The 1976 presidential election in Maine took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which took place across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the electoral college, to vote for president and vice president.

Maine narrowly voted for incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford over his Democratic opponent, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Ford took 48.91% of the vote to Carter’s 48.07%, a victory margin of 0.84%.Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1976 Presidential General Election Results – Maine The anti-war former Democratic senator from Minnesota, Eugene McCarthy, received 2.21% of the vote in Maine, which possibly helped Ford carry the state, as he most likely siphoned more votes from Carter than Ford.

Despite his narrow loss nationwide, Ford actually managed to carry four of the six New England states. Carter only won the heavily Democratic states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which made New England Ford's second strongest region in the nation after the West.

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that a Democrat won the national election without carrying Maine, and the last time until 2020 when a Democrat won without carrying Maine's 2nd congressional district, since the state moved from being a winner take all one four years earlier in 1972. Results

Results by congressional district Ford won both of Maine's congressional districts.

District Ford Carter Representative 49.22% 47.90%David F. Emery 48.54% 48.27%William Cohen

Results by county CountyOur Campaigns; ME US President Race, November 02, 1976 Gerald FordRepublican Jimmy CarterDemocratic Eugene McCarthyIndependent Benjamin BubarProhibition Various candidatesWrite-ins Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % Androscoggin 16,330 37.40% 26,484 60.65% 670 1.53% 175 0.40% 6 0.01% -10,154 -23.25% 43,665 Aroostook 15,550 48.52% 15,484 48.31% 495 1.54% 515 1.61% 7 0.02% 66 0.21% 32,051 Cumberland 48,959 49.64% 47,007 47.66% 2,329 2.36% 315 0.32% 16 0.02% 1,952 1.98% 98,626 Franklin 5,799 50.94% 5,140 45.15% 318 2.79% 118 1.04% 9 0.08% 659 5.79% 11,384 Hancock 12,064 61.40% 6,725 34.23% 596 3.03% 241 1.23% 21 0.11% 5,339 27.17% 19,647 Kennebec 22,534 47.53% 23,473 49.51% 1,002 2.11% 372 0.78% 26 0.05% -939 -1.98% 47,407 Knox 8,315 56.24% 5,922 40.05% 414 2.80% 129 0.87% 6 0.04% 2,393 16.19% 14,786 Lincoln 7,554 59.03% 4,818 37.65% 366 2.86% 49 0.38% 10 0.08% 2,736 21.38% 12,797 Oxford 10,551 49.04% 10,340 48.06% 459 2.13% 129 0.60% 37 0.17% 211 0.98% 21,516 Penobscot 29,016 52.17% 24,672 44.36% 1,367 2.46% 533 0.96% 25 0.04% 4,344 7.81% 55,613 Piscataquis 4,084 50.48% 3,727 46.07% 173 2.14% 103 1.27% 3 0.04% 357 4.41% 8,090 Sagadahoc 5,988 50.42% 5,529 46.56% 287 2.42% 63 0.53% 9 0.08% 459 3.86% 11,876 Somerset 8,868 46.76% 9,465 49.91% 464 2.45% 158 0.83% 11 0.06% -597 -3.15% 18,966 Waldo 6,289 54.06% 4,853 41.72% 348 2.99% 131 1.13% 12 0.10% 1,436 12.34% 11,633 Washington 7,039 49.45% 6,644 46.67% 307 2.16% 242 1.70% 3 0.02% 395 2.78% 14,235 York 27,380 44.95% 31,996 52.52% 1,279 2.10% 222 0.36% 39 0.06% -4,616 -7.57% 60,916Totals236,32048.91%232,27948.07%10,8742.25%3,4950.72%2400.05%4,0410.84%483,208

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Kennebec Somerset York

See also United States presidential elections in Maine

References