Iowa caucuses (both parties)
Tuesday, January 22:
Hawaii Republican caucuses
February
Friday, February 1:Maine Republican caucuses (through March 15)
Saturday, February 2:
Arkansas Republican caucuses
Monday, February 4:
Wyoming Republican caucuses (through March 5)
Sunday, February 10:
Maine Democratic caucuses
Tuesday, February 26:
Minnesota caucuses (both parties)
New Hampshire primary
March
March: Virginia Republican caucuses (through April)Tuesday, March 4:
Massachusetts primary
Vermont primary (beauty contest--no delegates at stake)
Saturday, March 8:
South Carolina Republican primary (party-run)
Tuesday, March 11:
Alabama primary
Alaska Democratic caucuses
Florida primary
Georgia primary
Hawaii Democratic caucuses
Oklahoma Democratic caucuses
Washington caucuses (both parties)
Wednesday, March 12:
Delaware Democratic caucuses
Saturday, March 15:
Mississippi Democratic caucuses
South Carolina Democratic caucuses
Wyoming Democratic caucuses
Tuesday, March 18:
Illinois primary
Friday, March 21:
North Dakota Republican caucuses
Saturday, March 22:
Virginia Democratic caucuses
Tuesday, March 25:
Connecticut primary
New York primary
April
Tuesday, April 1:Kansas primary
Wisconsin primary
Saturday, April 5:
Louisiana primary
Missouri Republican caucuses (through April 12)
Monday, April 7:
Oklahoma Republican caucuses
Saturday, April 12:
Arizona Democratic caucuses
Sunday, April 13:
Arizona Republican committee meeting (& caucuses)
Thursday, April 17:
Idaho Democratic caucuses
Saturday, April 19:
Alaska Republican convention (through April 20)
North Dakota Democratic caucuses
Tuesday, April 22:
Missouri Democratic caucuses
Pennsylvania primary
Vermont caucuses (both parties)
Saturday, April 26:
Michigan Democratic caucuses
Wednesday, April 30:
Delaware Republican committee meeting (& caucuses)
May
Saturday, May 3:Texas primary (Republicans)
Texas Democratic caucuses
Monday, May 5:
Colorado caucuses (both parties)
Tuesday, May 6:
Indiana primary
North Carolina primary
Tennessee primary
Tuesday, May 13:
Maryland primary
Nebraska primary
Monday, May 19:
Utah caucuses (both parties)
Tuesday, May 20:
Michigan primary (Republicans)
Oregon primary
Tuesday, May 27:
Arkansas primary (Democrats)
Idaho primary (Republicans)
Kentucky primary
Nevada primary
June
Tuesday, June 3:California primary
Mississippi Republican primary (party-run)
Montana primary (Democrats)
New Jersey primary
New Mexico primary
Ohio primary
Rhode Island primary
South Dakota primary
West Virginia primary
Wednesday, June 4:
Montana Republican caucuses (through June 12)
[Primaries in bold; Caucuses in italics]
States that are split vertically had different dates for different party contests. The shade to the left of that line corresponds with the month in which the Democratic contest took place and the right side represents the Republican contest.
[Source: Congressional Quarterly and news accounts from 1980. The latter was used to double-check the dates or discover missing ones.]
A few notes:
1) This is a classically backloaded calendar. There were 27 states that held primaries in which both parties participated. Of those 27, 15 were held on May 6 or later. If this is expanded to included states where just one party held a primary (either opting into the state-funded primary or holding a party-run contest), the total number of primary states rises to 34. Of those 34, 20 were on or after May 6.
2) The date on which the most contests were held was June 3. Nine states had contests on the first Tuesday in June. However, the second largest collection of nominating contests was during the second week in March. Altogether, seven states held primaries or caucuses on that date; the first early Super Tuesday. Much of this was due to the Carter administration-brokered movement in Alabama and Georgia. The move was made as an effort to give the president a counter to the victories Ted Kennedy could have gotten in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, two and one week earlier, respectively. Those moves were the first conscious frontloading moves by states.
3) The number of intra-state primary/caucus splits between the parties grew compared to 1976. Whereas Montana was the only state with one party opting into the state-funded primary while the other held a caucus in 1976, seven states had such party-based contest divisions in 1980.
Recent Posts:
Arkansas Senate Unanimously Passes Primary Bill
Arkansas Senate Slated to Vote on 2012 Presidential Primary Today
1976 Presidential Primary Calendar
