Nov. 5, 1980 | Reagan triumphs over Carter easily

The popular vote was less close than had been expected, but the real surprise of the day came in the electoral count, where Reagan scored a stunning victory.

As of 2 a.m., Reagan had garnered 452 electoral votes, to Carter’s 45. Two hundred-seventy were necessary to win.

Forty-one electoral votes were too close to call early this morning

The tally

Reagan won every state except Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, which went to Carter, and Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennesse[e], which were too close to call as of 2 a.m.

Republicans across the country were swept into office on Reagan’s coattails, and late last night it appeared likely that the Republicans would win a majority in the Senate for the first time since 1953.

Four Democratic senators fell with Carter as Republicans mounted an unexpectedly strong push to take control of the Senate.

“If the trend continues, we may very well control one house of the Congress for the first time in a quarter of a century,” Reagan told his cheering supporters at the Century Plaza Hotel.

Democrats limped toward renewed control of the House, but Republicans stood to gain more than 20 seats there.

Carter concedes

The polls were still open in the West when Carter concede defeat shortly before 10 p.m. EST. NBC had declared Carter the winner at 8:15 p.m.

Carter’s pollster, Patrick Cadell, told reporters yesterday that he had informed the president early on Election Day that Reagan was almost certain to win the race.

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Smooth transition

Carter promised Reagan an orderly transition period, and exhorted his supports to rally behind the new Republican administration.

At midnight, a smiling Reagan strode to the podium at his victory reception, and delivered a short speech to a wildly cheering crowd.

“I consider the trust that you have placed in me sacred, and I give you my sacred oath that I will do my utmost to justify your faith,” he told his supporters.

‘Not frightened’

“I am not firghtened [sic] by what lies ahead, and I do not believe the American people are afraid of what lies ahead,” he said.

Anderson conceded the election shortly before 11 a.m. As of 2 a.m., the independent candidate [jump headline: Reagan defeats Carter in surprising landslide] had garnered more than 5 per cent of the popular vote – the percentage he needs to secure federal funds partially to reimburse his campaign expenses.

Reagan drew from Carter the support of traditionally Democratic voters, including urban dwellers, blue-collar workers and Jews.

Survey

Surveys of voters leaving polling places in 10 key states and a nationwide poll showed Reagan breaking even or doing slightly better than that among such Democratic constituencies as Jewish voters in New York and blue-collar workers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Most of them said they were concerned over the administration’s economic and defense policies.

But Hispanics in Texas and New York, and blacks in Michigan and Pennsylvania were staying with the president. And most of the traditionally strong Democrats in Chicago seemed to be staying with him despite a fight in the organization there.

Reagan’s showing was based on a perception among his supporters that Carter is doing a bad job as president and the parallel idea that it is time for a change in Washington. Specifically, they said they were dissatisfied with inflation at home and the nations’ image abroad, indicating the issues Reagan emphasized in his campaign had worked for him with some voters.

For example, Reagan split the Jewish voters in New York with Carter, a strong showing for a GOP candidate. Four out of five of those Jewish Reagan voters said they simply didn’t believe the president had performed well in office. Asked specifically what issues were important to them in making their choice, more than half said America’s image abroad and nearly as many named inflation.

So ended the longest campaign, in an electoral vote runaway that belied the forecasts of the president and the pollsters that it would be close.

— Harmon Grossman