1984 Republican Party presidential primaries
Selection of Republican US presidential candidate
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From February 20 to July 1, 1984, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1984 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Ronald Reagan was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1984 Republican National Convention held from August 20 to August 23, 1984, in Dallas, Texas.
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February 20 to July 1, 1984
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The primaries were uneventful as Reagan was virtually assured of the nomination by virtue of his popularity within the party. Thus, he faced only token opposition in the primary race. Ronald Reagan won in a landslide, winning every contest and garnering more than 6.4 million votes. Former Minnesota governor Harold Stassen opposed Reagan for the Republican nomination and criticized the President's foreign policy, the budget deficit, and the trade imbalance.[1] Stassen earned less than 13,000 votes, merely 0.19% of the total votes cast. Ronald Reagan would go on to win the most Electoral votes achieved by any president in history in the general election of that year.
Candidates
Nominee
| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign
Withdrawal date |
Popular vote | Contest won | Running mate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan | .jpg) |
President of the United States (1981–1989) |
|
 (Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: August 23, 1984 |
6,484,987 (98.8%) |
51 | George Bush |  | |
Withdrew during primaries
Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota
Speculated candidates
Before Reagan announced his bid for re-election, The following potential candidates were considered possible candidates to run for the Republican nomination in 1984 by the media.
U.S. Senator William L. Armstrong of Colorado
Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee
Vice President George H.W. Bush of Texas
Former Secretary of the Treasury John Connally of Texas
U.S. Representative Phil Crane of Illinois
U.S. Senator John Danforth of Missouri
U.S. Senator David Durenberger of Minnesota
U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah
U.S. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina
U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada
U.S. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana
U.S. Senator Bob Packwood of Oregon
U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
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Opinion polling
| Poll source | Date(s) | Bush |
Baker |
Connally |
Kemp |
Dole |
Helms |
Other |
Undecided/None |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup | Aug. 13-16, 1982 | 32% | 15% | 7% | 4% | 4% | 2% | 5%[a] | 31% |
- All other (Philip Crane, Orrin Hatch, William Armstrong, Paul Laxalt, John Danforth, Bob Packwood, Richard Lugar, and David Durengerger) received 1% or less. Write-in candidates, none of whom received as much as 1%, included John Anderson, Gerald Ford, Barry Goldwater, Alexander Haig, Richard Nixon, and Charles Percy.
Results
The popular vote from the Republican primaries was as follows:[2]
- Ronald Reagan (inc.): 6,484,987 (98.78%)
- Unpledged delegates: 55,458 (0.85%)
- Harold Stassen: 12,749 (0.19%)
- Ben Fernandez: 202 (0.00%)
Reagan was renominated by a vote of 2,233 (two delegates abstained). For the only time in American history, the vice presidential roll call was taken concurrently with the presidential roll call. Vice President George H. W. Bush was overwhelmingly renominated. This was the last time in the 20th century that the vice presidential candidate of either major party was nominated by roll call vote.
| Presidential Ballot | Vice Presidential Ballot | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan | 2,233 | George H. W. Bush | 2,231 |
| Abstaining | 2 | Abstaining | 2 |
| Jack Kemp | 1 | ||
| Jeane Kirkpatrick | 1 |