Challenge: Describe a Reagan '80/Mondale '84 voter

[Mr. Smith]

In wake of Dukakis '88/Bush '92, I thought would be interesting to take on another even greater challenge.

That being someone who voted against Carter's re-election, but voted for Mondale.

And before anyone shrugs, clearly here has to be some kind, given that California itself actually trended more to Mondale and two counties actually switched over and haven't voted Repub since 1980.

The thing is, those counties are very different from each other, sans the Bay Area location.

Which makes me wonder what the tie is, was it people  oddly fascinated by Ferraro? Was Reagan really in graver trouble than the media today give credit for? And are there other states that trended more D?

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Farm crisis again.

Marin County, CA is a combination of subtracting Anderson and adding the obvious D trend.

Tompkins County, NY (Cornell University, today the most Democratic county in upstate New York) also flipped from like 41-40 Reagan '80 with Anderson taking double digits to Mondale '84. (And like Marin has never looked back)

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

There are actually a whole scattering of counties which flipped from Reagan '80 to Mondale '84, but these mostly counties Reagan only won with pluralities while Anderson took a lot of votes away from Carter, while in 1984 those Anderson voters returned to Mondale.

As mentioned, you have Marin and Santa Cruz, California, both strong Anderson counties, and the whole Bay Area was obviously trending Dem by the 80s. Tompkins County, New York, again, barely went to Reagan in 1980 since it was Anderson's best county in the state but flipped to Mondale in 1984.

Other examples are Rock Island, Illinois; Jefferson and Cowlitz, Washington; and Denver, Colorado.

Mondale also picked up majority-Reagan '80 Apache County, Arizona, which has since become a Democratic stronghold.

A whole bunch of counties of course flipped blue in Iowa due to the farm crisis, and it was one of the closest/most Democratic states in 84, just like Iowa was nearly painted in blue in '88 as one of Dukakis's best states.

Minnesota, while voting narrowly for Carter '80 and much more narrowly for Mondale '84, had a bunch of counties flip in both directions to produce that result.


1980


1984

[Bandit3 the Worker]

I think I have a close family member who was a Reagan '80/Mondale '84. It's not as uncommon as you think.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Also, an Occupy Cincinnati guy told me he was a Reagan '80/Mondale '84 voter. I think he was an older union man.

[Intell]

People who disapproved of the Carter Administration and voted for Reagan, but absolutely hated the Reagan Administration and therefore voted for Mondale.   

[TDAS04]

Many Jews.  Carter carried the Jewish vote in 1980 with only a plurality of 45% (Reagan got 39%, Anderson 14%).  Mondale took 67% of the Jewish vote in 1984.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Also, an Occupy Cincinnati guy told me he was a Reagan '80/Mondale '84 voter. I think he was an older union man.

I was thinking union members would be the most likely. Maybe some guy in the northeast who saw his plant shut down and move to a right to work state. Also probably a lot of air traffic controllers specifically.

[checkers]

A lot of feminists voted for Anderson because they were unhappy with the Carter administration's record on those issues. In general, Mondale was a lot more acceptable both to unionists (who may have voted Reagan) and more upper class liberals (who probably went for Anderson or sat the election out).

There probably would have also been people who voted against the perceived incompetence of the Carter administration but didn't particularly like Reagan.