1984 Elections

1984 Elections - Leviticus Morgan (Savanna High School, Tenth Grade)

Four years before 1984, Ronald Reagan, the actor turned politician from California, defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory. With 489 electoral votes and Republicans gaining the Senate, the United States entered the Reagan era, where it left behind the era of New Deal and Great Society policies and went down the path of American conservatism. 

Reagan prioritized revitalizing the economy, reducing inflation, and stimulating growth through his form of trickle-down economics, Reaganomics. He also prioritized national defense, escalating the Cold War and overseeing a large nuclear arms buildup and modernization. Yet although these policies looked good on the surface, many found them problematic. (The percentage of Americans finding nuclear war likely jumped from 57 to 76 percent) and although Reagannomics resulted in GDP growth and a decrease in the inflation rate, the economic gap between the upper and lower class grew and the promised effects of the middle-class growth were hardly seen. Despite all this, however, Reagan and incumbent Vice President, George H. W. Bush walked out of the Republican National Convention with token opposition and into the election with large margins of victory.

The Democratic National Convention saw former Vice President and protege of Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale face off against Jesse Jackson to his left and Senator Gary Hart from Colorado to his right. Jackson was one of the first serious African-American contenders in American political history and went on to win 465.5 delegates, his campaign wounded by his derogatory terms against/to the Jewish population. Hart’s campaign was stumped due to his performance against Mondale in the Primary debates yet was able to gain the support of 1200.5 delegates. Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro, a Representative from New York and the first female vice-presidential nominee from a major party, as a counterweight to attract more moderate and conservative voters. Yet her financial scandals regarding her and her husband, along with her damp appeal to female voters, was a liability to Mondale’s campaign and contributed to their loss in the 1984 election. 

On the campaign trail, Mondale attacked Reagan and his policies ranging from economics to agriculture. Mondale alongside Ferraro also advocated for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and a nuclear freeze to halt Reagan’s nuclear buildup. Yet Ferraro’s husband, John Zacarro damaged their campaign due to shady dealings ranging from organized crime to pornography distribution. Ferraro was criticized by some higher-ups in the Roman Catholic Church over her stance on abortion in which Senator Edward Kennedy gave his defense for the vice-presidential candidate. While Mondale went on to be considered the winner of the first debate against Reagan, his growth was neutralized by Reagan’s performance in the latter two with Reagan even settling the issue of the age difference between the two candidates with a joke.

Reagan went on to not just win the Presidential election but set a record of 525 electoral votes, locking Mondale in his home state of Minnesota. (And even in Minnesota, Mondale barely won with a margin of 3761 votes) We can still see the ripples of Reagan's great victory against Mondale today. To many, this was the death of the style of liberalism FDR and LBJ championed and the Democratic Party began opening up to Third Way ideals. Mondale and McGovern’s loss alienated many Democratic voters so as they sat on the sidelines for another eight years, they began looking towards Bill Clinton, an Arkansas moderate Democratic governor who was popular with the females. Clinton went on to win back the White House in 1992 against an incumbent George H. W. Bush and prioritized his focus on more moderate policies. Following his presidency, the Democratic Party began an internal conflict over whether a more moderate approach or a return to left-leaning roots should be taken. The conflict continues today with the rise of more Progressive politicians such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against neoliberal party officials such as President Biden.

Reagan’s second term, while overseeing actions such as arms control with the new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, would also be marred by the Iran-Contra affair and the 1987 Stock Market Crash. In domestic politics, his response to the HIV-AID crisis and increased measures to fight the War on Drugs would lower his public perception and reputation. However, Reagan would also sign the Immigration Reform and Control Act into law, legalizing illegal immigrants who had arrived in the country before 1982. While his second term was not as popular as his first, Reagan still left office with a 63 percent approval rating and would go on to see Vice President George H. W. Bush take office. American conservatism continued to follow Reagan’s way with figures such as Bush senior and Bush junior championing his positions. Yet a more moderate position on economic policies and planks such as Education reform was championed. The Tea Party movement in 2010 however, led to a more conservative-populist swing in the Republican Party. This resulted in the election of Donald J. Trump who championed anti-immigration rhetoric and populist economic policies. His victory and subsequent term in office along with his two impeachment trials led to a division in the Republican party where more Reaganite Republicans began to conflict with Populist Trump supporters. The Republican Party still tussles every day and it is unclear what the future holds for both parties. 

The 1984 elections are significant because of Reagan’s landslide victory over Walter Mondale and how it set the stage for the modern American political scene. There are divisions in both parties over what their approach should be for future elections. The question of bigger or smaller government, optimism or pessimistic rhetoric, and the question of economy and rights for all are still being debated on. With the recent repeal of abortion in June of 2022, we look back to prior years for what to do in response. Although what lies ahead is unclear, what is certain is that unless both parties decide on a proper solution to their divisions, we won’t see another election like ‘84 for some time.