# Gerald Ford 1976 presidential campaign

* This article is part of a series aboutGerald Ford
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The 1976 presidential campaign of Gerald Ford was an unsuccessful election campaign for the 1976 United States presidential election by incumbent president Gerald Ford, who had taken office on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon. Ford and his running mate Senator Bob Dole were defeated by Democratic presidential nominee Jimmy Carter and vice presidential nominee Walter Mondale. Ford, a Republican president and former vice president under Nixon, launched his presidential bid on July 8, 1975, and secured nomination for his election to a full term on August 19, 1976. He was challenged in the Republican primaries by former California governor Ronald Reagan from his campaign which was formally launched on November 20, 1975, received more than forty percent of the delegates in the Republican National Convention, but Ford got more votes than Reagan. Reagan would later be elected president in 1980.
Ford's tenure marked America's fall into a dark period, with a stagnant economy and effects after the Vietnam War (or Vietnam syndrome). Ford pardoned Nixon in the Watergate scandal, which many people believe to be the reason for which Ford lost to his opponent Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. In the Republican primaries, Ford received 1,121 delegates while needing 1,130 votes to win. Ronald Reagan was one of those who stood in the way of Ford winning the nomination with Reagan receiving 1,078 delegates, this was one of the most controversial primaries ever, as well as the difference in votes of delegates and popular votes.
However, Ford still received the Republican nomination on August 19, 1976, to face Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter on November 2, 1976. Carter defeated Ford, receiving 297 electoral votes and 50.1% of the popular vote. Carter took office on January 20, 1977, and held power for four years before Reagan defeated him in 1980 and took office on January 20, 1981.
Ford joined his vice presidential running mate Bob Dole on the campaign trail.

## Background

Gerald Ford, born July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska, his maternal grandfather was Illinois politician and businessman Levi Addison Gardner and his paternal grandfather was banker and businessman Charles Henry King, Ford's parents separated Just sixteen days after his birth and his mother took the infant Ford to Oak Park, Illinois, Ford later said his biological father had a history of beating his mother.
Ford attended the University of Michigan. Ford graduated from Michigan in 1935 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He turned down offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. Instead, he took a job in September 1935 as a boxing coach and assistant football coach at Yale University and applied to its law school.
Ford joined the United States Navy after the Imperial Japanese attacked on Pearl Harbor, some time later, Ford joined the U.S. House of Representatives, where he met President Lyndon Johnson in 1963. After the resignation of Spiro Agnew, he was confirmed to become Nixon's vice president in December 1973 until he ascended to the presidency on August 9, 1974, when Nixon resigned, becoming the only president in American history to have never been elected president or vice president.

## Nomination
### 1976 Republican primaries

Ford launched his campaign on July 8, 1975, after which he entered the Republican primaries, where his rival, Ronald Reagan, opened his campaign on November 20, 1975. Ford and Reagan faced each other intensely, with Ford ultimately receiving more votes than Reagan, even though the required number of votes was 1,130 votes. This is also one of the few times an incumbent president has lost state primaries, the most recent being when President Joe Biden lost to Jason Palmer in American Samoa after 44 years when President Jimmy Carter lost to Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts on March 4, 1980, and 11 states with Washington D.C..
In the New Hampshire primary, Ford attacked Reagan's plan to cut $90 billion from the federal budget, as well as Reagan's plans for Social Security. Reagan's stump speeches included attacks on welfare queens, as well as other attacks on government welfare programs, Reagan then lost the primaries with 1,317 delegates remaining.

### 1976 Republican National Convention

After defeating their strongest opponents, Ford and Vice President Bob Dole were nominated at the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, where Reagan criticized Ford for his signing of the Helsinki Accords and indirectly blamed him for the fall of Saigon in April 1975. The Convention voted, Ford received 1,187 votes and Reagan received 1,070 votes, another candidate, Elliot Richardson, received only 1 vote, this was one of the biggest controversies at the Republican convention about choosing a presidential candidate in a time of crisis. For the vice presidential candidate, Bob Dole received 1,921 votes, with an overwhelming margin of 85.04%. Ronald Reagan was also in this, but he only received 27 votes, the third lowest after Jesse Helms when he received 103 votes, the remaining candidates received less than 25 votes. Reagan then delivered a speech that caused a stir, eclipsing Ford's own acceptance speech, despite being just over five minutes long. Some delegates later said they left the convention wondering if they had voted for the wrong candidate. Reagan's concession speech spoke of the dangers of nuclear war and the threat from the Soviet Union.

## Main competitor

Jimmy Carter, a member of the Democratic Party as well as former Governor of Georgia and a peanut farmer, announced his 1976 presidential campaign on December 12, 1974, after which he participated in the presidential primaries of the Democratic Party and won 1,130 delegates, he then chose Walter Mondale as vice president at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, where he won the nomination to face Ford in the 1976 general election and would be inaugurated on January 20, 1977.

## Endorsements

Here are the lists of Ford supporters in the presidential primaries:
Federal Officials
* Nelson Rockefeller Vice President of the United States
Former Federal Officials
* Earl Butz former United States Secretary of Agriculture (1971–1976)
* John Connally former United States Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972)
* Rogers Morton former Counselor to the President (1976)
Senators
* Howard Baker (R-TN)
* Dewey F. Bartlett (R-OK)
* Henry Bellmon (R-OK)
* James L. Buckley (C-NY)
* Clifford Case (R-NJ)
* Carl Curtis (R-NE)
* Bob Dole (R-KS)
* Robert P. Griffin (R-MI)
* Mark Hatfield (R-OR)
* Roman Hruska (R-NE)
* Jacob Javits (R-NY)
* Paul Laxalt (R-NV)
* Bob Packwood (R-OR)
* James B. Pearson (R-KS)
* Charles H. Percy (R-IL)
* Richard Schweiker (R-PA)
* Robert Taft Jr. (R-OH)
* Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
* John Tower (R-TX)
* Lowell Weicker (R-CT)
Former Senators
* George Aiken (R-VT)
* Gordon Allott (R-CO)
* Wallace F. Bennett (R-UT)
* J. Caleb Boggs (R-DE)
* John W. Bricker (R-OH)
* Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R-MA)
* Harry P. Cain (R-WA)
* Homer Capehart (R-IN)
* Frank Carlson (R-KS)
* Marlow Cook (R-KY)
* John Sherman Cooper (R-KY)
* Norris Cotton (R-NH)
* Homer S. Ferguson (R-MI)
* Leonard B. Jordan (R-ID)
* Thomas Kuchel (R-CA)
* Frank Lausche (D-OH)
* Jack Miller (R-IA)
* Thruston Morton (R-KY)
* George Murphy (R-CA)
* Leverett Saltonstall (R-MA)
* Milward Simpson (R-WY)
Representatives
* John B. Anderson (R-IL)
* Bill Archer (R-TX)
* John M. Ashbrook (R-OH)
* Skip Bafalis (R-FL)
* Alphonzo E. Bell Jr. (R-CA)
* Edward G. Biester Jr. (R-PA)
* William Broomfield (R-MI)
* Bud Brown (R-OH)
* Jim Broyhill (R-NC)
* John Hall Buchanan Jr. (R-AL)
* Al Cederberg (R-MI)
* Clair Burgener (R-CA)
* Donald D. Clancy (R-OH)
* Don Clausen (R-CA)
* James Colgate Cleveland (R-NH)
* Thad Cochran (R-MS)
* Barber Conable (R-NY)
* Lawrence Coughlin (R-PA)
* Phil Crane (R-IL)
* Samuel L. Devine (R-OH)
* William L. Dickinson (R-AL)
* Jack Edwards (R-AL)
* Millicent Fenwick (R-NJ)
* Paul Findley (R-IL)
* Edwin B. Forsythe (R-NJ)
* Bill Frenzel (R-MN)
* Louis Frey Jr. (R-FL)
* Marvin Esch (R-MI)
* Benjamin Gilman (R-NY)
* Barry Goldwater Jr. (R-CA)
* Bill Gradison (R-OH)
* Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
* Tennyson Guyer (R-OH)
* Tom Hagedorn (R-MI)
* Bill Harsha (R-OH)
* Elwood Hillis (R-IN)
* Frank Horton (R-NY)
* Guy Vander Jagt (R-MI)
* John Jarman (R-OK)
* Tom Kindness (R-OH)
* Del Latta (R-OH)
* Trent Lott (R-KS)
* Ed Madigan (R-IL)
* Robert McClory (R-IL)
* Pete McCloskey (R-CA)
* Stewart McKinney (R-CT)
* Charles Adams Mosher (R-OH)
* Henson Moore (R-LA)
* Carlos Moorhead (R-CA)
* John T. Myers (R-IN)
* Ron Paul (R-TX)
* Joel Pritchard (R-WA)
* Al Quie (R-MN)
* Jimmy Quillen (R-TN)
* Ralph Regula (R-OH)
* Matthew J. Rinaldo (R-NJ)
* J. Kenneth Robinson (R-VA)
* John H. Rousselot (R-CA)
* Ronald A. Sarasin (R-CT)
* Dick Schulze (R-PA)
* Keith Sebelius (R-KS)
* Bud Shuster (R-PA)
* Gene Snyder (R-KY)
* Floyd Spence (R-SC)
* J. William Stanton (R-OH)
* Tom Steed (D-OK)
* Alan Steelman (R-TX)
* Dave Treen (R-LA)
* Richard Vander Veen (R-MI)
* Charles W. Whalen Jr. (R-OH)
* Charles E. Wiggins (R-CA)
* Bob Wilson (R-CA)
* Chalmers Wylie (R-OH)
* Bill Young (R-FL)
Former Representatives
* E. Ross Adair (R-IN)
* Glenn Andrews (R-AL)
* William Hanes Ayres (R-OH)
* LaMar Baker (R-TN)
* James F. Battin (R-MT)
* Page Belcher (R-OK)
* E. Y. Berry (R-SD)
* Jackson Edward Betts (R-OH)
* Benjamin B. Blackburn (R-GA)
* Frances P. Bolton (R-OH)
* William G. Bray (R-IN)
* Donald G. Brotzman (R-CO)
* Joel Broyhill (R-VA)
* D. Emmert Brumbaugh (R-PA)
* Hamer Budge (R-ID)
* George H. W. Bush (R-TX)
* John W. Byrnes (R-WI)
* Bo Callaway (R-GA)
* John Newbold Camp (R-OK)
* John Chenoweth (R-CO)
* Harold Collier (R-IL)
* William M. Colmer (D-MS)
* William Sheldrick Conover (R-PA)
* Sam Coon (R-OR)
* William C. Cramer (R-FL)
* Paul W. Cronin (R-MA)
* Glenn Cunningham (R-NE)
* Glenn R. Davis (R-WI)
* John R. Dellenback (R-OR)
* Robert V. Denney (R-NE)
* David W. Dennis (R-IN)
* Edwin Durno (R-OR)
* Charles H. Elston (R-OH)
* Hamilton Fish III (R-NY)
* O. C. Fisher (D-TX)
* Harold V. Froelich, (R-WI)
* Ed Foreman (R-NM)
* Ezekiel C. Gathings (D-AR)
* Edith Green (D-OR)
* Ezekiel C. Gathings (D-AR)
* George A. Goodling (R-PA)
* James R. Grover Jr. (R-NY)
* Charles Gubser (R-CA)
* G. Elliott Hagan (D-GA)
* Leonard W. Hall (R-NY)
* Charles Halleck (R-IN)
* Seymour Halpern (R-NY)
* Orval Hansen (R-ID)
* Robert P. Hanrahan (R-IL)
* William Henry Harrison III (R-WY)
* R. James Harvey (R-MI)
* Jeffrey P. Hillelson (R-MO)
* Patrick J. Hillings (R-CA)
* Lawrence Hogan (R-MD)
* Joseph F. Holt (R-CA)
* Craig Hosmer (R-CA)
* Robert J. Huber (R-MI)
* William H. Hudnut III (R-IN)
* John E. Hunt (R-NJ)
* Charles R. Jonas (R-NC)
* Walter Judd (R-WA)
* William J. Keating (R-OH)
* Hastings Keith (R-MA)
* Carleton J. King (R-NY)
* Theodore Kupferman (R-NY)
* Dan Kuykendall (R-TN)
* John Henry Kyl (R-IA)
* Melvin Laird (R-WI)
* Odin Langen (R-MN)
* Earl Landgrebe (R-IN)
* Sherman Lloyd (R-UT)
* Clare Boothe Luce (R-CT)
* Buz Lukens (R-OH)
* Clark MacGregor (R-MN)
* William Mailliard (R-CA)
* Joseph J. Maraziti (R-NJ)
* David Martin (R-NE)<f name=ford/>
* James D. Martin (R-AL)
* Bob Mathias (R-CA)
* Wiley Mayne (R-IA)
* William Moore McCulloch (R-OH)
* Jack H. McDonald (R-MI)
* Martin McKneally (R-NY)
* Mike McKevitt (R-CO)
* Robert T. McLoskey (R-IL)
* Walter L. McVey Jr. (R-KS)
* George Meader (R-MI)
* William E. Miller (R-NY)
* William Edwin Minshall Jr. (R-OH)
* Wilmer Mizell (R-NC)
* Arch Moore Jr. (R-WV)
* F. Bradford Morse (R-MA)
* Ancher Nelsen (R-MN)
* Alvin O'Konski (R-WI)
* Stanford Parris (R-VA)
* Dayton E. Phillips (R-TN)
* Alexander Pirnie (R-NY)
* Richard H. Poff (R-VA)
* Howard Pollock (R-AK)
* Walter E. Powell (R-OH)
* Bob Price (R-TX)
* Ben Reifel (R-SD)
* Edwin Reinecke (R-CA)
* Howard W. Robison (R-NY)
* Earl B. Ruth (R-NC)
* Charles Sandman (R-NJ)
* Henry Schadeberg (R-WI)
* William J. Scherle (R-IA)
* Fred Schwengel (R-IA)
* Richard G. Shoup (R-MT)
* Abner Sibal (R-CT)
* H. Allen Smith (R-CA)
* Henry P. Smith III (R-NY)
* Katharine St. George (R-NY)
* Robert H. Steele, (R-CT)
* John H. Terry, (R-NY)
* Fletcher Thompson (R-GA)
* Thor Tollefson (R-WA)
* David Towell (R-NV)
* William M. Tuck (D-VA)
* Stanley Tupper (R-ME)
* James Van Zandt (R-PA)
* Victor Veysey (R-CA)
* John H. Ware (R-PA)
* Prentiss Walker (R-MS)
* Jack Westland (R-WA)
* William B. Widnall (R-NJ)
* John S. Wold (R-WY)
* Wendell Wyatt (R-OR)
* Samuel H. Young (R-IL)
* Roger H. Zion (R-IN)
* John M. Zwach (R-MN)
Governors
* Robert Frederick Bennett (R-KS)
* Kit Bond (R-MO)
* Otis Bowen (R-IN)
* James B. Edwards (R-SC)
* Daniel J. Evans (R-WA)
* Mills Godwin (R-VA)
* James Holshouser (R-NC)
* William Milliken (R-MI)
* Robert D. Ray (R-IA)
* Jim Rhodes (R-OH)
Former Governors
* Sherman Adams (R-NH)
* William T. Cahill (R-NJ)
* Winfield Dunn (R-TN)
* Warren P. Knowles (R-WI)
* Benjamin T. Laney, (D-AR)
* John Davis Lodge (R-CT)
* Thomas Meskill, (R-CT)
* Richard B. Ogilvie (R-IL)
* George W. Romney (R-MI)
* William Scranton, (R-PA)
* John Bell Williams (D-MS)
* Malcolm Wilson (R-NY)
Lieutenant Governors
* John N. Dalton (R-VA)
* James Damman (R-MI)
* Bill Phelps (R-MO)
* Shelby Smith (R-KS)
Attorney Generals
* John Danforth (R-MO)
* Louis J. Lefkowitz (R-NY)
* Robert List (R-NV)
* Evelle J. Younger (R-CA)
Mayors
* Robert Folsom Mayor of Dallas, Texas
* William H. Hudnut III Mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana
* Lawrence Francis Kramer Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey
* Pete Wilson Mayor of San Diego, California
Former Mayor
* Richard Lugar Mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana
Individuals
* Joe Frazier boxer
* Johnny Grant radio personality
* S. I. Hayakawa President of San Francisco State University
* Jack Nicklaus golfer
Baseball
* Andy Etchebarren California Angels catcher
* Bill Freehan Detroit Tigers catcher
* Joe Garagiola former St. Louis Cardinals catcher
* Steve Garvey Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman
* Ken Griffey Sr. Cincinnati Reds outfielder
* Ted Kluszewski Cincinnati Reds coach
* Pete Rose Cincinnati Reds infielder
* Don Sutton Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher
Basketball
* Johnny Orr Michigan Wolverines men's basketball head coach
Football
* Lance Alworth former San Diego Chargers wide receiver
* Bear Bryant Alabama Crimson Tide football head coach
* Woody Hayes Ohio State Buckeyes football head coach
* Ron Kramer former Green Bay Packers end
* Tom Landry Dallas Cowboys head coach
Actors and Actresses
* Fred Astaire
* Chuck Connors
* Bob Dornan
* Glenn Ford
* Zsa Zsa Gabor
* Cary Grant
* Peter Graves
* Jayne Meadows
* Ed Nelson
* Hugh O'Brian
* Dale Robertson
* Wayne Rogers
* Forrest Tucker
* John Wayne
Musicians
* Pearl Bailey singer
* Sonny Bono singer
* Roy Clark guitarist
* Ella Fitzgerald singer
* Lionel Hampton vibraphonist
* Al Hirt trumpeter
* Rod McKuen singer

## Polling

In Republican primaries:

### Before August 1974

| Poll source | Publication | Spiro Agnew | Howard Baker | John Connally | Gerald Ford | Barry Goldwater | Charles Percy | Ronald Reagan | Nelson Rockefeller | Other | Undecided/None |
| Gallup | March 30 – April 2, 1973 | 700 | 35% | 1% | 15% | – | – | 8% | 20% | 11% | 5% | 6% |
| Gallup | August 30, 1973 | ? | 22% | 11% | 10% | – | – | 7% | 22% | 13% | 6% | 9% |
| Gallup | August 30, 1973 | ? | – | 12% | 12% | – | – | 8% | 32% | 16% | 9% | 11% |
| Gallup | Oct. 6–8, 1973 | 356 | – | 3% | 16% | – | – | 14% | 29% | 19% | 6% | 8% |
| Gallup | January 4–7, 1974 | 377 | – | 5% | 9% | 24% | – | 8% | 20% | 18% | 8% | 8% |
| Gallup | January 4–7, 1974 | 377 | – | 7% | 11% | – | – | 11% | 26% | 25% | 10% | 10% |
| Gallup | July 21, 1974 | ? | – | 5% | 5% | 27% | 16% | 4% | 16% | 12% | 8% | 7% |

### August 1974 – December 1975

| Poll source | Publication | Howard Baker | John Connally | Gerald Ford | Barry Goldwater | Charles Percy | Ronald Reagan | Nelson Rockefeller | Other | Undecided/None |
| Gallup | Feb. 28 – March 3, 1975 | 330 | 4% | – | 34% | 17% | 3% | 22% | 10% | 7% | 3% |
| Gallup | June 27–30, 1975 | 375 | 4% | 2% | 41% | 13% | 4% | 20% | 5% | 6% | 5% |
| Gallup | Aug. 15–18, 1975 | 348 | 3% | 3% | 45% | 11% | 4% | 19% | 7% | 5% | 3% |
| Gallup | Oct. 17–20, 1975 | 339 | 2% | 1% | 48% | 7% | 2% | 25% | 5% | 2% | 5% |
| Gallup | Nov. 21–24, 1975 | 352 | 2% | 1% | 32% | 10% | 3% | 40% | 6% | 5% | 1% |

### Head-to-head polling

| Poll source | Publication | Gerald Ford | Ronald Reagan | Undecided/None |
| Gallup | June 27–30, 1975 | 375 | 61% | 33% | 6% |
| Gallup | Dec. 12–15, 1975 | ? | 45% | 45% | 10% |

## Election day

On November 2, 1976, Ford lost the election to Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. Carter won 297 electoral votes and 50.1% of the popular vote while Ford only received 240 electoral votes and 48.0% of the popular vote. However, Carter carried 23 states with Washington DC while Ford carried 27 states, this is one of the elections where the presidential candidate defeated the incumbent president in a narrow margin. Reagan got 1 vote from Washington by Mike Padden.
Before the election, both Ford and Carter also debated three times in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Williamsburg from September 23 to October 22, 1976. This is the second debate since 1960, after 16 years.
The vice presidential debate also began at the Alley Theater in Houston, Texas, when Bob Dole faced off against Walter Mondale.

### Results

Electoral results :
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | Running mate | Running mate |
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Count | Percentage | Electoral vote | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote |
| Jimmy Carter | Democratic | Georgia | 40,831,881 | 50.08% | 297 | Walter Mondale | Minnesota | 297 |
| Gerald Ford (incumbent) | Republican | Michigan | 39,148,634 | 48.02% | 240 | Bob Dole | Kansas | 241 |
| Ronald Reagan | Republican | California | — | — | 1 | Bob Dole | Kansas | 241 |
| Eugene McCarthy | None | Minnesota | 744,763 | 0.91% | 0 | | | 0 |
| Roger MacBride | Libertarian | Virginia | 172,557 | 0.21% | 0 | David Bergland | California | 0 |
| Lester Maddox | American Independent | Georgia | 170,373 | 0.21% | 0 | William Dyke | Wisconsin | 0 |
| Thomas J. Anderson | American | | 158,724 | 0.19% | 0 | Rufus Shackelford | Florida | 0 |
| Peter Camejo | Socialist Workers | California | 90,986 | 0.11% | 0 | Willie Mae Reid | Illinois | 0 |
| Gus Hall | Communist | New York | 58,709 | 0.07% | 0 | Jarvis Tyner | New York | 0 |
| Margaret Wright | People's | California | 49,016 | 0.06% | 0 | Benjamin Spock | Connecticut | 0 |
| Lyndon LaRouche | U.S. Labor | New York | 40,018 | 0.05% | 0 | R. Wayne Evans | Michigan | 0 |
| Other | Other | Other | 75,119 | 0.09% | — | Other | Other | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 81,540,780 | 100% | 538 | | | 538 |
| Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | Needed to win | 270 | | | 270 |
Sources: Leip, David. "1976 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved April 27, 2024. (popular votes)
"Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved April 27, 2024. (Electoral votes)

## Aftermath

Carter became president on January 20, 1977, and served one term in office until January 20, 1981, after Reagan defeated Carter in the 1980 U.S. presidential election.
This was the only modern presidential election in which both presidential candidates and both vice presidential candidates were still alive 30 years after the election, until Ford's death in 2006. And three of the four were still alive after 44 years, until Walter Mondale's death in April 2021. After Bob Dole's death in December 2021, Carter was the only candidate still alive.
Ford and Carter both lived post-presidency for more than 25 years. When Ford died in 2006 due to his worsening arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis, Carter attended his funeral.