Presidential Politics and the Ayatollah : The Impact of the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis on the U.S. Presidential Election of 1980

Over the last century, U.S.-Iranian relations have been turbulent at best. The Islamic revolution in Iran and the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran proved to be serious setbacks for U.S.-Iranian relations. Over the course of the 444 day Iranian hostage crisis, national media outlets constantly targeted President Jimmy Carter and his mishandling of the crisis. As negotiation attempts by President Carter to release the hostages proved futile, the American military attempted a rescue mission that ultimately failed. With unending media coverage of the crisis, the assumption was that the Iranian hostage crisis fueled an anti-Carter sentiment that led to his presidential reelection loss in 1980 to California Governor Ronald Reagan. However, this proved not to be the case. Polling during the 1980 presidential election year showed an overwhelming majority of the electorate viewed the national economy as the motivating factor behind their votes for president. International crises rarely impact national presidential elections. The Iranian hostage crisis, although important to American voters, was not the driving issue behind their votes for Ronald Reagan over President Jimmy Carter.