Carter later wrote that the most intense and mounting opposition to his policies came from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party , which he attributed to Ted Kennedy 's ambition to replace him as president . After Kennedy announced his candidacy in November 1979 , questions regarding his activities during his presidential bid were a frequent subject of Carter 's press conferences held during the Democratic presidential primary . Kennedy surprised his supporters by running a weak campaign , and Carter won most of the primaries and secured renomination . However , Kennedy had mobilized the liberal wing of the Democratic Party , which gave Carter weak support in the fall election . Carter and Vice President Mondale were formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention in New York City . Carter delivered a speech notable for its tribute to the late Hubert Humphrey , who he initially called " Hubert Horatio Hornblower . " Carter 's campaign for re-election in 1980 was one of the most difficult and least successful in history . He faced strong challenges from the right ( Republican Ronald Reagan ) , the center ( independent John B. Anderson ) , and the left ( Democrat Ted Kennedy ) . He had to run against his own " stagflation " - ridden economy , while the hostage crisis in Iran dominated the news every week . He alienated liberal college students , who were expected to be his base , by re-instating registration for the military draft . 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 . On October 28 , Carter and Reagan participated in the sole presidential debate of the election cycle . Though initially trailing Carter by several points , Reagan experienced a surge in polling following the debate . Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan in a landslide , and the Senate went Republican for the first time since 1952 . 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
Democratic National Convention
1980 Democratic National Convention
Jimmy Carter