# 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries

From January 21 to June 28, 1980, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Retired Hollywood actor and two-term California governor Ronald Reagan was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the Republican National Convention held from July 14 to 17, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan. This was the last Republican primary which featured the nominee choosing a fellow candidate as his running mate.

## Background

As the 1980 presidential election approached, incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter appeared vulnerable. High gas prices, economic stagflation, a renewed Cold War with the Soviet Union following the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iran hostage crisis that developed when Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran all contributed to a general dissatisfaction with Carter's presidency; his job approval rating sank to below 20 percent in late-1979 as a result. Consequently, the president faced stiff Democratic primary challenges from Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and California Governor Jerry Brown. A large field of Republican challengers also emerged.

## Candidates
### Nominee

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign | Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | Running mate |
| Ronald Reagan | | | Governor of California (1967–1975) | California | (Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: May 24, 1980 | 7,709,793 (59.79%) | 42 | George Bush | |

### Withdrew during primaries

| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date | Popular vote | Contests won |
| George H. W. Bush | Director of Central Intelligence Agency (1976–1977) | Texas | Campaign Withdrew: May 26 (endorsed Ronald Reagan, nominated for vice president) | 3,070,033 (23.81%) | 9 CT, DC, DE, IA, ME, MA, MI, PA, PR |
| John Anderson | U.S. Representative from Illinois (1961–1981) | Illinois | Withdrew: April 24 (ran as independent) | 1,572,174 (12.19%) | None |
| Phil Crane | U.S. Representative from Illinois (1969–2005) | Illinois | Withdrew: April 17 (endorsed Ronald Reagan) | 97,793 (0.76%) | None |
| Ben Fernandez | Special Envoy to Paraguay (1973) | California | Withdrew: March 30 (endorsed Ronald Reagan) | 25,520 (0.20%) | None |
| Bob Dole | U.S. Senator from Kansas (1969–1996) | Kansas | Withdrew: March 15 (endorsed Ronald Reagan) | 7,204 (0.06%) | None |
| John Connally | Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972) | Texas | Withdrew: March 9 (endorsed Ronald Reagan) | 82,625 (0.64%) | None |
| Howard Baker | U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1967–1985) | Tennessee | Withdrew: March 5 (endorsed Ronald Reagan) | 181,153 (1.41%) | None |
| Harold Stassen | Director of the Foreign Operations Administration (1953–1955) | Pennsylvania | [data missing] | 25,425 (0.20%) | None |

### Withdrew before primaries

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date |
| Larry Pressler | | | U.S. Senator from South Dakota (1979–1997) | South Dakota | January 8, 1980 |
| Lowell Weicker | | | U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1971–1989) | Connecticut | May 16, 1979 |

### Declined to run

| Jesse Helms | Richard Schweiker | Jim Thompson | Bill Simon | Jack Kemp | Anne L. Armstrong | Elliot Richardson | Alexander Haig | Gerald Ford |
| U.S. Senator from North Carolina (1973–2003) | U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1969–1981) | Governor of Illinois (1977–1991) | United States Secretary of the Treasury (1974–1977) | U.S. Representative from New York (1971–1989) | U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1976–1977) | United States Secretary of Commerce (1976–1977) | Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1974–1979) | U.S. President from Michigan (1974–1977) |
| November 8, 1978 | January 5, 1979 (Endorsed Ronald Reagan) | January 23, 1979 | March 6, 1979 (Endorsed Ronald Reagan) | September 28, 1979 | Post-September 30, 1979 | October 16, 1979 | December 22, 1979 | March 15, 1980 |

### Speculated Candidates

The following potential candidates were considered possible candidates to run for the Republican nomination in 1980 by the media, but never stated a preference for or against running.
* Frank Borman, former astronaut from Indiana and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Air Lines
* Bill Brock, RNC Chairman of Tennessee; former Senator from Tennessee
* John Danforth, Senator from Missouri
* Pete du Pont, Governor of Delaware
* Spiro Agnew, former vice president of the United States
* John Heinz, Senator from Pennsylvania
* Charles Mathias, Senator from Maryland
* Charles Percy, Senator from Illinois
* William Ruckelshaus, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

## Polling
### National polling

| Poll source | Publication date | John Anderson | Howard Baker | George Bush | John Connally | Bob Dole | Gerald Ford | Ronald Reagan | Others |
| Gallup | Aug. 1977 | – | 8% | – | – | – | 20% | 33% | 3% |
| Gallup | Apr. 1978 | – | 11% | – | 4% | 4% | 40% | 30% | 4% |
| Gallup | July 1978 | – | 9% | 1% | 5% | 4% | 37% | 31% | 5% |
| Gallup | Dec. 1978 | 1% | 9% | 1% | 6% | 1% | 24% | 40% | 11% |
| Gallup | Apr. 1979 | 2% | 8% | 1% | 12% | 1% | 26% | 31% | 11% |
| Gallup | May 1979 | – | 10% | – | 8% | 3% | 27% | 28% | – |
| Gallup | June 1979 | 0% | 11% | 0% | 5% | 0% | 29% | 37% | 5% |
| Gallup | July 1979 | 3% | 11% | 1% | 9% | 2% | 27% | 32% | 15% |
| Gallup | Aug. 1979 | 1% | 10% | 3% | 8% | 1% | 21% | 29% | 16% |
| Gallup | Nov. 1979 | 1% | 14% | 2% | 10% | 3% | 22% | 33% | 15% |
| Gallup | Nov. 1979 | 0% | 11% | 5% | 8% | 3% | 24% | 40% | — |
| Gallup | Dec. 1979 | 1% | 9% | 7% | 10% | 4% | 18% | 40% | 10% |
| Gallup | Jan. 1980 | 3% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 0% | 27% | 33% | — |
| Gallup | Jan. 1980 | 0% | 6% | 28% | 7% | 0% | 18% | 29% | — |
| Gallup | Feb. 1980 | 2% | 6% | 17% | 4% | 1% | 32% | 34% | 3% |
| Gallup | Feb. 1980 | 3% | 7% | 16% | – | – | 25% | 44% | — |
* ↑ Never announced a clear declination on running
* ↑ Including 1% for Phil Crane.
* ↑ Including 2% for Phil Crane.
* ↑ Including 2% for Phil Crane.
* ↑ Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
* ↑ Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
* ↑ Including 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.
* ↑ 1% each for Phil Crane, Benjamin Fernandez, and Harold Stassen.

## Primary race

* The Nashua debate between Reagan and Bush
* A Chicago debate with Crane, Bush, moderator Eric Sevareid, Reagan, and Anderson
| Active campaign | Exploratory committee | Withdrawn candidate | Republican National Convention |
| Midterm elections | Debates | Primaries |
Ronald Reagan, who had narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford, was the early odds-on favorite to win the nomination in 1980. He was so far ahead in the polls that campaign director John Sears decided on an "above the fray" strategy. He did not attend many of the multi-candidate forums and straw polls in the summer and fall of 1979. George H. W. Bush, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and chairman of the Republican National Committee, did go to all the "cattle calls", and began to come in first at a number of these events. Along with the top two, a number of other Republican politicians entered the race. In January 1980, the Iowa Republicans decided to have a straw poll as a part of their caucuses for that year. Bush defeated Reagan by a small margin. Bush declared he had "the Big Mo", and with Reagan boycotting the Puerto Rico primary in deference to New Hampshire, Bush won the territory easily, giving him an early lead going into New Hampshire.
With the other candidates in single digits, the Nashua Telegraph offered to host a debate between Reagan and Bush. Worried that a newspaper-sponsored debate might violate electoral regulations, Reagan subsequently arranged to fund the event with his own campaign money, inviting the other candidates to participate at short notice. The Bush camp did not learn of Reagan's decision to include the other candidates until the debate was due to commence. Bush refused to participate, which led to an impasse on the stage. As Reagan attempted to explain his decision, Jon Breen, the editor of the Nashua Telegraph and debate moderator, ordered a technician to mute Reagan's microphone. When the technician refused, Breen repeated his order. A visibly angry Reagan responded, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green [sic]!" Eventually the other candidates agreed to leave, and the debate proceeded between Reagan and Bush. Reagan's quote was often repeated as "I paid for this microphone!" and dominated news coverage of the event; Reagan sailed to an easy win in New Hampshire.
Lee Bandy, a writer for the South Carolina newspaper The State stated that heading into the South Carolina primary, political operative Lee Atwater worked to engineer a victory for Reagan: "Lee Atwater figured that Connally was their biggest threat here in South Carolina. So Lee leaked a story to me that John Connally was trying to buy the black vote. Well, that story got out, thanks to me, and it probably killed Connally. He spent $10 million for one delegate. Lee saved Ronald Reagan's candidacy."
Reagan swept the South, and although he lost five more primaries to Bush—including the Massachusetts primary in which he came in third place behind John B. Anderson—the former governor had a lock on the nomination very early in the season. Reagan said he would always be grateful to the people of Iowa for giving him "the kick in the pants" he needed.
Reagan was an adherent to a policy known as supply-side economics, which argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for people to produce (supply) goods and services, such as adjusting income tax and capital gains tax rates. Accordingly, Reagan promised an economic revival that would benefit all sectors of the population. He said that cutting tax rates would actually increase tax revenues because the lower rates would cause people to work harder as they would be able to keep more of their money. Reagan also called for a drastic cut in "big government" and pledged to deliver a balanced budget for the first time since 1969. In the primaries, Bush called Reagan's economic policy "voodoo economics" because it promised to lower taxes and increase revenues at the same time.

## Results

Tablemaker's Note:
| Date (daily totals) | Contest | Total pledged delegates |
| Delegates won and popular vote |||
| Date (daily totals) | Contest | Total pledged delegates | Ronald Reagan | George Bush | John B. Anderson | Howard Baker | Phil Crane | John Connally | Bob Dole | Others | Uncommitted |
| January 21 | Iowa Caucus 106,608 | 0 (of 38) | 31,348 (29.40%) | 33,530 (31.45%) | 4,585 (4.30%) | 16,773 (15.73%) | 7,135 (6.69%) | 9,861 (9.25%) | 1,576 (1.48%) | – | 1,800 (1.69%) |
| February 2 | Arkansas District Conventions | 12 (of 19) | 6 Del. | 1 Del. | – | 4 Del. | – | – | – | – | 1 Del. |
| February 16 | Arkansas State Convention | 7 (of 19) | 1 Del. | 1 Del. | – | – | – | 1 Del. | – | – | 4 Del. |
| February 17 | Puerto Rico Primary 187,946 | 14 (of 20) | – | 14 Del. 112,901 (60.07%) | – | 70,025 (37.26%) | – | 2,039 (1.08%) | 457 (0.24%) | 2,524 (1.34%) | – |
| February 26 | New Hampshire Primary 146,782 | 23 (of 23) | 15 Del. 72,734 (49.55%) | 5 Del. 33,304 (22.69%) | 14,622 (9.96%) | 2 Del. 18,760 (12.78%) | 2,633 (1.79%) | 2,215 (1.51%) | 608 (0.41%) | 1,906 WI (1.30%) | – |
| March 1 | Iowa County Conventions 2,902 CDs | 0 (of 38) | 925 CDs (31.87%) | 1,150 CDs (39.63%) | 64 CDs (2.21%) | 322 CDs (11.10%) | 91 CDs (3.14%) | 127 CDs (4.38%) | 2 CDs (0.07%) | – | 221 CDs (7.62%) |
| March 4 | Massachusetts Primary 400,826 | 42 (of 42) | 13 Del. 115,334 (28.77%) | 14 Del. 124,365 (31.03%) | 13 Del. 122,987 (30.68%) | 2 Del. 19,366 (4.82%) | 4,669 (1.16%) | 4,714 (1.18%) | 577 (0.14%) | 6,571 WI (1.64%) | 2,243 (0.56%) |
| March 4 | Vermont Primary 65,611 | 0 (of 19) | 19,720 (30.06%) | 14,226 (21.68%) | 19,030 (29.00%) | 8,055 (12.28%) | 1,238 (1.89%) | 884 WI (1.35%) | – | 2,458 WI (3.75%) | – |
| March 8 | South Carolina Primary 145,501 | 25 (of 25) | 25 Del. 79,549 (54.67%) | 21,569 (14.82%) | – | 773 (0.53%) | – | 43,113 (29.63%) | 117 (0.08%) | 380 (0.26%) | – |
| March 11 (126) | Alabama Primary 211,353 | 27 (of 27) | 18 Del. 147,352 (69.72%) | 9 Del. 54,730 (25.90%) | – | 1,963 (0.93%) | 5,099 (2.41%) | 1,077 (0.51%) | 447 (0.21%) | 685 (0.32%) | – |
| March 11 (126) | Florida Primary 614,995 | 51 (of 51) | 51 Del. 345,699 (56.21%) | 185,996 (30.24%) | 56,636 (9.21%) | 6,345 (1.03%) | 12,000 (1.95%) | 4,958 (0.81%) | 1,086 (0.18%) | 2,275 (0.37%) | – |
| March 11 (126) | Georgia Primary 200,171 | 36 (of 36) | 36 Del. 146,500 (73.18%) | 25,293 (12.64%) | 16,853 (8.42%) | 1,571 (0.78%) | 6,308 (3.15%) | 2,388 (1.19%) | 249 (0.12%) | 1,009 (0.50%) | – |
| March 18 | Illinois Pres. Primary 1,130,081 | 0 (of 92) | 547,355 (48.44%) | 124,057 (10.98%) | 415,193 (36.74%) | 7,051 (0.62%) | 24,865 (2.20%) | 4,548 (0.40%) | 1,843 (0.16%) | 5,169 (0.46%) | – |
| March 18 | Illinois Del. Primary | 92 (of 92) | 46 Del. | 2 Del. | 26 Del. | – | 4 Del. | – | – | – | – |
| March 25 | Connecticut Primary 182,284 | 35 (of 35) | 14 Del. 61,735 (33.87%) | 15 Del. 70,367 (38.60%) | 6 Del. 40,354 (22.14%) | 2,446 (1.34%) | 1,887 (1.04%) | 598 (0.33%) | 333 (0.18%) | 308 (0.17%) | 4,256 (2.33%) |
| March 25 | New York Del. Primary | 117 (of 123) | 72 Del. | 6 Del. | 1 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | 38 Del. |
| April 1 | Kansas Primary 285,398 | 35 (of 35) | 20 Del. 179,739 (62.98%) | 4 Del. 35,838 (12.56%) | 5 Del. 51,924 (18.19%) | 3,603 (1.26%) | 1,367 (0.48%) | 2,067 (0.72%) | – | 4,134 (1.45%) | 6,726 (2.36%) |
| April 1 | Wisconsin Primary 907,853 | 34 (of 34) | 28 Del. 364,898 (40.19%) | 276,164 (30.42%) | 6 Del. 248,623 (27.39%) | 3,298 (0.36%) | 2,951 (0.33%) | 2,312 (0.26%) | – | 7,012 WI (0.77%) | 4,951 (0.29%) |
| April 5 | Louisiana Primary 42,397 | 29 (of 29) | 29 Del. 31,256 (73.72%) | 8,066 (19.02%) | – | – | – | – | – | 820 (1.93%) | 2,255 (5.32%) |
| April 17 | North Dakota State Convention | 28 (of 28) | 12 Del. | 1 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 Del. |
| April 19 | Maine State Convention | 21 (of 21) | – | 17 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 Del. |
| April 19 | Minnesota District Conventions | 6 (of 34) | 6 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| April 20 | Alaska State Convention | 19 (of 19) | 19 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| April 22 | Pennsylvania Pres. Primary 1,241,411 | 0 (of 83) | 527,916 (42.53%) | 626,759 (50.49%) | 26,890 WI (2.17%) | 30,846 (2.49%) | – | 10,656 (0.86%) | – | 18,344 (1.48%) | – |
| April 22 | Pennsylvania Del. Primary | 76 (of 83) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 76 Del. |
| April 22 | Vermont Caucus 979 SDs | 0 (of 19) | 318 SDs (32.48%) | 67 SDs (6.84%) | 13 SDs (1.33%) | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| April 26 | Minnesota District Conventions | 3 (of 34) | 3 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| April 26 | Missouri District Conventions | 15 (of 37) | 15 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 3 | Arizona State Convention | 28 (of 28) | 28 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 3 | Minnesota District Conventions | 12 (of 34) | 4 Del. | 8 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 3 | Missouri District Conventions | 15 (of 37) | 15 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 3 | Oklahoma State Convention | 28 (of 28) | 28 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 3 | Texas Primary 526,769 | 80 (of 80) | 65 Del. 268,798 (50.49%) | 15 Del. 249,819 (47.43%) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8,152 (1.55%) |
| May 6 | Washington, D.C. Pres. Primary 7,529 | 0 (of 14) | – | 4,973 (66.05%) | 2,025 (26.90%) | – | – | – | – | 261 (3.47%) | – |
| May 6 | Washington, D.C. Del. Primary | 14 (of 14) | – | 14 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 6 | Indiana Primary 568,313 | 56 (of 56) | 56 Del. 419,016 (73.73%) | 92,955 (16.36%) | 56,342 (9.91%) | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 6 | North Carolina Primary 168,391 | 40 (of 40) | 30 Del. 113,854 (67.61%) | 10 Del. 36,631 (21.75%) | 8,542 (5.07%) | 2,543 (1.51%) | 547 (0.33%) | 1,107 (0.66%) | 629 (0.37%) | – | 4,538 (2.70%) |
| May 6 | Tennessee Primary 195,210 | 32 (of 32) | 24 Del. 144,625 (74.09%) | 8 Del. 35,274 (18.07%) | 8,722 (4.47%) | 16 WI (0.01%) | 1,574 (0.81%) | 1 WI (0.00%) | 629 (0.37%) | 22 WI (0.01%) | 4,976 (2.55%) |
| May 10 | Wyoming State Convention | 19 (of 19) | 16 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 Del. |
| May 13 | Maryland Primary 167,303 | 30 (of 30) | 15 Del. 80,557 (48.15%) | 15 Del. 68,389 (40.88%) | 16,244 (9.71%) | – | 2,113 (1.26%) | – | – | – | – |
| May 13 | Nebraska Primary 205,203 | 25 (of 25) | 25 Del. 155,995 (76.02%) | 31,380 (15.29%) | 11,879 (5.79%) | – | 1,062 (0.52%) | – | 1,420 (0.69%) | 3,467 (1.69%) | – |
| May 17 | Hawaii State Convention | 14 (of 14) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 Del. |
| May 20 (116) | Michigan Primary 595,176 | 82 (of 82) | 29 Del. 189,184 (31.79%) | 53 Del. 341,998 (57.46%) | 48,947 (8.22%) | – | – | – | – | 4,782 (0.80%) | 10,265 (1.73%) |
| May 20 (116) | Oregon Primary 315,366 | 29 (of 29) | 18 Del. 170,449 (54.05%) | 11 Del. 109,210 (34.63%) | 32,118 (10.18%) | – | 2,324 (0.74%) | – | – | 1,265 WI (0.40%) | – |
| May 17 | Delaware State Convention | 21 (of 21) | 4 Del. | 6 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 Del. |
| May 25 | Vermont State Convention | 19 (of 19) | 16 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 Del. |
| May 27 | Idaho Primary 134,879 | 17 (of 21) | 15 Del. 111,868 (82.94%) | 5,416 (4.02%) | 2 Del. 13,130 (9.74%) | – | 1,024 (0.76%) | – | – | – | 3,441 (2.55%) |
| May 27 | Kentucky Primary 94,795 | 27 (of 27) | 27 Del. 78,072 (82.36%) | 6,861 (7.24%) | 4,791 (5.05%) | – | – | – | – | 1,987 (2.10%) | 3,084 (3.25%) |
| May 27 | Nevada Primary 47,395 | 17 (of 17) | 14 Del. 39,352 (83.03%) | 1 Del. 3,078 (6.49%) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 Del. 4,965 (10.48%) |
| May 30 | Minnesota State Convention | 10 (of 34) | 10 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 31 | Colorado District Conventions | 3 (of 31) | 3 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| May 31 | Missouri State Convention | 7 (of 37) | 7 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 3 | California Primary 2,564,072 | 168 (of 168) | 168 Del. 2,057,923 (80.26%) | 125,113 (4.88%) | 349,315 (13.62%) | – | 21,465 (0.84%) | – | – | 10,256 (0.40%) | – |
| June 3 | Mississippi Del. Primary 25,751 | 22 (of 22) | 22 Del. 23,028 (89.43%) | 2,105 (8.17%) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 618 (2.40%) |
| June 3 | Montana Primary 79,473 | 0 (of 20) | 68,794 (86.56%) | 7,665 (9.65%) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 3 | New Jersey Pres. Primary 277,977 | 0 (of 66) | 225,959 (81.29%) | 47,447 (17.07%) | – | – | – | – | – | 4,571 (1.64%) | – |
| June 3 | New Jersey Del. Primary 79,473 | 66 (of 66) | 63 Del. | 2 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 Del. |
| June 3 | New Mexico Primary 59,546 | 22 (of 22) | 22 Del. 37,982 (63.79%) | 5,892 (9.90%) | – | 4,412 (7.41%) | – | – | – | 2,742 (4.60%) | 1,347 (2.26%) |
| June 3 | Ohio Primary 856,773 | 77 (of 77) | 77 Del. 692,288 (80.80%) | 164,485 (19.20%) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 3 | Rhode Island Primary 5,335 | 13 (of 13) | 12 Del. 3,839 (71.96%) | 1 Del. 993 (18.61%) | – | – | – | – | – | 155 (2.91%) | 348 (6.52%) |
| June 3 | South Dakota Primary 82,905 | 22 (of 22) | 22 Del. 72,861 (87.89%) | 3,691 (4.45%) | – | – | – | – | – | 987 (1.19%) | 5,366 (6.47%) |
| June 3 | West Virginia Pres. Primary 138,016 | 0 (of 18) | 115,407 (83.62%) | 19,509 (14.14%) | – | – | – | – | – | 3,100 (2.25%) | – |
| June 3 | West Virginia Del. Primary 138,016 | 18 (of 18) | 15 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 Del. |
| June 6 | Iowa District Conventions | 30 (of 37) | 17 Del. | 13 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 6 | Washington State Convention | 37 (of 37) | 34 Del. | 1 Del. | 1 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | 1 Del. |
| June 7 | Colorado State Conventions | 28 (of 31) | 28 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 7 | Iowa State Convention | 7 (of 30) | 4 Del. | 3 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 8 | Montana State Convention | 20 (of 20) | 20 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 28 | Idaho State Convention | 4 (of 21) | 4 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| June 28 | Utah State Convention | 21 (of 21) | 21 Del. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1,990 delegates 12,894,286 votes | 1,990 delegates 12,894,286 votes | 1,990 delegates 12,894,286 votes | 1,407 7,709,793 (59.79%) | 250 3,070,033 (23.81%) | 59 1,572,174 (12.19%) | 8 181,153 (1.41%) | 4 97,793 (0.76%) | 1 82,625 (0.64%) | 0 7,204 (0.06%) | 0 5,702,278 (52.64%) | 156 112,560 (0.87%) |
The Republican National Convention was held in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to 17, 1980.