[6] However, disorganization and ineffective campaigning allowed Carter to bridge the 2-to-1 polling gap following a rise in his approval rating due to his initial handling of the Iran hostage crisis.

Despite losing the majority of presidential contests Kennedy rose in the polls and overcame Carter in multiple states following another drop in his approval rating due to his poor handling of the hostage crisis and receiving prominent labor union endorsements.

Despite having lost the nomination after leading Carter with a two to one polling advantage Kennedy's speech, "The Dream Shall Never Die", was viewed as the highlight of his political career and one of the most influential orations of the era.

[10] However, the push for another Kennedy candidate was focused on Robert and only a Draft Bobby campaign was launched in 1964 that gained significant traction in the New Hampshire vice presidential primary, but failed elsewhere.

[15][16] However, in 1976 Kennedy stated that he would be open to a "genuine draft" or be the running mate to Hubert Humphrey due to the rise of Jimmy Carter who would most likely not support the agenda of the liberal faction of Democrats.

[25] After spending the past weeks giving speeches critical of Carter, Kennedy announced on November 7, 1979, his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for president, despite statements made by Kennedy's mentor and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill saying that he did not expect him to run, in Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts where he made statements attacking Carter for his "lack of a clear summons from the center of power".

[31][32] Jeffrey Hart described the first week of Kennedy's campaign as a snowman dissolving in early spring due to his poor performance during Mudd's interview.

[35][36] While he was campaigning in the southern United States a poll of 157 Democratic National Committee members was conducted by the American Broadcasting Company that showed Carter with 99, Kennedy with 44, Brown with 2, and 12 undecided.

[37] In the early stages of the Iran Hostage Crisis, which had begun on the same day as his interview with Mudd, Kennedy criticized Carter for not having better contingency plans to protect Americans in the Iranian embassies.

[39] However, by mid-November Kennedy stopped attacking Carter's response to the hostage crisis and started to criticize him as a continuation of the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

[58] Former Representative Allard K. Lowenstein stated that Kennedy was not going to win Iowa and that it would be difficult for him to defeat Carter unless the situations in Iran and Afghanistan changed before the February primaries.

[60][61][62] Nearing and following his defeat in Iowa Kennedy restructured his campaign with aides being asked to forgo their paychecks to conserve money, cancelling a national ten-city fundraising tour, ending the usage of his Boeing 727 plane to save $125,000, and removing organization in Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana to move them to New England in preparation for the Maine and New Hampshire primaries.

[65] A four-day campaign throughout New England was later cancelled due to his commitments in Washington, D.C.[66] On February 5, nine members, including Vice Presidents Ken Bannon, Irving Bluestone, Mark Stepp, and Martin Gerber, of the twenty-five-member board of the United Automobile Workers announced that they would support Kennedy.

[72] Following the Maine caucus an internal poll of the New Hampshire primary was conducted by Peter Hart and it showed that Carter would win the state in a landslide.

[96] On June 20, Kennedy criticized the initial draft of the Democratic Party's 1980 platform as it did not address "the anxieties and fears of the American people" and asked for revisions to the economic plans.

[98] On July 1, Kennedy was interviewed at his Senate office and stated that he could concede to Carter if he would support a $12.6 billion employment program and other anti-recession expenditures.

[99] Although members of Carter's campaign had criticized Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne for being the only mayor of a major city to support Kennedy, a meeting was held between Byrne and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Moon Landrieu and former DNC Chairman Robert S. Strauss that was alleged to be an attempt to gain her endorsement from Kennedy or for the general election after the convention.

[101] On July 31, John B. Anderson suggested that he would drop out of the presidential election if Kennedy won the Democratic nomination after a private meeting was held between both of the candidates.

[103][104] Morley Winograd, who served as the chairman of the Commission on Presidential Nomination and Party Structure when the rule that all delegates are bound on the first ballot and now served as a Michigan delegate for Kennedy, criticized the roll call vote and the method of how the rule was passed citing the three minute debate time limit and that the commission was focused on more important issues at the time.

[105] On August 5, Senator Henry M. Jackson gave his support to an open convention and stated that Kennedy would have an easier time defeating Ronald Reagan.

[107][108] Shortly before the convention convened Kennedy spent the remaining days campaigning in New York City and released a list of seven possible vice presidential running mates that consisted of Senator Henry M. Jackson, Governor Reubin Askew, Mayor Tom Bradley, Representative Lindy Boggs, Secretary of Education Shirley Hufstedler, Representative L. Richardson Preyer, and Senator Adlai Stevenson III.

[113] During the drafting of the Democratic Party's 1980 platform, Kennedy proposed that planks in favor of a $12 billion recession program, wage-price controls, and gasoline rationing be added.