1976 United States presidential election

The **1976 United States presidential election** happened on November 2, 1976. Jimmy Carter, the Democratic candidate and former Governor of Georgia, won the election. He defeated the incumbent president, Gerald Ford, who was a Republican.

Jimmy Carter won the election by 297 electoral votes, compared to incumbent president Gerald Ford, who received 240 electoral votes. A faithless elector from Washington voted for Ronald Reagan, who would win the 1980 election.

This election followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal. It is the last election to have a Democratic candidate to receive a preferable vote in the American South, which is typically known to be Republican; however, Florida is considered a swing state.

### Democratic Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#34AAE0; width:200px;"|Jimmy Carter|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#34AAE0; width:200px;"|Walter Mondale|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="29" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**19**</big><big>**76 Democratic Party Ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|76th Governor of Georgia <small>(1971–1975)</small>|U.S. Senator from Minnesota <small>(1964–1976)</small>|||
|colspan="2"||||
Democratic candidates
- Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia
- Jerry Brown, governor of California
- George Wallace, governor of Alabama
- Morris Udall, U.S. representative from Arizona
- Henry M. Jackson, U.S. senator from Washington
- Frank Church, U.S. senator from Idaho
- Robert Byrd, U.S. senator from West Virginia
- Sargent Shriver, former U.S. ambassador to France, from Maryland
- Fred R. Harris, former U.S. senator from Oklahoma
- Birch Bayh, U.S. senator from Indiana
- Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. senator from Texas
- Terry Sanford, former governor of North Carolina
- Milton Shapp, governor of Pennsylvania
- Walter Fauntroy, U.S. representative from Washington, D.C.
- Ellen McCormack, housewife

### Republican Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CE2029; width:200px;"|Ronald Reagan|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CE2029; width:200px;"|George H. W. Bush|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="30" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**19**</big><big>**76 Republican Party Ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#FFD0D7; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#FFD0D7; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|38th President of the United States <small>(1974-1977)</small>|U.S. Senator from Kansas <small>(1969–1996)</small>|||
|colspan="2"||||
Republican candidates
- Gerald Ford, President of the United States from Michigan
- Ronald Reagan, former governor of California

## Infobox (election)

- **election name**: 1976 United States presidential election
- **country**: United States
- **flag year**: 1960
- **type**: presidential
- **previous election**: 1972 United States presidential election
- **previous year**: 1972
- **election date**: November 2, 1976
- **next election**: 1980 United States presidential election
- **next year**: 1980
- **votes for election**: 538 members of the Electoral College (United States), Electoral College
- **needed votes**: 270 electoral
- **turnout**: 53.5%  1.7 percentage point, pp
- **image size**: 200x200px
- **image1**: Jimmy Carter 1977 cropped.jpg
- **nominee1**: **Jimmy Carter**
- **party1**: Democratic Party (United States)
- **home state1**: Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia
- **running mate1**: **Walter Mondale**
- **electoral vote1**: **297**
- **states carried1**: 23 + Washington, D.C., DC
- **popular vote1**: **40,831,881**
- **percentage1**: ****
- **image2**: Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped 2).jpg
- **nominee2**: Gerald Ford
- **party2**: Republican Party (United States)
- **home state2**: Michigan
- **running mate2**: Bob Dole
- **electoral vote2**: 240
- **states carried2**: **27**
- **popular vote2**: 39,148,634
- **map size**: 350px
- **map caption**: Presidential election results map. <span style="color:blue;">Blue</span> denotes states won by Carter/Mondale and <span style="color:red;">red</span> denotes those won by Ford/Dole. Pink is the electoral vote for Ronald Reagan by a Washington (state), Washington faithless elector. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.
- **title**: President
- **before election**: Gerald Ford
- **before party**: Republican Party (United States)
- **after election**: Jimmy Carter
- **after party**: Democratic Party (United States)