1976 United States presidential election in Indiana
← 1972 November 2, 1976 1980 →
 
Nominee Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Michigan Georgia
Running mate Bob Dole Walter Mondale
Electoral vote 13 0
Popular vote 1,183,958 1,014,714
Percentage 53.32% 45.70%
County Results
President before election

Gerald Ford
Republican

Elected President

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

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The 1976 United States presidential election in Indiana was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent President Gerald Ford won the state of Indiana with 53% of the vote, carrying the state's 13 electoral votes.[1] He defeated Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter in Indiana by a margin of 7.62 points.

Ford won Indiana by a comfortable margin of 7.62%, making the state almost 10% more Republican than the nation at-large. Carter did, however, perform vastly better than George McGovern's performance in the previous election. Ford did well in the central and northern parts of the state, while Carter managed to keep the margin within single digits by winning most of Southern Indiana. Vigo County, a national bellwether and home to Terre Haute, had supported the winner of the electoral college in all but two elections from 1888 to 2020, maintained its streak, voting for Carter by 2.3 percentage points, a similar margin to the nation as a whole.

One of the Carter campaign's state organizers in Indiana was Hillary Rodham.[2] Rodham (who would later adopt her husband's surname of Clinton) would go on to serve as a First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State. Forty years later, during her turn as the Democratic nominee for president, Carter gave a speech in support of her candidacy saying, "During my 1976 presidential run, a young woman moved to Indianapolis to help turn out the Indiana vote for me. Forty years later, I will proudly cast my vote for that same woman to be the next President of the United States."[3]

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Dearborn County, Dubois County, Martin County, Ohio County, and Owen County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate,[4] and the last in which St. Joseph County did not vote for the national popular vote winner. This also remains the last time that Indiana has voted for a different candidate than North Carolina in a presidential election.

Results

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote 		Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
Gerald Ford (incumbent) Republican Michigan 1,183,958 53.32% 13 Bob Dole Kansas 13
Jimmy Carter Democrat Georgia 1,014,714 45.70% 0 Walter Mondale Minnesota 0
Thomas J. Anderson American Tennessee 14,048 0.63% 0 Rufus Shackelford Florida 0
Earle Harold Munn Prohibition Michigan 4,616 0.22% 0 Rolland Fisher Kansas 0
Peter Camejo Socialist Workers California 5,695 0.06% 0 Willie Mae Reid Illinois 0
Lyndon LaRouche U.S. Labor New York 1,947 0.09% 0 R. Wayne Evans — 0
Total 2,220,362 100% 13 13
Needed to win 270 270

Results by county

County Gerald Rudolph Ford
Republican 		James Earl Carter
Democratic 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Adams 6,280 55.55% 4,908 43.41% 118 1.04% 1,372 12.14% 11,306
Allen 71,321 60.56% 44,744 37.99% 1,704 1.45% 26,577 22.57% 117,769
Bartholomew 14,771 56.41% 11,203 42.78% 213 0.81% 3,568 13.63% 26,187
Benton 3,093 59.09% 2,071 39.57% 70 1.34% 1,022 19.53% 5,234
Blackford 2,886 47.16% 3,174 51.86% 60 0.98% -288 -4.71% 6,120
Boone 9,214 61.48% 5,686 37.94% 86 0.57% 3,528 23.54% 14,986
Brown 2,466 50.29% 2,381 48.55% 57 1.16% 85 1.73% 4,904
Carroll 4,797 56.48% 3,606 42.46% 90 1.06% 1,191 14.02% 8,493
Cass 10,342 56.73% 7,610 41.74% 279 1.53% 2,732 14.99% 18,231
Clark 12,732 42.82% 16,670 56.07% 329 1.11% -3,938 -13.25% 29,731
Clay 5,674 50.37% 5,433 48.23% 158 1.40% 241 2.14% 11,265
Clinton 8,199 54.80% 6,662 44.52% 102 0.68% 1,537 10.27% 14,963
Crawford 2,181 44.08% 2,721 54.99% 46 0.93% -540 -10.91% 4,948
Daviess 6,829 57.69% 4,952 41.83% 57 0.48% 1,877 15.86% 11,838
Dearborn 6,176 49.04% 6,348 50.40% 71 0.56% -172 -1.37% 12,595
Decatur 5,555 55.63% 4,365 43.72% 65 0.65% 1,190 11.92% 9,985
DeKalb 7,860 55.17% 6,151 43.18% 235 1.65% 1,709 12.00% 14,246
Delaware 26,417 50.72% 25,151 48.29% 519 1.00% 1,266 2.43% 52,087
Dubois 6,383 45.97% 7,385 53.19% 116 0.84% -1,002 -7.22% 13,884
Elkhart 27,291 60.07% 17,581 38.70% 557 1.23% 9,710 21.37% 45,429
Fayette 5,704 50.53% 5,519 48.89% 65 0.58% 185 1.64% 11,288
Floyd 11,259 46.42% 12,744 52.54% 252 1.04% -1,485 -6.12% 24,255
Fountain 4,903 54.16% 4,089 45.17% 60 0.66% 814 8.99% 9,052
Franklin 3,557 51.96% 3,234 47.25% 54 0.79% 323 4.72% 6,845
Fulton 5,083 58.41% 3,488 40.08% 132 1.52% 1,595 18.33% 8,703
Gibson 7,105 45.55% 8,430 54.04% 64 0.41% -1,325 -8.49% 15,599
Grant 16,847 55.14% 13,468 44.08% 239 0.78% 3,379 11.06% 30,554
Greene 6,442 46.54% 7,263 52.47% 138 1.00% -821 -5.93% 13,843
Hamilton 21,828 72.86% 7,857 26.23% 273 0.91% 13,971 46.64% 29,958
Hancock 10,072 61.31% 6,191 37.69% 164 1.00% 3,881 23.63% 16,427
Harrison 4,911 45.90% 5,685 53.14% 103 0.96% -774 -7.23% 10,699
Hendricks 16,725 64.07% 9,066 34.73% 313 1.20% 7,659 29.34% 26,104
Henry 11,620 53.19% 10,137 46.40% 91 0.42% 1,483 6.79% 21,848
Howard 19,571 56.48% 14,815 42.75% 267 0.77% 4,756 13.72% 34,653
Huntington 9,182 57.78% 6,515 41.00% 193 1.21% 2,667 16.78% 15,890
Jackson 7,615 49.58% 7,610 49.55% 133 0.87% 5 0.03% 15,358
Jasper 5,398 60.76% 3,286 36.99% 200 2.25% 2,112 23.77% 8,884
Jay 4,606 52.24% 4,124 46.77% 87 0.99% 482 5.47% 8,817
Jefferson 5,573 46.94% 6,139 51.71% 161 1.36% -566 -4.77% 11,873
Jennings 4,505 49.99% 4,430 49.16% 77 0.85% 75 0.83% 9,012
Johnson 16,414 61.36% 10,075 37.66% 260 0.97% 6,339 23.70% 26,749
Knox 9,100 48.25% 9,612 50.97% 148 0.78% -512 -2.71% 18,860
Kosciusko 14,505 65.56% 7,328 33.12% 291 1.32% 7,177 32.44% 22,124
LaGrange 3,876 57.24% 2,835 41.86% 61 0.90% 1,041 15.37% 6,772
Lake 90,119 42.36% 120,700 56.74% 1,922 0.90% -30,581 -14.37% 212,741
LaPorte 21,989 54.09% 18,217 44.81% 449 1.10% 3,772 9.28% 40,655
Lawrence 9,278 53.20% 7,908 45.34% 254 1.46% 1,370 7.86% 17,440
Madison 32,437 51.63% 29,811 47.45% 572 0.91% 2,626 4.18% 62,820
Marion 177,767 54.60% 145,274 44.62% 2,535 0.78% 32,493 9.98% 325,576
Marshall 9,707 59.16% 6,424 39.15% 277 1.69% 3,283 20.01% 16,408
Martin 2,702 48.55% 2,827 50.80% 36 0.65% -125 -2.25% 5,565
Miami 8,263 54.52% 6,257 41.29% 635 4.19% 2,006 13.24% 15,155
Monroe 18,938 53.06% 16,609 46.53% 148 0.41% 2,329 6.52% 35,695
Montgomery 9,509 63.01% 5,320 35.25% 263 1.74% 4,189 27.76% 15,092
Morgan 10,983 59.99% 7,181 39.22% 145 0.79% 3,802 20.77% 18,309
Newton 3,204 58.44% 2,236 40.78% 43 0.78% 968 17.65% 5,483
Noble 6,885 52.91% 5,875 45.15% 253 1.94% 1,010 7.76% 13,013
Ohio 1,027 43.95% 1,300 55.63% 10 0.43% -273 -11.68% 2,337
Orange 4,399 51.90% 4,031 47.56% 46 0.54% 368 4.34% 8,476
Owen 2,896 47.83% 3,103 51.25% 56 0.92% -207 -3.42% 6,055
Parke 3,929 55.00% 3,158 44.20% 57 0.80% 771 10.79% 7,144
Perry 4,088 41.95% 5,620 57.66% 38 0.39% -1,532 -15.72% 9,746
Pike 3,138 44.19% 3,938 55.46% 25 0.35% -800 -11.27% 7,101
Porter 25,489 59.75% 16,468 38.60% 701 1.64% 9,021 21.15% 42,658
Posey 5,136 48.97% 5,298 50.51% 54 0.51% -162 -1.54% 10,488
Pulaski 3,586 54.21% 2,813 42.52% 216 3.27% 773 11.69% 6,615
Putnam 6,063 53.67% 5,116 45.29% 118 1.04% 947 8.38% 11,297
Randolph 6,891 55.93% 5,330 43.26% 99 0.80% 1,561 12.67% 12,320
Ripley 5,293 52.11% 4,792 47.18% 72 0.71% 501 4.93% 10,157
Rush 4,723 60.32% 3,052 38.98% 55 0.70% 1,671 21.34% 7,830
Scott 2,657 38.14% 4,229 60.71% 80 1.15% -1,572 -22.57% 6,966
Shelby 8,918 55.22% 7,098 43.95% 134 0.83% 1,820 11.27% 16,150
Spencer 4,166 46.34% 4,796 53.35% 28 0.31% -630 -7.01% 8,990
St. Joseph 50,358 50.20% 49,156 49.00% 810 0.81% 1,202 1.20% 100,324
Starke 4,354 47.12% 4,753 51.43% 134 1.45% -399 -4.32% 9,241
Steuben 5,079 59.23% 3,323 38.75% 173 2.02% 1,756 20.48% 8,575
Sullivan 3,747 41.61% 5,198 57.72% 61 0.68% -1,451 -16.11% 9,006
Switzerland 1,329 38.07% 2,150 61.59% 12 0.34% -821 -23.52% 3,491
Tippecanoe 29,186 61.33% 17,850 37.51% 551 1.16% 11,336 23.82% 47,587
Tipton 4,776 57.35% 3,428 41.16% 124 1.49% 1,348 16.19% 8,328
Union 1,631 58.25% 1,160 41.43% 9 0.32% 471 16.82% 2,800
Vanderburgh 37,975 51.87% 34,911 47.69% 325 0.44% 3,064 4.19% 73,211
Vermillion 3,674 43.03% 4,791 56.11% 73 0.86% -1,117 -13.08% 8,538
Vigo 23,555 48.46% 24,684 50.78% 371 0.76% -1,129 -2.32% 48,610
Wabash 8,534 59.51% 5,704 39.78% 102 0.71% 2,830 19.74% 14,340
Warren 2,377 55.13% 1,906 44.20% 29 0.67% 471 10.92% 4,312
Warrick 7,200 47.69% 7,804 51.70% 92 0.61% -604 -4.00% 15,096
Washington 3,794 45.61% 4,409 53.01% 115 1.38% -615 -7.39% 8,318
Wayne 16,697 57.20% 12,306 42.16% 188 0.64% 4,391 15.04% 29,191
Wells 5,596 56.33% 4,250 42.78% 88 0.89% 1,346 13.55% 9,934
White 6,287 60.63% 3,963 38.22% 119 1.15% 2,324 22.41% 10,369
Whitley 6,761 54.34% 5,445 43.77% 235 1.89% 1,316 10.58% 12,441
Totals 1,183,958 53.32% 1,014,714 45.70% 21,690 0.98% 169,244 7.62% 2,220,362

See also

References

  1. ^ "1976 Presidential General Election Results - Indiana". Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  2. ^ Groppe, Maureen (October 7, 2015). "'Indianoplace'? That's what Hillary Clinton called us". www.indystar.com. Indy Star. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  3. ^ Sheinin, Aaron Gould (August 30, 2016). "Jimmy Carter makes fund raising plea for Hillary Clinton". www.ajc.com. AJC. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  4. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
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