1984 United States presidential election in Kentucky

The 1984 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 6, 1984. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1984 United States presidential election. Kentucky voters chose nine electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president of the United States.

1984 United States presidential election in Kentucky

← 1980 November 6, 1984 1988 →
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Walter Mondale
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California Minnesota
Running mate George H. W. Bush Geraldine Ferraro
Electoral vote 9 0
Popular vote 822,782 539,589
Percentage 60.04% 39.37%


President before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected President

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Kentucky was won by the Republican ticket of incumbent President Ronald Reagan of California and Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas by a 20-point margin over Democratic ticket of former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota and his running mate Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York. Ferraro was the first major female candidate for the vice presidency.

The presidential election of 1984 was a very partisan election for Kentucky, with over 99% of the electorate voting either Democratic or Republican, though several other parties did appear on the ballot. Reagan carried 100 of Kentucky's counties; Mondale carried 19, mostly in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield. One county–Gallatin County–split its two-party vote exactly evenly between the two nominees, with each receiving 1,042 votes.[1]

Reagan became the first Republican to ever carry Carroll County, a highly secessionist[2] rural Bluegrass county that had been the state's only county outside the coalfields to support George McGovern 12 years earlier.[3] Kentucky weighed in for this election as 2 percentage points more Republican than the national average.

Reagan won Kentucky by 20.7%, a landslide margin slightly greater than his national margin, and a dramatic shift with respect to 1980, when Reagan only narrowly carried the state over the Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter by 1.5%. Mondale performed well in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield, but relatively poorly in other traditionally Democratic areas of the state, such as the Bluegrass, the Jackson Purchase, and the Western Kentucky Coalfield, relative even to previous national landslide losers such as Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956, John Davis in 1924, and James Cox in 1920. In the Western Coalfield, Reagan became only the second Republican (after Nixon in 1972) to carry Henderson County since 1928, and to ever carry Hopkins County. In the Bluegrass, Reagan became the second Republican, again after only Nixon in 1972, ever to carry Owen County, Henry County, Trimble County, Harrison County, and Franklin County, and the second since 1928 (after Nixon in 1972) to carry Shelby County, Bourbon County, Nicholas County, and Bath County. Concomitantly, Reagan became only the second Republican, after Nixon in 1972, to get over 60% of the vote in Kentucky, a feat which would be replicated in 2012, 2016, and 2020.

Results

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1984 United States presidential election in Kentucky
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Ronald Reagan (incumbent) 822,782 60.04% 9
Democratic Walter Mondale 539,589 39.37% 0
Socialist Workers Party Melvin Mason 3,129 0.23% 0
Independent Lyndon LaRouche 1,777 0.13% 0
National Unity John B. Anderson 1,479 0.11% 0
Citizen's Party Sonia Johnson 599 0.04% 0
American Party Delmar Dennis 429 0.03% 0
New Alliance Party Dennis Serrette 350 0.03% 0
Communist Party Gus Hall 327 0.02% 0
Totals 1,370,461 100.0% 9

Results by county

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County Ronald Reagan[4]
Republican
Walter Mondale[4]
Democratic
Melvin Mason[4]
Socialist Workers
Lyndon LaRouche[4]
Independent
John B. Anderson[4]
National Unity
Various candidates[4]
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Adair 4,500 70.93% 1,812 28.56% 10 0.16% 6 0.09% 4 0.06% 12 0.19% 2,688 42.37% 6,344
Allen 3,427 69.04% 1,521 30.64% 3 0.06% 4 0.08% 3 0.06% 6 0.12% 1,906 38.40% 4,964
Anderson 3,425 66.06% 1,717 33.11% 23 0.44% 6 0.12% 8 0.15% 6 0.12% 1,708 32.95% 5,185
Ballard 1,663 45.13% 2,002 54.33% 3 0.08% 10 0.27% 3 0.08% 4 0.11% -339 -9.20% 3,685
Barren 7,717 62.86% 4,503 36.68% 16 0.13% 22 0.18% 7 0.06% 12 0.10% 3,214 26.18% 12,277
Bath 2,020 52.88% 1,781 46.62% 2 0.05% 7 0.18% 6 0.16% 4 0.10% 239 6.26% 3,820
Bell 7,249 55.93% 5,490 42.36% 163 1.26% 13 0.10% 21 0.16% 25 0.19% 1,759 13.57% 12,961
Boone 12,690 71.90% 4,853 27.50% 16 0.09% 32 0.18% 28 0.16% 30 0.17% 7,837 44.40% 17,649
Bourbon 3,836 58.54% 2,649 40.42% 35 0.53% 11 0.17% 11 0.17% 11 0.17% 1,187 18.12% 6,553
Boyd 10,925 52.98% 9,601 46.56% 15 0.07% 33 0.16% 18 0.09% 29 0.14% 1,324 6.42% 20,621
Boyle 5,675 62.53% 3,378 37.22% 8 0.09% 5 0.06% 5 0.06% 5 0.06% 2,297 25.31% 9,076
Bracken 1,812 60.89% 1,136 38.17% 10 0.34% 13 0.44% 3 0.10% 2 0.07% 676 22.72% 2,976
Breathitt 2,855 45.25% 3,435 54.45% 9 0.14% 2 0.03% 2 0.03% 6 0.10% -580 -9.20% 6,309
Breckinridge 4,432 62.14% 2,669 37.42% 3 0.04% 8 0.11% 6 0.08% 14 0.20% 1,763 24.72% 7,132
Bullitt 9,556 65.11% 5,005 34.10% 59 0.40% 29 0.20% 17 0.12% 10 0.07% 4,551 31.01% 14,676
Butler 3,121 74.47% 1,055 25.17% 1 0.02% 7 0.17% 3 0.07% 4 0.10% 2,066 49.30% 4,191
Caldwell 3,162 55.93% 2,427 42.93% 44 0.78% 11 0.19% 3 0.05% 6 0.11% 735 13.00% 5,653
Calloway 6,442 55.94% 5,028 43.66% 11 0.10% 14 0.12% 9 0.08% 11 0.10% 1,414 12.28% 11,515
Campbell 21,473 69.99% 9,068 29.56% 19 0.06% 54 0.18% 33 0.11% 32 0.10% 12,405 40.43% 30,679
Carlisle 1,308 50.15% 1,277 48.96% 11 0.42% 6 0.23% 4 0.15% 2 0.08% 31 1.19% 2,608
Carroll 1,824 53.65% 1,564 46.00% 1 0.03% 7 0.21% 1 0.03% 3 0.09% 260 7.65% 3,400
Carter 4,656 53.67% 3,985 45.94% 3 0.03% 13 0.15% 7 0.08% 11 0.13% 671 7.73% 8,675
Casey 4,356 79.01% 1,122 20.35% 17 0.31% 5 0.09% 7 0.13% 6 0.11% 3,234 58.66% 5,513
Christian 10,708 66.06% 5,432 33.51% 21 0.13% 12 0.07% 9 0.06% 27 0.17% 5,276 32.55% 16,209
Clark 6,130 62.82% 3,595 36.84% 4 0.04% 11 0.11% 15 0.15% 3 0.03% 2,535 25.98% 9,758
Clay 4,772 74.26% 1,634 25.43% 4 0.06% 4 0.06% 8 0.12% 4 0.06% 3,138 48.83% 6,426
Clinton 3,459 80.03% 838 19.39% 3 0.07% 5 0.12% 2 0.05% 15 0.35% 2,621 60.64% 4,322
Crittenden 2,167 59.16% 1,483 40.49% 2 0.05% 4 0.11% 2 0.05% 5 0.14% 684 18.67% 3,663
Cumberland 2,729 77.77% 766 21.83% 4 0.11% 2 0.06% 1 0.03% 7 0.20% 1,963 55.94% 3,509
Daviess 19,495 58.92% 13,347 40.34% 136 0.41% 53 0.16% 29 0.09% 26 0.08% 6,148 18.58% 33,086
Edmonson 3,001 71.05% 1,200 28.41% 19 0.45% 1 0.02% 1 0.02% 2 0.05% 1,801 42.64% 4,224
Elliott 601 26.20% 1,683 73.37% 4 0.17% 1 0.04% 1 0.04% 4 0.17% -1,082 -47.17% 2,294
Estill 3,512 68.57% 1,593 31.10% 3 0.06% 5 0.10% 4 0.08% 5 0.10% 1,919 37.47% 5,122
Fayette 51,993 63.60% 28,961 35.43% 479 0.59% 72 0.09% 140 0.17% 101 0.12% 23,032 28.17% 81,746
Fleming 2,824 63.33% 1,616 36.24% 3 0.07% 8 0.18% 5 0.11% 3 0.07% 1,208 27.09% 4,459
Floyd 5,218 33.57% 10,259 66.00% 19 0.12% 23 0.15% 7 0.05% 17 0.11% -5,041 -32.43% 15,543
Franklin 11,057 58.12% 7,790 40.95% 124 0.65% 17 0.09% 19 0.10% 17 0.09% 3,267 17.17% 19,024
Fulton 1,780 53.45% 1,534 46.07% 2 0.06% 10 0.30% 1 0.03% 3 0.09% 246 7.38% 3,330
Gallatin 1,042 49.78% 1,042 49.78% 4 0.19% 3 0.14% 1 0.05% 1 0.05% 0 0.00% 2,093
Garrard 3,284 67.21% 1,566 32.05% 26 0.53% 4 0.08% 4 0.08% 2 0.04% 1,718 35.16% 4,886
Grant 2,840 61.70% 1,685 36.61% 47 1.02% 18 0.39% 5 0.11% 8 0.17% 1,155 25.09% 4,603
Graves 7,287 51.43% 6,759 47.70% 64 0.45% 35 0.25% 10 0.07% 15 0.11% 528 3.73% 14,170
Grayson 5,524 71.03% 2,200 28.29% 31 0.40% 9 0.12% 4 0.05% 9 0.12% 3,324 42.74% 7,777
Green 3,210 66.35% 1,611 33.30% 7 0.14% 5 0.10% 2 0.04% 3 0.06% 1,599 33.05% 4,838
Greenup 7,451 51.52% 6,923 47.87% 25 0.17% 32 0.22% 11 0.08% 20 0.14% 528 3.65% 14,462
Hancock 1,967 59.59% 1,287 38.99% 33 1.00% 7 0.21% 3 0.09% 4 0.12% 680 20.60% 3,301
Hardin 14,293 68.81% 6,329 30.47% 83 0.40% 21 0.10% 29 0.14% 16 0.08% 7,964 38.34% 20,771
Harlan 6,959 47.14% 7,663 51.91% 46 0.31% 26 0.18% 23 0.16% 45 0.30% -704 -4.77% 14,762
Harrison 3,467 58.86% 2,405 40.83% 1 0.02% 6 0.10% 4 0.07% 7 0.12% 1,062 18.03% 5,890
Hart 3,065 57.06% 2,278 42.41% 3 0.06% 6 0.11% 4 0.07% 16 0.30% 787 14.65% 5,372
Henderson 7,389 51.88% 6,795 47.71% 11 0.08% 24 0.17% 8 0.06% 15 0.11% 594 4.17% 14,242
Henry 2,802 54.83% 2,279 44.60% 7 0.14% 9 0.18% 4 0.08% 9 0.18% 523 10.23% 5,110
Hickman 1,380 56.63% 1,049 43.04% 1 0.04% 2 0.08% 2 0.08% 3 0.12% 331 13.59% 2,437
Hopkins 9,368 57.95% 6,743 41.71% 11 0.07% 10 0.06% 15 0.09% 19 0.12% 2,625 16.24% 16,166
Jackson 3,856 87.38% 542 12.28% 8 0.18% 3 0.07% 1 0.02% 3 0.07% 3,314 75.10% 4,413
Jefferson 167,640 57.66% 122,133 42.01% 174 0.06% 301 0.10% 314 0.11% 188 0.06% 45,507 15.65% 290,750
Jessamine 7,081 74.10% 2,379 24.90% 62 0.65% 16 0.17% 8 0.08% 10 0.10% 4,702 49.20% 9,556
Johnson 5,225 62.58% 3,078 36.87% 12 0.14% 8 0.10% 8 0.10% 18 0.22% 2,147 25.71% 8,349
Kenton 34,304 69.66% 14,642 29.73% 32 0.06% 99 0.20% 82 0.17% 86 0.17% 19,662 39.93% 49,245
Knott 1,728 27.66% 4,487 71.81% 7 0.11% 5 0.08% 8 0.13% 13 0.21% -2,759 -44.15% 6,248
Knox 5,730 65.87% 2,932 33.71% 4 0.05% 11 0.13% 9 0.10% 13 0.15% 2,798 32.16% 8,699
LaRue 2,873 65.30% 1,514 34.41% 1 0.02% 6 0.14% 5 0.11% 1 0.02% 1,359 30.89% 4,400
Laurel 9,621 74.41% 3,267 25.27% 12 0.09% 12 0.09% 8 0.06% 9 0.07% 6,354 49.14% 12,929
Lawrence 2,713 54.71% 2,223 44.83% 9 0.18% 3 0.06% 1 0.02% 10 0.20% 490 9.88% 4,959
Lee 1,862 70.53% 768 29.09% 4 0.15% 3 0.11% 2 0.08% 1 0.04% 1,094 41.44% 2,640
Leslie 3,385 75.64% 1,075 24.02% 7 0.16% 2 0.04% 1 0.02% 5 0.11% 2,310 51.62% 4,475
Letcher 4,073 46.13% 4,707 53.31% 18 0.20% 12 0.14% 8 0.09% 12 0.14% -634 -7.18% 8,830
Lewis 3,445 69.64% 1,484 30.00% 3 0.06% 7 0.14% 4 0.08% 4 0.08% 1,961 39.64% 4,947
Lincoln 3,996 61.27% 2,498 38.30% 7 0.11% 9 0.14% 3 0.05% 9 0.14% 1,498 22.97% 6,522
Livingston 1,866 47.96% 2,007 51.58% 3 0.08% 6 0.15% 3 0.08% 6 0.15% -141 -3.62% 3,891
Logan 4,889 58.83% 3,347 40.28% 44 0.53% 12 0.14% 9 0.11% 9 0.11% 1,542 18.55% 8,310
Lyon 969 42.97% 1,272 56.41% 7 0.31% 5 0.22% 1 0.04% 1 0.04% -303 -13.44% 2,255
Madison 11,309 63.09% 6,509 36.31% 61 0.34% 10 0.06% 23 0.13% 14 0.08% 4,800 26.78% 17,926
Magoffin 2,343 44.22% 2,942 55.53% 3 0.06% 3 0.06% 1 0.02% 6 0.11% -599 -11.31% 5,298
Marion 3,305 53.66% 2,835 46.03% 5 0.08% 1 0.02% 4 0.06% 9 0.15% 470 7.63% 6,159
Marshall 5,152 47.19% 5,725 52.44% 2 0.02% 16 0.15% 6 0.05% 16 0.15% -573 -5.25% 10,917
Martin 3,238 68.03% 1,471 30.90% 8 0.17% 6 0.13% 9 0.19% 28 0.59% 1,767 37.13% 4,760
Mason 3,751 58.19% 2,663 41.31% 7 0.11% 6 0.09% 11 0.17% 8 0.12% 1,088 16.88% 6,446
McCracken 12,903 50.08% 12,535 48.65% 242 0.94% 20 0.08% 25 0.10% 40 0.16% 368 1.43% 25,765
McCreary 4,028 70.58% 1,609 28.19% 28 0.49% 13 0.23% 18 0.32% 11 0.19% 2,419 42.39% 5,707
McLean 1,942 50.03% 1,917 49.38% 5 0.13% 8 0.21% 5 0.13% 5 0.13% 25 0.65% 3,882
Meade 3,820 60.19% 2,503 39.44% 1 0.02% 13 0.20% 4 0.06% 6 0.09% 1,317 20.75% 6,347
Menifee 785 44.35% 956 54.01% 19 1.07% 3 0.17% 4 0.23% 3 0.17% -171 -9.66% 1,770
Mercer 4,592 63.88% 2,516 35.00% 63 0.88% 8 0.11% 6 0.08% 4 0.06% 2,076 28.88% 7,189
Metcalfe 2,349 59.56% 1,575 39.93% 2 0.05% 10 0.25% 3 0.08% 5 0.13% 774 19.63% 3,944
Monroe 4,760 81.47% 1,052 18.00% 8 0.14% 9 0.15% 7 0.12% 7 0.12% 3,708 63.47% 5,843
Montgomery 3,864 60.59% 2,490 39.05% 6 0.09% 8 0.13% 6 0.09% 3 0.05% 1,374 21.54% 6,377
Morgan 1,834 42.35% 2,481 57.28% 5 0.12% 3 0.07% 3 0.07% 5 0.12% -647 -14.93% 4,331
Muhlenberg 6,094 49.64% 6,157 50.15% 6 0.05% 10 0.08% 4 0.03% 6 0.05% -63 -0.51% 12,277
Nelson 6,044 58.57% 4,199 40.69% 44 0.43% 10 0.10% 16 0.16% 6 0.06% 1,845 17.88% 10,319
Nicholas 1,535 57.38% 1,107 41.38% 22 0.82% 5 0.19% 6 0.22% 0 0.00% 428 16.00% 2,675
Ohio 5,119 60.82% 3,253 38.65% 7 0.08% 14 0.17% 6 0.07% 18 0.21% 1,866 22.17% 8,417
Oldham 8,112 73.81% 2,857 25.99% 3 0.03% 5 0.05% 8 0.07% 6 0.05% 5,255 47.82% 10,991
Owen 1,778 52.17% 1,612 47.30% 5 0.15% 3 0.09% 5 0.15% 5 0.15% 166 4.87% 3,408
Owsley 1,466 79.20% 375 20.26% 3 0.16% 2 0.11% 2 0.11% 3 0.16% 1,091 58.94% 1,851
Pendleton 2,767 63.76% 1,529 35.23% 29 0.67% 4 0.09% 3 0.07% 8 0.18% 1,238 28.53% 4,340
Perry 5,218 49.52% 5,258 49.90% 29 0.28% 7 0.07% 8 0.08% 17 0.16% -40 -0.38% 10,537
Pike 11,869 42.68% 15,817 56.87% 39 0.14% 38 0.14% 23 0.08% 26 0.09% -3,948 -14.19% 27,812
Powell 2,269 58.83% 1,575 40.83% 3 0.08% 4 0.10% 1 0.03% 5 0.13% 694 18.00% 3,857
Pulaski 14,434 76.40% 4,384 23.20% 10 0.05% 23 0.12% 18 0.10% 24 0.13% 10,050 53.20% 18,893
Robertson 567 54.36% 467 44.77% 5 0.48% 2 0.19% 2 0.19% 0 0.00% 100 9.59% 1,043
Rockcastle 4,328 79.73% 1,089 20.06% 2 0.04% 3 0.06% 1 0.02% 5 0.09% 3,239 59.67% 5,428
Rowan 3,698 57.16% 2,748 42.47% 9 0.14% 5 0.08% 7 0.11% 3 0.05% 950 14.69% 6,470
Russell 4,476 75.18% 1,448 24.32% 7 0.12% 8 0.13% 7 0.12% 8 0.13% 3,028 50.86% 5,954
Scott 4,461 62.44% 2,606 36.48% 47 0.66% 7 0.10% 9 0.13% 14 0.20% 1,855 25.96% 7,144
Shelby 5,390 61.68% 3,326 38.06% 5 0.06% 5 0.06% 8 0.09% 5 0.06% 2,064 23.62% 8,739
Simpson 3,073 58.70% 2,140 40.88% 5 0.10% 8 0.15% 5 0.10% 4 0.08% 933 17.82% 5,235
Spencer 1,456 61.38% 910 38.36% 1 0.04% 1 0.04% 3 0.13% 1 0.04% 546 23.02% 2,372
Taylor 5,932 64.16% 3,286 35.54% 7 0.08% 7 0.08% 2 0.02% 11 0.12% 2,646 28.62% 9,245
Todd 2,364 55.23% 1,505 35.16% 98 2.29% 64 1.50% 73 1.71% 176 4.11% 859 20.07% 4,280
Trigg 2,512 56.63% 1,905 42.94% 3 0.07% 10 0.23% 2 0.05% 4 0.09% 607 13.69% 4,436
Trimble 1,389 55.78% 1,088 43.69% 3 0.12% 6 0.24% 1 0.04% 3 0.12% 301 12.09% 2,490
Union 2,524 44.78% 3,090 54.82% 4 0.07% 10 0.18% 5 0.09% 4 0.07% -566 -10.04% 5,637
Warren 16,167 66.87% 7,937 32.83% 12 0.05% 27 0.11% 14 0.06% 21 0.09% 8,230 34.04% 24,178
Washington 2,804 60.24% 1,786 38.37% 50 1.07% 2 0.04% 3 0.06% 10 0.21% 1,018 21.87% 4,655
Wayne 4,449 66.00% 2,277 33.78% 3 0.04% 5 0.07% 2 0.03% 5 0.07% 2,172 32.22% 6,741
Webster 2,504 44.87% 3,042 54.52% 7 0.13% 15 0.27% 3 0.05% 9 0.16% -538 -9.65% 5,580
Whitley 7,851 68.17% 3,575 31.04% 17 0.15% 28 0.24% 29 0.25% 16 0.14% 4,276 37.13% 11,516
Wolfe 1,257 46.68% 1,394 51.76% 24 0.89% 5 0.19% 5 0.19% 8 0.30% -137 -5.08% 2,693
Woodford 4,746 66.73% 2,290 32.20% 49 0.69% 7 0.10% 9 0.13% 11 0.15% 2,456 34.53% 7,112
Totals 822,782 60.04% 539,589 39.37% 3,129 0.23% 1,777 0.13% 1,479 0.11% 1,705 0.12% 283,193 20.67% 1,370,461

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1984 Presidential General Election Results – Kentucky". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  2. ^ Copeland, James E.; ‘Where Were the Kentucky Unionists and Secessionists’; The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, volume 71, no. 4 (October, 1973), pp. 344-363
  3. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 206-211 ISBN 0786422173
  4. ^ a b c d e f Our Campaigns; KY US Presidential Race, November 06, 1984