# John Anderson in the 1980 Pres. election... **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 19, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658 "2017-07-19T17:06:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/1 "2017-07-19T17:06:25Z")
I went for him 'cuz I was a dumb, uninformed 18 year old. Anybody out there have a _good_ reason or two to vote for him? ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/2 "2017-07-19T17:12:07Z")
I wasn’t alive then, but I was under the impression that he was actually polling higher than Reagan & Carter for a good portion of the campaign, at least at first. So percieved viability would’ve been a good reason to vote for the 3rd party dude in 1980. Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/3 "2017-07-19T18:16:50Z")
He was on the Barber’s TV the day before the election. When asked what he would do the next night, he said, “Go home and have a couple of belts.” The barber muttered, “That will lose it for him, right there.” I liked him at the time, then I learned that as a Congressman he proposed making Christianity the official relation of the USA. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/4 "2017-07-19T18:23:23Z")
the short answer is that Carter was perceived as incompetent and Reagan as insane. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/5 "2017-07-19T18:23:51Z")
A vote for a 3rd party in the United States is a wasted vote. You should have voted for Carter. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/6 "2017-07-19T18:25:30Z")
He was the first of the “oh, it’s so _trendy_ to vote for the independent” candidates. He wasn’t Carter and he wasn’t Reagan. So some people chose to waste their votes on him. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/7 "2017-07-19T18:40:13Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > A vote for a 3rd party in the United States is a wasted vote. You should have voted for Carter. This is true. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/8 "2017-07-19T19:32:29Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > A vote for a 3rd party in the United States is a wasted vote. You should have voted for Carter. Which wouldn’t have been a wasted vote because? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/9 "2017-07-19T19:38:25Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Which wouldn’t have been a wasted vote because? Because he didn’t know how the election would come out. Would Carter have won with Anderson’s votes? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/10 "2017-07-19T20:12:34Z")
My dad voted for him in hopes that Anderson would get enough votes to qualify for matching funds from some organization; he had to get some minimum percentage of the popular vote, but I don’t have any more info than that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/11 "2017-07-19T20:20:28Z")
> [@pjacks](#): > > I wasn’t alive then, but I was under the impression that he was actually polling higher than Reagan & Carter for a good portion of the campaign, at least at first. This wasn’t true, and I say this as a local (northern Virginia) organizer for Anderson’s campaign. His support topped out at about 20%. Why did I support Anderson? Because I had been a Republican up to that point, but couldn’t abide voting for Reagan. And Carter was clearly over his head as President, and wasn’t going to get my vote. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/12 "2017-07-19T20:22:38Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > This wasn’t true, and I say this as a local (northern Virginia) organizer for Anderson’s campaign. His support topped out at about 20%. > > Why did I support Anderson? Because I had been a Republican up to that point, but couldn’t abide voting for Reagan. And Carter was clearly over his head as President, and wasn’t going to get my vote. That sums up Anderson’s appeal. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/13 "2017-07-19T21:42:35Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > He was on the Barber’s TV the day before the election. When asked what he would do the next night, he said, “Go home and have a couple of belts.” > The barber muttered, “That will lose it for him, right there.” > > I liked him at the time, then I learned that as a Congressman he proposed making Christianity the official relation of the USA. He proposed that in the early 60s. His political opinions, especially on social issues, moved quite “left” in the later 60s and during the 70s. It’s not really fair to tar him with those early beliefs, when discussing his positions in the 1980 campaign. I voted for him in the California primary in 1980. He had going for him the fact that he wasn’t spouting stupid platitudes, or offering unrealistic solutions. For example, he made clear that it was impossible to cut taxes, increase spending and balance the budget, which was a bit of nonsense that Reagan and some others were spouting (as it turned out, he was of course right). He was also a Republican who was in favor of the ERA (a bit rare at the time). Some of his proposals were a bit goofy (I particularly thought that the bit about raising federal gasoline taxes by 50 cents a gallon to allow social security taxes to be cut was silly). But in the main, his candidacy was fueled by moderates who viewed Reagan with suspicion and thought Carter had totally bungled the job. Rockefeller Republicans, mostly. In the fall, his candidacy never got off the ground entirely. I actually met the man that fall at an appearance he made at the Univ. of Rochester, where I was a student. I recall being very excited (as usual for a 20 y.o.) about being able to hear him speak. Sadly, he walked into the room where everyone was gathered, and gave a five-minute speech thanking his dedicated volunteers. He said nothing about the campaign itself, offered nothing about policies, etc., and left after shaking a few hands. It was quite disappointing. Shortly after that, I realized that a significant vote for Rep. Anderson would probably cause the re-election of Pres. Carter, and with that in mind, I started re-thinking my intent to vote for him. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/14 "2017-07-19T21:47:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Because he didn’t know how the election would come out. Would Carter have won with Anderson’s votes? No. At least, Reagan still would have won the popular vote by more than three million votes, with an absolute majority of all votes cast. I suppose it’s theoretically possible that Carter might somehow have won the Electoral College, but highly unlikely and way too much trouble for me to bother checking. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/15 "2017-07-20T00:06:35Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > For example, he made clear that it was impossible to cut taxes, increase spending and balance the budget, which was a bit of nonsense that Reagan and some others were spouting (as it turned out, he was of course right). I remember hearing him, “You can’t cut taxes and increase spending.” 🙂 Or was it, “and spend money?” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/16 "2017-07-20T03:09:31Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > I went for him 'cuz I was a dumb, uninformed 18 year old. Anybody out there have a _good_ reason or two to vote for him? I was a brilliant, fully grown 30 year old, and I honestly can’t remember why I voted for him. Only time in my life that I didn’t vote Democratic for Prez. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > He was the first of the “oh, it’s so _trendy_ to vote for the independent” candidates. He wasn’t Carter and he wasn’t Reagan. So some people chose to waste their votes on him. Unfortunately, I think this probably applied to me. > [@dalej42](#): > > A vote for a 3rd party in the United States is a wasted vote. You should have voted for Carter. Yep. Lesson learned. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/17 "2017-07-20T03:36:15Z")
I know my dad voted for Anderson because Carter was too conservative. He had, 4 years before, voted for Ford for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/18 "2017-07-20T12:07:12Z")
My first presidential vote, at age 19, was for Anderson. Thought Reagan was a dangerous joke. Not sure why I disliked Carter - likely bought into the “ineffective” meme. And probably thought I was being a bit “edgy.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/19 "2017-07-20T12:57:56Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > I suppose it’s theoretically possible that Carter might somehow have won the Electoral College, but highly unlikely and way too much trouble for me to bother checking. What the hey, I checked. If every Anderson vote had been a Carter vote instead, [it would have flipped 11 states worth 142 electoral votes](http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1980&datatype=national&def=1&f=1&off=0&elect=0)\*. The problem was, Carter lost the EC 489-49; this would have closed the gap to 347-191. So still a big loss. - Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658/20 "2017-07-20T13:08:13Z")
Missed one state: Delaware, with its 3 EVs, would have also flipped. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-anderson-in-the-1980-pres-election/791658.md?page=2)