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60 delegates to theDemocratic National Convention | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Carter: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Uncommitted: 40–50% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
The1980 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses were held on January 21, 1980, for the purpose of electing delegates to the1980 Democratic National Convention and selecting a candidate for president in the1980 election. Although the January 21 precinct caucuses did not directly elect any delegates to the national convention, they were the first test of strength in the1980 Democratic presidential primaries. PresidentJimmy Carter won the caucuses against U.S. senatorTed Kennedy, securing roughly 57 percent of the delegates elected to county conventions later in the year.
Carter ultimately received 31 of the 60 pledged delegates from Iowa.
In 1976, a strong showing in theIowa precinct caucuses by former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter raised his profile from obscurity into contention for the Democratic nomination; after winning a series of primaries in other states, he was nominated at the1976 Democratic National Convention and defeated incumbent presidentGerald Ford in the fall election.
The Iowa precinct caucuses were held on January 21, in order to elect delegates to the county conventions.[1][2][3][4] The March 8 county conventions elected delegates to state and congressional district conventions.[5] On April 19, the district conventions met to elect 34 of the state's 60 delegates to the1980 Democratic National Convention.[6] On June 14, the state convention met to elect the remaining 16 national convention delegates.[7]
Although the precinct caucuses did not directly elect any delegates, they were the first test of strength in the1980 Democratic presidential primaries.
Incumbent PresidentJimmy Carter won by 31 delegates whileU.S. SenatorTed Kennedy received 23 delegates. Uncommitted delegates won 418 and ultimately, 2 national convention delegates.[8][9][10][11]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound | Unbound | Total | |||
| Jimmy Carter | 3,796 | 59.16% | 31 | 31 | |
| Ted Kennedy | 2,084 | 31.23% | 23 | 23 | |
| Uncommitted | 418 | 9.61% | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 6,298 | 100.0% | 56 | 56 | |
| District | Carter | Kennedy | Uncommitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62.4% | 30.0% | 7.5% |
| 2 | 55.4% | 35.3% | 9.2% |
| 3 | 58.7% | 31.2% | 10.1% |
| 4 | 55.7% | 36.0% | 8.3% |
| 5 | 61.2% | 28.3% | 10.4% |
| 6 | 62.2% | 25.5% | 12.3% |
