1976 United States presidential election 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.

1976 United States presidential election in North Carolina

November 2, 1976

Nominee Jimmy Carter Gerald Ford Party Democratic Republican Home state Georgia Michigan Running mate Walter Mondale Bob Dole Electoral vote 13 0 Popular vote 927,365 741,960 Percentage 55.27% 44.22%

County Results Carter   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90% Ford   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%

President before election Gerald R. Ford Republican Elected President Jimmy Carter Democratic

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. 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

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20091026141022/http://geocities.com/Athens/Agora/8088/Dem1976.html
2. Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter
3. CQ Almanac
4. North Carolina History Project
5. "1976 Presidential General Election Results – North Carolina".
6. Our Campaigns; NC US President Race, November 02, 1976