U.S. presidential election, 1984

The U.S. presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan and the former Vice President Walter Mondale. Reagan was very popular, as his first term had seen the start of a strong economic boom and a resurgence of American military strength. Mondale was unable to deflect these positives or Reagan's personal charisma, and lost in every state in the union except for his home state of Minnesota.

General election

Campaign

At a campaign stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan said "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs of a man so many young Americans admire, New Jersey's Bruce Springsteen." The Reagan campaign also adopted Springsteen's "Born in the USA" as its theme, until Springsteen demanded it to stop. Springsteen officially endorsed Mondale.

Related Topics:
Hammonton, New Jersey - Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA

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By this point, Reagan was the oldest president to have ever served, and there were many questions about his capacity to endure the grueling demands of the presidency. In the second debate against Mondale on October 21, 1984, Reagan effectively neutralized the issue with the following quip: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."

Related Topics:
October 21 - 1984

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Reagan was re-elected in a landslide, winning every state except Mondale's home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia, creating a record 525 electoral vote total (of 538 possible), and received nearly 59 percent of the popular vote. Political commentators used the term Reagan Democrat to describe the defection of many Democrats to voting for Reagan in the election.

Related Topics:
District of Columbia - Reagan Democrat

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Results

Source (Popular Vote): {{Leip PV source 2| year=1984| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 7 - 2005

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Source (Electoral Vote): {{National Archives EV source| year=1984| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 7 - 2005

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