The 1984 primary season had three " Super Tuesdays " . Decided on " Super Tuesday III " were delegates from five states : South Dakota , New Mexico , West Virginia , California and New Jersey . The proportional nature of delegate selection meant that Walter Mondale was likely to obtain enough delegates on that day to win the nomination at the 1984 Democratic National Convention , no matter who actually won the states contested . However , Gary Hart maintained that unpledged superdelegates that had previously announced support for Mondale would shift to his side if he swept the Super Tuesday III primary . Once again , Hart committed a '' faux pas '' , insulting New Jersey shortly before the primary day . Campaigning in California , he remarked that while the " bad news " was that he and his wife Lee had to campaign separately , " t he good news for her is that she campaigns in California while I campaign in New Jersey . " Compounding the problem , when his wife interjected that she " got to hold a koala bear " , Hart replied that " I wo n't tell you what I got to hold : samples from a toxic waste dump . " While Hart won California , he lost New Jersey after leading in polls by as much as 15 points . Mondale secured the majority of delegates from the primaries , leading the way for him to take the Democratic nomination . In the 1984 Republican Party primaries , incumbent President Ronald Reagan was the only candidate to secure delegates
1984 Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
Super Tuesday