The 1976 United States presidential election in Arizona was part of the 1976 United States presidential election, which took place on November 2, 1976, throughout all fifty states and D.C. Voters chose six representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Arizona voted strongly for the Republican nominee, incumbent President Gerald Ford, over the Democratic nominee, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. The state turned out to be the sixth most Republican in the nation behind Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Nebraska and Wyoming, as it was already perceived that Carter – highly popular in his native South – lacked any understanding of the environment,Reisner, Marc; Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water; p. 11 economy, culture and political issues of the West.Vaughn, Jacqueline; Conflicts Over Natural Resources: A Reference Handbook, p. 27
Carter did improve upon the performance of the preceding Democratic nominee, South Dakota Senator George McGovern, swinging away from the GOP by fifteen percentage points.
Results 1976 United States presidential election in ArizonaPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Gerald Ford (incumbent) 418,642 56.37% 6 Democratic Jimmy Carter 295,602 39.80% 0 Independent Eugene McCarthy 19,229 2.59% 0 Libertarian Roger MacBride 7,647 1.03% 0 Socialist Workers Peter Camejo 928 0.12% 0 American Thomas J. Anderson (write-in) 564 0.08% 0 American Independent Lester Maddox (write-in) 85 0.01% 0 United American Frank Taylor (write-in) 22 0.00% 0 Invalid or blank votes — Totals 742,719 100.00% 6 Voter turnout (Voting age/Registered voters) 46%/80%
Results by county CountyGerald FordRepublicanJimmy CarterDemocraticEugene McCarthyIndependentVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % # %Apache3,44733.38%6,58363.75%1731.68%1241.20%-3,136-30.37%10,327Cochise9,92149.90%9,28146.68%4522.27%2291.15%6403.22%19,883Coconino11,03651.53%9,45044.12%7373.44%1950.91%1,5867.41%21,418Gila5,13642.94%6,44053.84%2492.08%1371.15%-1,304-10.90%11,962Graham3,65952.59%3,05043.83%1381.98%1111.60%6098.76%6,958Greenlee1,53236.07%2,60161.24%811.91%330.78%-1,069-25.17%4,247Maricopa258,26261.66%144,61334.53%10,1062.41%5,8601.40%113,64927.13%418,841Mohave7,60151.92%6,50444.43%3512.40%1841.26%1,0977.49%14,640Navajo6,79646.68%7,32350.30%2731.88%1681.15%-527-3.62%14,560Pima77,26449.83%71,21445.93%5,0753.27%1,5080.97%6,0503.90%155,061Pinal9,35445.40%10,59551.42%4622.24%1930.94%-1,241-6.02%20,604Santa Cruz2,31248.80%2,26547.80%1232.60%380.80%471.00%4,738Yavapai12,99860.18%7,68535.58%6202.87%2971.38%5,31324.60%21,600Yuma9,32452.15%7,99844.73%3892.18%1690.95%1,3267.42%17,880Totals418,64256.37%295,60239.80%19,2292.59%9,2461.24%123,04016.57%742,719
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Apache Gila Navajo Pinal
By congressional district Ford won all 4 of the state's congressional districts, including 2 which elected Democrats. District Ford Carter Representative 61.3% 38.7%John Jacob Rhodes 51.7% 48.3%Mo Udall59.9%40.1%Sam SteigerBob Stump61.6%38.4%John ConlanEldon Rudd
Electors Electors were chosen by their party's voters in primary elections held on September 7, 1976. Jimmy Carter & Walter MondaleDemocratic Party Gerald Ford & Bob DoleRepublican Party Eugene McCarthyIndependent Roger MacBride & David BerglandLibertarian Party Peter Camejo & Willie Mae ReidSocialist Workers Party Thomas J. Anderson & Rufus ShackelfordAmerican Party Lester Maddox & William DykeAmerican Independent Party Frank TaylorUnited American Party Ernest L. MillerRestoration Party
References