%
	Aitkin		3,943		53.17%		3,422		46.14%		51		0.69%		521		7.03%		7,416
	Anoka		50,305		51.63%		46,578		47.80%		557		0.57%		3,727		3.83%		97,440
	Becker		5,456		41.65%		7,553		57.65%		92		0.70%		-2,097		-16.00%		13,101
	Beltrami		7,481		49.88%		7,414		49.43%		103		0.69%		67		0.45%		14,998
	Benton		4,922		41.42%		6,830		57.48%		131		1.10%		-1,908		-16.06%		11,883
	Big Stone		1,994		51.83%		1,821		47.34%		32		0.83%		173		4.49%		3,847
	Blue Earth		11,877		45.08%		14,298		54.27%		172		0.65%		-2,421		-9.19%		26,347
	Brown		4,469		34.44%		8,399		64.72%		109		0.84%		-3,930		-30.28%		12,977
	Carlton		9,189		64.70%		4,877		34.34%		137		0.96%		4,312		30.36%		14,203
	Carver		6,725		35.75%		11,963		63.60%		121		0.64%		-5,238		-27.85%		18,809
	Cass		4,773		41.61%		6,619		57.71%		78		0.68%		-1,846		-16.10%		11,470
	Chippewa		3,047		43.01%		3,964		55.95%		74		1.04%		-917		-12.94%		7,085
	Chisago		6,683		51.21%		6,279		48.12%		87		0.67%		404		3.09%		13,049
	Clay		10,294		46.84%		11,565		52.62%		119		0.54%		-1,271		-5.78%		21,978
	Clearwater		1,917		47.63%		2,066		51.33%		42		1.04%		-149		-3.70%		4,025
	Cook		1,129		47.82%		1,219		51.63%		13		0.55%		-90		-3.81%		2,361
	Cottonwood		3,073		41.61%		4,275		57.89%		37		0.50%		-1,202		-16.28%		7,385
	Crow Wing		8,719		43.10%		11,362		56.16%		151		0.75%		-2,643		-13.06%		20,232
	Dakota		49,125		46.83%		55,119		52.54%		667		0.64%		-5,994		-5.71%		104,911
	Dodge		2,786		38.36%		4,428		60.97%		48		0.66%		-1,642		-22.61%		7,262
	Douglas		5,444		37.43%		9,005		61.92%		94		0.65%		-3,561		-24.49%		14,543
	Faribault		3,993		41.01%		5,690		58.44%		53		0.54%		-1,697		-17.43%		9,736
	Fillmore		4,351		40.44%		6,342		58.94%		67		0.62%		-1,991		-18.50%		10,760
	Freeborn		9,338		52.26%		8,413		47.09%		116		0.65%		925		5.17%		17,867
	Goodhue		8,679		43.44%		11,171		55.92%		128		0.64%		-2,492		-12.48%		19,978
	Grant		1,867		46.73%		2,111		52.84%		17		0.43%		-244		-6.11%		3,995
	Hennepin		272,401		51.47%		253,921		47.98%		2,912		0.55%		18,480		3.49%		529,234
	Houston		3,512		37.99%		5,645		61.06%		88		0.95%		-2,133		-23.07%		9,245
	Hubbard		2,806		37.50%		4,621		61.76%		55		0.74%		-1,815		-24.26%		7,482
	Isanti		5,378		48.38%		5,660		50.91%		79		0.71%		-282		-2.53%		11,117
	Itasca		11,455		54.68%		9,306		44.42%		187		0.89%		2,149		10.26%		20,948
	Jackson		3,437		51.89%		3,131		47.27%		55		0.83%		306		4.62%		6,623
	Kanabec		2,660		46.47%		3,027		52.88%		37		0.65%		-367		-6.41%		5,724
	Kandiyohi		8,402		46.41%		9,539		52.69%		163		0.90%		-1,137		-6.28%		18,104
	Kittson		1,610		48.07%		1,716		51.24%		23		0.69%		-106		-3.17%		3,349
	Koochiching		4,238		54.74%		3,466		44.77%		38		0.49%		772		9.97%		7,742
	Lac qui Parle		2,685		48.84%		2,731		49.68%		81		1.47%		-46		-0.84%		5,497
	Lake		4,468		68.43%		2,003		30.68%		58		0.89%		2,465		37.75%		6,529
	Lake of the Woods		824		42.47%		1,094		56.39%		22		1.13%		-270		-13.92%		1,940
	Le Sueur		5,070		45.47%		6,033		54.10%		48		0.43%		-963		-8.63%		11,151
	Lincoln		1,827		48.04%		1,905		50.09%		71		1.87%		-78		-2.05%		3,803
	Lyon		5,389		42.57%		7,170		56.64%		100		0.79%		-1,781		-14.07%		12,659
	Mahnomen		1,241		47.79%		1,328		51.14%		28		1.08%		-87		-3.35%		2,597
	Marshall		2,705		43.58%		3,433		55.31%		69		1.11%		-728		-11.73%		6,207
	Martin		4,673		38.80%		7,308		60.67%		64		0.53%		-2,635		-21.87%		12,045
	McLeod		4,864		35.43%		8,728		63.58%		135		0.98%		-3,864		-28.15%		13,727
	Meeker		4,156		42.76%		5,511		56.70%		53		0.55%		-1,355		-13.94%		9,720
	Mille Lacs		4,011		47.92%		4,307		51.45%		53		0.63%		-296		-3.53%		8,371
	Morrison		6,225		44.85%		7,556		54.44%		99		0.71%		-1,331		-9.59%		13,880
	Mower		12,498		60.53%		8,054		39.01%		95		0.46%		4,444		21.52%		20,647
	Murray		2,741		49.17%		2,780		49.87%		54		0.97%		-39		-0.70%		5,575
	Nicollet		5,789		43.37%		7,472		55.97%		88		0.66%		-1,683		-12.60%		13,349
	Nobles		4,619		48.09%		4,876		50.77%		110		1.15%		-257		-2.68%		9,605
	Norman		2,202		50.31%		2,152		49.17%		23		0.53%		50		1.14%		4,377
	Olmsted		16,335		36.44%		28,129		62.76%		359		0.80%		-11,794		-26.32%		44,823
	Otter Tail		9,714		38.02%		15,664		61.30%		173		0.68%		-5,950		-23.28%		25,551
	Pennington		2,913		44.89%		3,536		54.49%		40		0.62%		-623		-9.60%		6,489
	Pine		5,223		53.41%		4,493		45.95%		63		0.64%		730		7.46%		9,779
	Pipestone		2,391		43.46%		3,043		55.32%		67		1.22%		-652		-11.86%		5,501
	Polk		7,033		44.56%		8,617		54.60%		132		0.84%		-1,584		-10.04%		15,782
	Pope		2,757		47.03%		3,064		52.27%		41		0.70%		-307		-5.24%		5,862
	Ramsey		141,623		59.15%		95,667		39.95%		2,153		0.90%		45,956		19.20%		239,443
	Red Lake		1,294		51.91%		1,184		47.49%		15		0.60%		110		4.42%		2,493
	Redwood		2,957		32.64%		6,020		66.45%		82		0.91%		-3,063		-33.81%		9,059
	Renville		3,972		41.25%		5,571		57.86%		86		0.89%		-1,599		-16.61%		9,629
	Rice		10,880		50.55%		10,456		48.58%		189		0.88%		424		1.97%		21,525
	Rock		2,188		42.11%		2,971		57.18%		37		0.71%		-783		-15.07%		5,196
	Roseau		2,319		39.91%		3,445		59.28%		47		0.81%		-1,126		-19.37%		5,811
	St. Louis		77,683		68.83%		34,162		30.27%		1,013		0.90%		43,521		38.56%		112,858
	Scott		9,452		42.71%		12,573		56.81%		108		0.49%		-3,121		-14.10%		22,133
	Sherburne		6,140		43.98%		7,738		55.43%		82		0.59%		-1,598		-11.45%		13,960
	Sibley		2,761		36.97%		4,638		62.10%		69		0.92%		-1,877		-25.13%		7,468
	Stearns		20,944		40.55%		30,216		58.51%		485		0.94%		-9,272		-17.96%		51,645
	Steele		5,060		36.38%		8,780		63.12%		70		0.50%		-3,720		-26.74%		13,910
	Stevens		2,451		42.66%		3,251		56.58%		44		0.77%		-800		-13.92%		5,746
	Swift		3,531		54.42%		2,893		44.59%		64		0.99%		638		9.83%		6,488
	Todd		4,657		41.19%		6,585		58.25%		63		0.56%		-1,928		-17.06%		11,305
	Traverse		1,325		48.30%		1,399		51.00%		19		0.69%		-74		-2.70%		2,743
	Wabasha		3,872		41.87%		5,299		57.31%		76		0.82%		-1,427		-15.44%		9,247
	Wadena		2,454		36.13%		4,306		63.40%		32		0.47%		-1,852		-27.27%		6,792
	Waseca		3,527		38.80%		5,509		60.60%		55		0.60%		-1,982		-21.80%		9,091
	Washington		28,527		49.23%		29,046		50.13%		369		0.64%		-519		-0.90%		57,942
	Watonwan		2,425		40.57%		3,526		58.98%		27		0.45%		-1,101		-18.41%		5,978
	Wilkin		1,410		37.14%		2,367		62.36%		19		0.50%		-957		-25.22%		3,796
	Winona		9,577		43.99%		11,981		55.03%		212		0.97%		-2,404		-11.04%		21,770
	Wright		12,486		44.45%		15,399		54.82%		205		0.73%		-2,913		-10.37%		28,090
	Yellow Medicine		3,018		43.64%		3,819		55.22%		79		1.14%		-801		-11.58%		6,916
Totals	1,036,364	49.72%	1,032,603	49.54%	15,482	0.74%	3,761	0.18%	2,084,449

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Big Stone
• Freeborn
• Jackson

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Clearwater
• Dakota
• Isanti
• Kanabec
• Mille Lacs
• Morrison
• Scott
• Sherburne
• Washington
• Wright

See also

• 1984 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia, the only other place that voted Democratic in the 1984 presidential election.
• 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts, the only state to vote Democratic in 1972, like Minnesota was in 1984.
• United States presidential elections in Minnesota

Notes and References

1. Web site: Office of the State Of Minnesota Secretary of State. www.sos.state.mn.us. en. July 22, 2017.
2. News: Minnesota heads Reagan's wish list . The Tuscaloosa News . December 4, 1984 . Associated Press . July 18, 2012 . Tuscaloosa, Alabama . 27.
3. Web site: 1984 Presidential Election Results – Minnesota . January 28, 2009 . Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas.
4. [Minnesota Secretary of State]