The 1976 United States presidential election in Indiana was held on November 2, 1976. Incumbent President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

won the state of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

with 53% of the vote, carrying the state's 13 electoral votes. He defeated Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter in Indiana by a margin of 7.62 points. This remains the most recent election where North Carolina and Indiana backed different candidates. Ford won Indiana by a comfortable margin, of 7.62%, which made the state almost 10% more Republican than the nation at large. Carter did, however, make substantial headway in Indiana, significantly improving from George McGovern's

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

performance in the state. Ford did well throughout most parts of the state. Carter managed to keep Ford's victory in Indiana under ten points by winning most of Southern Indiana. Vigo County home to

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, is a bellwether county that has gotten every presidential election right, except twice, since

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

. This election was no exception. Carter won Vigo County and the presidency. , this is the last election in which

Dearborn County Dearborn County is one of 92 counties of the U.S. state of Indiana located on the Ohio border near the southeast corner of the state. It was formed in 1803 from a portion of Hamilton County, Ohio. In 2020, the population was 50,679. The county ...

Dubois County Dubois County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 43,637. The county seat is Jasper. Dubois County is part of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Dubois County was formed on Decem ...

, Martin County, Ohio County, and Owen County voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate,Sullivan, Robert David
‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’
''America Magazine'' in ''The National Catholic Review''; June 29, 2016 and the last one in which St. Joseph County did not vote for the national popular vote winner. This is also the last time that Indiana picked a different candidate than North Carolina.

Results

Results by county

Hillary Clinton’s role in the Carter campaign

One of the Carter campaign's state organizers in Indiana was

Hillary Rodham Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

. Rodham (who would later adopt her husband's surname of ''Clinton'') would go on to serve as a

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

, 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."

References

{{United States elections

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1976 Indiana elections

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Results

Results by county

Hillary Clinton’s role in the Carter campaign

See also

References