The 1980 United States presidential election in Florida took place on Tuesday, November 4, 1980, as part of the 1980 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Florida voters chose 17 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter and his running mate, Vice President Walter Mondale, against Republican challenger and former California Governor Ronald Reagan and his running mate and former Director of the CIA, George H. W. Bush.

The Republican ticket won Florida by a wide 17.02% margin, a particularly strong performance in this conservative leaning state that voted for Carter in 1976 by a 5.29% margin.Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1980 Presidential General Election Results - Florida John B. Anderson, a liberal Republican Congressman from Illinois who ran as an independent with former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Patrick Lucey, received his strongest performance of any former Confederate state in Florida, where he won 5.14% of the vote. Florida, along with Virginia, were one of only two southern states to give Anderson over 5% of the vote. Although Carter lost Florida, he is the last Democrat to win a majority of counties in the state's northern region. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is also the last time for a Democrat to win the counties of Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Jackson, Lafayette, Liberty, Suwannee, and Union.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 This cycle also marks the most recent time that an incumbent president standing for re-election would fail to carry Florida, irrespective of the national outcome.

Reagan's victory was the first of four consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Florida would not vote Democratic again until Bill Clinton won the state in his re-election bid in 1996. Whether Florida is a swing state or a Republican-leaning state today is disputed among political observers.

Among white voters, 62% supported Reagan while 31% supported Carter.

Results

Primary election results

Republican The Republican primary was held on March 11, 1980. Ronald Reagan won the Florida primary. +1980 Florida Republican presidential primary resultsCandidateVotes received#%Ronald Reagan345,09356.2%George H. W. Bush185,52730.2%John B. Anderson56,4479.2%Phil Crane11,9742.0%Howard H. Baker, Jr.6,2941.0%John B. Connally4,9090.8%Harold Stassen1,3650.2%Bob Dole1,0810.2%

Democratic The Democratic presidential primary was also held on March 11, 1980. Incumbent president Jimmy Carter won the Florida primary. +1980 Florida Democratic presidential primary resultsCandidateVotes received#%Jimmy Carter665,68360.6%Ted Kennedy256,56423.3%Jerry Brown53,4224.9%Richard B. Kay19,1481.7%No preference104,2529.5%

General election results

Results by county County Ronald ReaganRepublican Jimmy CarterDemocratic John B. AndersonIndependent Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % Alachua 19,804 38.56% 26,849 52.27% 4,178 8.13% 533 1.04% -7,045 -13.71% 51,364 Baker 2,283 45.88% 2,611 52.47% 56 1.13% 26 0.52% -328 -6.59% 4,976 Bay 20,948 60.61% 12,389 35.85% 740 2.14% 484 1.40% 8,559 24.76% 34,561 Bradford 2,778 44.50% 3,347 53.61% 90 1.44% 28 0.45% -569 -9.11% 6,243 Brevard 69,460 60.07% 39,007 33.73% 5,866 5.07% 1,303 1.13% 30,453 26.34% 115,636 Broward 229,693 55.95% 146,323 35.64% 31,554 7.69% 2,991 0.73% 83,370 20.31% 410,561 Calhoun 1,504 38.72% 2,300 59.22% 52 1.34% 28 0.72% -796 -20.50% 3,884 Charlotte 20,486 64.62% 9,769 30.82% 1,210 3.82% 235 0.74% 10,717 33.80% 31,700 Citrus 14,286 58.48% 9,162 37.50% 787 3.22% 195 0.80% 5,124 20.98% 24,430 Clay 15,643 64.85% 7,630 31.63% 692 2.87% 157 0.65% 8,013 33.22% 24,122 Collier 23,900 71.10% 7,739 23.02% 1,678 4.99% 296 0.88% 16,161 48.08% 33,613 Columbia 5,643 48.45% 5,680 48.76% 248 2.13% 77 0.66% -37 -0.31% 11,648 Dade 265,888 50.65% 210,868 40.17% 44,799 8.53% 3,350 0.64% 55,020 10.48% 524,905 DeSoto 3,356 53.40% 2,713 43.17% 155 2.47% 61 0.97% 643 10.23% 6,285 Dixie 1,101 34.70% 2,010 63.35% 45 1.42% 17 0.54% -909 -28.65% 3,173 Duval 98,664 50.45% 90,466 46.26% 5,184 2.65% 1,240 0.63% 8,198 4.19% 195,554 Escambia 51,794 58.49% 33,513 37.84% 2,634 2.97% 618 0.70% 18,281 20.65% 88,559 Flagler 2,895 51.70% 2,503 44.70% 154 2.75% 48 0.86% 392 7.00% 5,600 Franklin 1,508 44.59% 1,775 52.48% 54 1.60% 45 1.33% -267 -7.89% 3,382 Gadsden 3,718 30.41% 8,222 67.26% 201 1.64% 84 0.69% -4,504 -36.85% 12,225 Gilchrist 1,093 39.13% 1,627 58.25% 56 2.01% 17 0.61% -534 -19.12% 2,793 Glades 1,098 45.96% 1,203 50.36% 61 2.55% 27 1.13% -105 -4.40% 2,389 Gulf 2,127 43.18% 2,700 54.81% 61 1.24% 38 0.77% -573 -11.63% 4,926 Hamilton 1,301 39.66% 1,923 58.63% 40 1.22% 16 0.49% -622 -18.97% 3,280 Hardee 2,603 48.82% 2,599 48.74% 83 1.56% 47 0.88% 4 0.08% 5,332 Hendry 2,703 49.93% 2,543 46.97% 131 2.42% 37 0.68% 160 2.96% 5,414 Hernando 12,115 54.99% 8,858 40.21% 852 3.87% 207 0.94% 3,257 14.78% 22,032 Highlands 11,925 61.95% 6,688 34.74% 531 2.76% 105 0.55% 5,237 27.21% 19,249 Hillsborough 106,160 51.71% 88,271 42.99% 8,965 4.37% 1,918 0.93% 17,889 8.72% 205,314 Holmes 3,221 52.41% 2,767 45.02% 69 1.12% 89 1.45% 454 7.39% 6,146 Indian River 15,568 62.98% 7,759 31.39% 1,185 4.79% 205 0.83% 7,809 31.59% 24,717 Jackson 6,348 44.76% 7,567 53.36% 159 1.12% 107 0.75% -1,219 -8.60% 14,181 Jefferson 1,623 39.19% 2,367 57.16% 96 2.32% 55 1.33% -744 -17.97% 4,141 Lafayette 795 42.67% 1,034 55.50% 22 1.18% 12 0.64% -239 -12.83% 1,863 Lake 26,798 64.53% 13,128 31.61% 1,244 3.00% 358 0.86% 13,670 32.92% 41,528 Lee 61,033 64.51% 28,125 29.73% 4,229 4.47% 1,226 1.30% 32,908 34.78% 94,613 Leon 24,919 43.47% 28,450 49.63% 3,193 5.57% 764 1.33% -3,531 -6.16% 57,326 Levy 3,210 42.26% 4,170 54.90% 175 2.30% 41 0.54% -960 -12.64% 7,596 Liberty 899 43.81% 1,114 54.29% 25 1.22% 14 0.68% -215 -10.48% 2,052 Madison 2,280 41.39% 3,134 56.89% 65 1.18% 30 0.54% -854 -15.50% 5,509 Manatee 40,535 61.81% 21,679 33.06% 2,928 4.47% 434 0.66% 18,856 28.75% 65,576 Marion 23,743 58.49% 15,400 37.94% 1,187 2.92% 262 0.65% 8,343 20.55% 40,592 Martin 20,521 68.05% 8,087 26.82% 1,321 4.38% 225 0.75% 12,434 41.23% 30,154 Monroe 11,644 53.40% 7,920 36.32% 1,932 8.86% 310 1.42% 3,724 17.08% 21,806 Nassau 5,440 50.60% 5,074 47.20% 183 1.70% 54 0.50% 366 3.40% 10,751 Okaloosa 28,072 69.62% 10,845 26.90% 1,116 2.77% 290 0.72% 17,227 42.72% 40,323 Okeechobee 2,783 44.81% 3,228 51.98% 156 2.51% 43 0.69% -445 -7.17% 6,210 Orange 87,454 61.06% 48,767 34.05% 5,403 3.77% 1,595 1.11% 38,687 27.01% 143,219 Osceola 10,863 59.67% 6,603 36.27% 564 3.10% 175 0.96% 4,260 23.40% 18,205 Palm Beach 143,639 56.79% 91,991 36.37% 15,193 6.01% 2,107 0.83% 51,648 20.42% 252,930 Pasco 50,120 56.67% 34,054 38.50% 3,569 4.04% 699 0.79% 16,066 18.17% 88,442 Pinellas 185,728 53.83% 138,428 40.12% 17,839 5.17% 3,008 0.87% 47,300 13.71% 345,003 Polk 59,651 56.11% 43,327 40.75% 2,627 2.47% 710 0.67% 16,324 15.36% 106,315 Putnam 8,273 46.67% 8,906 50.24% 414 2.34% 134 0.76% -633 -3.57% 17,727 St. Johns 11,234 59.67% 6,898 36.64% 554 2.94% 140 0.74% 4,336 23.03% 18,826 St. Lucie 18,126 60.76% 10,347 34.69% 1,113 3.73% 244 0.82% 7,779 26.07% 29,830 Santa Rosa 13,802 63.93% 6,964 32.26% 606 2.81% 218 1.01% 6,838 31.67% 21,590 Sarasota 68,065 68.57% 25,621 25.81% 4,796 4.83% 783 0.79% 42,444 42.76% 99,265 Seminole 39,989 66.16% 17,443 28.86% 2,459 4.07% 548 0.91% 22,546 37.30% 60,439 Sumter 3,671 44.41% 4,380 52.98% 141 1.71% 75 0.91% -709 -8.57% 8,267 Suwannee 3,899 46.22% 4,345 51.51% 135 1.60% 57 0.68% -446 -5.29% 8,436 Taylor 2,776 47.31% 2,963 50.49% 78 1.33% 51 0.87% -187 -3.18% 5,868 Union 1,123 46.35% 1,237 51.05% 45 1.86% 18 0.74% -114 -4.70% 2,423 Volusia 52,663 51.69% 44,513 43.69% 3,310 3.25% 1,396 1.37% 8,150 8.00% 101,882 Wakulla 2,021 47.26% 2,082 48.69% 112 2.62% 61 1.43% -61 -1.43% 4,276 Walton 4,694 50.28% 4,360 46.70% 199 2.13% 83 0.89% 334 3.58% 9,336 Washington 3,251 49.92% 3,110 47.75% 93 1.43% 59 0.91% 141 2.17% 6,513Totals2,046,95155.52%1,419,47538.50%189,6925.14%30,9080.84%627,47617.02%3,687,026

Results by congressional district Ronald Reagan won a majority of the vote in the majority of the congressional districts. Source:

District Reagan Carter Representative 54.7% 43.2%Earl Hutto 42.2% 53.6%Don Fuqua 46.6% 51.1%Charles E. Bennett 57.1% 39.8%Bill Chappell 59.2% 36.9%Richard Kelly (96th Congress)Bill McCollum (97th Congress) 53.3% 41.5%Bill Young 52.5% 43.0%Sam Gibbons 59.9% 36.4%Andy Ireland 62.6% 32.8%Bill Nelson 64.8% 30.9%Skip Bafalis 57.1% 36.3%Dan Mica 56.1% 36.3%Edward J. Stack (96th Congress)Clay Shaw (97th Congress) 41.8% 50.2%William Lehman 55.2% 37.9%Claude Pepper 55.7% 34.2%Dante Fascell

References

Works cited