Ronald Reagan Was elected president of the United States in 1980 and won a second term in 1984. He had served two terms as governor of California before he became president. In 1980, Ronald Reagan defeated President Jimmy Carter, the Democratic candidate. In 1984, Reagan defeated former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, the Democratic nominee, in a landslide. The president won 525 electoral votes, more than any other presidential candidate in the nation's history. Before Reagan entered politics, he had been an actor nearly 30 years. He appeared in more than 50 movies.
When Reagan became pr…