1984 United States presidential election in Louisiana

The 1984 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Louisiana voters chose 10 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

1984 United States presidential election in Louisiana

November 6, 1984

Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale Party Republican Democratic Home state California Minnesota Running mate George H. W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro Electoral vote 10 0 Popular vote 1,037,299 651,586 Percentage 60.77% 38.18%

Parish Results Reagan   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Mondale   40–50%   50–60%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

Louisiana was won by incumbent United States President Ronald Reagan of California, who was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Reagan ran for a second time with former C.I.A. Director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Mondale ran with Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first major female candidate for the vice presidency.

Partisan background

The presidential election of 1984 was a very partisan election for Louisiana, with just under 99 percent of the electorate voting only for either the Democratic or Republican parties, though eight parties appeared on the ballot.[1] All but two parishes gave either Mondale or Reagan a majority; East Feliciana gave Reagan a narrow plurality, and Madison Parish gave Mondale a narrow plurality. Of Louisiana's 64 parishes, a vast majority (53) gave Reagan a majority; nine gave Mondale a majority. Mondale's best showing was in Orleans Parish, the state's largest parish, where he got 57.9% of the vote; Reagan's was in thinly-populated LaSalle Parish, where he got 78.8% of the vote. However, Reagan exceeded 70% in eight parishes (including the highly populated New Orleans suburb of Jefferson Parish and the moderately populated New Orleans suburb of St Tammany Parish).

Louisiana weighed in for this election as 2% more Republican than the national average. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which St. John the Baptist Parish voted for a Republican presidential candidate.[2]

Democratic platform

Walter Mondale accepted the Democratic nomination for presidency after pulling narrowly ahead of Senator Gary Hart of Colorado and Rev. Jesse Jackson of Illinois - his main contenders during what would be a very contentious[3] Democratic primary. During the campaign, Mondale was vocal about reduction of government spending, and, in particular, was vocal against heightened military spending on the nuclear arms race against the Soviet Union,[4] which was reaching its peak on both sides in the early 1980s.

Taking a (what was becoming the traditional liberal) stance on the social issues of the day, Mondale advocated for gun control, the right to choose regarding abortion, and strongly opposed the repeal of laws regarding institutionalized prayer in public schools. He also criticized Reagan for his economic marginalization of the poor, stating that Reagan's reelection campaign was "a happy talk campaign," not focused on the real issues at hand.[5]

A very significant political move during this election: the Democratic Party nominated Representative Geraldine Ferraro to run with Mondale as Vice-President. Ferraro is the first female candidate to receive such a nomination in United States history. She said in an interview at the 1984 Democratic National Convention that this action "opened a door which will never be closed again,"[6] speaking to the role of women in politics.

Republican platform

Reagan challenging Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!," from the Brandenburg Gate in June, 1987. Reagan's firm stance with the Soviet Union was an important contributor to his 1984 reelection.

By 1984, Reagan was very popular with voters across the nation as the President who saw them out of the economic stagflation of the early and middle 1970s, and into a period of (relative) economic stability.[7]

The economic success seen under Reagan was politically accomplished (principally) in two ways. The first was initiation of deep tax cuts for the wealthy,[8] and the second was a wide-spectrum of tax cuts for crude oil production and refinement, namely, with the 1980 Windfall profits tax cuts.[9] These policies were augmented with a call for heightened military spending,[10] the cutting of social welfare programs for the poor,[11] and the increasing of taxes on those making less than $50,000 per year.[8] Collectively called "Reaganomics", these economic policies were established through several pieces of legislation passed between 1980 and 1987.

These new tax policies also arguably curbed several existing tax loopholes, preferences, and exceptions, but Reaganomics is typically remembered for its trickle down effect of taxing poor Americans more than rich ones. Reaganomics has (along with legislation passed under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) been criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United States after 2007, such as the Great Recession.[12]

Virtually unopposed during the Republican primaries, Reagan ran on a campaign of furthering his economic policies. Reagan vowed to continue his "war on drugs," passing sweeping legislation after the 1984 election in support of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession.[13] Furthermore, taking a (what was becoming the traditional conservative) stance on the social issues of the day, Reagan strongly opposed legislation regarding comprehension of gay marriage, abortion, and (to a lesser extent) environmentalism,[14] regarding the final as simply being bad for business.

Republican victory

Reagan carried Louisiana by a landslide margin in excess of 22 points, a substantial improvement with respect to 1980, when he carried it over Southerner Jimmy Carter by just 5.45%. He became only the second Republican to break 60% in the Pelican State (after Nixon in 1972)--and remains, as of 2020, the last nominee of either party to do so. Mondale's strength was largely limited to Louisiana's largely African-American Black Belt parishes along the Mississippi River, along with Orleans Parish (coterminous with the city of New Orleans) and one parish in then-typically Democratic 'Imperial Calcasieu', Allen Parish. In none of these parishes did Mondale manage over 60% of the vote.

Reagan dominated the rest of the state, claiming a series of parishes near the border with Texas and in Acadiana that Carter had been able to hold in his competitive loss in the state in 1980. He also performed superlatively in New Orleans' two main suburban parishes, Jefferson and St Tammany; in both, he exceeded Richard Nixon's 1972 vote share, earning the highest vote share of any nominee in both parishes since the last time the Democratic Party had swept the South, in the 1944 election.

In 1988, Michael Dukakis would reclaim many Acadiana parishes, cutting the margin to 10.2%--still more Republican than the country, but rather less Republican than much of the rest of the South, and setting the stage for Bill Clinton's two solid wins in the state before it followed a trajectory in the 21st century of becoming a solid red state.

Results

United States presidential election in Louisiana, 1984
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Ronald Reagan	1,037,299	60.77%	10
	Democratic	Walter Mondale	651,586	38.18%	0
	Citizen's Party	Sonia Johnson	9,502	0.56%	0
	Independent	Lyndon LaRouche	3,552	0.21%	0
	Libertarian	David Bergland	1,876[lower-alpha 1]	0.11%	0
	America First	Bob Richards	1,310[lower-alpha 1]	0.08%	0
	Socialist Workers Party	Melvin Mason	1,164[lower-alpha 1]	0.07%	0
	New Alliance Party	Dennis Serrette	533[lower-alpha 1]	0.03%	0
Totals			1,706,822	100.0%	10

Results by parish

Parish	Ronald Wilson Reagan Republican		Walter Frederick Mondale Democratic		Sonia Ann Johnson Citizens		Lyndon Hermyle LaRocuche Independent		Margin		Total votes cast[15]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Acadia	14,906	61.00%	9,262	37.90%	174	0.71%	96	0.39%	5,644	23.10%	24,438
Allen	4,474	47.75%	4,842	51.68%	15	0.16%	38	0.41%	-368	-3.93%	9,369
Ascension	11,945	51.73%	11,048	47.84%	26	0.11%	73	0.32%	897	3.88%	23,092
Assumption	5,433	52.67%	4,660	45.17%	202	1.96%	21	0.20%	773	7.49%	10,316
Avoyelles	9,402	56.56%	6,808	40.96%	364	2.19%	48	0.29%	2,594	15.61%	16,622
Beauregard	7,353	63.30%	4,199	36.15%	10	0.09%	55	0.47%	3,154	27.15%	11,617
Bienville	4,587	56.10%	3,530	43.17%	29	0.35%	31	0.38%	1,057	12.93%	8,177
Bossier	22,638	76.15%	7,006	23.57%	21	0.07%	64	0.22%	15,632	52.58%	29,729
Caddo	63,429	63.81%	35,727	35.94%	79	0.08%	165	0.17%	27,702	27.87%	99,400
Calcasieu	35,566	51.52%	33,214	48.11%	69	0.10%	189	0.27%	2,352	3.41%	69,038
Caldwell	3,341	69.47%	1,348	28.03%	110	2.29%	10	0.21%	1,993	41.44%	4,809
Cameron	2,265	58.27%	1,608	41.37%	2	0.05%	12	0.31%	657	16.90%	3,887
Catahoula	3,640	67.71%	1,649	30.67%	76	1.41%	11	0.20%	1,991	37.03%	5,376
Claiborne	4,349	60.76%	2,788	38.95%	9	0.13%	12	0.17%	1,561	21.81%	7,158
Concordia	6,177	63.92%	3,332	34.48%	140	1.45%	14	0.14%	2,845	29.44%	9,663
De Soto	5,989	55.98%	4,642	43.39%	33	0.31%	35	0.33%	1,347	12.59%	10,699
East Baton Rouge	95,704	62.63%	56,673	37.09%	199	0.13%	230	0.15%	39,031	25.54%	152,806
East Carroll	1,974	48.01%	2,089	50.80%	41	1.00%	8	0.19%	-115	-2.80%	4,112
East Feliciana	4,199	49.98%	4,122	49.06%	52	0.62%	29	0.35%	77	0.92%	8,402
Evangeline	8,680	55.15%	6,981	44.35%	41	0.26%	38	0.24%	1,699	10.79%	15,740
Franklin	6,708	68.02%	2,937	29.78%	194	1.97%	23	0.23%	3,771	38.24%	9,862
Grant	5,334	66.03%	2,588	32.04%	136	1.68%	20	0.25%	2,746	33.99%	8,078
Iberia	17,727	62.30%	10,170	35.74%	516	1.81%	43	0.15%	7,557	26.56%	28,456
Iberville	6,455	42.71%	8,587	56.82%	42	0.28%	28	0.19%	-2,132	-14.11%	15,112
Jackson	5,034	65.08%	2,568	33.20%	119	1.54%	14	0.18%	2,466	31.88%	7,735
Jefferson	123,997	74.84%	41,183	24.86%	198	0.12%	296	0.18%	82,814	49.99%	165,674
Jefferson Davis	8,296	57.61%	5,962	41.40%	72	0.50%	71	0.49%	2,334	16.21%	14,401
Lafayette	44,344	69.10%	19,265	30.02%	445	0.69%	124	0.19%	25,079	39.08%	64,178
Lafourche	20,930	65.54%	10,186	31.90%	729	2.28%	90	0.28%	10,744	33.64%	31,935
LaSalle	5,404	78.76%	1,318	19.21%	121	1.76%	18	0.26%	4,086	59.55%	6,861
Lincoln	9,087	61.95%	5,432	37.03%	132	0.90%	17	0.12%	3,655	24.92%	14,668
Livingston	17,465	65.85%	8,913	33.61%	66	0.25%	78	0.29%	8,552	32.24%	26,522
Madison	2,849	48.80%	2,906	49.78%	71	1.22%	12	0.21%	-57	-0.98%	5,838
Morehouse	8,585	62.92%	4,829	35.39%	207	1.52%	24	0.18%	3,756	27.53%	13,645
Natchitoches	8,836	59.23%	5,806	38.92%	242	1.62%	33	0.22%	3,030	20.31%	14,917
Orleans	86,316	41.83%	119,478	57.90%	239	0.12%	314	0.15%	-33,162	-16.07%	206,347
Ouachita	37,270	69.72%	15,525	29.04%	558	1.04%	104	0.19%	21,745	40.68%	53,457
Plaquemines	7,655	69.93%	3,261	29.79%	11	0.10%	20	0.18%	4,394	40.14%	10,947
Pointe Coupee	5,477	44.69%	6,732	54.93%	22	0.18%	24	0.20%	-1,255	-10.24%	12,255
Rapides	32,879	65.95%	16,121	32.34%	754	1.51%	101	0.20%	16,758	33.61%	49,855
Red River	3,060	60.65%	1,958	38.81%	9	0.18%	18	0.36%	1,102	21.84%	5,045
Richland	5,980	66.08%	2,918	32.24%	130	1.44%	22	0.24%	3,062	33.83%	9,050
Sabine	6,295	66.46%	2,980	31.46%	162	1.71%	35	0.37%	3,315	35.00%	9,472
Saint Bernard	24,428	74.95%	8,076	24.78%	32	0.10%	58	0.18%	16,352	50.17%	32,594
Saint Charles	10,185	59.78%	6,784	39.82%	29	0.17%	40	0.23%	3,401	19.96%	17,038
Saint Helena	2,366	43.75%	2,956	54.66%	49	0.91%	37	0.68%	-590	-10.91%	5,408
Saint James	4,627	43.39%	5,989	56.17%	30	0.28%	17	0.16%	-1,362	-12.77%	10,663
Saint John the Baptist	9,093	54.09%	7,646	45.48%	37	0.22%	36	0.21%	1,447	8.61%	16,812
Saint Landry	19,055	51.32%	17,950	48.35%	73	0.20%	49	0.13%	1,105	2.98%	37,127
Saint Martin	9,698	52.35%	8,589	46.36%	206	1.11%	33	0.18%	1,109	5.99%	18,526
Saint Mary	15,275	61.28%	9,411	37.76%	206	0.83%	33	0.13%	5,864	23.53%	24,925
Saint Tammany	38,664	76.32%	11,719	23.13%	146	0.29%	132	0.26%	26,945	53.19%	50,661
Tangipahoa	19,580	60.27%	12,799	39.39%	52	0.16%	58	0.18%	6,781	20.87%	32,489
Tensas	1,956	53.78%	1,628	44.76%	46	1.26%	7	0.19%	328	9.02%	3,637
Terrebonne	23,696	69.70%	9,640	28.35%	604	1.78%	59	0.17%	14,056	41.34%	33,999
Union	6,585	67.87%	2,916	30.05%	173	1.78%	29	0.30%	3,669	37.81%	9,703
Vermilion	12,721	57.00%	9,033	40.47%	510	2.29%	54	0.24%	3,688	16.52%	22,318
Vernon	9,035	67.72%	4,076	30.55%	180	1.35%	50	0.37%	4,959	37.17%	13,341
Washington	11,185	59.06%	7,680	40.55%	30	0.16%	44	0.23%	3,505	18.51%	18,939
Webster	12,055	64.76%	6,509	34.97%	14	0.08%	37	0.20%	5,546	29.79%	18,615
West Baton Rouge	4,189	47.31%	4,631	52.30%	21	0.24%	13	0.15%	-442	-4.99%	8,854
West Carroll	3,874	71.04%	1,474	27.03%	85	1.56%	20	0.37%	2,400	44.01%	5,453
West Feliciana	2,097	47.60%	2,296	52.12%	5	0.11%	7	0.16%	-199	-4.52%	4,405
Winn	4,934	64.04%	2,633	34.17%	107	1.39%	31	0.40%	2,301	29.86%	7,705
Totals	1,037,299	60.77%	651,586	38.18%	9,502	0.56%	3,552	0.21%	385,713	22.60%	1,706,822

See also

• Presidency of Ronald Reagan

Notes

1. Totals for this candidate were not separated by parish but only listed as a statewide total which is included in the statewide aggregate below.[15]

References

1. "1984 Presidential General Election Results – Louisiana". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
2. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
3. Kurt Andersen, "A Wild Ride to the End", Time, May 28, 1984
4. Trying to Win the Peace, by Even Thomas, Time, July 2, 1984
5. Mondale's Acceptance Speech, 1984, AllPolitics
6. Martin, Douglas (2011-03-27). "Geraldine A. Ferraro, First Woman on Major Party Ticket, Dies at 75". The New York Times. pp. A1. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
7. Raines, Howell (November 7, 1984). "Reagan Wins By a Landslide, Sweeping at Least 48 States; G.O.P. Gains Strength in House". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
8. "U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1913–2011 (Nominal and Inflation-Adjusted Brackets)". Tax Foundation. September 9, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
9. Joseph J. Thorndike (Nov 10, 2005). "Historical Perspective: The Windfall Profit Tax". Retrieved November 11, 2013.
10. Historical tables, Budget of the United States Government Archived 2012-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, 2013, table 6.1.
11. Niskanen, William A. (1992). "Reaganomics". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (1st ed.). Library of Economics and Liberty. OCLC 317650570, 50016270, 163149563
12. Jerry Lanson (2008-11-06). "A historic victory. A changed nation. Now, can Obama deliver?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
13. Alexander, Michelle (2010). The New Jim Crow. New York: The New Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1595581037.
14. Prendergast, William B. (1999). The Catholic vote in American politics. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. pp. 186, 191–193. ISBN 0-87840-724-3.
15. "LA US President Race, November 06, 1984". Our Campaigns.