With the backing of many in the conservative movement , Reagan defeated establishment favorite George H. W. Bush , moderate Congressman John B. Anderson , and others in the 1980 Republican primaries . To ensure party unity , Reagan named Bush as his running mate at the 1980 Republican National Convention , even though Bush had characterized Reagan 's supply-side economics as " voodoo economics " . Reagan mobilized his base by campaigning on his conservative positions , while the Carter campaign sought to portray Reagan as a dangerous extremist . An improving economy helped Carter overtake Reagan in the October polling , but Reagan won a decisive victory in an October 28 debate . On election day , Reagan narrowly won a majority in the popular vote but took the electoral vote by a wide margin , carrying 44 states . In the concurrent congressional elections , Republicans won several seats in the House of Representatives and took control of the Senate for the first time since the 1950s
1980 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican National Convention
Reagan Era