The 1980 Republican National Convention convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit , Michigan . Reagan accepted the Republican nomination on the final day of the convention : " With a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust , I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States . I do so with deep gratitude , and I think also I might interject on behalf of all of us , our thanks to Detroit and the people of Michigan and to this city for the warm hospitality they have shown . And I thank you for your wholehearted response to my recommendation in regard to George Bush as a candidate for vice president . " Weeks before the election , Reagan trailed Carter in most polls . In the Gallup poll on October 26 , Jimmy Carter was at 47 percent and Ronald Reagan at 39 percent . Following his sole debate with President Carter on October 28 , Reagan overcame the largest deficit since Gallup polling began in 1936 , and within one week , the Associated Press reported that the race was " too close to call " . Three weeks before the election , Yankelovich , Skelly and White produced a survey of 1,632 registered voters showing the race almost dead even , as did a private survey by Caddell . Two weeks later , a survey by CBS News and the '' New York Times '' showed a similar situation . Although some pollsters reported a slight Reagan lead , ABC News-Harris surveys consistently gave Reagan a lead of a few points until the climactic last week of October
1980 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican National Convention
Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential campaign