 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 79.75%[1] ( 1.56%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Municipality results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The1984 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 6, 1984, as part of the1984 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states andD.C. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors, to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Massachusetts narrowly voted for incumbentRepublicanPresidentRonald Reagan ofCalifornia over hisDemocratic challenger, formerVice PresidentWalter Mondale ofMinnesota. Reagan ran with incumbent Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush ofTexas, while Mondale's running mate wasCongresswomanGeraldine Ferraro ofNew York.
On election day, Reagan won 51.22% of the vote in the state to Mondale's 48.43%, a margin of 2.79%. Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since1928, and a Democratic stronghold since1960. In1972, Massachusetts was the only state in the nation to vote for DemocratGeorge McGovern over RepublicanRichard Nixon in the latter's 49-state landslide. However, in1980, Reagan had won the state for the GOP for the first time since1956 in a 3-way race with a plurality of only 41.90% and a razor-thin margin of 0.15%. Thus in a 1984 head-to-head match-up, Massachusetts was one of the few states whose outcome remained in doubt as Reagan appeared poised for a convincing win nationwide.
Ultimately, in the midst of a decisive nationwide Republican landslide, Reagan would narrowly triumph in Massachusetts, as he did in 48 other states, leaving Mondale to win only his home state ofMinnesota and theDistrict of Columbia. Reagan's win was the first time a Republican had won an absolute majority of the popular vote in Massachusetts since 1956, although it was still Reagan's narrowest win in the nation, thus making it the second most Democratic state after Minnesota. Massachusetts was about 16% more Democratic than the national average in the 1984 election. Mondale's 48.43% of the vote marked his best result in a state he did not carry.
Reagan carried nine counties in Massachusetts to Mondale's five. Reagan's strongest county was suburbanPlymouth County, where he took 60.2% of the vote. Mondale's strongest county win wasSuffolk County, home to the state's capital and largest city,Boston, where he took 62.3% of the vote.
To date, this is the last time a Republican candidate for President has won Massachusetts, as well as the last time the cities ofQuincy,Taunton, andWaltham and the towns ofClarksburg,Falmouth,Lanesborough,Lee,Mashpee,Nantucket, andNatick voted Republican.
Jesse Jackson's voters were 80% white, 16% black, 4% were members of other groups. Massachusetts was the only state where a majority of his voters were white.[2] 30% of Jackson voters listed Hart as their second candidate in exit polls conducted byCBS News andThe New York Times' while 24% listed Mondale, 22% listed Mondale, and 19% selected none.[3]
| 1984 United States presidential election in Massachusetts[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Ronald Reagan (incumbent) | 1,310,936 | 51.22% | 13 | |
| Democratic | Walter Mondale | 1,239,606 | 48.43% | 0 | |
| New Alliance | Dennis L. Serrette | 7,998 | 0.31% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 913 | 0.04% | 0 | |
| Totals | 2,559,453 | 100.00% | 13 | ||
| Voter turnout (voting age/registered) | 58%/79% | ||||
| County | Ronald Reagan Republican | Walter Mondale Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barnstable | 51,261 | 56.99% | 38,369 | 42.66% | 321 | 0.35% | 13,252 | 14.33% | 89,951 |
| Berkshire | 33,712 | 52.85% | 29,745 | 46.63% | 328 | 0.52% | 3,967 | 6.22% | 63,785 |
| Bristol | 93,232 | 49.58% | 94,010 | 49.99% | 797 | 0.43% | -778 | -0.41% | 188,039 |
| Dukes | 2,788 | 45.52% | 3,313 | 54.09% | 24 | 0.39% | -525 | -8.57% | 6,125 |
| Essex | 162,152 | 54.84% | 132,353 | 44.77% | 1,151 | 0.39% | 29,799 | 10.07% | 295,656 |
| Franklin | 15,883 | 50.37% | 15,502 | 49.16% | 148 | 0.47% | 381 | 1.21% | 31,533 |
| Hampden | 89,330 | 51.05% | 84,985 | 48.57% | 656 | 0.38% | 4,345 | 2.48% | 174,971 |
| Hampshire | 28,111 | 43.96% | 35,597 | 55.67% | 234 | 0.37% | -7,486 | -11.71% | 63,942 |
| Middlesex | 319,604 | 49.42% | 325,065 | 50.26% | 2,085 | 0.32% | -5,461 | -0.84% | 646,754 |
| Nantucket | 1,697 | 53.53% | 1,456 | 45.93% | 17 | 0.54% | 241 | 7.60% | 3,170 |
| Norfolk | 160,313 | 53.56% | 138,222 | 46.18% | 784 | 0.26% | 22,091 | 7.38% | 299,319 |
| Plymouth | 105,230 | 60.21% | 68,923 | 39.44% | 618 | 0.35% | 36,307 | 20.77% | 174,771 |
| Suffolk | 91,563 | 37.37% | 152,568 | 62.27% | 866 | 0.36% | -61,005 | -24.90% | 244,997 |
| Worcester | 156,060 | 56.45% | 119,498 | 43.23% | 882 | 0.32% | 36,562 | 13.22% | 276,440 |
| Totals | 1,310,936 | 51.22% | 1,239,606 | 48.43% | 8,911 | 0.35% | 71,330 | 2.79% | 2,559,453 |
Reagan won eight of 11 congressional districts,[5] including seven held by Democrats.
| District[5] | Reagan | Mondale | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 51% | 49% | Silvio O. Conte |
| 2nd | 53% | 46% | Edward Boland |
| 3rd | 57% | 43% | Joseph D. Early |
| 4th | 48% | 52% | Barney Frank |
| 5th | 57% | 43% | James Shannon |
| Chester G. Atkins | |||
| 6th | 55% | 45% | Nicholas Mavroules |
| 7th | 50% | 50% | Ed Markey |
| 8th | 36% | 64% | Tip O'Neill |
| 9th | 48% | 52% | Joe Moakley |
| 10th | 55% | 45% | Gerry Studds |
| 11th | 52% | 48% | Brian J. Donnelly |
State and district results of the1984 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
.jpg)
.jpg)
