John Anderson 1980 voters in subsequent elections

[darklordoftech]

Did most of them become Democrats?

[OSR stands with Israel]

In 1984 and 88 they probably voted for Reagan and HW but after 1992 I’d say yah

[President Johnson]

In 1984 and 88 they probably voted for Reagan and HW but after 1992 I’d say yah

I could see some still voting for Dubya, but no longer support Republicans after the Tea Party and Trump emerged.

Interestingly, Anderson took almost 20% of the vote in Massachusetts, costing Carter the state. In 1988, Dukakis really underperformed in his home state by just winning 53-45%. I'm sure a lot of Anderson voters went for Poppy Bush there, but as you said to Clinton four years later.

[CadetCashBoi]

In 1984 and 88 they probably voted for Reagan and HW but after 1992 I’d say yah

Many voted for Mondale and Dukakis as well probably. I think Anderson took a lot of votes from dejected liberals that had supported Ted Kennedy in the primary or just disliked Carter on cultural grounds.

[H. Ross Peron]

In 1984 and 88 they probably voted for Reagan and HW but after 1992 I’d say yah

Many voted for Mondale and Dukakis as well probably. I think Anderson took a lot of votes from dejected liberals that had supported Ted Kennedy in the primary or just disliked Carter on cultural grounds.

One of my friend's father is generally a progressive Dem voter who supported Sanders twice (though voting for Jill Stein in 2016) and his only other non-Dem before that was John Anderson in 1980 afaik.

[Chips]

In 1984 and 88 they probably voted for Reagan and HW but after 1992 I’d say yah

That seems plausible.

[Calthrina950]

I've seen conflicting claims regarding how Anderson voters went in 1984, with some sources stating that a majority of them voted for Reagan and other sources claiming that they voted for Mondale. I think it was dependent upon region, with a slight majority of Anderson voters perhaps going to Mondale, but with Reagan picking up significant numbers of them as well, particularly in New England, where he did much better than in 1980.

[Calthrina950]

The case for this group breaking for Mondale seems pretty strained to me.

Reagan's margin was massive, even outside of the South, where the swing in his favor as truly massive, and the crosstabs on the exit polls don't suggest any strong demographics that would skew this group against that.

The map doesn't suggest a Mondale advantage either. Strong Anderson areas like New England, Puget Sound, much of the Upper Midwest, and the Colorado Rockies all show health swings in Reagan's favor.

I think your analysis is probably the closest to the truth, although there are clearly states (i.e. California) where a majority of the Anderson vote went to Mondale.

[Storr]

They died. Death is inevitable.

[H. Ross Peron]

They died. Death is inevitable.

A disproportionate number were college students.

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

Wasn't Anderson very much a none-of-the-above vote in 1980?

[darklordoftech]

I wonder if a lot of them were Bush 1992 - Clinton 1996 voters.

[dw93]

I wonder if a lot of them were Bush 1992 - Clinton 1996 voters.

I could see many of them being Perot 1992 - Clinton 1996, but not Bush 1992 voters.

[Calthrina950]

Revisiting this, I think it's fair to say that a majority of Anderson voters went for Reagan in 1984, that a majority probably went for Dukakis in 1988, and that they split mainly between Clinton and Perot in 1992. In 1996, Clinton clearly won a majority of the Anderson vote, and most of the surviving Anderson voters have gone Democratic in every subsequent presidential election.

[DPKdebator]

In 1984 and 88 they probably voted for Reagan and HW but after 1992 I’d say yah

I could see some still voting for Dubya, but no longer support Republicans after the Tea Party and Trump emerged.

Interestingly, Anderson took almost 20% of the vote in Massachusetts, costing Carter the state. In 1988, Dukakis really underperformed in his home state by just winning 53-45%. I'm sure a lot of Anderson voters went for Poppy Bush there, but as you said to Clinton four years later.

There are a few towns in Massachusetts, mostly rather wealthy and highly educated, that voted for Reagan in 1980 but Mondale in 1984, likely from Anderson voters in these areas returning to the Democratic fold. Overall though, most Anderson voters would've gone for Reagan the second time around.

[VPH]

I have a friend whose dad was a John Anderson volunteer in 1980. Ended up becoming a moderate Democrat, big fan of Hillary Clinton

[Benjamin Frank]

In the primaries, I would presume that most John Anderson voters supported 'intellectuals.'  So, in 1988 the more left wing John Anderson supporters probably backed Illinois Senator Paul Simon and the more right wing supporters probably backed Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt. In 1992, I would expect the more right wing ones backed Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas while the more left wing ones backed Irvine Mayor Larry Agran.

Not to stereotype too much John Anderson supporters as 'oddball/liberal intellectuals' but it would not surprise me if going back many John Anderson supporters supported Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy for President in 1968.

[Joe McCarthy Was Right]

Someone showed me a poll that suggested most of them actually voted for Mondale. That makes sense when you look at the SF Bay Area.

Anderson voters wouldn't have voted for Bush in 1992. 1992 was the year Rockefeller Republicanism sort of died (marked by Vermont voting Democrat). Clinton's gains in the northeast in 1996 look more working class. I think Clinton had a more traditional Democratic coalition in 1996 than 1992.

[TheTide]

A lot of Anderson's voters were disaffected Kennedyites (some Kennedys actually endorsed him, and he did well in much of New England). Most of these probably went to Mondale. Some would have also been disaffected Democrats who weren't quite ready to swallow the Reagan pill in 1980, but did in 1984. Meanwhile a fair bit of the 1980 Carter vote went to Reagan, particularly in the South, which meant that Mondale's percentage was almost identical to Carter's.

After that, quite a few would have voted for Perot, particularly I'm 1992, for obvious reasons.