1980 Republican National Convention

1980 Republican National Convention

1980 presidential election
Nominees Reagan and Bush
Convention
Date(s)	July 14–17, 1980
City	Detroit, Michigan
Venue	Joe Louis Arena
Keynote speaker	Guy Vander Jagt
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Ronald Reagan of California
Vice Presidential nominee	George Bush of Texas

Joe Louis Arena was the site of the 1980 Republican National Convention

Ronald Reagan giving his Acceptance Speech

The 1980 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The Republican National Convention nominated former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California for President and former congressman George H. W. Bush of Texas for Vice President.^[1] Reagan, running on the theme "Let's Make America Great Again," stayed in Detroit's Renaissance Center, at the time the world's tallest hotel, and delivered his acceptance speech at Joe Louis Arena.^[2] It remains the only major party national political convention to have been held in Detroit.

Presidential vote

Under rules devised by the Nixon administration in 1972, only one candidate was permitted to have his name placed in nomination: Ronald Reagan. This thwarted an attempt by John B. Anderson to have a speaker at the convention. John Connally's expensive campaign yielded only one delegate, (still the most expensive in history to date), who loyally stood by her man to the end.

Republican National Convention Presidential nominee vote, 1980[3]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Ronald Reagan	1,939	97.44%
John B. Anderson	37	1.86%
George H. W. Bush	13	0.65%
John B. Connally and Anne Armstrong	1 each	0.05%
Totals	2,258	100.00%

The Vice Presidential slot

Reagan waited until the Convention in July, to announce his choice of a running mate.

Gerald Ford and a possible "co-presidency"

During the convention, the possibility of choosing former president Gerald Ford as the vice-presidential nominee was given at least some consideration. Ford asked for certain powers and prerogatives that have been described as making Ford a co-president (had he been chosen). These included the return of Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State and the appointment of Alan Greenspan as Secretary of the Treasury in a "package deal". The two sides could not come to an agreement, and ultimately George Bush was chosen less than 24 hours before the ticket was announced.^[4]

The vice presidential vote

Even though Reagan had taken the unprecedented step of announcing his VP choice from the podium of the convention itself, some delegates still resented Bush for having the effrontery to beat their hero in a number of primaries, and especially the Iowa caucuses. There was some scattering, and a minor challenge, which as seen below, went nowhere. This would be the last time during the 20th century that the bottom half of the ticket would be contested, as the rules would be changed in 1988 to prevent this from happening.

The following had their names placed in nomination:

• 

  U.S. Senator
  Jesse Helms
  of North Carolina
• 

  Former U.S. Representative
  George Bush
  of Texas

Republican National Convention Vice-Presidential nominee vote, 1980[5]
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
George H. W. Bush	1,832	93.33%
Jesse Helms	54	2.75%
Jack Kemp	42	2.14%
Phil Crane	23	1.17%
James R. Thompson	5	0.26%
John M. Ashbrook, Howard Baker, Henry J. Hyde, Donald Rumsfeld, Eugene Schroeder, William E. Simon, Guy Vander Jagt and Ron Paul	1 each	0.04% each
Totals	2,258	100.00%

See also

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 1980
• 1980 Democratic National Convention
• United States presidential election, 1980
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention

References

1. "It's Reagan plus Bush". New Strait Times. 18 July 1980. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
2. "Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Detroit". Presidency.ucb.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
3. "US President - R Convention Race - Jul 14, 1980". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
4. Allen, Richard V. "How the Bush Dynasty Almost Wasn't | Hoover Institution". Hoover.org. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
5. "US Vice President - R Convention Race - Jul 14, 1980". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2011-01-22.

External links

• Ronald Reagan's nomination acceptance speech (video) at C-SPAN
• Ronald Reagan's nomination acceptance speech (text) at The American Presidency Project
• Republican Party platform of 1980 at The American Presidency Project