1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, General election, Campaign
Heinz was the victor in all but nine counties, defeating opponent William Green, who had a 300,000 vote advantage in his native Philadelphia area. Heinz and Green spent $2.5 million and $900,000, respectively, during the ten-month campaign. Much of the money Heinz spent on his campaign was his own, leading to accusations from Green that he was "buying the seat". Heinz replied to this by claiming that the spending was necessary to overcome the Democratic voter registration advantage.


1976 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
The 1976 United States Senate election in Rhode Island took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John O. Pastore did not seek re-election. Republican John Chafee won the seat, defeating Democrat Richard P. Lorber. Chafee was the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate race in Rhode Island since 1930.


1976 United States Senate election in Tennessee
The  1976 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bill Brock ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic challenger Jim Sasser.


1976 United States Senate election in Texas
The 1976 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen won re-election to a second term.


1976 United States Senate election in Utah
The 1976 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Moss ran for re-election to a fourth term but was defeated by his Republican opponent Orrin Hatch. 40 years after the election, Hatch was the longest-serving Republican Senator, having been re-elected for seven terms before retiring following the 2018 election.


1976 United States Senate election in Vermont
The 1976 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Republican Robert Stafford successfully ran for re-election to another term in the United States Senate, defeating Democratic candidate Governor Thomas P. Salmon.


1976 United States Senate election in Virginia
The 1976 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected to a second term over retired Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and state legislator Martin H. Perper. As of 2021, this is the last statewide race in Virginia that was won by an independent.


1976 United States Senate election in Washington
The 1976 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democrat Henry M. Jackson, who had been a candidate for President earlier that year, won a fifth term in office with a landslide victory over Republican George Brown.


1976 United States Senate election in West Virginia
The 1976 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Byrd won re-election to a fourth term. The Republican Party did not field a candidate for this election.


1976 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
The 1976 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democrat William Proxmire defeated Republican nominee Stanley York with 72.20% of the vote.


1976 United States Senate election in Wyoming
The 1976 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic Senator Gale W. McGee ran for re-election to his fourth term. Following a close win in his first race in 1958, McGee won wider victories in 1964 and 1970, even as the state's electorate grew more conservative. In 1976, McGee faced a strong challenge from State Senator Malcolm Wallop, the Republican nominee. Despite McGee's past victories in the state, he faced considerable headwinds as President Gerald Ford won the state over Jimmy Carter convincingly, even as Ford was losing nationwide. In the end, despite McGee's ability to significantly outperform other Democratic candidates, he was unable to defeat Wallop, and lost re-election by a fairly wide margin, winning just 45% of the vote to Wallop's 55%.


1976 United States Senate elections
The 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate that coincided with Democratic Jimmy Carter's presidential election and the United States Bicentennial celebration. Although almost half of the seats decided in this election changed parties, Carter's narrow victory did not provide coattails for the Democrats, and the balance of the chamber remained the same.


1976 United States Senate elections
This was the first election in which the Libertarian Party competed, running candidates in 9 of the 33 contested seats. There were no special elections in this election cycle.


1976 United States Senate elections
As of 2021 this is the first and so far only time both party leaders retired from the Senate in the same election cycle since the creation of the positions.


1976 United States Senate elections, Retirements
The leaders of both parties retired. Democrats had a net gain of one seat from retirements.


1976 United States Senate elections, Incumbents who lost
Republicans had a net gain of one seat from re-election gains.


1976 United States Senate elections, Race summaries, Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1977; ordered by state.


1976 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Incumbent Republican Paul Fannin retired instead of seeking a third term. Democratic attorney and businessman Dennis DeConcini won the open seat over Sam Steiger, U.S. Congressman of Arizona's 3rd congressional district.


1976 United States Senate elections, California
Incumbent Democrat John Tunney ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Republican Sam Hayakawa, President emeritus of San Francisco State University.


1976 United States Senate elections, Connecticut
Incumbent Republican Lowell Weicker won re-election to a second term over Gloria Schaffer, Connecticut Secretary of State


1976 United States Senate elections, Delaware
Incumbent Republican William Roth won reelection to a second term over Thomas Maloney, Mayor of Wilmington


1976 United States Senate elections, Florida
Incumbent Democrat Lawton Chiles won re-election to a second term over John Grady, Mayor of Belle Glade


1976 United States Senate elections, Hawaii
Incumbent Republican Hiram Fong retired instead of seeking re-election to a fourth term. Democrat Spark Matsunaga won the open seat over Republican William Quinn, Former Governor of Hawaii.


1976 United States Senate elections, Indiana
Incumbent Democrat Vance Hartke ran for re-election to a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican challenger Richard Lugar, Mayor of Indianapolis.


1976 United States Senate elections, Maine
Incumbent Democrat Edmund Muskie won re-election to a fourth term over Republican Robert A. G. Monks, shareholder activist.


1976 United States Senate elections, Maryland
Incumbent Republican Glenn Beall Jr. ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic challenger Paul Sarbanes, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.


1976 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election to his third full term over Republican businessman, Michael Robertson.


1976 United States Senate elections, Michigan
Incumbent Democrat Philip Hart retired instead of seeking a fourth term. Democrat Donald Riegle, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, won the open seat over fellow congressman Republican Marvin Esch.


1976 United States Senate elections, Minnesota
Incumbent Democrat Hubert Humphrey won re-election to a fifth term over Republican Gerald Brekke, college professor


1976 United States Senate elections, Mississippi
Incumbent Democrat John C. Stennis won re-election to his sixth term.


1976 United States Senate elections, Missouri
Incumbent Democrat Stuart Symington retired, instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican John Danforth, Attorney General of Missouri, won the open seat, defeating Democrat Warren Hearnes, former Governor of Missouri. (Jerry Litton had won the Democratic nomination earlier, but was killed in a plane crash, and Hearnes was chosen by the party committee.)


1976 United States Senate elections, Montana
Rather than seek a fifth term, Democratic incumbent Mike Mansfield opted to retire, creating an open seat. United States Congressman John Melcher, who had represented Montana's 2nd congressional district from 1969 to 1977, won the Democratic nomination and defeated Stanley C. Burger, the Republican nominee and former Executive Officer of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, by a wide margin in the general election.


1976 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
Incumbent Republican Roman Hruska retired instead of seeking another term. Democrat Edward Zorinsky, Mayor of Omaha, won the open seat over Republican John Y. McCollister, U.S. Congressman of Nebraska's 2nd congressional district.


1976 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Incumbent Democrat Howard Cannon won re-election to a fourth term over Republican David Towell, U.S. Representative from Nevada's At-large congressional district.


1976 United States Senate elections, Nevada
In the Senate, Cannon was known as a moderate in the Democratic Party. He served as chairman of several committees, including the rules committee and the inaugural arrangements committee. Cannon was nearly defeated for re-election in 1964 by Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest election in history. However, he became more popular over the next few years and won re-election in 1970 with nearly 58% of the vote. In 1976, he faced U.S. Representative David Towell, who served just one term in the U.S. House of Representatives before running for the U.S. Senate. Cannon won re-election with 63% of the vote, one of his best election performances of his career. He won every county in the state, except for Eureka County, which Towell won with just 51% of the vote.


1976 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
Incumbent Democrat Joseph Montoya ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by Republican former Astronaut Harrison Schmitt.


1976 United States Senate elections, New York
Incumbent Conservative James Buckley ran for re-election to a second term as a Republican, but was defeated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.


1976 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Incumbent North Dakota Democratic NPL Party Democrat Quentin Burdick, sought and received re-election to his fourth term to the United States Senate, defeating Republican candidate Robert Stroup. Only Burdick filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Robert Stroup, as state senator from Hazen, North Dakota. Burdick and Stroup won the primary elections for their respective parties. One independent candidate, Clarence Haggard, also filed before the deadline under the American Party.


1976 United States Senate elections, Ohio
Incumbent Republican  Robert Taft Jr. ran for re-election to second term, but was defeated by Democratic former senator Howard Metzenbaum.


1976 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Incumbent Republican and Minority Leader Hugh Scott retired. Republican John Heinz won the open seat over Democrat Bill Green, United States Representative


1976 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
In December 1975, U.S. senator Hugh Scott announced that he would not seek re-election in 1976 at the age of 75 after serving in Congress for 33 years. Scott listed personal reasons and several "well-qualified potential candidates" for the seat among the reasons of his decision to retire. Other reasons, including his support for Richard Nixon and accusations that he had illegally obtained contributions from Gulf Oil were alleged to have contributed to the decision.


1976 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Heinz was the victor in all but nine counties, defeating opponent William Green, who had a 300,000 vote advantage in his native Philadelphia area. Heinz and Green spend $2.5 million and $900,000, respectively, during the ten-month campaign. Much of the money Heinz spent on his campaign was his own, leading to accusations from Green that he was "buying the seat". Heinz replied to this by claiming that the spending was necessary to overcome the Democratic voter registration advantage.


1976 United States Senate elections, Rhode Island
Incumbent Democrat John O. Pastore did not seek re-election. Republican John Chafee won the seat, defeating Democrat Richard P. Lorber.


1976 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Incumbent Republican Bill Brock ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Democratic challenger James Sasser.


1976 United States Senate elections, Texas
Incumbent Democrat Lloyd Bentsen won re-election to a second term over Republican Alan Steelman, U.S. Representative from Texas's 5th district.


1976 United States Senate elections, Utah
Incumbent Democrat Frank Moss ran for re-election to a fourth term but was defeated by his Republican opponent Orrin Hatch.


1976 United States Senate elections, Vermont
Incumbent Republican Robert Stafford successfully ran for re-election to another term in the United States Senate, defeating Democratic candidate Governor Thomas P. Salmon.


1976 United States Senate elections, Virginia
Incumbent Independent Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected to a second term over retired Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and state legislator Martin H. Perper.


1976 United States elections
The 1976 United States elections was held on November 2, and elected the members of the 95th United States Congress. The Democratic Party won the presidential election and retained control of Congress.


1976 United States elections
Democratic Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia defeated Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford. Carter won the popular vote by two points and finished with 297 electoral votes, taking a mix of Southern and Northern states. Ford, who had taken office after the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of Republican President Richard Nixon in 1974, defeated California Governor Ronald Reagan to take the Republican nomination. The convention nominated Kansas Senator Bob Dole as Ford's running mate, instead of sitting Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Carter defeated a slew of competitors in the 1976 Democratic primaries, including California Governor Jerry Brown, Alabama Governor George Wallace, Arizona Congressman Mo Udall, Washington Senator Henry M. Jackson, and Idaho Senator Frank Church.


1976 United States elections
Neither the House nor Senate saw major changes in partisan composition, so the Democrats retained control of Congress. Democrats won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 13.6 percentage points.


1976 United States elections
In the gubernatorial elections, the Democratic Party picked up one seat.


1976 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1976, in 14 states and one territory. Democrats achieved a net gain of one in these elections. This coincided with the House, Senate elections and the presidential election.


1976 United States gubernatorial elections
This was the last year in which Illinois held a gubernatorial election on the same year as the presidential election. The state of Illinois moved its gubernatorial election date to midterm congressional election years. As a result, the governor elected this year, served a term of only two years.


1976 United States gubernatorial elections, Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.


1976 United States men's Olympic basketball team
The 1976 United States men's Olympic basketball team represented the United States at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The U.S. team won its eighth gold medal, out of the previous nine Summer Olympic Games.


1976 United States presidential debates
The United States presidential election debates were held during the 1976 presidential election. Three debates were held between Republican candidate, incumbent president Gerald Ford and Democratic governor Jimmy Carter, the major candidates. One debate was held with their vice presidential running mates, Bob Dole and Walter Mondale.


1976 United States presidential debates
The vice presidential debate was held on October 15 at the Alley Theatre. The presidential debates were held on September 23 at the Walnut Street Theater, October 6 at the Palace of Fine Arts and on October 22 at the College of William & Mary, ahead of the November 7 Election Day. All of the debates were sponsored by the League of Women Voters. In each of the debates, the candidates received questioned in turn with three minutes to answer and a 60-second rebuttal.


1976 United States presidential debates, Participant selection
In 1976 only the two candidates from the major political parties, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, were invited. As a result, only Bob Dole and Walter Mondale met the criteria for the vice presidential debate.


1976 United States presidential debates, Debate schedule
Three presidential debates were scheduled by the League of Women Voters:


1976 United States presidential debates, First presidential debate (Walnut Street Theater)
The Debate was held in the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


1976 United States presidential debates, First presidential debate (Walnut Street Theater)
Edwin Newman of NBC moderated the debate. A panel consisting of Elizabeth Drew, Frank Reynolds and James Gannon posed questions to the candidates.


1976 United States presidential debates, First presidential debate (Walnut Street Theater)
This was the first presidential debate in 16 years. 81 minutes into the broadcast of the 90 minute debate, the sound was lost and the debate was paused for 27 minutes before the problem was fixed and the debate could resume.


1976 United States presidential debates, Second presidential debate (Palace of Fine Arts)
The debate was held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California


1976 United States presidential debates, Second presidential debate (Palace of Fine Arts)
Pauline Frederick of NPR posed the questions for each candidate.


1976 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (Alley Theatre)
The vice presidential debate was held in the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. It was the first vice presidential debate in American history.


1976 United States presidential debates, Vice presidential debate (Alley Theatre)
James Hoge of Chicago Sun Times posed the questions for each candidate.


1976 United States presidential debates, Third presidential debate (College of William & Mary)
The Debate was held in Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.


1976 United States presidential debates, Third presidential debate (College of William & Mary)
Barbara Walters of ABC posed the questions for each candidate.


1976 United States presidential election
The 1976 United States presidential election was the 48th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1976. Democrat Jimmy Carter of Georgia defeated incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford from Michigan by a narrow victory of 297 electoral college votes to Ford's 240.


1976 United States presidential election
President Richard Nixon had won the previous 1972 election with Spiro Agnew as his running mate, but in 1973 Agnew resigned and Ford was appointed as vice president via the 25th Amendment. When Nixon resigned in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Ford ascended to the presidency, becoming the first president to take office without having been elected as either president or vice president.


1976 United States presidential election
Ford promised to continue Nixon's political agenda and govern as a moderate Republican, causing significant backlash from the conservative wing of his party, particularly from former California governor and future president Ronald Reagan to mount a significant challenge against him in the Republican primaries, but Ford narrowly prevailed at the convention. Carter was little-known at the start of the Democratic primaries, but the former governor of Georgia emerged as the front-runner after his victories in the first set of primaries. Campaigning as a political moderate in his own party and as a "Washington DC" outsider, Carter defeated opponents such as Mo Udall and liberal California governor Jerry Brown to clinch the Democratic nomination.


1976 United States presidential election
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, the fall of South Vietnam and his unpopular pardon of 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.


1976 United States presidential election
Carter won a majority of the popular and electoral vote. He was able to carry several Midwestern and Northeastern swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York as well as every state in the Democratic dominated region of the South except for Virginia and Oklahoma, while Ford dominated the Western states. Jimmy Carter also remains the last Democratic candidate in presidential history to win a majority of the Southern states. Ford won 27 states, the most states ever carried by a losing candidate. Both of the major party vice-presidential nominees, Walter Mondale in 1984 and Bob Dole in 1996, would later win their respective party's presidential nominations, but lose in the general election (respectively to incumbent presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton).


1976 United States presidential election
1976 was the last presidential election in which Democrats relied on the New Deal Coalition that composed of labor unions in urban cities, religious minorities (Jews, and Catholics), African Americans, southerners, and blue collar workers in the industrial Midwest who benefited from Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's liberal, New Deal economic programs since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Thus, Carter's win represented the last victory in a period of political dominance by the Democratic Party in both presidential, and state levels beginning in 1932 with the start of the Fifth Party System officially ending in 1980. Meanwhile, Ford's defeat marked the first time in 44 years that an incumbent president was voted out of office (after Herbert Hoover's loss in 1932).


1976 United States presidential election
As of 2020, this was the last time four southern states: Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas voted for the Democratic candidate in a presidential election, as well as the last election where the winning candidate did not win a majority of the 51 jurisdictions that cast votes in the Electoral College (the 50 states plus the District of Columbia).


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
The surprise winner of the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination was Jimmy Carter, a former state senator and 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 Senator Henry M. Jackson from Washington, Representative Morris Udall from Arizona, Governor George Wallace of Alabama, and California Governor Jerry Brown, as the favorites for the nomination.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
However, in the wake of the Watergate 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.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
Senator 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.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
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.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
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 Senator Frank Church and 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.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party
By June 1976, Carter had captured more than enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination. At the 1976 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 and political protégé of Hubert Humphrey, as his running mate.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Republican Party
The contest for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 1976 was between two serious candidates: incumbent president Gerald Ford from Michigan, a member of the party's moderate wing, and former governor of California, Ronald 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.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Republican Party
Ford defeated Reagan by a narrow margin on the first ballot at the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, and chose Senator Bob Dole from Kansas as his running mate in place of incumbent Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, who had announced the previous year that he was not interested in being considered for the Vice Presidential nomination.


1976 United States presidential election, Nominations, Republican Party
Since Rockefeller was the second vice president to assume the office as ruled by the Section 2 of the 25th Amendment and the other one who achieved this feat was Ford who was nominated in 1976, this made Rockefeller the only vice president never contested in the general election both as presidential and vice presidential nominee. All presidents had contested for the office, either as president or vice president, with the exception of Ford who appeared only after being president and all other vice presidents other than Ford had contested for the office. 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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
One of the advantages Ford held over Carter as the general election campaign began was that as president he was privileged to preside over events dealing with the United States Bicentennial; this often resulted in favorable publicity for Ford. The Washington, D.C., fireworks display on the Fourth of July was presided over by the president and televised nationally. On July 7, 1976, the President and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner for Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of the United Kingdom, which was televised on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
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 campaign actively across the nation.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
Jimmy Carter ran as a reformer who was "untainted" by Washington political scandals, which many voters found attractive in the wake of the Watergate scandal that had led to President Richard 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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
Ford unsuccessfully asked Congress to end the 1950s-era price controls on natural gas, which caused a dwindling of American natural gas reserves after the 1973 Oil Crisis. Carter stated during his campaign that he opposed the ending of the price controls and thought such a move would be "disastrous".


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
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 campaign Playboy magazine 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 televised presidential debate since 1960. 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 Carter was vague on many issues.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
However, Ford also committed a costly blunder in the campaign that halted his momentum. During the second presidential debate on October 6, in a response to Max Frankel, Ford stumbled when he asserted that "there is no Soviet domination 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 a Warsaw Pact member). Ford refused to retract his statement for almost a week after the debate; as a result his surge in the polls stalled and Carter was able to maintain a slight lead in the polls.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
A vice-presidential debate, the first ever 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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Fall campaign
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, having viewed it as hurting the Republican ticket. One factor which did help Ford in the closing days of the campaign was a series of popular television appearances he did with Joe Garagiola Sr., a retired baseball star for the St. Louis Cardinals and a well-known announcer for NBC 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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Presidential debates
There were three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate during the 1976 general election.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, 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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
The electoral vote was the closest since 1916; Carter carried 23 states with 297 electoral votes, while Ford won 27 states with 240 electoral votes (one elector from 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; Ford won that state by under 2,000 votes.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
A switch of 3,687 votes in Hawaii and 5,559 votes in Ohio, or 144,384 votes from New York from Carter to Ford  would have triggered the first contingent election since 1825, as Ford would have received 269 electoral votes and Carter would have received 268, or 282 for Ford and 256 for Carter. 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 the 22nd amendment would have disqualified him from running in 1980, as he served more than two years of Nixon's second term.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
Carter was the first Democrat since John F. Kennedy in 1960 to carry the states of the Deep South (Bill Clinton was the only Democrat since 1976 to carry more than one state from the Deep South, doing so in both 1992 and 1996) and the first since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to carry a majority of all southern states. Carter performed very strongly in his home state of Georgia, carrying 66.7% of the vote and every county in the state.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
His winning of 23 states was only the first time since the 1960 election and the second time in history that the winner of the election won fewer than half the states. 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 until Barack Obama won 52.9% of the vote in 2008. Carter is one of six Democrats since the American Civil War to obtain an absolute majority of the popular vote, the others being Samuel J. Tilden, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
This election represents the last time to date that Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, or South Carolina would vote Democratic, and the last time North Carolina would vote Democratic until 2008, as well as the last time Florida voted Democratic until 1996, the last time Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee voted Democratic until 1992. It is also the last time in which Shasta, Yuba, Placer, El Dorado and Madera Counties in California, Adams and Brown in Ohio, Brazoria and McLennan Counties in Texas, Madison County in Alabama, Brevard County in Florida, Warren County in Kentucky, and St. Mary's County in Maryland would vote Democratic.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
This election was the last time that a Democrat won the presidency without winning a number of modern blue states and swing states, including 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 of Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892).


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Results
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 the Sooner State and Tennessee did so.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics
Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics, Results by state
This election represents the second time that the winning candidate has received a majority of the electoral votes, although the second-place candidate carried a majority of the states. It had previously happened in the 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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics, Results by state
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.


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics, Close states
States where margin of victory was under 1% (35 electoral votes):


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics, Close states
States where margin of victory was under 5% (264 electoral votes):


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics, Close states
States where margin of victory was more than 5%, but less than 10% (105 electoral votes):


1976 United States presidential election, General election, Statistics, Voter demographics
Source: CBS News/New York Times interviews with 12,782 voters as they left the polls, as reported in The New York Times, November 9, 1980, p. 28, and in further analysis. The 1976 data are from CBS News interviews.


1976 United States presidential election in Alabama
The 1976 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Alabama
Alabama voted for the Democratic nominee, former Governor Jimmy Carter, over the Republican nominee, President Gerald Ford. Carter won Alabama by a margin of 13.12%. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time Alabama has voted Democratic in a presidential election, as well as the last time a Democrat carried any of the following counties: Madison, Tuscaloosa, Calhoun, St. Clair, Elmore, DeKalb, Blount, Autauga, Dale, Coffee, Chilton, Escambia, Covington, Pike, Geneva, Winston, Monroe, and Cleburne. This is also the sole election since Franklin D. Roosevelt eked out a one-vote plurality in 1932 that a Democrat carried traditionally Republican Winston County, and the sole one since James Buchanan in 1856 that a Democrat won an absolute majority of the vote there.


1976 United States presidential election in Alaska
The 1976 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the nationwide presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Alaska
Alaska was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R-Michigan) with 57.9% of the popular vote against  Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia) with 35.7%. Carter ultimately won the national vote however, defeating Ford and becoming the next President. Alaska has only voted Democratic once, and that was in 1964 for Lyndon B. Johnson.


1976 United States presidential election in Alaska
With 57.9% of the popular vote, Alaska would prove to be Ford's fifth strongest state in the 1976 election after Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nebraska.


1976 United States presidential election in Alaska
Libertarian candidate Roger MacBride also had his strongest showing in Alaska, which would continue to provide a base of votes for the new party.


1976 United States presidential election in Arizona
The 1976 United States presidential election in Arizona was part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which took place on November 2, 1976, throughout all fifty states and D.C. Voters chose six representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Arizona
Arizona voted strongly for the Republican nominee, incumbent President Gerald Ford, over the Democratic nominee, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. The state turned out to be the sixth most Republican in the nation behind Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Nebraska and Wyoming, as it was already perceived that Carter – highly popular in his native South – lacked any understanding of the environment, economy, culture and political issues of the West.


1976 United States presidential election in Arizona
Carter did improve upon the performance of the preceding Democratic nominee, South Dakota Senator George McGovern, swinging away from the GOP by fifteen percentage points. Gila and Pinal Counties were won back for the Democrats from the previous election, and Carter became the first Democrat to win Apache County since 1964 and the first to carry neighbouring Navajo County since 1948.


1976 United States presidential election in Arkansas
The 1976 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the wider 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose six electors to represent them in the Electoral College.


1976 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Arkansas overwhelmingly voted for the Democratic Party, former governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter and his running mate Minnesota U.S. Senator Walter Mondale with 64.94% of the vote. The Carter/Mondale ticket defeated Republican incumbent president Gerald Ford of Michigan and his running mate Kansas U.S. Senator Bob Dole in the state by a margin of 30.01%. Arkansas weighed in as nearly thirty percent more Democratic than the national average.


1976 United States presidential election in Arkansas, Analysis
Politics in Arkansas during this time period were dominated by the Democratic Party. In the last few elections, the party’s influence began to decline due to Southern Democrats having opposed the national party’s support for the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, resulting in George Wallace and Richard Nixon carrying the state in 1968 and 1972 respectively. In the aftermath of Watergate and Nixon’s resignation, the nation, including Arkansas’ overall mood towards the Republican Party dropped.


1976 United States presidential election in Arkansas, Analysis
Jimmy Carter, a native Southern and former governor of Georgia, appealed to many Southern Democrats and Arkansas voters who saw him as a Washington outsider. Carter carried Arkansas in a landslide, winning 72 of the state’s 75 counties, the vast majority of which gave him over sixty percent of the vote. Carter’s weakest performance was in the state’s northwestern region, historically the strongest region in the state for Republicans. The following three counties were carried by President Ford: Baxter (Mountain Home), Benton (Bentonville, Rogers), and Sebastian (Fort Smith).


1976 United States presidential election in Arkansas, Analysis
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last presidential election that the Democratic candidate won over sixty percent of the vote in Arkansas. The state would become friendlier towards the Republican Party after 1980, the only exceptions to this being 1992 and 1996, when Arkansas native Bill Clinton won the state in both of his presidential runs. This is also the last election in which Searcy County and Crawford County voted for the Democratic candidate. This remains the last time that Arkansas would vote for a Democratic candidate in a close election, as the aforementioned Bill Clinton won both of his elections by a considerable margin.


1976 United States presidential election in California
The 1976 United States presidential election in California took place on November 2, 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in California
California narrowly voted for the Republican incumbent, Gerald Ford, over the Democratic challenger, Jimmy Carter.


1976 United States presidential election in California
Ford won the state with a plurality of 49.35% of the vote to Carter's 47.57%, a victory margin of 1.78%.


1976 United States presidential election in California
Carter is the last Democrat to carry the counties of Amador, El Dorado, Lassen, Madera, Placer, Shasta, Sierra and Yuba, and the last to win a majority of the vote in Del Norte, Plumas and Tehama. Carter is also the last candidate from either party to carry Los Angeles by only a plurality, while Ford is the last Republican to win a majority of the vote in Marin (Ronald Reagan later won that county by plurality in 1980).


1976 United States presidential election in California
This also remains the last election in which a Republican presidential candidate won at least 40% of the vote in San Francisco, and the last time that county was not the most Democratic in the state. This is also the last time when California would back a losing Republican candidate and the last time that the state would vote Republican in a close election. As of 2020, this is the last election in which California voted for the Republican while Texas voted for the Democrat.


1976 United States presidential election in Colorado
The 1976 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Colorado
Colorado was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan) with 54.05% of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 42.58% of the popular vote. Like most of the Mountain West, Colorado was comfortably in Ford's column; Colorado was Ford's ninth-best state overall (and one of only nine which he won by double digits). Ford held Carter's margin in the city of Denver to 2.8%, and rolled up large margins in the reliably Republican suburban Denver-area counties of Jefferson and Arapahoe.


1976 United States presidential election in Colorado
He also ran well in Boulder County, at the time a traditionally Republican county; he would be the last Republican apart from Reagan in his 1984 landslide to win a majority in the county. Despite the large national swing in favor of the Democrats, Ford even took back Pitkin County, which had supported McGovern in 1972.


1976 United States presidential election in Colorado
Nevertheless, Carter showed some strength in some rural parts of Colorado that later Democrats would fail to replicate. As of the 2020 presidential election, this was the last occasion on which Dolores County, Prowers County, Phillips County, and Cheyenne County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in Colorado
None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, but Eugene McCarthy (I–Minnesota) won 2.41% of the popular vote, proportionally significantly ahead of his national 0.91%.


1976 United States presidential election in Colorado
Despite losing in Colorado, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States. Colorado had previously voted Republican fifteen times, Democratic nine times, and Populist once (for James B. Weaver in 1892).


1976 United States presidential election in Connecticut
The 1976 United States presidential election in Connecticut took place on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and The District of Columbia, were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Connecticut voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Connecticut
Connecticut was won by the Republican nominees, incumbent President Gerald Ford of Michigan and his running mate Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Ford and Dole defeated the Democratic nominees, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia and his running mate Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota.


1976 United States presidential election in Connecticut
Ford narrowly carried Connecticut with 52.06% of the vote to Carter's 46.90%, a victory margin of 5.16%. As of the 2020 United States presidential election, Carter is the most recent Democrat to win the presidency without carrying Connecticut. This is the only election between 1912 and 2016 in which it voted differently from Pennsylvania.


1976 United States presidential election in Delaware
The 1976 United States presidential election in Delaware took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Delaware
Delaware was won by Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 51.98% of the popular vote. Carter defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), who finished with 46.57% of the popular vote. Eugene McCarthy (Independent–Minnesota) finished third in Delaware with 1.03% of the statewide popular vote.


1976 United States presidential election in Delaware
Jimmy Carter went on to become the 39th president of the United States.


1976 United States presidential election in Florida
In the 1976 United States presidential election, Florida was won by the Democratic candidate, former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter, over the Republican candidate, incumbent President Gerald Ford. Carter won by a margin of 5.29%, giving him 17 electoral votes. Carter did particularly well in the South, with Arkansas and his home state of Georgia giving him particularly large margins. Florida, together with other growing Southern states such as Virginia (which he narrowly lost) and Texas, however, were more competitive, as Ford did well in many growing counties in the South, in many cases largely inhabited by transplants.


1976 United States presidential election in Florida
In Florida, Ford did well in coastal southwestern Florida, most of which had turned Republican as early as the late 1940s and had stuck with Goldwater in 1964. He also carried the large, then-typically Republican counties of Orange, Palm Beach, and Pinellas, although by narrow margins in the latter two cases. Carter carried the home counties of Miami (Dade), Tampa (Hillsborough), and Jacksonville (Duval) by healthy margins, and dominated rural Florida. He also became the first Democrat to win Broward County since 1944.


1976 United States presidential election in Florida
One region which Carter was unable to reclaim for the Democrats was the far western part of the Panhandle; he became the second Democrat (after Johnson in 1964) to win the White House without Okaloosa County since its founding in 1915; the second (after Johnson) since 1856 to win without Santa Rosa County; and the second ever (after Johnson) to win without Escambia County.


1976 United States presidential election in Florida
A bellwether state today, Florida has voted for the winner in every election since 1928, except for three elections (1960, 1992, and 2020). As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Polk County, Brevard County, Marion County, Bay County, Holmes County, Washington County, DeSoto County, Hardee County, Nassau County, St. Johns County, and Walton County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time Florida voted more Democratic than the national average. It was also the last election in which Duval County voted for the Democratic candidate until Joe Biden won it in 2020.


1976 United States presidential election in Georgia
The 1976 United States presidential election in Georgia was held on November 2, 1976. The Democratic candidate, former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter, overwhelmingly won his home state with 66.74% of the vote ahead of the Republican Party candidate, incumbent President Gerald Ford, giving him the state’s 12 electoral votes. Carter carried all of Georgia’s 159 counties and 10 congressional districts by wide margins.


1976 United States presidential election in Georgia
This is the only presidential election in Georgia history where the Democratic candidate carried all of Georgia’s counties, despite the state's long Democratic streak, as Republicans never carried the state until 1964, compared to this beginning of just a 2-election streak. This represented a complete flip from four years earlier when President Richard Nixon also carried every county in Georgia. Carter’s percentage total in the popular vote, however, was less than that of previous Democratic victors in the state like Woodrow Wilson, James M. Cox, John W. Davis, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.


1976 United States presidential election in Georgia
Nevertheless, none of these candidates carried every county in the state, as Carter remains the solitary Democrat to carry historically pro-Union, East Tennessee-oriented Fannin County since 1912, and indeed the only Democrat to obtain a majority of the vote there since William Jennings Bryan in 1900. The following counties have also never voted for a Democrat since: Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Fayette, Columbia, Lee and Lowndes. The two suburban Atlanta counties of Cobb and Gwinnett would not vote for a Democrat again until Hillary Clinton won them in 2016.


1976 United States presidential election in Hawaii
The 1976 United States presidential election in Hawaii took place on November 4, 1976. All fifty states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Hawaii voters chose four electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Hawaii
Hawaii was won by Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter by 2.53 points. It was the only postbellum state won by Carter: since William McKinley in 1896 no other candidate has won the presidency whilst winning so few as one postbellum state. In fact, Carter did not win any other state fully west of the hundredth meridian, including the Pacific states of Oregon and California admitted before the civil war.


1976 United States presidential election in Idaho
The 1976 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Idaho
Idaho was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), with 59.9 percent of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 37.1 percent of the popular vote. Two third party candidates accumulated a portion of the vote greater than one percent: Lester Maddox (AIA–Georgia) and Roger MacBride (L–Vermont). Despite losing in Idaho, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States. Idaho had previously voted Republican ten times, Democrat ten times, and Populist once.


1976 United States presidential election in Idaho
With 59.88 percent of the popular vote, Idaho would prove to be Ford's second strongest state in the 1976 election after neighboring Utah.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois
The 1976 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and The District of Columbia, were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose 26 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Election information
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for congress and those for state offices.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Election information, Background
In the last two presidential elections, Illinois had voted Republican. In 1972, the state had, like the rest of the nation outside Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, voted strongly for Richard Nixon who carried every county except college-dominated Jackson, although Democrat George McGovern ran 3% above his national vote percentage in the state. This is the last time Illinois voted for a Republican that lost the general election.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the primary election was 36.29%, with a total of 2,087,807 votes cast.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the general election was 75.47%, with a total of 4,719,304 votes cast.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries
State-run primaries were held for the Democratic and Republican parties on March 16.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries, Democratic
The 1976 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 16, 1976 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1976 presidential election.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries, Democratic
The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries, Democratic
The popular vote of the "beauty contest" saw a plurality won by Jimmy Carter.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries, Democratic
While he was not a candidate for the popular vote, in the vote for delegates, a plurality of the state's delegates were awarded to favorite son Adlai Stevenson III, with Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter placing second. Stevenson was used as a stand-in by Richard M. Daley to get otherwise uncommitted delegates elected.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries, Republican
The 1976 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 16, 1976 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1976 presidential election.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, Primaries, Republican
The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, General election
By the second week of September polls were showing Carter ahead of incumbent President Gerald Ford by 14%, but running much weaker in the emerging “Rust Belt” industrial states – his lead in Illinois would be estimated at four percentage points. A few days later another poll had Ford already ahead in the “Land of Lincoln”, but another poll had the incumbent President narrowly behind.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, General election
Defeated Republican primary candidate and future President Ronald Reagan helped Ford in his fall campaign in Illinois, although Carter preceded him in visiting the state – doing so for the first time on September 24. Ford’s running mate Bob Dole followed Carter to the state and said that Carter had “3 positions on every issue” during a tour through Rock Island, Quincy and Decatur. At this time it was also thought that Ford was helped by the strong GOP gubernatorial campaign of James R. Thompson.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, General election
At the beginning of October, Illinois was viewed as “too close to call”, before Carter paid a second visit to the state – with the support of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley viewed essential to his chances of carrying the state’s electoral votes due to the coolness of the northern and central parts of the state toward a Southern Evangelical Democrat. Carter would subsequently move ahead, but the state remained very close as election day neared, with South Side black voters considered a critical aspect of Carter’s hopes.


1976 United States presidential election in Illinois, General election, Results
Gerald Ford won Illinois with 50.10 percent of the vote, but lost the general election to Jimmy Carter of Georgia. Ford’s win was due to his large majorities in the traditionally Republican collar counties, chiefly DuPage, which he won by a margin ten thousand votes greater than his statewide total margin. Carter did well in Cook County and Dixie Southern Illinois, but his majorities there were much smaller than New Deal era Democrats had won. This is the last election where a Democrat won the White House without carrying Illinois, and also the most recent presidential election when Illinois would vote more Republican than the nation.


1976 United States presidential election in Indiana
The 1976 United States presidential election in Indiana was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent President Gerald Ford won the state of Indiana with 53% of the vote, carrying the state's 13 electoral votes. He defeated Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter in Indiana by a margin of 7.62 points.


1976 United States presidential election in Indiana, Analysis
Ford won Indiana by a comfortable margin, of 7.62%. Carter did, however, make substantial headway in Indiana, significantly improving from George McGovern's 1972 performance in the state. Ford did well throughout most parts of the state. Carter managed to keep Ford's victory in Indiana under ten points by winning most of Southern Indiana. Vigo County home to Terre Haute, is a bellwether county that has gotten every presidential election right, except twice, since 1892. This election was no exception. Carter won Vigo County, and the presidency.


1976 United States presidential election in Indiana, Analysis
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Dearborn County, Dubois County, Martin County, Ohio County, and Owen County voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate, and the last one in which St. Joseph County did not vote for the national popular vote winner.


1976 United States presidential election in Indiana, Hillary Clinton’s role in the Carter campaign
One of the Carter campaign's state organizers in Indiana was Hillary Rodham. Rodham (who would later adopt her husband's surname of Clinton) would go on to serve as a First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State. Forty years later, during her turn as the Democratic nominee for president, Carter gave a speech in support of her candidacy saying, "During my 1976 presidential run, a young woman moved to Indianapolis to help turn out the Indiana vote for me. Forty years later, I will proudly cast my vote for that same woman to be the next President of the United States."


1976 United States presidential election in Iowa
The 1976 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Iowa
Iowa was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan). with 49.47 percent of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 48.46 percent. This race was one of the tightest in the nation, with the two candidates being separated by just 1.01 percent and a mere thirteen thousand votes. None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, but Eugene McCarthy (NBP–Minnesota) won 1.57 percent of the popular vote and came third overall in the nation.


1976 United States presidential election in Iowa
Despite losing in Iowa, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States. This was the last presidential election when the Democratic candidate won a presidential election without carrying the state of Iowa, until it backed the losing Republican candidate Donald Trump over the eventual winner Joe Biden in 2020, along with the first time until then when the Republican nominee won the state without winning at least either the popular or electoral vote too.


1976 United States presidential election in Kansas
The 1976 United States presidential election in Kansas took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Kansas voters chose seven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Kansas
Kansas was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan). with 52.49% of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 44.94% of the popular vote. None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, but Eugene McCarthy (I–Minnesota) won 1.38% of the popular vote in Kansas, finishing third in the state.


1976 United States presidential election in Kansas
Ford's running mate was Bob Dole, Kansas' junior U.S. Senator since 1969. Dole, a native of Russell, was previously the U.S. Representative from Kansas's 1st congressional district from 1963-68 after representing the defunct 6th district for one term.


1976 United States presidential election in Kansas
Despite losing in Kansas, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which the following counties have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Anderson, Butler, Cloud, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Hodgeman, Kingman, Ness, Pawnee, Reno, Rice, Rush, Stafford, Sumner, and Wichita.


1976 United States presidential election in Kentucky
The 1976 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose 9 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Kentucky
Kentucky was won by Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 52.75 percent of the popular vote. Carter defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), who finished with 45.57 percent of the popular vote, and did so by winning all major demographic groups in the Commonwealth. No third-party candidate amounted to 1 percent of the vote; American Party candidate Thomas Anderson came the closest with 0.71 percent.


1976 United States presidential election in Kentucky
Carter went on to become the 39th president of the United States. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Warren County, Hardin County, Madison County, Christian County, Taylor County, and Lincoln County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, and the last in which Boone County did not support the Republican candidate. This is also the last presidential election where a Democratic presidential candidate won a majority of the vote in Kentucky, as opposed to a plurality.


1976 United States presidential election in Louisiana
The 1976 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose ten representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Louisiana
Louisiana was won by Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 51.73% of the popular vote. Carter defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), who finished with 45.95% of the popular vote. No third-party candidate amounted to 1% of the vote; American Party candidate Lester Maddox came the closest with 0.79%.


1976 United States presidential election in Louisiana
Jimmy Carter went on to become the 39th president of the United States. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Grant Parish and West Carroll Parish voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in Maine
The 1976 presidential election in Maine took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which took place across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the electoral college, to vote for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Maine
Maine narrowly voted for incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford over his Democratic opponent, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Ford took 48.91% of the vote to Carter’s 48.07%, a victory margin of .84%. The anti-war former Democratic senator from Minnesota, Eugene McCarthy, received 2.21% of the vote in Maine, which possibly helped Ford carry the state, as he most likely siphoned more votes from Carter than Ford.


1976 United States presidential election in Maine
Despite his narrow loss nationwide, Ford actually managed to carry four of the six New England states. Carter only won the heavily Democratic states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which made New England Ford's second strongest region in the nation after the West.


1976 United States presidential election in Maine
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time that a Democrat won the national election without carrying Maine.


1976 United States presidential election in Maryland
The 1976 United States presidential election in Maryland was held on November 2, 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford of Michigan and his running mate Senator Bob Dole of Kansas lost to the Democratic challengers, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia and Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota. Carter and Mondale won Maryland with 53.04% of the vote compared to Ford and Dole’s 46.96% – a comfortable margin of 6.08%.


1976 United States presidential election in Maryland
After Nixon had won every county-equivalent in the state except for Baltimore City in 1972, Carter won 10 of 23 counties, most critically the populous Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in the Washington metropolitan area and the Lower Southern counties of St. Mary’s, Charles and Calvert. In a 2-way contest, Ford did not win more than 61.2% (Carroll County and Talbot County) of the vote in any county. This is the last time St. Mary’s, Calvert, Cecil and Allegany Counties have given Democrat majorities or pluralities in a presidential election.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
The 1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C.. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Massachusetts voted for the Democratic nominee, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, over incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford of Michigan. Carter's running mate was Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota, while Ford ran with Senator Bob Dole of Kansas.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Carter carried Massachusetts with 56.11% of the vote to Ford's 40.44%, a 15.67% margin of victory. In a distant third was Independent candidate Eugene McCarthy, a former Democratic Senator from Minnesota known for his anti-war activism, who took 2.58%.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
As Carter narrowly defeated Ford nationally to win the presidency, Massachusetts weighed in as 13% more Democratic than the national average in the 1976 election.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, so Carter's win was not unexpected. In 1972, Massachusetts was the only state in the nation to vote for Democrat George McGovern over Republican Richard Nixon in the latter's 49-state landslide. McGovern had carried Massachusetts 54–45, despite losing every other state in the midst of a massive Republican landslide.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Ford for his part performed relatively strongly in the state as a moderate Northern Republican, holding at just over 40% of the vote, while Carter gained only slightly over McGovern- even though Carter was winning nationally while McGovern was losing in a landslide. The state's capital and largest city, Boston, would be one of the few regions in the country where McGovern would actually perform more strongly than Carter in absolute terms.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
Suffolk County, where Boston is located, had voted for George McGovern in 1972 by a landslide of 66% versus Richard Nixon's 33%, but in 1976, Carter would only win the county with 61% versus Gerald Ford's 35%. Nevertheless, Dukes County, home to Martha's Vineyard, cast only its second-ever Democratic presidential vote, after 1964. This is also the state with the most electoral votes that was decided by double digits.


1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts
In the 1960s, for 3 elections straight beginning with John F. Kennedy in 1960, Democrats had won landslides of over 60% of the vote, with Republicans failing to break 40%. Even in the GOP landslide of 1972, Massachusetts had clocked in as a whopping 32% more Democratic than the nation. Thus overall the results of 1976 indicated a slight Republican rebound in the state that would continue into the 1980s.


1976 United States presidential election in Michigan
The 1976 United States presidential election in Michigan was held on November 2, 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election.


1976 United States presidential election in Michigan
Michigan was won by the incumbent President Gerald Ford, who won his home state  with 51.83% of the vote, carrying its 21 electoral votes. However, he lost the general election to Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter. This marked the last time a Democrat won the presidency without carrying Michigan. Carter also became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Macomb County since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Michigan voted for a different candidate than Pennsylvania.


1976 United States presidential election in Minnesota
The 1976 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 2, 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose ten electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Minnesota
Minnesota was won by the Democratic Party candidate, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, won the state over incumbent President Gerald Ford by a landslide margin of 251,045 votes, or approximately 12.88%. Carter went on to win the election nationally, as the country's confidence in the Republican Party had been deeply shaken following the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignation of Richard Nixon.


1976 United States presidential election in Minnesota
Prior to the election, Minnesota was considered as leaning-Carter. The Republican Party of Minnesota had been terribly weakened by the Watergate scandal. That weakened position was further eroded when Jimmy Carter chose Minnesota senator Walter Mondale as his vice-presidential running mate, securing the state for Carter. Mondale later went on to become the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1984, in which he only won one state, Minnesota.


1976 United States presidential election in Minnesota
The effect of Watergate on the political landscape in Minnesota can be clearly seen in the results of this election, as well as the landslide DFL victory in the 1974 gubernatorial election. Previously Minnesota had cast its electoral votes for the Republican nominee in twenty of the twenty-nine presidential elections from 1860 to 1972.


1976 United States presidential election in Minnesota
As of the 2020 presidential election, Minnesota has not cast a single electoral vote in favor of a Republican since 1972, and no other state has come close to this Democratic-voting streak. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Roseau County, Wilkin County, Douglas County, Wadena County, and Pipestone County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in Mississippi
The 1976 United States presidential election in Mississippi was held on November 2, 1976. The Democratic Party candidate Jimmy Carter won the state of Mississippi, as well as the other 9 southern states which once comprised the Confederacy in the general election due to his ties to the south as being the former Governor of Georgia. He won the state with 49% of the vote, and all 7 of the state's electors were pledged to Carter.


1976 United States presidential election in Mississippi
In the 1972 election, Mississippi had the strongest showing of Richard Nixon in the country, with Nixon carrying 78% of the vote. Carter managed to carry Mississippi in 1976 by a slim margin of 1.88% against incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford. At that time, excluding the wins of Strom Thurmond in 1948, the unpledged electors who voted for Harry F. Byrd in 1960, Barry Goldwater in 1964, George Wallace in 1968, and Nixon in 1972, Carter’s performance in Mississippi was the worst for a post-Reconstruction Democratic presidential candidate, as he failed to win a majority of the vote.


1976 United States presidential election in Mississippi
While Carter performed well in northern Mississippi and in black majority counties along the Mississippi River, President Ford’s wins in Hinds County (Jackson) and neighboring Rankin County, both of which were won with over sixty percent of the vote, along with a substantial win in Harrison County (Biloxi and Gulfport), kept the race in Mississippi extremely close.


1976 United States presidential election in Mississippi
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat won the state of Mississippi, as well as Hancock County, Neshoba County, DeSoto County, Carroll County, Covington County, Pearl River County, George County, Wayne County, Stone County, Greene County, Perry County, and Webster County.


1976 United States presidential election in Missouri
The 1976 United States presidential election in Missouri took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Missouri
Missouri was won by Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 51.10% of the popular vote. Carter defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), who finished with 47.47% of the popular vote.


1976 United States presidential election in Missouri
Jimmy Carter went on to become the 39th president of the United States. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Laclede County, McDonald County, Bollinger County, Webster County, Pettis County, and Cass County voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate, and the last time a Democrat won Missouri with the majority of the vote.


1976 United States presidential election in Montana
The 1976 United States presidential election in Montana was part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which took place on November 2, 1976. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Montana
Montana voted for the Republican nominee, President Gerald Ford, over the Democratic nominee, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Ford won Montana by a margin of 7.44%. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which McCone County and Wibaux County voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in Nebraska
The 1976 United States presidential election in Nebraska took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose five representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Nebraska
Nebraska was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), with 59.19% of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 38.46% of the popular vote. None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, but Eugene McCarthy (I–Minnesota) won 1.55% of Nebraska's popular vote and came third overall in the nation. Despite losing in Nebraska, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Butler County, Sherman County, and Greeley County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in Nebraska
With 59.19% of the popular vote, Nebraska, where Ford was born as Leslie Lynch King in 1913, proved to be the incumbent President’s fourth strongest state in the 1976 election after Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada
The 1976 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Background
Nevada was coming off a landslide win by incumbent Mike O'Callaghan in the 1974 gubernatorial election over a severely divided opposition and anger over the Watergate scandal. However, veteran Democratic Senator Alan Bible, who had survived Richard Nixon’s 1968 victory, retired and was replaced by Republican Paul Laxalt who won a narrow victory at the same time the GOP were suffering landslide losses in other races.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Background
This presidential election saw Nevada hold its first ever presidential primary, won by California Governor Jerry Brown, who had only entered the primaries two weeks beforehand after most were already conducted.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Background
Senator Paul Laxalt, who had supported Ford's rival Ronald Reagan in the Republican primaries earlier in 1976, nonetheless campaigned vigorously for Ford once he won the GOP nomination. Consequently, despite the state having not voted against a winning Democratic nominee since 1892 and not for a losing Republican nominee since James G. Blaine in 1884, early October polls gave the state provisionally to Ford, with the lack of familiarity with Southern Evangelical Carter being viewed as a critical factor. Two days before Nevada's voters were to enter the polls Ford remained a slight favorite.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Vote
Nevada was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), with 50.17% of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 45.81% of the popular vote. None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, as 2.53% of the voters either wrote-in another candidate or selected “no preference”.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Vote
Despite losing in Nevada, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Vote
Nevada has generally been a bellwether state since the early 20th century, and this election marked the first time since 1908 whereby Nevada was carried by the losing presidential candidate. Nevada would vote for the winning candidate in each election afterwards until 2016.


1976 United States presidential election in Nevada, Vote
As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which a Democrat won the White House without Nevada, as well as the last time that Nye County, Storey County, and Esmeralda County voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
The 1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
New Hampshire was won by the Republican nominees, incumbent President Gerald Ford of Michigan and his running mate Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Ford and Dole defeated the Democratic nominees, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia and his running mate Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
Ford took 54.75% of the vote to Carter's 43.47%, a margin of 11.28%.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
Anti -war former Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, running as an Independent presidential candidate, came in a distant third, with 1.21%.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
New Hampshire in this era normally leaned Republican, having not gone Democratic since the nationwide Democratic landslide of 1964.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
The Northern moderate Republican Ford easily triumphed in New Hampshire over the Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
On the county map, Ford won nine of New Hampshire's ten counties, with only rural Coos County in the far north of the state giving a 51-49 majority to Carter. In a sign of the state's Republican trend that would occur in the 1970s and 1980s, even while narrowly losing the national race, Ford won two of the state's traditional New Deal Democratic counties, with a majority win in Hillsborough County and a plurality win Strafford County.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
Since 1932, both of these counties, along with Coos County, had gone Democratic in every close presidential election or Democratic victory, voting every time for Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Hubert H. Humphrey. Carter became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Hillsborough County since Grover Cleveland in 1892.


1976 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
Ford's decisive victory in New Hampshire, while narrowly losing the national race, would make the state over 13% more Republican than the national average in the 1976 election. This is also the most recent presidential election when a Democrat would win a presidential election without carrying New Hampshire, and the last presidential election until 2016 when the winner of Coos County did not also carry the state as well.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
The 1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose 17 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
New Jersey was won by the Republican nominees, incumbent President Gerald Ford of Michigan and his running mate Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Ford and Dole defeated the Democratic nominees, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia and his running mate Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
Ford narrowly carried New Jersey with 50.08% of the vote to Carter's 47.92%, a victory margin of 2.16%.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
Anti -war former Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, running as an Independent presidential candidate, came in a distant third, with 1.09%.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
Reflecting the closeness of the statewide result, Ford and Carter virtually split New Jersey's 21 counties: Ford won 11 counties to Carter's 10.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
The native Southerner Jimmy Carter performed unusually well among rural voters in South Jersey, winning 6 out of 7 of the southernmost counties in the state. Carter's strongest county by vote share was rural Cumberland County in the far south of the state by the Delaware border, where he won 58-41. However his comfortable victories in more populous traditional Democratic base counties are what made him competitive statewide: in Essex County, he won 55-42, in Hudson County, he won 55-44, and in Mercer County, he won 53-45. He also won heavily populated Middlesex County, but by a narrow 51-47 margin.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
The Northern moderate Ford, however, edged out Carter statewide with comfortable victories in heavily populated suburban counties which were dominated by moderate Republicans. In most presidential elections in this era, the most Republican county in the state would usually be rural, sparsely populated Sussex County. While Ford did win Sussex County decisively by a 60-38 margin, Ford's strongest county by vote share was actually suburban Morris County, where he beat Carter 61-37. In suburban Monmouth County, Ford won 54-44. Other important victories for Ford were in fairly populated Ocean County, which he won 57-41, and Passaic County, which he won 51-46. However Ford's biggest prize was very heavily populated Bergen County, which went decisively to Ford by a 56-43 margin.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
New Jersey weighed in for this election as about 4% more Republican than the national average.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
New Jersey in this era was a swing state with a slight Republican lean, and Gerald Ford, a moderate Republican, held enough appeal among New Jersey's many moderate suburban voters to carry the state 50-48 even as Jimmy Carter narrowly won nationally by a 50-48 margin.


1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey
This marked the last time a Democrat won the presidency without carrying New Jersey.


1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico
The 1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 2, 1976. All fifty states and The District of Columbia were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose four electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.


1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico
New Mexico was won by President Gerald Ford by a 2-point lead. A very partisan election in New Mexico, only one percent of the electorate voted for third-party candidates. While Ford took the State of New Mexico, and much of the American Southwest and Midwest, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the electoral college with 297 votes, and was elected president.


1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico
A reliable bellwether state in presidential elections, this was the first election since gaining statehood that New Mexico did not back the winning presidential candidate, and the only time, as of 2020, that New Mexico did not back the presidential candidate who won the most votes nationally. In 2000 and 2016, it voted for the candidate who won the national popular vote but not the electoral vote. It is also the only election a Democrat has won without New Mexico. As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Torrance County and Quay County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
The 1976 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and The District of Columbia, were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose 41 electors to the Electoral College, which voted for President and Vice President.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
New York was won by Democratic Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, in a narrow victory against incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford, who failed to gain the presidency through formal election that year. Carter was running with Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale, and President Ford had selected Kansas Senator Bob Dole.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
Carter took 51.95% of the popular vote to Ford's 47.52%, a victory margin of 4.43%.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
New York weighed in as being slightly more Democratic than the national average, by about 2%. The vast majority of counties in New York were won by the Republican Ford, but the highly populated regions of New York City, Buffalo, and Albany were able to tip the scales for the Democratic Carter.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
The presidential election of 1976 was a very partisan election, with more than 99% of the electorate voting either Republican or Democrat. Also, this election marks the first time that New York was won by a presidential candidate from the Deep South in over 100 years. The last time that a candidate from the Deep South carried the vote in this State, it was Zachary Taylor, who was elected as a member of the Whig Party in 1848.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
Another reason why Carter (a relatively inexperienced politician at the time of the 1976 election) was able to attain victory in New York, and generally, was because of the residual distaste for the Ford Administration due to the 1974 Watergate Scandal, which resulted in the resignation of then President Richard Nixon, who was succeeded by Ford.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
Despite Ford being a Northern moderate, the Southerner Carter won commanding victories over Ford in four of the five boroughs of New York City. Carter broke 70% of the vote in Manhattan and the Bronx, and received over 60% of the vote in Brooklyn and Queens.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
Overall Carter took a citywide vote total of 66.37%, up to that point the third highest vote share ever received by a Democratic presidential candidate in New York City, surpassed only by the nationwide landslide victories of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, despite the fact that Carter was only winning a narrow 2-point victory nationwide. The massive raw vote margin in New York City provided all of Carter's narrow margin of victory in New York State.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
One reason for Ford's unusually weak performance in the city may have been his initial refusal to grant the nearly bankrupt city a federal bailout during the city's 1975 fiscal crisis, sparking the infamous New York Daily News headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead." While Ford ultimately would extend federal loans to the city to prevent it from falling into bankruptcy, the damage to Ford's reputation in New York City may have contributed to his poor performance in the city and his narrow loss of the state overall.


1976 United States presidential election in New York
Even though Ford won an overwhelming majority of New York State's counties, Carter's landslide in massively populated New York City provided all of Carter's statewide victory margin over Ford. The 5 boroughs provided Carter with a citywide vote advantage over Ford of 716,717 votes, more than twice Carter's statewide victory margin of 288,767 votes.