1984 United States presidential election in South Dakota

← 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 3 0 Popular vote 200,267 116,113 Percentage 63.00% 36.53%

County Results Reagan   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% Mondale   50–60%   80–90%

President before election Ronald Reagan Republican Elected President Ronald Reagan Republican

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2016 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1894 1897 1901 1903 1903 sp 1907 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1889 1890 1891 AL sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 AL sp 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 AL sp 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C 2008 Measure 9 Measure 10 2020 Amendment A Measure 26
v t e

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

South Dakota was won by incumbent United States President Ronald Reagan of California, who was running against former Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Reagan ran for a second time with incumbent Vice President and former C.I.A. Director George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Mondale ran with Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first major female candidate for the vice presidency.

The presidential election of 1984 was a very partisan election for South Dakota, with over 99.5% of the electorate voting for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only four candidates appearing on the ballot.^[1] All but two counties in South Dakota voted in majority for the Republican candidate. This included the typically more Democratic East River counties such as Brown, and Minnehaha (Sioux Falls). Reagan did the best in Haakon County, and Mondale did the best in nearby Shannon County, which gave Mondale his third-best percentage nationwide behind the District of Columbia and Alabama’s Macon County.^[2]

South Dakota weighed in for this election as about eight points more Republican than the national average. As of the 2020 presidential election^[update], this is the last election in which Dewey County, Buffalo County, and Clay County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.^[3]

Reagan carried South Dakota by 26.5%, the strongest performance of any presidential nominee in the state since 1952. After nearly voting for Carter in 1976, the state trended much more heavily Republican in both of Reagan's elections; it had been one of only nine to give Reagan over 60% of the vote in the three-way election of 1980. South Dakota became much more competitive in the drought-influenced 1988 election, but would go on to re-establish itself as a reliably red state in the 21st century. Even so, as of 2020, Reagan's 63.00% vote share in South Dakota has remained unmatched by any subsequent nominee.

Results

Results by county