 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Carter 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The1976 United States presidential election in Georgia was held on November 2, 1976. TheDemocratic candidate, formerGovernor of GeorgiaJimmy Carter, overwhelmingly won his home state with 66.74% of the vote ahead of the Republican Party nominee, incumbent PresidentGerald Ford, giving him the state's 12 electoral votes. Carter carried all of Georgia's 159 counties (the last time any presidential candidate has won every single county in the state) and 10 congressional districts by wide margins.[1]
This is the only presidential election in Georgia's history where the Democratic candidate carried all of Georgia's counties, despite the state's long Democratic streak, which had ended only in 1964.[2] Even though Carter's percentage of the vote was lower than that of several previous Democratic victors in the state, such asWoodrow Wilson,James M. Cox,John W. Davis, andFranklin D. Roosevelt, none of these had carried every county in the state. In particular, Carter remains the only Democrat to carry historicallypro-Union,East Tennessee-oriented[3]Fannin County since1912, and the only Democrat to obtain a majority of the vote there sinceWilliam Jennings Bryan in 1900.[4] There are a further seven counties, in addition to Fannin, that have never voted Democratic again since 1976:Dade,Walker,Catoosa,Fayette,Columbia,Lee andLowndes.[5]Douglas andRockdale counties would not vote Democratic for president again until2008, andCobb andGwinnett would not do so until2016.
The election represented a complete flip fromthe previous election when PresidentRichard Nixon also won Georgia with 75% of the vote and carried every county. Georgia swung 84 points Democratic, the largest partisan swing of any state in 1976.
Ford did carry one of Georgia's 161 historical counties, with the formerMilton County backing the incumbent president 51.1%-48.9%. In fact, Ford carried many precincts in northern Fulton and DeKalb Counties, some by landslide margins. For example, one precinct inDunwoody voted for Ford by a margin of 1245 to 500.
Among white voters, 58% supported Carter while 42% supported Ford.[6][7]
| United States presidential election in Georgia, 1976 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | James Carter | 979,409 | 66.74% | 12 | |
| Republican | Gerald Ford (incumbent) | 483,743 | 32.96% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Thomas J. Anderson | 1,168 | 0.08% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Lester Maddox | 1,071 | 0.07% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Eugene McCarthy | 991 | 0.07% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Write-ins (scattered) | 847 | 0.06% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Roger MacBride | 175 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Peter Camejo | 43 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Gus Hall | 3 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Ernest Miller | 3 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Julius Levin | 2 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Frank Zeidler | 2 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Lyndon LaRouche | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,467,458 | 100.00% | 12 | ||
| Voter turnout | 42% | — | |||
| County[8] | Jimmy Carter Democratic | Gerald Ford Republican | Margin | Total votes cast[a] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Appling | 3,585 | 78.86% | 961 | 21.14% | 2,624 | 57.72% | 4,546 |
| Atkinson | 1,560 | 81.80% | 347 | 18.20% | 1,213 | 63.60% | 1,907 |
| Bacon | 2,395 | 80.13% | 594 | 19.87% | 1,801 | 60.26% | 2,989 |
| Baker | 1,162 | 79.21% | 305 | 20.79% | 857 | 58.42% | 1,467 |
| Baldwin | 4,674 | 56.41% | 3,612 | 43.59% | 1,062 | 12.82% | 8,286 |
| Banks | 2,387 | 87.85% | 330 | 12.15% | 2,057 | 73.70% | 2,717 |
| Barrow | 4,756 | 77.71% | 1,364 | 22.29% | 3,392 | 55.42% | 6,120 |
| Bartow | 8,166 | 81.32% | 1,876 | 18.68% | 6,290 | 62.64% | 10,042 |
| Ben Hill | 2,449 | 75.05% | 814 | 24.95% | 1,635 | 50.10% | 3,263 |
| Berrien | 3,394 | 85.95% | 555 | 14.05% | 2,839 | 71.90% | 3,949 |
| Bibb | 31,902 | 71.34% | 12,819 | 28.66% | 19,083 | 42.68% | 44,721 |
| Bleckley | 2,605 | 72.83% | 972 | 27.17% | 1,633 | 45.66% | 3,577 |
| Brantley | 2,294 | 86.50% | 358 | 13.50% | 1,936 | 73.00% | 2,652 |
| Brooks | 2,653 | 70.65% | 1,102 | 29.35% | 1,551 | 41.30% | 3,755 |
| Bryan | 2,045 | 72.88% | 761 | 27.12% | 1,284 | 45.76% | 2,806 |
| Bulloch | 5,199 | 62.23% | 3,156 | 37.77% | 2,043 | 24.46% | 8,355 |
| Burke | 3,014 | 65.82% | 1,565 | 34.18% | 1,449 | 31.64% | 4,579 |
| Butts | 2,898 | 77.97% | 819 | 22.03% | 2,079 | 55.94% | 3,717 |
| Calhoun | 1,394 | 76.17% | 436 | 23.83% | 958 | 52.34% | 1,830 |
| Camden | 2,962 | 74.85% | 995 | 25.15% | 1,967 | 49.70% | 3,957 |
| Candler | 1,388 | 68.24% | 646 | 31.76% | 742 | 36.48% | 2,034 |
| Carroll | 10,050 | 73.41% | 3,640 | 26.59% | 6,410 | 46.82% | 13,690 |
| Catoosa | 6,020 | 61.31% | 3,799 | 38.69% | 2,221 | 22.62% | 9,819 |
| Charlton | 1,750 | 79.47% | 452 | 20.53% | 1,298 | 58.94% | 2,202 |
| Chatham | 32,075 | 57.04% | 24,160 | 42.96% | 7,915 | 14.08% | 56,235 |
| Chattahoochee | 506 | 73.98% | 178 | 26.02% | 328 | 47.96% | 684 |
| Chattooga | 4,686 | 81.17% | 1,087 | 18.83% | 3,599 | 62.34% | 5,773 |
| Cherokee | 6,539 | 71.48% | 2,609 | 28.52% | 3,930 | 42.96% | 9,148 |
| Clarke | 11,342 | 63.18% | 6,610 | 36.82% | 4,732 | 26.36% | 17,952 |
| Clay | 947 | 76.25% | 295 | 23.75% | 652 | 52.50% | 1,242 |
| Clayton | 21,432 | 62.42% | 12,905 | 37.58% | 8,527 | 24.84% | 34,337 |
| Clinch | 1,414 | 78.69% | 383 | 21.31% | 1,031 | 57.38% | 1,797 |
| Cobb | 45,002 | 56.73% | 34,324 | 43.27% | 10,678 | 12.46% | 79,326 |
| Coffee | 4,601 | 76.45% | 1,417 | 23.55% | 3,184 | 52.90% | 6,018 |
| Colquitt | 6,928 | 76.06% | 2,181 | 23.94% | 4,747 | 52.12% | 9,109 |
| Columbia | 4,674 | 57.73% | 3,423 | 42.27% | 1,251 | 15.46% | 8,097 |
| Cook | 2,882 | 81.14% | 670 | 18.86% | 2,212 | 62.28% | 3,552 |
| Coweta | 6,195 | 67.05% | 3,044 | 32.95% | 3,151 | 34.10% | 9,239 |
| Crawford | 1,842 | 82.97% | 378 | 17.03% | 1,464 | 65.94% | 2,220 |
| Crisp | 3,747 | 73.83% | 1,328 | 26.17% | 2,419 | 47.66% | 5,075 |
| Dade | 2,263 | 61.98% | 1,388 | 38.02% | 875 | 23.96% | 3,651 |
| Dawson | 1,384 | 78.91% | 370 | 21.09% | 1,014 | 57.82% | 1,754 |
| Decatur | 3,736 | 59.91% | 2,500 | 40.09% | 1,236 | 19.82% | 6,236 |
| DeKalb | 86,872 | 56.40% | 67,160 | 43.60% | 19,712 | 12.80% | 154,032 |
| Dodge | 5,267 | 86.13% | 848 | 13.87% | 4,419 | 72.26% | 6,115 |
| Dooly | 2,441 | 78.84% | 655 | 21.16% | 1,786 | 57.68% | 3,096 |
| Dougherty | 11,461 | 55.11% | 9,337 | 44.89% | 2,124 | 10.22% | 20,798 |
| Douglas | 7,805 | 66.35% | 3,959 | 33.65% | 3,846 | 32.70% | 11,764 |
| Early | 2,405 | 67.52% | 1,157 | 32.48% | 1,248 | 35.04% | 3,562 |
| Echols | 585 | 84.05% | 111 | 15.95% | 474 | 68.10% | 696 |
| Effingham | 2,906 | 63.73% | 1,654 | 36.27% | 1,252 | 27.46% | 4,560 |
| Elbert | 4,730 | 83.11% | 961 | 16.89% | 3,769 | 66.22% | 5,691 |
| Emanuel | 4,603 | 75.51% | 1,493 | 24.49% | 3,110 | 51.02% | 6,096 |
| Evans | 1,631 | 68.62% | 746 | 31.38% | 885 | 37.24% | 2,377 |
| Fannin | 3,402 | 56.25% | 2,646 | 43.75% | 756 | 12.50% | 6,048 |
| Fayette | 3,718 | 56.72% | 2,837 | 43.28% | 881 | 13.44% | 6,555 |
| Floyd | 15,151 | 66.27% | 7,713 | 33.73% | 7,438 | 32.54% | 22,864 |
| Forsyth | 4,693 | 76.48% | 1,443 | 23.52% | 3,250 | 52.96% | 6,136 |
| Franklin | 4,192 | 85.92% | 687 | 14.08% | 3,505 | 71.84% | 4,879 |
| Fulton | 129,849 | 67.84% | 61,552 | 32.16% | 68,297 | 35.68% | 191,401 |
| Gilmer | 2,499 | 66.46% | 1,261 | 33.54% | 1,238 | 32.92% | 3,760 |
| Glascock | 704 | 65.49% | 371 | 34.51% | 333 | 30.98% | 1,075 |
| Glynn | 9,459 | 63.65% | 5,403 | 36.35% | 4,056 | 27.30% | 14,862 |
| Gordon | 6,052 | 78.09% | 1,698 | 21.91% | 4,354 | 56.18% | 7,750 |
| Grady | 3,758 | 75.66% | 1,209 | 24.34% | 2,549 | 51.32% | 4,967 |
| Greene | 2,534 | 79.54% | 652 | 20.46% | 1,882 | 59.08% | 3,186 |
| Gwinnett | 20,838 | 59.97% | 13,912 | 40.03% | 6,926 | 19.94% | 34,750 |
| Habersham | 5,120 | 79.56% | 1,315 | 20.44% | 3,805 | 59.12% | 6,435 |
| Hall | 12,804 | 71.54% | 5,093 | 28.46% | 7,711 | 43.08% | 17,897 |
| Hancock | 2,117 | 76.48% | 651 | 23.52% | 1,466 | 52.96% | 2,768 |
| Haralson | 4,550 | 77.76% | 1,301 | 22.24% | 3,249 | 55.52% | 5,851 |
| Harris | 2,861 | 64.95% | 1,544 | 35.05% | 1,317 | 29.90% | 4,405 |
| Hart | 4,605 | 84.26% | 860 | 15.74% | 3,745 | 68.52% | 5,465 |
| Heard | 1,593 | 78.63% | 433 | 21.37% | 1,160 | 57.26% | 2,026 |
| Henry | 5,717 | 68.56% | 2,622 | 31.44% | 3,095 | 37.12% | 8,339 |
| Houston | 13,164 | 70.90% | 5,404 | 29.10% | 7,760 | 41.80% | 18,568 |
| Irwin | 2,012 | 78.20% | 561 | 21.80% | 1,461 | 56.40% | 2,573 |
| Jackson | 5,931 | 82.72% | 1,239 | 17.28% | 4,692 | 65.44% | 7,170 |
| Jasper | 1,852 | 72.88% | 689 | 27.12% | 1,163 | 45.76% | 2,541 |
| Jeff Davis | 2,405 | 79.45% | 622 | 20.55% | 1,783 | 58.90% | 3,027 |
| Jefferson | 3,115 | 70.41% | 1,309 | 29.59% | 1,806 | 40.82% | 4,424 |
| Jenkins | 1,820 | 76.37% | 563 | 23.63% | 1,257 | 52.74% | 2,383 |
| Johnson | 2,210 | 76.00% | 698 | 24.00% | 1,512 | 52.00% | 2,908 |
| Jones | 3,471 | 72.49% | 1,317 | 27.51% | 2,154 | 44.98% | 4,788 |
| Lamar | 2,785 | 76.68% | 847 | 23.32% | 1,938 | 53.36% | 3,632 |
| Lanier | 1,269 | 85.98% | 207 | 14.02% | 1,062 | 71.96% | 1,476 |
| Laurens | 8,617 | 72.42% | 3,281 | 27.58% | 5,336 | 44.84% | 11,898 |
| Lee | 1,727 | 60.87% | 1,110 | 39.13% | 617 | 21.74% | 2,837 |
| Liberty | 3,328 | 77.27% | 979 | 22.73% | 2,349 | 54.54% | 4,307 |
| Lincoln | 1,583 | 73.32% | 576 | 26.68% | 1,007 | 46.64% | 2,159 |
| Long | 1,243 | 84.85% | 222 | 15.15% | 1,021 | 69.70% | 1,465 |
| Lowndes | 8,830 | 66.18% | 4,512 | 33.82% | 4,318 | 32.36% | 13,342 |
| Lumpkin | 2,301 | 80.79% | 547 | 19.21% | 1,754 | 61.58% | 2,848 |
| McDuffie | 3,024 | 64.09% | 1,694 | 35.91% | 1,330 | 28.18% | 4,718 |
| McIntosh | 1,978 | 78.71% | 535 | 21.29% | 1,443 | 57.42% | 2,513 |
| Macon | 3,013 | 82.53% | 638 | 17.47% | 2,375 | 65.06% | 3,651 |
| Madison | 3,367 | 75.12% | 1,115 | 24.88% | 2,252 | 50.24% | 4,482 |
| Marion | 1,314 | 81.87% | 291 | 18.13% | 1,023 | 63.74% | 1,605 |
| Meriwether | 4,830 | 76.91% | 1,450 | 23.09% | 3,380 | 53.82% | 6,280 |
| Miller | 1,536 | 76.34% | 476 | 23.66% | 1,060 | 52.68% | 2,012 |
| Mitchell | 4,495 | 74.09% | 1,572 | 25.91% | 2,923 | 48.18% | 6,067 |
| Monroe | 2,962 | 73.32% | 1,078 | 26.68% | 1,884 | 46.64% | 4,040 |
| Montgomery | 1,610 | 72.00% | 626 | 28.00% | 984 | 42.00% | 2,236 |
| Morgan | 2,274 | 71.55% | 904 | 28.45% | 1,370 | 42.90% | 3,178 |
| Murray | 3,511 | 79.80% | 889 | 20.20% | 2,622 | 59.60% | 4,400 |
| Muscogee | 24,092 | 64.09% | 13,496 | 35.91% | 10,596 | 28.18% | 37,588 |
| Newton | 6,294 | 74.65% | 2,137 | 25.35% | 4,157 | 49.30% | 8,431 |
| Oconee | 2,228 | 65.30% | 1,184 | 34.70% | 1,044 | 30.60% | 3,412 |
| Oglethorpe | 1,854 | 69.57% | 811 | 30.43% | 1,043 | 39.14% | 2,665 |
| Paulding | 5,420 | 79.10% | 1,432 | 20.90% | 3,988 | 58.20% | 6,852 |
| Peach | 3,989 | 77.43% | 1,163 | 22.57% | 2,826 | 54.86% | 5,152 |
| Pickens | 2,571 | 72.55% | 973 | 27.45% | 1,598 | 45.10% | 3,544 |
| Pierce | 2,628 | 82.85% | 544 | 17.15% | 2,084 | 65.70% | 3,172 |
| Pike | 1,903 | 71.03% | 776 | 28.97% | 1,127 | 42.06% | 2,679 |
| Polk | 6,115 | 75.88% | 1,944 | 24.12% | 4,171 | 51.76% | 8,059 |
| Pulaski | 2,318 | 82.70% | 485 | 17.30% | 1,833 | 65.40% | 2,803 |
| Putnam | 2,040 | 70.96% | 835 | 29.04% | 1,205 | 41.92% | 2,875 |
| Quitman | 677 | 68.38% | 313 | 31.62% | 364 | 36.76% | 990 |
| Rabun | 2,398 | 80.23% | 591 | 19.77% | 1,807 | 60.46% | 2,989 |
| Randolph | 2,186 | 74.53% | 747 | 25.47% | 1,439 | 49.06% | 2,933 |
| Richmond | 24,042 | 57.33% | 17,893 | 42.67% | 6,149 | 14.66% | 41,935 |
| Rockdale | 4,640 | 60.94% | 2,974 | 39.06% | 1,666 | 21.88% | 7,614 |
| Schley | 783 | 74.50% | 268 | 25.50% | 515 | 49.00% | 1,051 |
| Screven | 2,168 | 64.83% | 1,176 | 35.17% | 992 | 29.66% | 3,344 |
| Seminole | 2,074 | 75.28% | 681 | 24.72% | 1,393 | 50.56% | 2,755 |
| Spalding | 7,593 | 67.00% | 3,739 | 33.00% | 3,854 | 34.00% | 11,332 |
| Stephens | 5,560 | 80.58% | 1,340 | 19.42% | 4,220 | 61.16% | 6,900 |
| Stewart | 1,632 | 79.03% | 433 | 20.97% | 1,199 | 58.06% | 2,065 |
| Sumter | 5,328 | 72.19% | 2,053 | 27.81% | 3,275 | 44.38% | 7,381 |
| Talbot | 1,634 | 78.07% | 459 | 21.93% | 1,175 | 56.14% | 2,093 |
| Taliaferro | 748 | 76.02% | 236 | 23.98% | 512 | 52.04% | 984 |
| Tattnall | 3,556 | 72.84% | 1,326 | 27.16% | 2,230 | 45.68% | 4,882 |
| Taylor | 1,962 | 79.56% | 504 | 20.44% | 1,458 | 59.12% | 2,466 |
| Telfair | 3,534 | 84.73% | 637 | 15.27% | 2,897 | 69.46% | 4,171 |
| Terrell | 2,348 | 66.78% | 1,168 | 33.22% | 1,180 | 33.56% | 3,516 |
| Thomas | 6,147 | 65.32% | 3,263 | 34.68% | 2,884 | 30.64% | 9,410 |
| Tift | 5,185 | 70.57% | 2,162 | 29.43% | 3,023 | 41.14% | 7,347 |
| Toombs | 4,047 | 65.56% | 2,126 | 34.44% | 1,921 | 31.12% | 6,173 |
| Towns | 1,786 | 60.32% | 1,175 | 39.68% | 611 | 20.64% | 2,961 |
| Treutlen | 1,567 | 77.12% | 465 | 22.88% | 1,102 | 54.24% | 2,032 |
| Troup | 7,699 | 63.52% | 4,422 | 36.48% | 3,277 | 27.04% | 12,121 |
| Turner | 2,265 | 84.48% | 416 | 15.52% | 1,849 | 68.96% | 2,681 |
| Twiggs | 2,515 | 83.06% | 513 | 16.94% | 2,002 | 66.12% | 3,028 |
| Union | 2,795 | 70.78% | 1,154 | 29.22% | 1,641 | 41.56% | 3,949 |
| Upson | 4,219 | 59.29% | 2,897 | 40.71% | 1,322 | 18.58% | 7,116 |
| Walker | 8,007 | 62.49% | 4,807 | 37.51% | 3,200 | 24.98% | 12,814 |
| Walton | 5,402 | 76.20% | 1,687 | 23.80% | 3,715 | 52.40% | 7,089 |
| Ware | 7,719 | 74.36% | 2,661 | 25.64% | 5,058 | 48.72% | 10,380 |
| Warren | 1,335 | 64.96% | 720 | 35.04% | 615 | 29.92% | 2,055 |
| Washington | 3,865 | 69.99% | 1,657 | 30.01% | 2,208 | 39.98% | 5,522 |
| Wayne | 4,489 | 74.97% | 1,499 | 25.03% | 2,990 | 49.94% | 5,988 |
| Webster | 622 | 79.03% | 165 | 20.97% | 457 | 58.06% | 787 |
| Wheeler | 1,378 | 80.02% | 344 | 19.98% | 1,034 | 60.04% | 1,722 |
| White | 2,125 | 77.27% | 625 | 22.73% | 1,500 | 54.54% | 2,750 |
| Whitfield | 10,475 | 69.96% | 4,498 | 30.04% | 5,977 | 39.92% | 14,973 |
| Wilcox | 2,153 | 86.15% | 346 | 13.85% | 1,807 | 72.30% | 2,499 |
| Wilkes | 2,461 | 69.76% | 1,067 | 30.24% | 1,394 | 39.52% | 3,528 |
| Wilkinson | 2,652 | 76.01% | 837 | 23.99% | 1,815 | 52.02% | 3,489 |
| Worth | 2,790 | 70.70% | 1,156 | 29.30% | 1,634 | 41.40% | 3,946 |
| Totals | 979,409 | 66.74% | 483,743 | 32.96% | 495,666 | 33.78% | 1,467,458 |
Carter carried all 10 districts in Georgia.
| District | Carter | Ford | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 64.4% | 35.6% | Ronald "Bo" Ginn |
| 2nd | 69.1% | 30.9% | Dawson Mathis |
| 3rd | 69.1% | 30.9% | Jack Brinkley |
| 4th | 57.2% | 42.8% | Elliott H. Levitas |
| 5th | 67.5% | 32.5% | Andrew Young |
| 6th | 67.5% | 32.5% | John Flynt |
| 7th | 64.2% | 35.8% | Larry Mcdonald |
| 8th | 74.8% | 25.2% | Billy Lee Evans |
| 9th | 70.9% | 29.1% | Ed Jenkins |
| 10th | 65.9% | 34.1% | Doug Barnard Jr. |
State and district results of the1976 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
.jpg)
