Presidency of Jimmy Carter taken on the eve of the election showed a close race, Reagan won a decisive victory. In polls of historians and political scientists, Carter is usually ranked as a below-average president. Carter was elected as the Governor of Georgia in 1970, and during his four years in office he earned a reputation as a progressive, racially moderate Southern governor. Observing George McGovern's success in the 1972 Democratic primaries, Carter came to believe that he could win the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination by running as an outsider unconnected to establishment politicians in Washington, D.C. Despite scant backing from party leaders, McGovern
Jimmy Carter with Director of the Office of Management James Lynn and United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Blair House, and holding an afternoon meeting with President Ford at the White House. The following day, Carter conferred with congressional leaders, expressing that his meetings with cabinet members had been "very helpful" and saying Ford had requested he seek out his assistance if needing anything. On December 3, 1976, during a news conference, Carter announced his choice of Cyrus R. Vance for United States Secretary of State and Thomas Bertram Lance as his budget director. On December 9, Carter was