Schwarzlose's unexpected strong challenge in primaries and his 31 percent of the primary vote foreshadowed that Clinton could be in trouble for the upcoming general election. Clinton's increase in the cost of automobile registration tags was also unpopular. He was also hurt by President Jimmy Carter's decision to send thousands of Cuban refugees, some unruly, to a detention camp at Fort Chaffee, outside Fort Smith in Sebastian County in western Arkansas. 1980 general election was marked by decisive Republican victories—the GOP won the White House, a majority in United States Senate and 34 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Clinton's narrow loss was viewed as part of Reagan's coattails.
Max Brantley said after Clinton lost the election in 1980: "The guy was like a death in the family. He was really destroyed after that election". Rudy Moore also added: "He never blamed anybody else. He accepted the responsibility. He didn't whine about it. In fact, it was within days, we were trying to figure out what we could to do to improve his political life after that" After Clinton was defeated, an opportunity arose in which Clinton would lead the Democratic National Committee through the 1980s to battleRonald Reagan and the Republicans, instead of running for another term for Governor of Arkansas. When Clinton campaigned for election in 1982 against White, he explained that he had learned the importance of adaptability and compromise from his defeat in two years prior. During the campaign of 1982, Clinton promised to make major strides in education, including a large investment of public money, but he avoided saying he would raise taxes. There was some skepticism on whether Clinton's record on the economy in Arkansas would translate into Democrats losing in upcoming elections. The regular legislative session in Arkansas of 1985 was devoted to economic development. The legislature approved almost all of Clinton's program, which included changes in banking laws, start-up money for technology-oriented businesses, and large tax incentives for Arkansas industries that expanded their production and jobs. Arkansas was one of the best states in new job creation in the next six years, but most of the jobs did not pay high wages, and it remained one of the worst states in average income. Democrats wanted a counter to Reaganomics, but feared Clinton's plan would lead to more unhappy blue collar workers bolting to the Republicans as his plan offered no real solution to stagnant wages.
