1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 1976 January 21 to June 3, 1980 1984 →
3,315 delegates to the Democratic National Convention 1,105 delegate votes needed to win
Candidate Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy Home state Georgia Massachusetts Contests won 36 12 Popular vote 10,043,016 7,381,693 Percentage 51.13% 37.58%
Results of the 1980 Democratic National Convention
Previous Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter

The 1980 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which 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.

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Jimmy Carter			President of the United States (1977-1981) Incumbent	Georgia	(Campaign)	10,043,016 (51.13%)	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

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular Vote	Contests Won
Ted Kennedy			U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1962-2009)	Massachusetts	Withdrew at convention	7,381,693 (37.58%)	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