page_title: John B. Anderson
section_title: Rise
hierarchical_section_title: John B. Anderson / 1980 presidential campaign / Rise
caption_attribution_description: English: Republican Debate with Ronald Reagan, Philip Crane, George Bush and John Anderson with moderator Eric Sevareid in Chicago, Illinois. 3/13/80.
context_page_description: John Bayard Anderson was a United States politician from Illinois. As a member of the Republican Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. In 1980, he ran an independent campaign for president, receiving 6.6% of the popular vote.
  Born in Rockford, Illinois, Anderson practiced law after serving in the Army during World War II. After a stint in the United States Foreign Service, he won election as the State's Attorney for Winnebago County, Illinois. He won election to the House of Representatives in 1960 in a strongly Republican district. Initially one of the most conservative members of the House, Anderson's views moderated during the 1960s, particularly regarding social issues. He became Chairman of the House Republican Conference in 1969 and remained in that position until 1979. He strongly criticized the Vietnam War as well as President Richard Nixon's actions during the Watergate scandal.
  Anderson entered the 1980 Republican presidential primaries, introducing his signature campaign proposal of raising the gas tax while cutting social security taxes.
context_section_description: On January 5, 1980, in the Republican candidates' debate in Des Moines, Iowa, unlike the other candidates, Anderson said lowering taxes, increasing defense spending, and balancing the budget were an impossible combination. In a stirring summation, Anderson invoked his father's immigration to the United States and said that we would have to make sacrifices today for a better tomorrow. For the next week, Anderson's name and face were all over the national news programs, in newspapers, and in national news magazines.
  Anderson spent less than $2000 in Iowa, but he finished with 4.3% of the vote. The television networks were covering the event, portraying Anderson to a national audience as a man of character and principle.  When the voters in New Hampshire went to the polls, Anderson again exceeded the expectations, finishing fourth with just under 10% of the vote.
  Anderson was declared the winner in both Massachusetts and Vermont by the Associated Press, but the following morning ended up losing both primaries by a slim margin. In Massachusetts, he lost to George Bush by 0.3% and in Vermont he lost to Reagan by 690 votes.
  Anderson arrived in Illinois following the New England primaries and had a lead in the state polls, but his Illinois campaign struggled despite endorsements from the state's two largest newspapers. Reagan defeated him, 48% to 37%. Anderson carried Chicago and Rockford, the state's two largest cities at the time, but he lost in the more conservative southern section of the state.
  The next week, there was a primary in Connecticut, which (while Anderson was on the ballot) his team had chosen not to campaign actively in. He finished third in Connecticut with 22% of the vote, and it seemed to most like any other loss, whether Anderson said he was competing or not. Next was Wisconsin, and this was thought to be Anderson's best chance for victory, but he again finished third, winning 27% of the vote.
caption: March 13, 1980, in Chicago Howard K. Smith (center) moderates a League of Women Voters-sponsored presidential forum featuring Anderson (far right) and fellow Republican candidates Phil Crane (far left), George H. W. Bush (second from left), and Ronald Reagan (second from right)
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