1976 United States presidential election in North Carolina
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County Results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in North Carolina |
|---|
 |
The 1976 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 2, 1976, and was part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
North Carolina voted decisively for the Democratic nominee, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, over the Republican nominee, incumbent President Gerald R. Ford of Michigan. Carter carried the state with 55.27% to Ford's 44.22%, a victory margin of 11.05%. Carter's victory was the last time a Democratic presidential candidate would win North Carolina until 2008. This was also the last election where North Carolina voted for a different candidate than Indiana. The wide margin of victory was likely aided by Carter being a Southerner and the governor of a neighboring state.
Carter is the last Democrat to have won over 50% of the vote in North Carolina, the last Democrat to carry Gaston County, Onslow County, Johnston County, Iredell County, Alamance County, Rowan County, Craven County, Burke County, Caldwell County, Lincoln County, Surry County, Rutherford County, Carteret County, Stanly County, Beaufort County, Stokes County, McDowell County, Alexander County, Dare County, Macon County, Transylvania County, Cherokee County, Ashe County, Clay County, and Graham County, and this is the last time a Democrat swept every congressional district in the state, while also winning it by a double digit margin.
Primary Elections[]
Democratic primary[]
Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter scored a decisive victory over Alabama Gov. George Wallace in the North Carolina Democratic presidential primary on March 23, 1976, with approximately 53% of the vote to Wallace's 35%. Sen. Scoop Jackson trailed far behind, with approximately 4%.[1] The North Carolina primary was the first in which Carter won an absolute majority and helped seal his ultimate nomination.[2] Wallace, who had won the North Carolina primary in 1972, was all but eliminated from the race by his defeat.[3]
Republican primary[]
Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent President Ford in the North Carolina Republican presidential primary on March 23, 1976, with approximately 52% of the vote. It was Reagan's first primary victory of 1976, and came about with key support from North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. Reagan's win prolonged the contest for the Republican nomination and paved the way for him to be elected president in 1980. Reagan would go on to narrowly win the state in 1980.[4]
Results[]
| 1976 United States presidential election in North Carolina[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter | 927,365 | 55.23% | 13 | |
| Republican | Gerald Ford (incumbent) | 741,960 | 44.19% | 0 | |
| American | Thomas Anderson | 5,607 | 0.33% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Roger MacBride | 2,219 | 0.13% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Eugene McCarthy | 855 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| US Labor | Lyndon LaRouche | 755 | 0.04% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | — | 169 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Ronald Reagan | 87 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,677,906 | 100.0% | 13 | ||
| Voter turnout | 54.52% | — | |||
Results by county[]
| County | James Earl Carter[6] Democratic |
Gerald Rudolph Ford[6] Republican |
Thomas Jefferson Anderson[6] American |
Roger Lea MacBride[6] Libertarian |
Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Other parties |
Margin | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | |
| Robeson | 80.53% | 20,695 | 19.09% | 4,907 | 0.21% | 54 | 0.04% | 9 | 0.13% | 34 | 61.43% | 15,788 |
| Northampton | 80.22% | 5,118 | 19.40% | 1,238 | 0.28% | 18 | 0.03% | 2 | 0.06% | 4 | 60.82% | 3,880 |
| Bladen | 79.18% | 6,009 | 20.37% | 1,546 | 0.34% | 26 | 0.08% | 6 | 0.03% | 2 | 58.81% | 4,463 |
| Columbus | 77.41% | 11,148 | 22.11% | 3,184 | 0.35% | 51 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.06% | 9 | 55.30% | 7,964 |
| Hoke | 77.27% | 3,186 | 22.31% | 920 | 0.19% | 8 | 0.15% | 6 | 0.07% | 3 | 54.96% | 2,266 |
| Gates | 75.66% | 2,291 | 23.84% | 722 | 0.13% | 4 | 0.23% | 7 | 0.13% | 4 | 51.82% | 1,569 |
| Richmond | 75.38% | 8,793 | 24.41% | 2,848 | 0.15% | 17 | 0.05% | 6 | 0.01% | 1 | 50.96% | 5,945 |
| Bertie | 75.27% | 4,117 | 24.35% | 1,332 | 0.24% | 13 | 0.07% | 4 | 0.07% | 4 | 50.91% | 2,785 |
| Anson | 74.65% | 4,796 | 25.03% | 1,608 | 0.14% | 9 | 0.06% | 4 | 0.12% | 8 | 49.62% | 3,188 |
| Hertford | 72.33% | 3,986 | 27.53% | 1,517 | 0.04% | 2 | 0.04% | 2 | 0.07% | 4 | 44.80% | 2,469 |
| Martin | 69.74% | 4,518 | 29.81% | 1,931 | 0.32% | 21 | 0.06% | 4 | 0.06% | 4 | 39.94% | 2,587 |
| Scotland | 69.32% | 4,430 | 30.23% | 1,932 | 0.25% | 16 | 0.05% | 3 | 0.16% | 10 | 39.09% | 2,498 |
| Tyrrell | 68.97% | 900 | 30.88% | 403 | 0.15% | 2 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 38.08% | 497 |
| Warren | 68.72% | 3,185 | 30.79% | 1,427 | 0.32% | 15 | 0.09% | 4 | 0.09% | 4 | 37.93% | 1,758 |
| Camden | 68.05% | 1,231 | 31.07% | 562 | 0.88% | 16 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 36.98% | 669 |
| Pender | 67.64% | 4,422 | 31.55% | 2,063 | 0.60% | 39 | 0.09% | 6 | 0.12% | 8 | 36.08% | 2,359 |
| Jones | 66.95% | 2,016 | 31.48% | 948 | 1.36% | 41 | 0.10% | 3 | 0.10% | 3 | 35.47% | 1,068 |
| Caswell | 67.54% | 3,707 | 32.08% | 1,761 | 0.35% | 19 | 0.04% | 2 | 0.00% | 0 | 35.45% | 1,946 |
| Currituck | 67.26% | 1,999 | 32.10% | 954 | 0.47% | 14 | 0.03% | 1 | 0.13% | 4 | 35.16% | 1,045 |
| Franklin | 66.75% | 5,405 | 32.48% | 2,630 | 0.54% | 44 | 0.17% | 14 | 0.05% | 4 | 34.27% | 2,775 |
| Brunswick | 66.66% | 7,377 | 32.86% | 3,636 | 0.33% | 36 | 0.14% | 15 | 0.02% | 2 | 33.81% | 3,741 |
| Greene | 66.41% | 2,740 | 32.86% | 1,356 | 0.34% | 14 | 0.22% | 9 | 0.17% | 7 | 33.54% | 1,384 |
| Pamlico | 65.85% | 2,113 | 33.28% | 1,068 | 0.59% | 19 | 0.19% | 6 | 0.09% | 3 | 32.56% | 1,045 |
| Duplin | 65.81% | 7,696 | 33.45% | 3,912 | 0.56% | 66 | 0.10% | 12 | 0.07% | 8 | 32.36% | 3,784 |
| Washington | 65.08% | 2,840 | 34.05% | 1,486 | 0.66% | 29 | 0.07% | 3 | 0.14% | 6 | 31.03% | 1,354 |
| Perquimans | 64.55% | 1,666 | 35.22% | 909 | 0.12% | 3 | 0.08% | 2 | 0.04% | 1 | 29.33% | 757 |
| Chowan | 64.43% | 1,862 | 35.26% | 1,019 | 0.24% | 7 | 0.03% | 1 | 0.03% | 1 | 29.17% | 843 |
| Haywood | 64.20% | 10,692 | 35.33% | 5,885 | 0.28% | 47 | 0.11% | 19 | 0.07% | 12 | 28.86% | 4,807 |
| Cleveland | 63.73% | 14,406 | 35.86% | 8,106 | 0.24% | 55 | 0.07% | 16 | 0.10% | 22 | 27.87% | 6,300 |
| Granville | 63.56% | 5,244 | 35.81% | 2,955 | 0.41% | 34 | 0.11% | 9 | 0.11% | 9 | 27.74% | 2,289 |
| Hyde | 63.10% | 1,084 | 36.26% | 623 | 0.41% | 7 | 0.12% | 2 | 0.12% | 2 | 26.83% | 461 |
| Union | 62.79% | 10,578 | 36.71% | 6,184 | 0.30% | 50 | 0.11% | 18 | 0.10% | 17 | 26.08% | 4,394 |
| Cumberland | 62.79% | 24,297 | 36.77% | 14,226 | 0.22% | 87 | 0.14% | 54 | 0.08% | 30 | 26.03% | 10,071 |
| Orange | 62.28% | 15,755 | 36.77% | 9,302 | 0.22% | 55 | 0.39% | 99 | 0.34% | 86 | 25.51% | 6,453 |
| Alleghany | 62.21% | 2,550 | 37.37% | 1,532 | 0.24% | 10 | 0.07% | 3 | 0.10% | 4 | 24.84% | 1,018 |
| Edgecombe | 61.69% | 8,001 | 37.39% | 4,850 | 0.78% | 101 | 0.07% | 9 | 0.07% | 9 | 24.29% | 3,151 |
| Pasquotank | 61.49% | 4,302 | 37.89% | 2,651 | 0.50% | 35 | 0.09% | 6 | 0.03% | 2 | 23.60% | 1,651 |
| Rutherford | 60.51% | 10,361 | 39.23% | 6,718 | 0.17% | 29 | 0.06% | 10 | 0.04% | 6 | 21.27% | 3,643 |
| Harnett | 59.99% | 8,992 | 39.60% | 5,935 | 0.26% | 39 | 0.07% | 10 | 0.08% | 12 | 20.40% | 3,057 |
| Montgomery | 59.72% | 4,308 | 39.81% | 2,872 | 0.25% | 18 | 0.08% | 6 | 0.14% | 10 | 19.91% | 1,436 |
| Halifax | 59.54% | 7,892 | 39.66% | 5,257 | 0.62% | 82 | 0.09% | 12 | 0.08% | 11 | 19.88% | 2,635 |
| Chatham | 59.62% | 6,397 | 39.88% | 4,279 | 0.21% | 23 | 0.21% | 23 | 0.07% | 8 | 19.74% | 2,118 |
| Jackson | 59.37% | 5,223 | 40.19% | 3,536 | 0.16% | 14 | 0.11% | 10 | 0.17% | 15 | 19.17% | 1,687 |
| Vance | 59.40% | 5,620 | 40.30% | 3,813 | 0.20% | 19 | 0.07% | 7 | 0.02% | 2 | 19.10% | 1,807 |
| Yancey | 59.13% | 3,932 | 40.42% | 2,688 | 0.29% | 19 | 0.11% | 7 | 0.06% | 4 | 18.71% | 1,244 |
| Rockingham | 58.64% | 13,413 | 40.93% | 9,362 | 0.29% | 67 | 0.08% | 18 | 0.05% | 12 | 17.71% | 4,051 |
| Lincoln | 58.36% | 9,462 | 41.21% | 6,682 | 0.30% | 48 | 0.09% | 15 | 0.04% | 7 | 17.15% | 2,780 |
| Burke | 58.32% | 14,254 | 41.20% | 10,070 | 0.27% | 66 | 0.12% | 30 | 0.08% | 20 | 17.12% | 4,184 |
| Madison | 58.23% | 3,433 | 41.49% | 2,446 | 0.10% | 6 | 0.03% | 2 | 0.15% | 9 | 16.74% | 987 |
| McDowell | 58.10% | 6,246 | 41.40% | 4,450 | 0.34% | 37 | 0.06% | 6 | 0.10% | 11 | 16.71% | 1,796 |
| Lee | 57.78% | 5,104 | 41.78% | 3,691 | 0.22% | 19 | 0.15% | 13 | 0.08% | 7 | 16.00% | 1,413 |
| Alamance | 57.43% | 17,371 | 41.92% | 12,680 | 0.46% | 138 | 0.13% | 38 | 0.07% | 20 | 15.51% | 4,691 |
| Surry | 57.31% | 10,024 | 42.33% | 7,403 | 0.26% | 46 | 0.09% | 15 | 0.01% | 2 | 14.99% | 2,621 |
| Swain | 57.04% | 2,151 | 42.64% | 1,608 | 0.19% | 7 | 0.08% | 3 | 0.05% | 2 | 14.40% | 543 |
| Onslow | 56.90% | 7,954 | 42.59% | 5,953 | 0.27% | 38 | 0.12% | 17 | 0.11% | 16 | 14.32% | 2,001 |
| Person | 56.52% | 3,977 | 43.17% | 3,038 | 0.21% | 15 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.09% | 6 | 13.34% | 939 |
| Dare | 56.31% | 2,191 | 43.18% | 1,680 | 0.31% | 12 | 0.15% | 6 | 0.05% | 2 | 13.13% | 511 |
| Craven | 55.75% | 7,553 | 43.41% | 5,881 | 0.52% | 70 | 0.21% | 28 | 0.12% | 16 | 12.34% | 1,672 |
| Sampson | 55.77% | 8,869 | 43.82% | 6,968 | 0.18% | 28 | 0.14% | 23 | 0.09% | 14 | 11.95% | 1,901 |
| Beaufort | 54.72% | 5,728 | 44.68% | 4,677 | 0.44% | 46 | 0.11% | 11 | 0.05% | 5 | 10.04% | 1,051 |
| Carteret | 54.72% | 7,080 | 44.72% | 5,786 | 0.42% | 54 | 0.13% | 17 | 0.02% | 2 | 10.00% | 1,294 |
| Pitt | 54.61% | 11,636 | 44.73% | 9,532 | 0.31% | 66 | 0.18% | 39 | 0.17% | 36 | 9.87% | 2,104 |
| Johnston | 54.56% | 10,301 | 45.08% | 8,511 | 0.23% | 44 | 0.09% | 17 | 0.04% | 8 | 9.48% | 1,790 |
| Polk | 54.28% | 3,155 | 44.82% | 2,605 | 0.83% | 48 | 0.07% | 4 | 0.00% | 0 | 9.46% | 550 |
| Wilson | 54.41% | 8,209 | 45.04% | 6,795 | 0.41% | 62 | 0.08% | 12 | 0.06% | 9 | 9.37% | 1,414 |
| Caldwell | 54.37% | 11,894 | 45.13% | 9,872 | 0.24% | 52 | 0.15% | 33 | 0.11% | 24 | 9.24% | 2,022 |
| Macon | 54.22% | 4,403 | 45.23% | 3,673 | 0.31% | 25 | 0.12% | 10 | 0.11% | 9 | 8.99% | 730 |
| Buncombe | 53.88% | 26,633 | 45.44% | 22,461 | 0.36% | 177 | 0.17% | 84 | 0.15% | 73 | 8.44% | 4,172 |
| Durham | 53.93% | 22,425 | 45.56% | 18,945 | 0.22% | 90 | 0.14% | 58 | 0.16% | 66 | 8.37% | 3,480 |
| Gaston | 53.48% | 22,878 | 46.12% | 19,727 | 0.21% | 90 | 0.12% | 51 | 0.07% | 30 | 7.37% | 3,151 |
| Iredell | 52.88% | 13,295 | 46.03% | 11,573 | 0.87% | 218 | 0.10% | 25 | 0.12% | 31 | 6.85% | 1,722 |
| Alexander | 53.00% | 5,287 | 46.73% | 4,661 | 0.20% | 20 | 0.06% | 6 | 0.01% | 1 | 6.28% | 626 |
| Transylvania | 52.71% | 4,636 | 46.49% | 4,089 | 0.53% | 47 | 0.17% | 15 | 0.09% | 8 | 6.22% | 547 |
| Cherokee | 52.14% | 3,571 | 46.87% | 3,210 | 0.88% | 60 | 0.06% | 4 | 0.06% | 4 | 5.27% | 361 |
| Graham | 52.31% | 1,791 | 47.34% | 1,621 | 0.23% | 8 | 0.03% | 1 | 0.09% | 3 | 4.96% | 170 |
| Stokes | 52.29% | 6,647 | 47.43% | 6,029 | 0.23% | 29 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.04% | 5 | 4.86% | 618 |
| Clay | 52.09% | 1,569 | 47.41% | 1,428 | 0.46% | 14 | 0.03% | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | 4.68% | 141 |
| New Hanover | 50.89% | 14,504 | 48.02% | 13,687 | 0.73% | 208 | 0.20% | 58 | 0.16% | 45 | 2.87% | 817 |
| Nash | 50.73% | 8,937 | 48.12% | 8,477 | 1.00% | 176 | 0.11% | 19 | 0.04% | 7 | 2.61% | 460 |
| Ashe | 51.14% | 5,193 | 48.62% | 4,937 | 0.19% | 19 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.05% | 5 | 2.52% | 256 |
| Rowan | 50.79% | 15,363 | 48.41% | 14,644 | 0.60% | 183 | 0.08% | 25 | 0.11% | 33 | 2.38% | 719 |
| Stanly | 50.92% | 9,262 | 48.63% | 8,845 | 0.34% | 61 | 0.07% | 12 | 0.05% | 10 | 2.29% | 417 |
| Guilford | 50.44% | 46,826 | 48.94% | 45,441 | 0.30% | 274 | 0.17% | 157 | 0.16% | 146 | 1.49% | 1,385 |
| Mecklenburg | 50.34% | 63,198 | 49.16% | 61,715 | 0.17% | 211 | 0.17% | 210 | 0.17% | 215 | 1.18% | 1,483 |
| Forsyth | 50.13% | 39,561 | 49.27% | 38,886 | 0.27% | 211 | 0.15% | 121 | 0.18% | 145 | 0.86% | 675 |
| Wake | 49.47% | 44,005 | 49.80% | 44,291 | 0.20% | 182 | 0.31% | 280 | 0.21% | 188 | -0.32% | -286 |
| Watauga | 49.46% | 5,358 | 49.85% | 5,400 | 0.35% | 38 | 0.16% | 17 | 0.18% | 20 | -0.39% | -42 |
| Lenoir | 49.41% | 7,650 | 49.83% | 7,715 | 0.56% | 87 | 0.12% | 19 | 0.08% | 13 | -0.42% | -65 |
| Moore | 49.06% | 7,373 | 50.41% | 7,577 | 0.28% | 42 | 0.16% | 24 | 0.09% | 14 | -1.36% | -204 |
| Cabarrus | 48.89% | 12,049 | 50.54% | 12,455 | 0.34% | 85 | 0.13% | 31 | 0.10% | 24 | -1.65% | -406 |
| Wayne | 48.76% | 9,265 | 50.56% | 9,607 | 0.54% | 103 | 0.05% | 9 | 0.09% | 17 | -1.80% | -342 |
| Davidson | 48.45% | 17,859 | 51.03% | 18,813 | 0.36% | 132 | 0.12% | 43 | 0.04% | 16 | -2.59% | -954 |
| Catawba | 47.21% | 16,862 | 52.34% | 18,696 | 0.28% | 101 | 0.10% | 36 | 0.06% | 23 | -5.13% | -1,834 |
| Randolph | 46.72% | 12,714 | 52.69% | 14,337 | 0.39% | 107 | 0.12% | 34 | 0.07% | 20 | -5.96% | -1,623 |
| Wilkes | 46.19% | 10,176 | 53.41% | 11,768 | 0.25% | 55 | 0.06% | 14 | 0.09% | 19 | -7.23% | -1,592 |
| Davie | 42.95% | 3,635 | 56.39% | 4,772 | 0.52% | 44 | 0.08% | 7 | 0.06% | 5 | -13.43% | -1,137 |
| Yadkin | 42.95% | 4,497 | 56.50% | 5,916 | 0.46% | 48 | 0.05% | 5 | 0.05% | 5 | -13.55% | -1,419 |
| Henderson | 42.57% | 8,155 | 56.54% | 10,830 | 0.66% | 127 | 0.14% | 27 | 0.09% | 17 | -13.96% | -2,675 |
| Avery | 37.42% | 1,869 | 61.76% | 3,085 | 0.50% | 25 | 0.10% | 5 | 0.22% | 11 | -24.34% | -1,216 |
| Mitchell | 35.13% | 2,031 | 64.49% | 3,728 | 0.24% | 14 | 0.05% | 3 | 0.09% | 5 | -29.35% | -1,697 |
References[]
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20091026141022/http://geocities.com/Athens/Agora/8088/Dem1976.html
- ^ Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter
- ^ CQ Almanac
- ^ North Carolina History Project
- ^ "1976 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina".
- ^ a b c d Our Campaigns; NC US President Race, November 02, 1976
State and district results of the 1976 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
 Elections in the United States | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Categories:
- 1976 United States presidential election by state
- United States presidential elections in North Carolina
- 1976 North Carolina elections