1984 Republican National Convention

1984 Republican National Convention

The 1984 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened on August 20 to August 23, 1984, at Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas, Texas. The convention nominated President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush for reelection.

It was the thirty-third GOP presidential nominating convention, the first Republican convention held in Texas (indeed, the first Republican convention in the South outside Florida), and the only convention of either party held in Dallas.

Reagan's popularity had rebounded after the early 1980s recession, and he became the first incumbent president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to run without serious opposition in the primary. The keynote address on August 20 was delivered by Katherine Ortega, Treasurer of the United States. Other speakers included Elizabeth Dole, United States Secretary of Transportation; Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (who delivered her now-famous "Blame America First" speech ); and Congressman Jack Kemp of Buffalo, New York.

The convention also included a valedictory address by retiring U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Goldwater was widely credited as the political founder of the New Right in the United States, of which Reagan was the political heir, and indeed Reagan had gained notice for his "A Time for Choosing" speech supporting Goldwater in October 1964. Vice President George Bush gave a powerful address, some believing it debuted him as the de facto nominee of the GOP in 1988. President Reagan spoke after, and addressed the nation and the party on the future and highlighted the "Morning in America".