Volume LXXXIX. Number 36
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University of Southern California	Wednesday. November 5, 1980
THE WINNING SMILE — Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy thank a crowd in Los Angeles after winning the presidency Tuesday evening after a 12-year quest^M'he^io'tT' HV"'8n
Reagan sweeps electoral vote, 472-65
Carter concedes election before state’s polls close
By Galen Gruman
News Editor
"The people of the United States have made their choice and of course I accept that decision, although not with the same enthusiasm 1 accepted it four years ago."
With those W'ords, Jimmy Carter conceded defeat to former California governor Ronald Reagan after the longest campaign in the nation's history.
Reagan, the oldest president elected, at 69, swept the country's electoral votes, much to the surprise of his staff. Carter's staff and the media. Although Carter's pollster, Pat Cadell, reportedly told the president he would lose in yesterday's election, the wide 472-65 margin was completely unexpected. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency’.
Carter fared better, but not
well enough, in the popular vote, where he gained 41 percent (33,261,944 votes) of the vote compared with Reagan's
51	percent (41,185,667)lead with 96 percent of the precincts reporting. Anderson won six percent (5,309,295) of the votes.
Reagan won 43 states and Carter the remaining seven.
Carter lost states such as New York he was expected to win and failed to sway crucial undecided states such as Texas and Florida to his column. He also lost his 1976 "Solid South"; thev voted nearly completely for Reagan, with onlv his home state of Georgia, West Virginia and Minnesota behind him. Carter also won Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Minnesota and Rhode Island.
Independent candidate John
B.	Anderson captured seven percent. Some Anderson aides
indicated that he might run again in 1984.
On the tails of Reagan's landslide victory, the Republicans gained control of the Senate, while the Democrats kept, with narrower margins, of the House, both of which they have controlled for almost 25 years. The Republicans now have 50 Senate seats, gaining nine. In the case of a 50-50 tie, George Bush, as president of the Senate can break any splits.
Democrats limped toward renewed control of the House,
but Republicans stood to gain more than 20 seats there. Democrats had won the 218 seats required for control of the House and were leading in races which would give them 241 of the 435 seats. Republicans were threatening to pick up 34 seats.
The Republican gains, however, could make Reagan proposals easy to pass, with fewer Democrats necessarv to switch to pass legislation.
Several prominent and powerful Democrats were also oust-
ed from theSenate. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Frank Church of Idaho, lost, as did George McGovern of South Dakota, John Culver of Iowa and Birch Bavh of Indiana.
Carter conceded the election and offered his congratulations earlv in the evening, telephoning Reagan in California from what would have been his victory celebration about 7 p.m. Pacific time. Anderson also later phoned in his congratulations. (Continued on page 13)
By Stephanie Chavez
Assistant Feature Editor
"If you have had great victories you have to have great losses. That's the beautv of it all," said Mickey Kanter, the California Cart-er-Mondale campaign director, less than an hour after President Carter's concession speech.
From the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton-Universal hotel, where the Carter-Mondale California democratic headquarters was located, there was no great victory. There was no patriotic music, no American flags waving through the air, no red white and blue balloons and most devastating of all, no crowds of loyal Democrats.
Kanter got a drink from the bar, wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead and said that he didn't know why Carter had conceded before the California polls had closed. "I imagine that he wanted to concede graciously before the final results came in." He also said he was disappointed.
A thick fog of disappointment loomed over the Grand Ballroom. Small clusters of men and women gathered around televisions and stared into the screens as thev sipped their drinks. Each time the current return figures appeared heads began to shake "no."
Conversation was mumbled and smiles were tight. Dozens of journalists clad with tape-recorders, microphones and notepads wandered through the wide open spaces of the ballroom floor wait mg for something to happen and looking for someone to interview.
(Continued on page 16)
Staff photo by Steve Hyman
TRUE PREDICTION — Reagan supporters at Reagan Bush headquarters wave a copy of The News World which predicted a Reagan win