His campaign manager and former appointments secretary, Timothy Kraft, stepped down some five weeks before the general election amid what turned out to have been an uncorroborated allegation of cocaine use.[278]
On October 28, Carter and Reagan participated in the sole presidential debate of the election cycle in which they were both present – due to Carter refusing to partake in debates with Anderson.[279] Though initially trailing Carter by several points,[280] Reagan experienced a surge in polling following the debate.[281] This was in part influenced by Reagan deploying the phrase "There you go again", which became the defining phrase of the election.[282] It was later discovered that in the final days of the campaign, Reagan's team acquired classified documents used by Carter in preparation for the debate.[283]
Reagan defeated Carter in a landslide, winning 489 electoral votes. The Senate went Republican for the first time since 1952.[284] In his concession speech, Carter admitted that he was hurt by the outcome of the election but pledged "a very fine transition period" with President-elect Reagan.