1972  1976 Presidential Election Returns  1980

Richard Nixon resigned the office of the Presidency after the Watergate scandal. His Vice-President, Gerald Ford, became President. He was the first man to serve as Vice-President and as President without ever having been elected to either office. Ford had pardoned former President Nixon and had angered the voters, who were ready for a change. Ford also had seen the collapse of the United States in the Vietnam War, and was hampered by a weak economy as well. The Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter to run against Ford, arguing that Carter could return dignity to the Oval Office. Carter promised to restore honor and dignity to the White House. President Ford was renominated by the Republican Party, barely defeating California Governor Ronald Reagan in the primaries. Though some Democrats were not sure about Carter, he still managed to win a closely contested race. Voter turnout was low, except among African-Americans, who were loyal in their support for Carter. UNITED STATES VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Carter/Mondale 40,828,929 50 297 Ford/Dole* 39,148,940 48 240 Eugene McCarthy 744,763 1 0 All Other Candidates 313,848 0 1 MacBride/Bergland 172,557 0 0 Maddox/Dyke 170,373 0 0 Anderson/Shackelford 158,724 0 0 ALABAMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 504,070 43 0 Carter/Mondale 659,170 56 9 ALASKA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  71,555 58 3 Carter/Mondale 44,058 36 0 MacBride/Bergland 6,785 5 0 ARIZONA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  418,642 56 6 Carter/Mondale 295,602 40 0 ARKANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 268,753 35 0 Carter/Mondale 499,614 65 6 CALIFORNIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  3,882,244 49 45 Carter/Mondale 3,742,284 48 0 COLORADO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  584,367 54 7 Carter/Mondale 460,353 43 0 CONNECTICUT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  719,261 52 8 Carter/Mondale 647,895 47 0 DELAWARE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 109,831 47 0 Carter/Mondale 122,596 52 3 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 27,873 17 0 Carter/Mondale 137,818 82 3 FLORIDA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 1,469,531 47 0 Carter/Mondale 1,636,000 52 17 GEORGIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 483,743 33 0 Carter/Mondale 979,409 67 12 HAWAII VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 140,003 48 0 Carter/Mondale 147,375 51 4 IDAHO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  204,151 60 4 Carter/Mondale 126,549 37 0 ILLINOIS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  2,364,269 50 26 Carter/Mondale 2,271,295 48 0 INDIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  1,183,958 53 13 Carter/Mondale 1,014,714 46 0 IOWA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  632,863 49 8 Carter/Mondale 619,931 48 0 KANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  502,752 52 7 Carter/Mondale 430,421 45 0 KENTUCKY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 531,852 46 0 Carter/Mondale 615,717 53 9 LOUISIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 587,446 46 0 Carter/Mondale 661,365 52 10 MAINE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  236,320 49 4 Carter/Mondale 232,279 48 0 MARYLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 672,661 47 0 Carter/Mondale 759,612 53 10 MASSACHUSETTS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 1,030,276 40 0 Carter/Mondale 1,429,475 56 14 MICHIGAN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  1,893,742 52 21 Carter/Mondale 1,696,714 46 0 MINNESOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 819,395 42 0 Carter/Mondale 1,070,440 55 10 MISSISSIPPI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 366,846 48 0 Carter/Mondale 381,309 50 7 MISSOURI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 927,443 47 0 Carter/Mondale 998,387 51 12 MONTANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  173,703 53 4 Carter/Mondale 149,259 45 0 NEBRASKA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  359,705 59 5 Carter/Mondale 233,692 38 0 NEVADA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  101,273 50 3 Carter/Mondale 92,479 46 0 NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  185,935 55 4 Carter/Mondale 147,635 43 0 NEW JERSEY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  1,509,688 50 17 Carter/Mondale 1,444,653 48 0 NEW MEXICO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  211,419 51 4 Carter/Mondale 201,148 48 0 NEW YORK VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 3,100,791 47 0 Carter/Mondale 3,389,558 52 41 NORTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 741,960 44 0 Carter/Mondale 927,365 55 13 NORTH DAKOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  153,470 52 3 Carter/Mondale 136,078 46 0 OHIO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 2,000,505 49 0 Carter/Mondale 2,011,621 49 25 OKLAHOMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  545,708 50 8 Carter/Mondale 532,442 49 0 OREGON VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  492,120 48 6 Carter/Mondale 490,407 48 0 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 2,205,604 47 0 Carter/Mondale 2,328,677 50 27 RHODE ISLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 181,249 44 0 Carter/Mondale 227,636 55 4 SOUTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 346,140 43 0 Carter/Mondale 450,825 56 8 SOUTH DAKOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  151,505 50 4 Carter/Mondale 147,068 49 0 TENNESSEE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 633,969 43 0 Carter/Mondale 825,879 56 10 TEXAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 1,953,300 48 0 Carter/Mondale 2,082,319 51 26 UTAH VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  337,908 62 4 Carter/Mondale 182,100 34 0 VERMONT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  102,085 54 3 Carter/Mondale 81,004 43 0 VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  836,554 49 12 Carter/Mondale 813,896 48 0 WASHINGTON VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  777,732 50 8* Carter/Mondale 717,323 46 0 *- One Elector Voted for Ronald Reagan for President WEST VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 314,760 42 0 Carter/Mondale 435,914 58 6 WISCONSIN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole* 1,004,987 48 0 Carter/Mondale 1,040,232 50 11 WYOMING VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Ford/Dole*  92,717 59 3 Carter/Mondale 62,239 40 0 SYMBOLS KEY Republican Democratic Libertarian Green Independent American Reform Other Winner * Incumbent + Incumbent Party