1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

The **1980 Democratic presidential primaries** were how voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1980 U.S. presidential election.

During the primary race, the country of Iran was going through trouble and unrest. This unrest caused it to make and sell less oil. In January 1979, the leader (or Shah) of Iran left the country. After that  Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , who was against the Shah’s leadership, took over and made the country follow an extreme version of Islam.

Another problem during the time of this election was increased prices, especially for oil and gas.  Many people blamed President Carter. Only 28% of people who were polled said they approved of Carter.

## Background

Incumbent President Jimmy Carter was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses in the 1980 Democratic National Convention held from August 11 to August 14, 1980, in New York City.

Carter faced a major primary challenger in Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who won 12 contests and received more than seven million votes nationwide. Therefore, Kennedy didn't withdraw from the primary until the second day of the convention. This is the most recent primary where the sitting president still had an opponent at the convention.

### Nominee

|colspan="3"|Candidate|class="unsortable"|Most recent position|Home state|data-sort-type="date"|Campaign|Popular vote|Contests won|Running mate||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="min-width:80px;"||style="background:#E35e5e;"||** President of the United States (1977-1981)** <small>Incumbent</small>|Georgia|data-sort-value="0"|<small>(Campaign)</small>|data-sort-value="14,015,993"|10,043,016 <small>(51.13%)</small>|data-sort-value="44"|**36** IA, ME, NH, VT, AL, FL, GA, PR, IL, KS, WI, LA, TX, IN, NC, TN, NE, MD, OK, AR ID, KY, NV, MT, OH, WV, MO, OR, WA|Walter Mondale|

### Withdrew during primaries or convention

|colspan="3"|Candidate|class="unsortable"|Most recent position|Home state|data-sort-type="date"|Campaign <small>Withdrawal date</small>|Popular Vote|Contests Won||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||style="background:#4997D0;"||**U.S. Senator** **from Massachusetts (1962-_2009_)**|Massachusetts|data-sort-value="05-03-2016"|<small>**Withdrew at convention**</small>|data-sort-value="11"|7,381,693 <small>(37.58%)</small>|**12** AZ, MA, CT, NY, PA, ND DC, CA, NJ, NM, RI, SD VT, AK, MI|

### Also withdrew during primaries

- Jerry Brown, Governor of California
- Cliff Flinch, Governor of Mississippi

## Infobox (election)

- **election name**: 1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- **country**: United States
- **type**: primary
- **ongoing**: no
- **previous election**: 1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- **previous year**: 1976
- **next election**: 1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- **next year**: 1984
- **election date**: January 21 to June 3, 1980
- **votes for election**: 3,315 delegates to the 1980 Democratic National Convention, Democratic National Convention
- **needed votes**: 1,105 delegate
- **party name**: no
- **image1**:
- **candidate1**: **Jimmy Carter**
- **colour1**: E35e5e
- **home state1**: Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia
- **states carried1**: **36**
- **popular vote1**: **10,043,016**
- **percentage1**: **51.13%**
- **image2**:
- **candidate2**: Ted Kennedy
- **colour2**: 4997D0
- **home state2**: Massachusetts
- **states carried2**: 12
- **popular vote2**: 7,381,693
- **percentage2**: 37.58%
- **map image**: United States Democratic presidential primaries, 1980 by state.svg
- **map caption**: _Results of the 1980 Democratic National Convention_
- **title**: Democratic nominee
- **before election**: Jimmy Carter
- **after election**: Jimmy Carter