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
USS Jimmy Carter her hull was extended to accommodate a 2,500-ton supplementary middle section with an ocean interface for divers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and special operation equipment; ROV handling system, storage and deployment space for mission systems; and a pressure-resistant passage between the fore and aft parts of the submarine to accommodate the boat's crew. "Jimmy Carter" was christened on 5 June 2004. The ship sponsor was former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. One result of the changes was that "Jimmy Carter" was commissioned more than six years after and almost four months after the commissioning of the first of the subs, .