President Reagan entered the election of 1984 with a high approval rating.  The economy was booming and the US appeared strong in foreign affairs.  The Democratic nominee, Walter Mondale, pointed out that the booming economy was fueled by large budget deficits, creating a non-sustainable growth.  Mondale also made Reagan’s age a campaign issue.  Reagan turned that to his advantage by famously stating, “I will not make age an issue of this campaign . . . I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”  Reagan won re-election by the same large margins as his first election.

Notable first: Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominee on a major party ticket when she was chosen as Walter Mondale’s running mate.

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election of 1984 map

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© Periodic Presidents, PJ and Jamie Creek