1984 Democratic National Convention
| 1984 Presidential Election | |
|---|---|
  Nominees Mondale and Ferraro | |
| Convention | |
| Date(s) | July 16 - July 19 |
| City | San Francisco, California |
| Venue | Moscone Center |
| Keynote speaker | Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee |
Walter Mondale of Minnesota |
| Vice Presidential nominee |
Geraldine Ferraro of New York |
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York was nominated for Vice President. Ferraro became the first woman to be nominated by either major party for the Presidency or Vice-Presidency. In another first, the 1984 Democratic Convention was chaired by the female governor of Kentucky, Martha Layne Collins.[1] The Democratic National Committee Chairman at the time, Charles T. Manatt, led the convention.
Events of the Convention
New York Governor Mario Cuomo gave a well-received keynote speech. Mondale's major rivals for the nomination, Senator Gary Hart and Rev. Jesse Jackson, also gave speeches.
Jackson also attempted to move the party's platform farther to the left at the Convention, but without much success. He did succeed in one instance, concerning affirmative action.[2]
Voting
President
The candidates for U.S. president earned the following numbers of delegates:[3]
| Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 1984 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| Walter Mondale | 2,191 | (56.41%) |
| Gary Hart | 1,201 | (30.92%) |
| Jesse Jackson | 466 | (12.00%) |
| Thomas Eagleton | 18 | (0.46%) |
| George McGovern | 4 | (0.10%) |
| John Glenn | 2 | (0.05%) |
| Joe Biden | 1 | (0.03%) |
| Martha Kirkland | 1 | (0.03%) |
| Totals | 3,884 | 100.00% |
Jesse Jackson unsuccessfully called for the suspension of the party's electoral rules to give him a number of delegates closer to the 20% average share of the vote he garnered during the primaries. The system tended to punish shallow showings as yielding no delegates at all, hence Jackson's smaller delegate count than would be expected (12%).[2]
Vice-President
Geraldine Ferraro was nominated as the first woman to receive a major party nomination by acclamation on a voice vote.
See also
- 1984 Democratic Presidential Primaries
- Rosalind Wiener Wyman, chair and chief executive officer of the convention
References
- ↑ Ferraro, Geraldine. (1986). Ferraro: My Story. Bantam, New York, New York. ISBN 0-553-05110-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Jackson Factor". The Economist. 1984-07-21. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
- ↑ Our Campaigns - US President - D Convention Race - Jul 16, 1984
| Preceded by 1980 |
Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1988 |
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