1984 - Reagan vs. Mondale
Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush campaign in Dallas; Courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library
Incumbent Ronald Reagan is unopposed for the GOP nomination, but he nevertheless raises $10.1 million in campaign money for the primary season. Though Reagan says that he is philosophically opposed to the public funding of elections, he isn’t so opposed that he turns down the money. Indeed, Reagan’s prodigious fundraising qualifies him for the maximum in matching funds provided in the federal system.
Nearly a dozen Democrats contend for the chance to challenge Reagan. The early favorite is former Vice President Walter Mondale, who amasses $16.4 million in contributions and matching funds, giving him a substantial advantage over Senator Gary Hart of Colorado, and an even bigger edge over the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who struggles to raise $2.7 million in contributions and matching funds. Mondale publicly pledges not to accept contributions from political action committees (PACs), but he quietly allows more than 130 local independent committees to raise and spend funds on his behalf. After Hart turns the tactic into a campaign issue, Mondale is forced to disband the committees. (Ultimately, Mondale’s campaign will be compelled to pay a $400,000 penalty to settle an enforcement case brought by the Federal Election Commission.) Jackson tries to make up for the lack of paid media exposure with a nearly nonstop schedule of campaign appearances and drives himself to such a level of exhaustion that, at a rally just before the crucial California primary, he snaps and publicly berates two aides for distracting him by walking in the aisles. Mondale goes on to the nomination, with Hart finishing second and Jackson third in the delegate count.
For the general election campaign, Reagan and Mondale each receive $40.4 million in public funds. Nevertheless, both candidates continue to raise millions more in soft money — ostensibly for party committees engaged in voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives. In addition, Reagan benefits from $14 million spent by the National Conservative Political Action Committee, an independent group.
Reagan gets nearly 58.8 of the popular vote to 40.6 percent for Mondale and trounces Mondale in the Electoral College by 525 to 13, one of the most lopsided margins ever.
SOURCES: William Osborne, “Picking a President: The Job Begins Tonight,” The San Diego Union-Tribune, February 20, 1984; “Reagan Gets Maximum in U.S. Matching Funds,” The New York Times, June 22, 1984; “Matching Millions,” The Washington Post, March 24, 1984; Don Phillips, “First Primary May Think Democratic Field,” United Press International, February 26, 1984; “New Matching Funds To Mondale and Jackson,” The New York Times, October 20, 1984; “Money Trail,” Time, December 17, 1984; Eric Pianin, “Jackson’s Temper Grows Short as He Presses for Desperately Needed Funds,” The Washington Post, May 18, 1984; Christopher Connell and Susanne M. Schafer, “Mondale Won Nomination With 224 Votes To Spare,” The Associated Press, July 20, 1984; David Lawsky, “Problems of Public Campaign Financing,” United Press International, November 5, 1984; Thomas B. Edsall, “Lawsuit Challenges Parties’ Drives for ‘Soft Money,’” The Washington Post, August 29, 1984; John Dillin, “Presidential Campaign Reformers Face a Worrisome Tide of Court Decisions,” The Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 1985; “1984 Presidential General Election Results,” David Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
