1976 United States presidential election

1976 United States presidential election

November 2, 1976
538 members of theElectoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	54.8%1.1pp
Nominee Jimmy Carter Gerald Ford Party Democratic Republican Home state Georgia Michigan Running mate Walter Mondale Bob Dole Electoral vote 297 240 States carried 23 +DC 27 Popular vote 40,831,881 39,148,634 Percentage 50.1% 48.0%
Presidential election results map.Bluedenotes states won by Carter/Mondale andreddenotes those won by Ford/Dole.Pinkis the electoral vote forRonald Reaganby aWashingtonfaithless elector.Numbers indicateelectoral votescast by each state and the District of Columbia.
President before election Gerald Ford Republican Elected President Jimmy Carter Democratic

The1976 United States presidential electionwas the 48th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1976. DemocratJimmy Carter,formerGovernor of Georgia,defeated incumbent Republican presidentGerald Fordin a narrow victory. This was the first presidential election since1932in which the incumbent was defeated, as well as the only Democratic victory of the six presidential elections between1968and1988.

Ford ascended to the presidency whenRichard Nixonresigned in 1974 in the wake of theWatergate scandal,which badly damaged the Republican Party and its electoral prospects. Ford promised to continue Nixon's political agenda and govern as a moderate Republican, causing considerable backlash from the conservative wing of his party. This spurred formerCalifornia governorRonald Reaganto mount a significant challenge against him inthe Republican primaries,in which Ford narrowly prevailed. Carter was unknown outside of his home state of Georgia at the start ofthe Democratic primaries,but he emerged as the front-runner after his victories in the first set of primaries. Campaigning as a political moderate within his own party and as a Washington outsider, Carter defeated numerous opponents to clinch the Democratic nomination.

Ford pursued a "Rose Garden strategy"in which he sought to portray himself as an experienced leader focused on fulfilling his role as chief executive.On the other hand, Carter emphasized his status as a reformer who was "untainted" by Washington.Saddled with a poor economy, thefallofSouth Vietnam,and the political fallout from the Watergate Scandal, including his unpopularpardon of Richard Nixon,Ford trailed by a wide margin in polls taken after Carter's formal nomination in July 1976. Ford's polling rebounded after a strong performance in the first presidential debate, and the race was close on election day.

Carter won a majority of the popular and electoral votes. He was able to carry several Midwestern and Northeastern swing states, as well as most states in the Democratic-dominated region of the South. Ford dominated the Western states. Carter's victory at the polls was due in part to the backlash against the Watergate scandal that still was deeply hurting Republican candidates. Ford became the only vice-president to become president and subsequently fail to win election for a term in his own right.

As of2020,this is also the last election in which the Democratic candidate won the majority of states in the South, carrying the states ofAlabama,Mississippi,South Carolina,andTexas(mainly due to Carter's southern roots), and the most recent election in which the losing candidate carried more states than the winning candidate. This is the only election in which California voted Republican while Ohio voted Democrat.

Since the death ofGeorge McGovernin 2012, this is the earliest election where at least one of the major party nominees for president (Carter) or vice president is still alive (Ford died in 2006 and both Mondale and Dole died in 2021).

This is the only election in which all 4 major presidential and vice presidential candidates would be their party's nominee for president and lose. In addition to Ford losing this election, Carter would lose reelection to Reagan in1980,Mondale would lose to President Reagan in1984,and Dole would lose to PresidentBill Clintonin1996.

Finally, beginning with this election and continuing all the way until2004inclusive, every Republican presidentialticketwould feature a candidate named either Bush or Dole.

Nominations

Democratic Party

Main article:1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Democratic Party (United States) 1976 Democratic Party ticket
Jimmy Carter	Walter Mondale
for President	for Vice President
76th Governor of Georgia (1971–1975)	U.S. Senator fromMinnesota (1964–1976)
Campaign

Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the nomination race
Jerry Brown	George Wallace	Mo Udall	Robert C. Byrd	Ellen McCormack	Walter Fauntroy	Walter Washington	Jesse Gray	Frank Church	Henry M. Jackson	Lloyd Bentsen	Milton Shapp	Fred Harris	Sargent Shriver	Birch Bayh	Terry Sanford
Governor ofCalifornia (1975–1983)	Governor ofAlabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979)	U.S. Representative forArizona's 2nd congressional district (1961–1991)	U.S. Senator fromWest Virginia (1959–2010)	Chair of theNew York Right to Life Party (1970–1976)	Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives forDistrict of Columbia's at-large congressional district (1971–1991)	Mayor of the District of Columbia (1967–1979)	New YorkState Assemblyman from the 70th district (1972–1975)	U.S. Senator fromIdaho (1957–1981)	U.S. Senator fromWashington (1953–1983)	U.S. Senator fromTexas (1971–1993)	Governor ofPennsylvania (1971–1979)	U.S. Senator fromOklahoma (1964–1973)	Democratic nominee forVice President of the United States in1972	U.S. Senator fromIndiana (1963–1981)	Governor ofNorth Carolina (1961–1965)
Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign	Campaign
LN:July 15, 1976 2,449,374votes	LN:July 15, 1976 1,955,388votes	LN:July 15, 1976 1,611,754votes	LN:July 15, 1976 340,309votes	LN:July 15, 1976 238,027votes	LN:July 15, 1976 10,149votes	LN:July 15, 1976 5,161votes	LN:July 15, 1976 3,574votes	W:June 14, 1976 830,818votes	W:May 1, 1976 1,134,375votes	W:May 1, 1976 4,046votes	W:April 27, 1976 88,254votes	W:April 2, 1976 234,568votes	W:March 16, 1976 304,399votes	W:March 4, 1976 86,438votes	W:January 25, 1976 404votes

The surprise winner of the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination was Jimmy Carter, a formerstate senatorand governor of Georgia. When the primaries began, Carter was little-known at the national level, and many political pundits regarded a number of better-known candidates, such as SenatorHenry M. Jacksonfrom Washington, RepresentativeMorris Udallfrom Arizona, GovernorGeorge Wallaceof Alabama, and California GovernorJerry Brown,as the favorites for the nomination. However, in the wake of theWatergate scandal,Carter realized that his status as a Washington outsider, political centrist, and moderate reformer could give him an advantage over his better-known establishment rivals. Carter also took advantage of the record number of state primaries and caucuses in 1976, to eliminate his better-known rivals one-by-one.

Henry M. Jackson made a fateful decision not to compete in the early Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, which Jimmy Carter won after liberals split their votes among four other candidates. Though Jackson went on to win the Massachusetts and New York primaries, he was forced to quit the race on May 1, after losing the critical Pennsylvania primary to Carter by twelve percentage points. Carter then defeated Governor Wallace, his main conservative challenger, by a wide margin in the North Carolina primary, thus forcing Wallace to end his campaign. Representative Udall, a liberal, then became Carter's main challenger. He finished second to Carter in the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New York, Michigan, South Dakota, and Ohio primaries, and won the caucuses in his home state of Arizona, while running even with Carter in the New Mexico caucuses. However, the fact that Udall finished second to Carter in most of these races meant that Carter steadily accumulated more delegates for the nomination than he did.

As Carter closed in on the nomination, an "ABC" ( "Anybody But Carter" ) movement started among Northern and Western liberal Democrats who worried that Carter's Southern upbringing would make him too conservative for the Democratic Party. The leaders of the "ABC" movement, Idaho SenatorFrank Churchand California Governor Jerry Brown, both announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination, and defeated Carter in several late primaries. However, their campaigns started too late to prevent Carter from gathering the remaining delegates he needed to capture the nomination.

By June 1976, Carter had captured more than enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination. At the1976 Democratic National Convention,Carter easily won the nomination on the first ballot; Udall finished in second place. Carter then chose Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale, a liberal, as his running mate.

Republican Party

Main article:1976 Republican Party presidential primaries

Republican Party (United States) 1976 Republican Party ticket
Gerald Ford	Bob Dole
for President	for Vice President
38th President of the United States (1974–1977)	U.S. Senator fromKansas (1969–1996)
Campaign

Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the nomination race
Ronald Reagan
Governor ofCalifornia (1967–1975)
Campaign
LN:August 19, 1976 4,760,222votes

The contest for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 1976 was between two serious candidates: incumbent president Gerald Ford, a member of the party's moderate wing, and former governor of CaliforniaRonald Reagan,a member of the party's conservative wing. The presidential primary campaign between the two men was hard-fought and relatively even; by the start of the Republican Convention in August 1976, the race for the nomination was still too close to call. Ford defeated Reagan by a narrow margin on the first ballot at the1976 Republican National ConventioninKansas City,and chose SenatorBob Dolefrom Kansas as his running mate in the place of incumbent vice presidentNelson Rockefeller,who had announced the previous year that he was not interested in being considered for the vice presidential nomination.The 1976 Republican Convention was the last political convention to open with the presidential nomination still being undecided until the actual balloting at the convention.

Others

• Roger MacBride,who had gained fame in the1972 electionas afaithless elector,ran as the nominee of theLibertarian Party.
• Eugene McCarthy,a former Democratic Senator from Minnesota, ran as an independent candidate.
• Ben Bubar,Prohibition Partynominee.
• Frank Zeidler,former mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ran as the nominee ofSocialist Party USA,which was founded in 1973 in a split withSocialist Party of America.
• Gus Hall,four-time Communist Party candidate
• Lester Maddox,the former Democratic Governor of Georgia (and Lieutenant Governor under Carter), ran as the nominee of theAmerican Independent Party

General election

Polling

See also:Nationwide opinion polling for the 1976 United States presidential election

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Jimmy Carter (D)	Gerald Ford (R)	Eugene McCarthy (I)	Other	Undecided	Margin
Harris	January 5–14, 1976	36%	49%	-	—	15%	13
Harris	Late January, 1976	37%	48%	-	—	15%	11
Harris	March, 1976	42%	49%	-	—	9%	7
Gallup	March 10–13, 1976	47%	42%	-	-	11%	5
Gallup	March 19–22, 1976	48%	46%	-	-	6%	2
Gallup	March 26–29, 1976	47%	46%	-	2%	5%	1
Gallup	April 9–12, 1976	49%	43%	-	2%	6%	6
Harris	April 9–15, 1976	47%	43%	-	—	10%	4
Gallup	April 30 – May 3, 1976	52%	43%	-	-	5%	9
Harris	June, 1976	53%	40%	-	-	7%	13
Gallup	June 11–14, 1976	55%	37%	-	3%	5%	18
Gallup	June 25–28, 1976	53%	36%	-	-	11%	17
July 12–15: Democratic National Convention
Harris	July 16–19, 1976	62%	27%	5%	-	6%	35
Gallup	July 16–19, 1976	62%	29%	-	-	9%	33
Harris	July 31 – August 4, 1976	61%	32%	-	-	7%	29
Gallup	August 6–9, 1976	57%	32%	-	3%	8%	25
		54%	32%	6%	1%	7%	22
August 16–19: Republican National Convention
Harris	August 18–20, 1976	53%	39%	6%	-	2%	14
Gallup	August 20–23, 1976	50%	37%	-	-	13%	13
Gallup	August 27–30, 1976	54%	36%	-	2%	8%	18
Harris	September 24–25, 1976	50%	41%	-	-	9%	9
		46%	39%	5%	1%	9%	7
Gallup	September 24–27, 1976	51%	40%	4%	1%	4%	11
Gallup	September 27 – October 4, 1976	47%	45%	1%	1%	6%	2
Harris	October 7–11, 1976	47%	42%	-	-	11%	5
		44%	40%	6%	1%	9%	4
Gallup	October 8–11, 1976	48%	42%	2%	2%	6%	6
Gallup	October 15–18, 1976	47%	41%	2%	2%	8%	6
Harris	October 19–22, 1976	45%	42%	5%	1%	7%	3
Gallup	October 22–25, 1976	49%	44%	2%	1%	4%	5
Harris	October 23–26, 1976	45%	44%	4%	-	7%	1
Gallup	October 28–30, 1976	46%	47%	2%	1%	4%	1
Harris	October 29–31, 1976	46%	45%	3%	1%	5%	1
Election Results	Nov. 2, 1976	50.08%	48.02%	0.91%	0.99%	-	2.06

Fall campaign

Former GovernorJimmy Carter(left) and PresidentGerald Ford(right) at the presidential debate atWalnut Street TheatreinPhiladelphiaon September 23, 1976

One of the advantages Ford held over Carter as the general election campaign began was his presidential privilege to preside over events celebrating theUnited States Bicentennial;this often resulted in favorable publicity for Ford. These included the Washington, D. C., fireworks display on theFourth of July,which was televised nationally.On July 7, 1976, the President and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner forQueen Elizabeth IIandPrince Philipof the United Kingdom, which was televised on thePublic Broadcasting Service(PBS) network. These events were part of Ford's "Rose Garden" strategy to win the election, meaning that instead of appearing as a typical politician, Ford presented himself as a "tested leader" who was busily fulfilling the role of national leader and chief executive. Not until October did Ford leave the White House to actively campaign across the nation.

Carter ran as a reformer who was "untainted" by Washington political scandals,which many voters found attractive in the wake of theWatergate scandalthat had led to PresidentRichard Nixon's resignation. Ford, although personally unconnected with Watergate, was seen by many as too close to the discredited Nixon administration, especially after he granted Nixon a presidential pardon for any crimes he might have committed during his term of office. Ford's pardon of Nixon caused his popularity, as measured by public opinion polls, to plummet. Ford's refusal to explain his reasons for pardoning Nixon publicly (he would do so in his memoirs several years later), also hurt his image.

Ford unsuccessfully asked Congress to end the 1950s-era price controls on natural gas, which had caused a dwindling of American natural gas reserves after the1973 oil crisis.Carter stated during his campaign that he opposed the ending of the price controls and thought such a move would be "disastrous".

After the Democratic National Convention, Carter held a 33-point lead over Ford in the polls.However, as the campaign continued, the race greatly tightened. During the campaignPlayboymagazine published a controversial interview with Carter; in the interview, Carter admitted to having "lusted in my heart" for women other than his wife and used the word "screw," which cut into his support among women and evangelical Christians.On September 23, Ford performed well in what was the first televisedpresidential debatesince1960.Polls taken after the debate showed that most viewers felt that Ford was the winner. Carter was also hurt by Ford's charges that he lacked the necessary experience to be an effective national leader and that he was vague on many issues.

Carter campaign headquarters

However, Ford also committed a costly blunder in the campaign that halted his momentum. During the second presidential debate on October 6, Ford stumbled when he asserted that "there is noSovietdomination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration ". He added that he did not" believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union ", and made the same claim with regard to Yugoslavia and Romania (Yugoslavia was not aWarsaw Pactmember).Ford refused to retract his statement for almost a week after the debate, causing his surge in the polls to stall and allowing Carter to maintain a slight lead in the polls.

A vice-presidential debate, the first formal one of its kind,between Bob Dole and Walter Mondale also hurt the Republican ticket when Dole asserted that military unpreparedness on the part of Democratic presidents was responsible for all of the wars the U.S. had fought in the 20th century. Dole, a World War II veteran, noted that in every 20th-century war, from World War I to the Vietnam War, a Democrat had been president. Dole then pointed out that the number of U.S. casualties in "Democrat wars" was roughly equal to the population of Detroit. Many voters felt that Dole's criticism was unfairly harsh, and that his dispassionate delivery made him seem cold. Years later, Dole would remark that he regretted the comment, believing that it had hurt the Republican ticket.One factor that did help Ford in the closing days of the campaign was a series of popular television appearances he did withJoe Garagiola,a retired baseball player for theSt. Louis Cardinalsand a well-known announcer forNBC Sports.Garagiola and Ford appeared in a number of shows in several large cities. During the show, Garagiola would ask Ford questions about his life and beliefs; the shows were so informal, relaxed, and laid-back that some television critics labelled them the "Joe and Jerry Show". Ford and Garagiola obviously enjoyed one another's company, and they remained friends after the election was over.

Presidential debates

Main article:1976 United States presidential debates

There were three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate during the 1976 general election.

Debates among candidates for the 1976 U.S. presidential election

No.	Date	Host	City	Moderator	Panelists	Participants	Viewership (Millions)
P1	Thursday, September 23, 1976	Walnut Street Theatre	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Edwin Newman	Elizabeth Drew James P. Gannon Frank Reynolds	Governor Jimmy Carter President Gerald Ford	69.7
P2	Wednesday, October 6, 1976	Palace of Fine Arts	San Francisco, California	Pauline Frederick	Max Frankel Henry Trewhitt Richard Valeriani	Governor Jimmy Carter President Gerald Ford	63.9
VP	Friday, October 15, 1976	Alley Theatre	Houston, Texas	James Hoge	Marilyn Berger Hal Bruno Walter Mears	Senator Bob Dole Senator Walter Mondale	43.2
P3	Friday, October 22, 1976	Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall	Williamsburg, Virginia	Barbara Walters	Joseph Kraft Robert Maynard Jack Nelson	Governor Jimmy Carter President Gerald Ford	62.7

Results

Despite his campaign's blunders, Ford managed to close the remaining gap in the polls, and by election day, the race was judged to be even. It took most of that night and the following morning to determine the winner. It was not until 3:30 am EST, that the NBC television network was able to declare that Carter had carried Mississippi and had thus accumulated more than the 270 electoral votes needed to win (seconds later, ABC News also declared Carter the winner, based on projections for Carter in Wisconsin and Hawaii, while CBS News announced Carter's victory at 3:45 am).Carter defeated Ford by two percentage points in the national popular vote.

The electoral vote was the closest since1916;Carter carried 23 states, with 297 electoral votes, while Ford won 27 states, with 240 electoral votes (one elector, future state SenatorMike Paddenfrom Washington state, pledged to Ford, voted for Reagan). Carter's victory came primarily from his near-sweep of the South (he lost only Virginia and Oklahoma), and his narrow victories in large Northern states such as New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Ford did well in the West, carrying every state in that region, except for Hawaii. The most tightly contested state in the election was Oregon, which Ford won by under 2,000 votes.

By percentage of the vote, the states that secured Carter's victory were Wisconsin (1.68% margin) and Ohio (.27% margin). Had Ford won these states and all other states he carried, he would have won the presidency. The 27 states he won were, and still are, the most states ever carried by a losing candidate for president. Had Ford won the election, the provisions of the22nd amendmentwould have disqualified him from running in1980,as he served more than two years of Nixon's second term.

Records

Carter was the first Democratic presidential nominee sinceJohn F. Kennedyin1960to carry states in the Deep South (Bill Clintonwas the only Democrat since 1976 to carry more than one state from the Deep South, doing so in1992), and the only one sinceLyndon B. Johnsonin1964to carry a majority of allsouthern states.Carter performed very strongly in his home state of Georgia, carrying 66.7% of the vote and every county in the state. His winning of 23 states was only the second time in history that the winner of the election won fewer than half the states (after 1960). His 50.1% of the vote was the only time since 1964 that a Democrat managed to obtain an absolute majority of the popular vote in a presidential election, untilBarack Obamawon 52.9% of the vote in2008.Carter is one of six Democrats since theAmerican Civil Warto obtain anabsolute majorityof the popular vote, the others beingSamuel J. Tilden,Franklin D. Roosevelt,Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama, andJoe Biden.

This election represents the last time to date thatTexas,Mississippi,Alabama,andSouth Carolinawould vote Democratic, and the last timeNorth Carolinawould vote Democratic until2008,as well as the last timeFloridavoted Democratic until1996,and the last timeArkansas,Delaware,Kentucky,Louisiana,Missouri,Ohio,Pennsylvania,andTennesseevoted Democratic until1992.

This election was the last time that a Democrat won the presidency without winning a number of modern blue states and swing states, specifically California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. This is the only time a Democrat has won without New Mexico, as well as the only time it voted for a candidate who lost the popular vote. Similarly, it is one of only three instances in which a Democrat won without Nevada (the others being the two elections ofGrover Clevelandin1884and1892). And the Democrats did not win withoutIowaagain until2020.

It was the first time in exactly 100 years (since 1876) when Florida and Virginia supported different candidates, and the first time since Oklahoma statehood in 1907 when Oklahoma andTennesseedid so.

As Carter won about 319 more counties than Ford, this election would mark the last time a Democrat won a majority of counties.

Statistics

Electoral results

Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Popular vote		Electoral vote	Running mate
			Count	Percentage		Vice-presidential candidate	Home state	Electoral vote
Jimmy Carter	Democratic	Georgia	40,831,881	50.08%	297	Walter Mondale	Minnesota	297
Gerald Ford(incumbent)	Republican	Michigan	39,148,634	48.02%	240	Bob Dole	Kansas	241
Ronald Reagan	Republican	California	—	—	1
Eugene McCarthy	None	Minnesota	744,763	0.91%	0			0
Roger MacBride	Libertarian	Virginia	172,557	0.21%	0	David Bergland	California	0
Lester Maddox	American Independent	Georgia	170,373	0.21%	0	William Dyke	Wisconsin	0
Thomas J. Anderson	American		158,724	0.19%	0	Rufus Shackelford	Florida	0
Peter Camejo	Socialist Workers	California	90,986	0.11%	0	Willie Mae Reid	Illinois	0
Gus Hall	Communist	New York	58,709	0.07%	0	Jarvis Tyner	New York	0
Margaret Wright	People's	California	49,016	0.06%	0	Benjamin Spock	Connecticut	0
Lyndon LaRouche	U.S. Labor	New York	40,018	0.05%	0	R. Wayne Evans	Michigan	0
Other			75,119	0.09%	—	Other		—
Total			81,540,780	100%	538			538
Needed to win					270			270

Source (Popular Vote):Leip, David."1976 Presidential Election Results".Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.RetrievedAugust 7,2005.

Source (Electoral Vote):"Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996".National Archives and Records Administration.RetrievedAugust 7,2005.

Popular vote Carter   50.08% Ford   48.02% McCarthy   0.91% Others   0.57%

Electoral vote Carter   55.20% Ford   44.61% Reagan   0.19%

• 
  Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
• 
  Results by congressional district, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote

Results by state

Source:

This election represents the second time that the winning candidate has received a majority of the electoral votes while the second-place candidate carried a majority of the states. It had previously happened inthe 1960 election.The "margin" column shows the difference between the two leading candidates, and the "swing" column shows the margin swing from the respective party's nominee from 1972 to 1976.

Legend

States/districts won byFord/Dole
States/districts won byCarter/Mondale
†	At-large results (Maine used the Congressional District Method)

		Jimmy Carter Democratic			Gerald Ford Republican			Eugene McCarthy Independent			Roger MacBride Libertarian			Margin		Swing	State Total
State	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%	electoral votes	#	%		#
Alabama	9	659,170	55.73	9	504,070	42.61	-	-	-	-	1,481	0.13	-	155,100	13.11	60.00	1,182,850	AL
Alaska	3	44,058	35.65	-	71,555	57.90	3	-	-	-	6,785	5.49	-	-27,497	-22.25	1.26	123,574	AK
Arizona	6	295,602	39.80	-	418,642	56.37	6	19,229	2.59	-	7,647	1.03	-	-123,040	-16.57	14.69	742,719	AZ
Arkansas	6	499,614	64.94	6	268,753	34.93	-	647	0.08	-	-	-	-	230,861	30.01	68.12	769,396	AR
California	45	3,742,284	47.57	-	3,882,244	49.35	45	58,412	0.74	-	56,388	0.72	-	-139,960	-1.78	11.68	7,867,117	CA
Colorado	7	460,353	42.58	-	584,367	54.05	7	26,107	2.41	-	5,330	0.49	-	-124,014	-11.47	16.54	1,081,135	CO
Connecticut	8	647,895	46.90	-	719,261	52.06	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-71,366	-5.17	13.27	1,381,526	CT
Delaware	3	122,596	51.98	3	109,831	46.57	-	2,437	1.03	-	-	-	-	12,765	5.41	25.82	235,834	DE
D.C.	3	137,818	81.63	3	27,873	16.51	-	-	-	-	274	0.16	-	109,945	65.12	8.58	168,830	DC
Florida	17	1,636,000	51.93	17	1,469,531	46.64	-	23,643	0.75	-	103	0.00	-	166,469	5.28	49.40	3,150,631	FL
Georgia	12	979,409	66.74	12	483,743	32.96	-	991	0.07	-	175	0.01	-	495,666	33.78	84.17	1,467,458	GA
Hawaii	4	147,375	50.59	4	140,003	48.06	-	-	-	-	3,923	1.35	-	7,372	2.53	27.49	291,301	HI
Idaho	4	126,549	37.12	-	204,151	59.88	4	-	-	-	3,558	1.04	-	-77,602	-22.76	15.44	340,932	ID
Illinois	26	2,271,295	48.13	-	2,364,269	50.10	26	55,939	1.19	-	8,057	0.17	-	-92,974	-1.97	16.55	4,718,833	IL
Indiana	13	1,014,714	45.70	-	1,183,958	53.32	13	-	-	-	-	-	-	-169,244	-7.62	25.15	2,220,362	IN
Iowa	8	619,931	48.46	-	632,863	49.47	8	20,051	1.57	-	1,452	0.11	-	-12,932	-1.01	16.12	1,279,306	IA
Kansas	7	430,421	44.94	-	502,752	52.49	7	13,185	1.38	-	3,242	0.34	-	-72,331	-7.55	30.60	957,845	KS
Kentucky	9	615,717	52.75	9	531,852	45.57	-	6,837	0.59	-	814	0.07	-	83,865	7.19	35.79	1,167,142	KY
Louisiana	10	661,365	51.73	10	587,446	45.95	-	6,588	0.52	-	3,325	0.26	-	73,919	5.78	42.75	1,278,439	LA
Maine †	2	232,279	48.07	-	236,320	48.91	2	10,874	2.25	-	10	0.00	-	-4,041	-0.84	22.14	483,208	ME
Maine-1	1	123,598	47.90	–	127,019	49.22	1	6,025	2.33	–	–	–	–	-3,421	-1.32	-	250,617	ME1
Maine-2	1	108,681	48.27	–	109,301	48.54	1	4,849	2.15	–	–	–	–	-620	-0.27	–	217,982	ME2
Maryland	10	759,612	53.04	10	672,661	46.96	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	86,951	6.07	29.97	1,432,273	MD
Massachusetts	14	1,429,475	56.11	14	1,030,276	40.44	-	65,637	2.58	-	135	0.01	-	399,199	15.67	6.70	2,547,557	MA
Michigan	21	1,696,714	46.44	-	1,893,742	51.83	21	47,905	1.31	-	5,406	0.15	-	-197,028	-5.39	9.00	3,653,749	MI
Minnesota	10	1,070,440	54.90	10	819,395	42.02	-	35,490	1.82	-	3,529	0.18	-	251,045	12.87	18.38	1,949,931	MN
Mississippi	7	381,309	49.56	7	366,846	47.68	-	4,074	0.53	-	2,787	0.36	-	14,463	1.88	60.45	769,360	MS
Missouri	12	998,387	51.10	12	927,443	47.47	-	24,029	1.23	-	-	-	-	70,944	3.63	28.22	1,953,600	MO
Montana	4	149,259	45.40	-	173,703	52.84	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-24,444	-7.44	12.64	328,734	MT
Nebraska	5	233,692	38.46	-	359,705	59.19	5	9,409	1.55	-	1,482	0.24	-	-126,013	-20.74	20.26	607,668	NE
Nevada	3	92,479	45.81	-	101,273	50.17	3	-	-	-	1,519	0.75	-	-8,794	-4.36	23.00	201,876	NV
New Hampshire	4	147,635	43.47	-	185,935	54.75	4	4,095	1.21	-	936	0.28	-	-38,300	-11.28	17.84	339,618	NH
New Jersey	17	1,444,653	47.92	-	1,509,688	50.08	17	32,717	1.09	-	9,449	0.31	-	-65,035	-2.16	22.64	3,014,472	NJ
New Mexico	4	201,148	48.28	-	211,419	50.75	4	-	-	-	1,110	0.27	-	-10,271	-2.47	22.02	416,590	NM
New York	41	3,389,558	51.95	41	3,100,791	47.52	-	4,303	0.07	-	12,197	0.19	-	288,767	4.43	21.77	6,525,225	NY
North Carolina	13	927,365	55.27	13	741,960	44.22	-	-	-	-	2,219	0.13	-	185,405	11.05	51.63	1,677,906	NC
North Dakota	3	136,078	45.80	-	153,470	51.66	3	2,952	0.99	-	256	0.09	-	-17,392	-5.85	20.43	297,094	ND
Ohio	25	2,011,621	48.92	25	2,000,505	48.65	-	58,258	1.42	-	8,961	0.22	-	11,116	0.27	21.87	4,111,873	OH
Oklahoma	8	532,442	48.75	-	545,708	49.96	8	14,101	1.29	-	-	-	-	-13,266	-1.21	48.49	1,092,251	OK
Oregon	6	490,407	47.62	-	492,120	47.78	6	40,207	3.90	-	-	-	-	-1,713	-0.17	9.95	1,029,876	OR
Pennsylvania	27	2,328,677	50.40	27	2,205,604	47.73	-	50,584	1.09	-	-	-	-	123,073	2.66	22.64	4,620,787	PA
Rhode Island	4	227,636	55.36	4	181,249	44.08	-	479	0.12	-	715	0.17	-	46,387	11.28	17.47	411,170	RI
South Carolina	8	450,825	56.17	8	346,140	43.13	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	104,685	13.04	55.70	802,594	SC
South Dakota	4	147,068	48.91	-	151,505	50.39	4	-	-	-	1,619	0.54	-	-4,437	-1.48	7.15	300,678	SD
Tennessee	10	825,879	55.94	10	633,969	42.94	-	5,004	0.34	-	1,375	0.09	-	191,910	13.00	50.95	1,476,346	TN
Texas	26	2,082,319	51.14	26	1,953,300	47.97	-	20,118	0.49	-	263	0.01	-	129,019	3.17	36.13	4,071,884	TX
Utah	4	182,110	33.65	-	337,908	62.44	4	3,907	0.72	-	2,438	0.45	-	-155,798	-28.79	12.46	541,198	UT
Vermont	3	81,044	43.14	-	102,085	54.34	3	4,001	2.13	-	4	0.00	-	-21,041	-11.20	15.00	187,855	VT
Virginia	12	813,896	47.96	-	836,554	49.29	12	-	-	-	4,648	0.27	-	-22,658	-1.34	36.38	1,697,094	VA
Washington	9	717,323	46.11	-	777,732	50.00	8	36,986	2.38	-	5,042	0.32	-	-60,409	-3.88	14.40	1,555,534	WA
West Virginia	6	435,914	58.07	6	314,760	41.93	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	121,154	16.14	43.36	750,674	WV
Wisconsin	11	1,040,232	49.50	11	1,004,987	47.83	-	34,943	1.66	-	3,814	0.18	-	35,245	1.68	11.35	2,101,336	WI
Wyoming	3	62,239	39.81	-	92,717	59.30	3	624	0.40	-	89	0.06	-	-30,478	-19.49	19.05	156,343	WY
TOTALS:	538	40,831,881	50.08	297	39,148,634	48.02	240	740,460	0.91	-	172,557	0.21	-	1,683,247	2.06	25.21	81,531,584	US

Maine allowed its electoral votes to be split between candidates. Two electoral votes were awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. Ford won all four votes.

States that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

Close states

Gerald Ford(right) watching election returns withJoe Garagiolaon election night in 1976. Garagiola is reacting to television reports that Ford had just been projected as having lost Texas to Carter.

A campaign button from election eve where Carter and Mondale spent theevening in Flint Michigan at a rallyIt is notable as only a handful of counties in Michigan went to Carter in 1976, and no surrounding counties where Carter held the rally went to him.

A Ford-Dole campaign button.

States where margin of victory was under 1% (35 electoral votes):

1. Oregon, 0.16% (1,713 votes)
2. Ohio, 0.27% (11,116 votes)
3. Maine's 2nd Congressional District, 0.28% (620 votes)
4. Maine, 0.84% (4,041 votes)

States where margin of victory was under 5% (264 electoral votes):

1. Iowa, 1.01% (12,932 votes)
2. Oklahoma, 1.21% (13,266 votes)
3. Virginia, 1.34% (22,658 votes)
4. Maine's 1st Congressional District, 1.36% (3,421 votes)
5. South Dakota, 1.48% (4,437 votes)
6. Wisconsin, 1.68% (35,245 votes)(tipping point state)
7. California, 1.78% (139,960 votes)
8. Mississippi, 1.88% (14,463 votes)
9. Illinois, 1.97% (92,974 votes)
10. New Jersey, 2.16% (65,035 votes)
11. New Mexico, 2.47% (10,271 votes)
12. Hawaii, 2.53% (7,372 votes)
13. Pennsylvania, 2.66% (123,073 votes)
14. Texas, 3.17% (129,019 votes)
15. Missouri, 3.63% (70,944 votes)
16. Washington, 3.88% (60,409 votes)
17. Nevada, 4.36% (8,794 votes)
18. New York, 4.43% (288,767 votes)

States where margin of victory was more than 5%, but less than 10% (105 electoral votes):

1. Connecticut, 5.16% (71,366 votes)
2. Florida, 5.29% (166,469 votes)
3. Michigan, 5.39% (197,028 votes)
4. Delaware, 5.41% (12,765 votes)
5. Louisiana, 5.78% (73,919 votes)
6. North Dakota, 5.86% (17,392 votes)
7. Maryland, 6.08% (86,951 votes)
8. Kentucky, 7.18% (83,865 votes)
9. Montana, 7.44% (24,444 votes)
10. Kansas, 7.55% (72,331 votes)
11. Indiana, 7.62% (169,244 votes)

Statistics

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)

1. Banks County, Georgia87.85%
2. Starr County, Texas87.25%
3. Brantley County, Georgia86.50%
4. Duval County, Texas86.36%
5. Wilcox County, Georgia86.15%

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)

1. Jackson County, Kentucky79.80%
2. Owsley County, Kentucky77.03%
3. Hooker County, Nebraska76.35%
4. Ottawa County, Michigan74.12%
5. Arthur County, Nebraska73.66%

Voter demographics

Social groups and the presidential vote, 1976
	Size	Carter	Ford
Party
Democratic	43	77	22
Independent	23	43	54
Republican	28	9	90
Ideology
Liberal	18	70	26
Moderate	51	51	48
Conservative	31	29	69
Ethnicity
Black	10	82	16
Hispanic	2	74	24
White	88	47	51
Gender
Female	48	50	48
Male	52	50	48
Religion
Protestant	46	44	55
White Protestant	41	42	57
Catholic	25	54	44
Jewish	5	64	34
Family income
Less than US$10,000	13	58	40
$10,000–$14,999	15	55	43
$15,000–$24,999	29	48	50
$25,000–$50,000	24	36	62
Over $50,000	5	—	—
Occupation
Professionalormanager	39	41	57
Clerical,sales,white-collar	11	46	53
Blue-collar	17	57	41
Farmer	3	—	—
Unemployed	3	65	34
Education
Less thanhigh school	11	58	39
High school graduate	28	54	44
Somecollege	28	50	49
College graduate	27	43	55
Unionmembership
Labor union household	28	59	39
No member of household in union	62	43	55
Age
18–21 years old	6	48	49
22–29 years old	17	51	46
30–44 years old	31	49	49
45–59 years old	23	48	51
60 years or older	18	47	52
Region
East	25	51	47
South	27	54	45
White South	22	46	52
Midwest	27	48	50
West	19	46	51
Community size
City over 250,000	18	58	40
Suburb/small city	53	51	47
Rural/town	29	47	51

Source:CBS News/New York Timesinterviews with 12,782 voters as they left the polls, as reported inThe New York Times,November 9, 1980, p. 28, and in further analysis. The 1976 data are from CBS News interviews.

See also

• Presidency of Jimmy Carter
• History of the United States (1964–1980)
• 1976 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1976 United States Senate elections
• 1976 United States gubernatorial elections
• Inauguration of Jimmy Carter

Further reading

• Chester, Edward WA guide to political platforms(1977)online
• Johnstone, Andrew, and Andrew Priest, eds.US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy: Candidates, Campaigns, and Global Politics from FDR to Bill Clinton(2017) pp 229–249.online
• MacDougall, Malcolm D.(1977).We Almost Made It.New York: Crown.ISBN0-517-52933-5.
• Roessner, Amber (2020).Jimmy Carter and the Birth of the Marathon Media Campaign.Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.ISBN978-0807170793.
• Shirley, Craig(2005).Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All.Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson.ISBN0-7852-6049-8.
• Williams, Daniel K.The Election of the Evangelical: Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and the Presidential Contest of 1976(University Press of Kansas, 2020)online review

External links

• The Election Wall's 1976 Election Video Page
• 1976 popular vote by counties
• 1976 popular vote by states (with bar graphs)
• Campaign commercials from the 1976 election
• Election of 1976 in Counting the VotesArchivedMarch 4, 2016, at theWayback Machine