Date(s) August 11–14, 1980 Venue Madison Square Garden | City New York City Total delegates 3,346 | |
 | ||
Presidential nominee Jimmy Carter of Georgia Vice Presidential nominee Walter Mondale of Minnesota | ||
The 1980 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party nominated President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City from August 11 to August 14, 1980.
Contents
The 1980 convention was notable as it was the last time in the 20th century, for either major party, that a candidate tried to get delegates released from their voting commitments. This was done by Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Carter's chief rival for the nomination in the Democratic primaries, who sought the votes of delegates held by Carter.
Notable speakers
After losing his challenge for the nomination earlier that day, Kennedy spoke on August 12 and delivered a speech in support of President Carter and the Democratic Party. His speech closed with the lines "For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." The speech was written by Bob Shrum.
Various prominent delegates to this convention included Abe Beame, Geraldine Ferraro, Bruce Sundlun, Ruth Messinger, Thomas Addison, Ed Koch, Robert Abrams, Bella Abzug, Mario Biaggi, Steve Westly, and Howard Dean.
Voting
Candidates
President
Delegate voting results
Vice-President
With the Kennedy delegates angry at losing the election, those who bothered to show up for the morning balloting decided to scatter their votes. Over 700 of them did not bother to make it on time, and it took several roll calls to conclude the first ballot. This is the last time during the 20th century that the Democratic Party had a roll call for the Vice Presidential spot.
Vice Presidential tally:
The President's acceptance speech
President Carter gave his speech accepting the party's nomination on August 14. This was notable for his tribute to Hubert Humphrey, whom he first called "Hubert Horatio Hornblower."
On November 4, President Carter and Vice President Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in the general election having lost both the popular vote by 8,423,115 popular votes and the electoral vote by 440 electoral votes.