1984 Electoral Map

1984 Election Results

Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale in a 49-state landslide, winning 525 electoral votes to 13 and nearly 59% of the popular vote. Mondale held only the District of Columbia and his home state of Minnesota — and Minnesota by just 3,761 votes.

Reagan expanded an already overwhelming 1980 map. He kept all 44 states he had won against Carter and added Georgia, Maryland, West Virginia, Hawaii and Rhode Island. Democrats lost even the scattered footholds that had survived their previous defeat.

There was no plausible path to victory through a handful of battlegrounds. Reagan carried California, Texas, New York and the major industrial states, combining his conservative base with support well beyond the Republican Party. Minnesota’s narrow result determined whether he would sweep all 50 states, not whether he would win reelection.

The economic recovery and falling inflation gave Reagan a powerful argument for another term. His campaign emphasized renewed confidence, while Mondale struggled to persuade voters to change course. Four years earlier, Reagan had benefited from dissatisfaction with Carter. This time, voters were judging Reagan’s own record — and rewarded him with an even larger victory.