Ted Kennedy 1980 presidential campaign information
1980 US presidential campaign
Kennedy For President Committee
Campaign
1980 United States presidential election (Democratic primaries)
Candidate
Ted Kennedy United States Senator from Massachusetts (1962–2009)
Affiliation
Democratic Party
Status
Withdrawn
EC formed
October 29, 1979
Announced
November 7, 1979
Suspended
August 11, 1980
Key people
Stephen Edward Smith (Campaign manager)[1] Ron Brown (Deputy campaign manager)[2] Thomas P. Southwick (Press secretary)[3]
Receipts
US$16,862,212.00[4]
Slogan
Teddy is ready
The 1980 presidential campaign of Ted Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on November 7, 1979, as Senator Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother, announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1980 presidential election against incumbent President Jimmy Carter.[5]
Kennedy benefited from President Carter's historically low approval ratings, reminiscing of his brothers' presidency and presidential campaigns, and support from the liberal faction of the Democratic Party.[6] However, disorganization and ineffective campaigning allowed Carter to bridge the 2-to-1 polling gap following a rise in his approval rating due to his initial handling of the Iran hostage crisis.
Despite losing the majority of presidential contests Kennedy rose in the polls and overcame Carter in multiple states following another drop in his approval rating due to his poor handling of the hostage crisis and receiving prominent labor union endorsements. After failing to prevent Carter from gaining enough delegates to cause a brokered convention Kennedy attempted to release the delegates from their voting commitments which also failed. On August 11, 1980, Kennedy ended his campaign at the national convention after failing to have the rules overturned.[7]
Kennedy's campaign was the last attempt by any member of the Kennedy family to gain a party's presidential nomination until Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 election. Despite having lost the nomination after leading Carter with a two to one polling advantage Kennedy's speech, "The Dream Shall Never Die", was viewed as the highlight of his political career and one of the most influential orations of the era.[8] Kennedy's challenge to Carter was the last time any major candidate opposed an incumbent Democratic president in the primaries, with it being considered one of the major reasons Carter lost the 1980 election, and was the last time any incumbent president lost multiple states to an opponent.[9]
^"Kennedy is far from playing 'catch up'". Detroit Free Press. 2 November 1979. p. 13. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"New Democratic Chief : Ron Brown: Party's Image Is on the Line". Los Angeles Times. 9 February 1989. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019.
^"Ted Cancels Campaign Trip". The Miami Herald. January 25, 1980. p. 24. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^"KENNEDY, EDWARD M. - Candidate overview". FEC.gov.
^"Kennedy Declares His Candidacy, Vowing New Leadership for Nation". The New York Times. 1979-11-08. Archived from the original on 2019-05-29.
^"Carter's approval rating takes big drop". The Leader-Post. 1 November 1979. p. 51. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Kennedy drops out". Poughkeepsie Journal. 12 August 1980. p. 1. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"When Ted Kennedy went all the way to the convention". 2016-06-06. Archived from the original on 2016-10-17.
^"No sitting president has survived a serious primary challenge in the past 50 years. Here's why Trump should be worried". 2019-03-08. Archived from the original on 2019-03-10.
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