1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election
Country:Arkansas
Flag Year:1924
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1978 Arkansas gubernatorial election
Previous Year:1978
Next Election:1982 Arkansas gubernatorial election
Next Year:1982
Election Date:November 4, 1980
Image1:File:Frank D. White 1995 (3x4a).jpg
Nominee1:Frank D. White
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:435,684
Percentage1:51.93%
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:403,241
Percentage2:48.07%
Map Size:210px
Governor
Before Election:Bill Clinton
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Frank D. White
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election was a biennial election for the governorship of Arkansas. One-term Democratic Governor and future President Bill Clinton was narrowly defeated by Republican Frank D. White. It was only the third time since Reconstruction that a Republican candidate had won the state's governorship.

Clinton ran again two years later and regained the governorship, continuing to serve until he was elected to the presidency in 1992.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Campaign

Schwarzlose's unexpected strong challenge in primaries and his 31 percent of the primary vote foreshadowed that Clinton could be in trouble for the upcoming general election.

Clinton's increase in the cost of automobile registration tags had been unpopular. He was also hurt by President Jimmy Carter's decision to send thousands of Cuban refugees, some unruly, to a detention camp at Fort Chaffee, outside Fort Smith in Sebastian County in western Arkansas.[2] (See Mariel boatlift.)

The 1980 general election was marked by decisive Republican victories—the GOP won the White House, a majority in United States Senate and 34 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Clinton's narrow loss was viewed as part of Reagan's coattails.

Result

Frank White narrowly won the election.

Effect

After Clinton lost the election in 1980, Max Brantley said: "The guy was like a death in the family. He was really destroyed after that election".[3] Rudy Moore also added: "He never blamed anybody else. He accepted the responsibility. He didn't whine about it. In fact, it was within days, we were trying to figure out what we could to do to improve his political life after that".[3]

After Clinton was defeated, he was offered the chance to lead the Democratic National Committee, instead of seeking reelection as Governor of Arkansas. When he campaigned for election in 1982 against White, he said that he had learned the importance of adaptability and compromise from his defeat two years beforehand.[4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Monroe Schwarzlose (1902–1990) . Encyclopedia of Arkansas . 19 April 2024.
  2. Encyclopedia: Bill Clinton (1946–) . Encyclopedia of Arkansas . 2016-02-24.
  3. Takiff, Michael. A Complicated Man : The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him. New Haven, US: Yale University Press, 2010. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 19 April 2017.
  4. Clinton House Museum. CHM, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.