Editing John B. Anderson (section)

=== Republican primary ===
On January 5, 1980, in the Republican candidates' debate in [[Des Moines, Iowa]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygGL9DGeSGM  | archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ygGL9DGeSGM | archive-date = December 11, 2021 |url-status = live | title = Republican Debate, Iowa 1980 | publisher = YouTube | date = January 5, 1980 | access-date = January 7, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> unlike the other candidates, Anderson said lowering taxes, increasing defense spending, and balancing the budget were an impossible combination.<ref name="WPobit"/> In a stirring summation,{{sfn|Mason|2011| pp = 120–127}} Anderson invoked his father's immigration to the United States and said that Americans would have to make sacrifices "for a better tomorrow."<ref name="WPobit"/> For the next week, Anderson's name and face were all over the national news programs, in newspapers, and in national news magazines.{{sfn|Mason|2011| pp = 120–127}} Anderson spent less than $2000 in Iowa, but he finished with 4.3% of the vote.<ref name="CTobit"/> The television networks were covering the event, portraying Anderson to a national audience as a man of character and principle.{{sfn|Mason|2011| pp = 133–156}} When the voters in New Hampshire went to the polls, Anderson again exceeded the expectations, finishing fourth with just under 10% of the vote.{{sfn|Mason|2011| pp = 133–156}}

Anderson was declared the winner in both Massachusetts and Vermont by the Associated Press,<ref>CBS Evening News, western edition, March 4, 1980; MacPherson, "Wow! Said John Anderson", March 6, 1980.</ref>{{sfn|Bisnow|1983| p = 146}} but the following morning ended up losing both primaries by a slim margin.<ref name="WPobit"/> In Massachusetts, he lost to George Bush by 0.3% and in Vermont he lost to Reagan by 690 votes.<ref name="WPobit"/> Anderson arrived in Illinois following the New England primaries and had a lead in the state polls,<ref name="NYTobit"/> but his Illinois campaign struggled despite endorsements from the state's two largest newspapers. Reagan defeated him, 48% to 37%. Anderson carried Chicago and Rockford, the state's two largest cities at the time, but he lost in the more conservative [[Southern Illinois|southern section of the state]].<ref name="CTobit"/> The next week, there was a primary in Connecticut, which (while Anderson was on the ballot) his team had chosen not to campaign actively in.<ref name="NYTobit" /> He finished third in Connecticut with 22% of the vote, and it seemed to most observers like any other loss, whether Anderson said he was competing or not.<ref name="WPobit"/> Next was Wisconsin, and this was thought to be Anderson's best chance for victory, but he again finished third, winning 27% of the vote.{{sfn|Mason|2011| p = 238}}