| Elections in Michigan |
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The 1980 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 4, 1980. All fifty states and the District of Columbia participated in the 1980 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Michigan was won by former California governor Ronald Reagan (R) by 6.5%.[3] This result nonetheless made Michigan 3.2% more Democratic than the nation at large. This is despite the fact that it voted to the right of the nation by over seven points in 1976, when favorite son Gerald Ford won Michigan.
Along with Maine, New York, Mississippi, and Vermont, Michigan was one of the few states in which President Carter won counties that had gone to Ford in the previous presidential election, as Carter flipped both Washtenaw and Marquette.
Primary election
Michigan held presidential primary elections on May 20, 1980.
Democratic party
Turnout for the Democratic primary was exceptionally low as the party had already awarded its delegates in party caucuses on April 26th and the primary results were non-binding. Neither Carter nor Kennedy appeared on the primary ballot.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jerry Brown | 23,043 | 29.38% | |
| Democratic | Lyndon LaRouche | 8,948 | 11.41% | |
| Democratic | Uncommitted | 36,385 | 46.40% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 10,048 | 12.81% | |
| Total votes | 78,424 | 100.00% | ||
Republican party
Unlike the Democratic primary, the Republican primary did award delegates and thus saw significantly higher turnout.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George H. W. Bush | 341,998 | 57.46% | |
| Republican | Ronald Reagan | 189,184 | 31.79% | |
| Republican | John B. Anderson | 48,947 | 8.22% | |
| Republican | Ben Fernandez | 2,248 | 8.22% | |
| Republican | Harold Stassen | 1,938 | 8.22% | |
| Republican | Uncommitted | 10,265 | 1.72% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 596 | 0.10% | |
| Total votes | 595,176 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ronald Reagan | 1,915,225 | 48.99% | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter (inc.) | 1,661,532 | 42.50% | |
| Anderson Coalition | John B. Anderson | 275,223 | 7.04% | |
| Libertarian | Ed Clark | 41,597 | 1.06% | |
| Citizens | Barry Commoner | 11,930 | 0.31% | |
| Communist | Gus Hall | 3,262 | 0.08% | |
| Workers World | Deirdre Griswold (write-in) | 30 | 0.00% | |
| American Independent | Percy L. Greaves Jr. (write-in) | 21 | 0.00% | |
| Prohibition | Benjamin C. Bubar (write-in) | 9 | 0.00% | |
| American Independent | John Rarick (write-in) | 5 | 0.00% | |
| Write-ins | Scattering | 891 | 0.02% | |
| Total votes | 3,909,725 | 100.00% | ||
Results by county
| County[5] | Ronald Reagan Republican |
Jimmy Carter Democratic |
John B. Anderson Anderson Coalition |
All Others Various |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alcona | 2,905 | 57.39% | 1,857 | 36.69% | 247 | 4.88% | 53 | 1.05% | 1,048 | 20.70% | 5,062 |
| Alger | 2,059 | 44.31% | 2,242 | 48.25% | 263 | 5.66% | 83 | 1.79% | -183 | -3.94% | 4,647 |
| Allegan | 20,560 | 62.24% | 9,877 | 29.90% | 1,984 | 6.01% | 610 | 1.85% | 10,683 | 32.34% | 33,031 |
| Alpena | 6,901 | 49.89% | 5,834 | 42.18% | 913 | 6.60% | 184 | 1.33% | 1,067 | 7.71% | 13,832 |
| Antrim | 4,706 | 56.26% | 2,909 | 34.78% | 602 | 7.20% | 147 | 1.76% | 1,797 | 21.48% | 8,364 |
| Arenac | 3,436 | 53.43% | 2,547 | 39.61% | 333 | 5.18% | 115 | 1.79% | 889 | 13.82% | 6,431 |
| Baraga | 2,046 | 52.18% | 1,609 | 41.04% | 201 | 5.13% | 65 | 1.66% | 437 | 11.14% | 3,921 |
| Barry | 12,006 | 58.13% | 6,857 | 33.20% | 1,399 | 6.77% | 392 | 1.90% | 5,149 | 24.93% | 20,654 |
| Bay | 25,331 | 46.40% | 24,517 | 44.91% | 3,886 | 7.12% | 858 | 1.57% | 814 | 1.49% | 54,592 |
| Benzie | 3,054 | 55.55% | 1,842 | 33.50% | 455 | 8.28% | 147 | 2.67% | 1,212 | 22.05% | 5,498 |
| Berrien | 41,458 | 60.99% | 22,152 | 32.59% | 3,422 | 5.03% | 946 | 1.39% | 19,306 | 28.40% | 67,978 |
| Branch | 10,224 | 62.99% | 4,635 | 28.56% | 1,102 | 6.79% | 269 | 1.66% | 5,589 | 34.43% | 16,230 |
| Calhoun | 30,912 | 52.24% | 23,022 | 38.90% | 4,468 | 7.55% | 774 | 1.31% | 7,890 | 13.34% | 59,176 |
| Cass | 11,206 | 56.78% | 7,058 | 35.76% | 1,156 | 5.86% | 315 | 1.60% | 4,148 | 21.02% | 19,735 |
| Charlevoix | 5,053 | 51.58% | 3,741 | 38.19% | 816 | 8.33% | 186 | 1.90% | 1,312 | 13.39% | 9,796 |
| Cheboygan | 5,221 | 52.45% | 3,938 | 39.56% | 638 | 6.41% | 157 | 1.58% | 1,283 | 12.89% | 9,954 |
| Chippewa | 7,059 | 52.31% | 5,268 | 39.04% | 951 | 7.05% | 216 | 1.60% | 1,791 | 13.27% | 13,494 |
| Clare | 5,719 | 53.36% | 4,164 | 38.85% | 663 | 6.19% | 172 | 1.60% | 1,555 | 14.51% | 10,718 |
| Clinton | 14,968 | 60.62% | 7,539 | 30.53% | 1,736 | 7.03% | 448 | 1.81% | 7,429 | 30.09% | 24,691 |
| Crawford | 2,652 | 53.42% | 1,826 | 36.78% | 390 | 7.86% | 96 | 1.93% | 826 | 16.64% | 4,964 |
| Delta | 8,146 | 46.04% | 8,475 | 47.90% | 849 | 4.80% | 222 | 1.25% | -329 | -1.86% | 17,692 |
| Dickinson | 6,614 | 50.58% | 5,694 | 43.54% | 596 | 4.56% | 173 | 1.32% | 920 | 7.04% | 13,077 |
| Eaton | 22,927 | 57.35% | 12,742 | 31.87% | 3,533 | 8.84% | 775 | 1.94% | 10,185 | 25.48% | 39,977 |
| Emmet | 5,930 | 53.88% | 3,724 | 33.84% | 1,134 | 10.30% | 218 | 1.98% | 2,206 | 20.04% | 11,006 |
| Genesee | 78,572 | 42.73% | 90,393 | 49.15% | 12,274 | 6.67% | 2,661 | 1.45% | -11,821 | -6.42% | 183,900 |
| Gladwin | 4,509 | 51.09% | 3,733 | 42.30% | 463 | 5.25% | 120 | 1.36% | 776 | 8.79% | 8,825 |
| Gogebic | 4,388 | 42.80% | 5,254 | 51.25% | 493 | 4.81% | 117 | 1.14% | -866 | -8.45% | 10,252 |
| Grand Traverse | 14,484 | 58.63% | 7,150 | 28.94% | 2,568 | 10.39% | 504 | 2.04% | 7,334 | 29.69% | 24,706 |
| Gratiot | 9,294 | 59.30% | 4,916 | 31.37% | 1,193 | 7.61% | 269 | 1.72% | 4,378 | 27.93% | 15,672 |
| Hillsdale | 10,951 | 66.37% | 4,375 | 26.52% | 882 | 5.35% | 291 | 1.76% | 6,576 | 39.85% | 16,499 |
| Houghton | 7,926 | 47.94% | 6,858 | 41.48% | 1,423 | 8.61% | 327 | 1.98% | 1,068 | 6.46% | 16,534 |
| Huron | 10,553 | 65.27% | 4,434 | 27.43% | 976 | 6.04% | 204 | 1.26% | 6,119 | 37.84% | 16,167 |
| Ingham | 56,777 | 45.19% | 48,278 | 38.43% | 17,139 | 13.64% | 3,437 | 2.74% | 8,499 | 6.76% | 125,631 |
| Ionia | 12,040 | 57.38% | 7,039 | 33.55% | 1,539 | 7.33% | 364 | 1.73% | 5,001 | 23.83% | 20,982 |
| Iosco | 6,680 | 56.54% | 4,255 | 36.01% | 739 | 6.25% | 141 | 1.19% | 2,425 | 20.53% | 11,815 |
| Iron | 3,507 | 45.36% | 3,742 | 48.40% | 371 | 4.80% | 112 | 1.45% | -235 | -3.04% | 7,732 |
| Isabella | 10,407 | 50.24% | 7,293 | 35.21% | 2,511 | 12.12% | 504 | 2.43% | 3,114 | 15.03% | 20,715 |
| Jackson | 33,749 | 53.93% | 23,685 | 37.85% | 4,165 | 6.66% | 981 | 1.57% | 10,064 | 16.08% | 62,580 |
| Kalamazoo | 48,669 | 50.90% | 34,528 | 36.11% | 10,833 | 11.33% | 1,587 | 1.66% | 14,141 | 14.79% | 95,617 |
| Kalkaska | 2,802 | 56.42% | 1,807 | 36.39% | 260 | 5.24% | 97 | 1.95% | 995 | 20.03% | 4,966 |
| Kent | 112,604 | 54.59% | 72,790 | 35.29% | 17,913 | 8.68% | 2,983 | 1.45% | 39,814 | 19.30% | 206,290 |
| Keweenaw | 583 | 46.27% | 570 | 45.24% | 87 | 6.90% | 20 | 1.59% | 13 | 1.03% | 1,260 |
| Lake | 1,730 | 43.22% | 2,041 | 50.99% | 187 | 4.67% | 45 | 1.12% | -311 | -7.77% | 4,003 |
| Lapeer | 15,996 | 56.99% | 9,671 | 34.45% | 1,868 | 6.66% | 534 | 1.90% | 6,325 | 22.54% | 28,069 |
| Leelanau | 4,585 | 57.78% | 2,348 | 29.59% | 839 | 10.57% | 163 | 2.05% | 2,237 | 28.19% | 7,935 |
| Lenawee | 20,366 | 56.44% | 12,935 | 35.85% | 2,230 | 6.18% | 554 | 1.54% | 7,431 | 20.59% | 36,085 |
| Livingston | 25,012 | 60.17% | 12,626 | 30.37% | 3,247 | 7.81% | 685 | 1.65% | 12,386 | 29.80% | 41,570 |
| Luce | 1,659 | 57.56% | 992 | 34.42% | 177 | 6.14% | 54 | 1.87% | 667 | 23.14% | 2,882 |
| Mackinac | 3,021 | 52.23% | 2,262 | 39.11% | 415 | 7.17% | 86 | 1.49% | 759 | 13.12% | 5,784 |
| Macomb | 154,155 | 51.88% | 120,125 | 40.43% | 18,975 | 6.39% | 3,864 | 1.30% | 34,030 | 11.45% | 297,119 |
| Manistee | 5,662 | 52.91% | 4,164 | 38.91% | 699 | 6.53% | 177 | 1.65% | 1,498 | 14.00% | 10,702 |
| Marquette | 13,181 | 44.71% | 13,312 | 45.16% | 2,481 | 8.42% | 505 | 1.71% | -131 | -0.45% | 29,479 |
| Mason | 7,137 | 58.14% | 4,134 | 33.68% | 825 | 6.72% | 180 | 1.47% | 3,003 | 24.46% | 12,276 |
| Mecosta | 7,754 | 53.37% | 5,228 | 35.99% | 1,322 | 9.10% | 224 | 1.54% | 2,526 | 17.38% | 14,528 |
| Menominee | 6,170 | 52.52% | 4,962 | 42.23% | 452 | 3.85% | 165 | 1.40% | 1,208 | 10.29% | 11,749 |
| Midland | 17,828 | 53.04% | 12,019 | 35.76% | 3,152 | 9.38% | 611 | 1.82% | 5,809 | 17.28% | 33,610 |
| Missaukee | 3,221 | 63.47% | 1,563 | 30.80% | 230 | 4.53% | 61 | 1.20% | 1,658 | 32.67% | 5,075 |
| Monroe | 25,612 | 51.26% | 20,578 | 41.19% | 3,111 | 6.23% | 663 | 1.33% | 5,034 | 10.07% | 49,964 |
| Montcalm | 10,822 | 56.51% | 6,706 | 35.02% | 1,309 | 6.84% | 313 | 1.63% | 4,116 | 21.49% | 19,150 |
| Montmorency | 2,400 | 55.71% | 1,654 | 38.39% | 195 | 4.53% | 59 | 1.37% | 746 | 17.32% | 4,308 |
| Muskegon | 36,512 | 53.73% | 26,645 | 39.21% | 4,094 | 6.02% | 703 | 1.03% | 9,867 | 14.52% | 67,954 |
| Newaygo | 8,918 | 58.58% | 5,236 | 34.40% | 850 | 5.58% | 219 | 1.44% | 3,682 | 24.18% | 15,223 |
| Oakland | 253,211 | 54.65% | 164,869 | 35.58% | 38,273 | 8.26% | 6,975 | 1.51% | 88,342 | 19.07% | 463,328 |
| Oceana | 5,465 | 57.14% | 3,386 | 35.40% | 570 | 5.96% | 143 | 1.50% | 2,079 | 21.74% | 9,564 |
| Ogemaw | 4,169 | 51.29% | 3,426 | 42.15% | 425 | 5.23% | 108 | 1.33% | 743 | 9.14% | 8,128 |
| Ontonagon | 2,569 | 48.95% | 2,375 | 45.26% | 237 | 4.52% | 67 | 1.28% | 194 | 3.69% | 5,248 |
| Osceola | 4,902 | 60.04% | 2,650 | 32.46% | 466 | 5.71% | 146 | 1.79% | 2,252 | 27.58% | 8,164 |
| Oscoda | 1,915 | 55.25% | 1,325 | 38.23% | 183 | 5.28% | 143 | 1.24% | 590 | 17.02% | 3,466 |
| Otsego | 3,771 | 53.70% | 2,666 | 37.96% | 493 | 7.02% | 93 | 1.32% | 1,105 | 15.74% | 7,023 |
| Ottawa | 51,217 | 67.85% | 18,435 | 24.42% | 4,903 | 6.50% | 929 | 1.23% | 32,782 | 43.43% | 75,484 |
| Presque Isle | 3,486 | 50.43% | 2,952 | 42.71% | 382 | 5.53% | 92 | 1.33% | 534 | 7.72% | 6,912 |
| Roscommon | 5,280 | 54.66% | 3,763 | 38.96% | 508 | 5.26% | 108 | 1.12% | 1,517 | 15.70% | 9,659 |
| Saginaw | 45,233 | 48.22% | 41,650 | 44.40% | 5,677 | 6.05% | 1,239 | 1.32% | 3,583 | 3.82% | 93,799 |
| Sanilac | 12,158 | 67.11% | 4,898 | 27.04% | 863 | 4.76% | 198 | 1.09% | 7,260 | 40.07% | 18,117 |
| Schoolcraft | 2,097 | 47.94% | 1,964 | 44.90% | 243 | 5.56% | 70 | 1.60% | 133 | 3.04% | 4,374 |
| Shiawassee | 15,756 | 51.71% | 11,985 | 39.33% | 2,121 | 6.96% | 608 | 2.00% | 3,771 | 12.38% | 30,470 |
| St. Clair | 31,021 | 55.61% | 20,410 | 36.59% | 3,592 | 6.44% | 756 | 1.36% | 10,611 | 19.02% | 55,779 |
| St. Joseph | 13,631 | 63.19% | 6,318 | 29.29% | 1,283 | 5.95% | 338 | 1.57% | 7,313 | 33.90% | 21,570 |
| Tuscola | 13,306 | 59.12% | 7,632 | 33.91% | 1,266 | 5.63% | 301 | 1.34% | 5,674 | 25.21% | 22,505 |
| Van Buren | 14,451 | 55.96% | 9,248 | 35.81% | 1,691 | 6.55% | 434 | 1.68% | 5,203 | 20.15% | 25,824 |
| Washtenaw | 48,699 | 41.92% | 51,013 | 43.91% | 13,463 | 11.59% | 3,004 | 2.59% | -2,314 | -1.99% | 116,179 |
| Wayne | 315,532 | 35.42% | 522,024 | 58.60% | 43,608 | 4.90% | 9,680 | 1.09% | -206,492 | -23.18% | 890,844 |
| Wexford | 6,027 | 54.01% | 4,173 | 37.39% | 752 | 6.74% | 208 | 1.86% | 1,854 | 16.62% | 11,160 |
| Totals | 1,915,225 | 48.99% | 1,661,532 | 42.50% | 275,223 | 7.04% | 57,745 | 1.48% | 253,693 | 6.49% | 3,909,725 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
Notes
References
- ↑ "SOS - General Election Voter Registration/Turnout Statistics".
- ↑ "1980 Presidential General Election Results – Michigan". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ↑ "1980 Presidential General Election Results - Michigan". uselectionatlas.org.
- 1 2 Scammon, Richard M.; McGillivray, Alice V., eds. (1981). America Votes 14: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. p. 35. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
- 1 2 Michigan Manual 1981-1982. Michigan Department of Management and Budget. 1981. pp. 391–393.
