United States presidential election in Maine, 1984

United States presidential election in Maine, 1984

November 6, 1984

Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale Party Republican Democratic Home state California Minnesota Running mate George H.W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro Electoral vote 4 0 Popular vote 336,500 214,515 Percentage 60.8% 38.8%

County Results   Reagan—50-60%   Reagan—60-70%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

The 1984 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Maine voters chose 4 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the President and Vice President of the United States.

Maine was won by incumbent United States President Ronald Reagan of California, who was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Reagan ran for a second time with former C.I.A. Director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Mondale ran with Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first major female candidate for the Vice-Presidency.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1984 was a very, very partisan election for Maine, with just under 100% of the electorate voting only either Democratic or Republican, and only four parties appearing on the ballot.^[1] Every county in Maine voted in majority for Reagan, a particularly strong turn out in what was at the time a typically conservative-leaning state.

Maine weighed in for this election as 2% more Republican than the national average.

Republican victory

Reagan won the election in Maine by 22%. While Maine typically voted more conservative, at the time, than its New England neighbors, the election results in Maine are also reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party which took place through the 1980s; called by Reagan the "second American Revolution."^[2] This was most evident during the 1984 presidential election. No Republican candidate has received as strong of support in the Atlantic Northeast, at large, as Reagan did.

Reagan also enjoyed high levels of bipartisan support during the 1984 presidential election in Maine. Many registered Democrats who voted for Reagan (Reagan Democrats) stated that they had chosen to do so because they associated him with the economic recovery, because of his strong stance on national security issues with the Soviet Union, and because they considered the Democrats as "supporting American poor and minorities at the expense of the middle class."^[3] These public opinion factors contributed to Reagan’s 1984 landslide victory in Maine.

Results

United States presidential election in Maine, 1984
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Ronald Reagan	336,500	60.83%	4
	Democratic	Walter Mondale	214,515	38.78%	0
	Communist Party	Gus Hall	1,292	0.23%	0
	New Alliance Party	Dennis Serrette	755	0.14%	0
	Write-Ins		82	0.01%	0
Totals			553,144	100.0%	4

See also

• Iran–Contra affair
• Nicaragua guerrilla war
• Presidency of Ronald Reagan

References

1. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
2. Raines, Howell (November 7, 1984). "Reagan Wins By a Landslide, Sweeping at Least 48 States; G.O.P. Gains Strength in House". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
3. Prendergast, William B. (1999). The Catholic vote in American politics. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 186, 191–193. ISBN 0-87840-724-3.