Momentum built for Ted Kennedy after Carter 's attempt to rescue the hostages on April 25 ended in disaster and drew further skepticism towards Carter 's leadership ability . Nevertheless , Carter was still able to maintain a substantial lead even after Kennedy won the key states of California and New Jersey in June . Despite this , Kennedy refused to drop out , and the 1980 Democratic National Convention was one of the nastiest on record . On the penultimate day , Kennedy conceded the nomination and called for a more liberal party platform in what many saw as the best speech of his career . On the stage on the final day , Kennedy for the most part ignored Carter
1980 Democratic National Convention
1980 Democratic National Convention
1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries