In 1972, Senator George McGovern seized the Democratic nomination through an early campaign and superior organization, aided by his inside knowledge of the reforms under a commission he chaired. McGovern, widely seen as an extremely liberal candidate, lost the general election in an historic landslide to incumbent Richard Nixon, carrying only the state of Massachusetts.
Watergate scandal
During the 1972 campaign, several men were arrested for a break-in at the Watergate complex, home of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. As the investigation continued, it became clear that the break-in was one of several tactics utilized by the Nixon campaign against their political opponents. The scandal and the subsequent attempt to cover it up eventually forced President Nixon to resign from office under political pressure and the threat of impeachment. Nixon was succeeded by Gerald Ford, whom he had appointed to the Vice Presidency after Spiro Agnew himself resigned under investigation for bribery.
As a result of the Watergate scandal and other scandals, the American withdrawal from Vietnam, and an ongoing economic recession, the Democratic Party won a major landslide in the 1974 midterm elections. The post-Watergate political environment also led to a tightening of campaign finance regulations, the creation of the Church Committee to investigate abuses by federal intelligence agencies, and a general opposition to Washington and establishment politicians.
Pre-campaign maneuvering
Much of the speculation for the 1976 nomination surrounded Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, formerly Vice President of the United States and the party's nominee in 1968. Humphrey had won the largest number of votes in the 1972 primaries but lost in a bitter fight with McGovern. Though Humphrey ultimately declined to seek the nomination again, many early votes went to uncommitted delegates who supporters hoped would commit to Humphrey by the time of the convention.
Senator Scoop Jackson raised his national profile by speaking out on Soviet Union–United States relations and Middle East policy regularly, and was considered a front-runner for the nomination when he announced the start of his campaign in February 1975. Jackson received substantial financial support from Jewish-Americans who admired his pro-Israel views, but Jackson's support of the Vietnam War resulted in hostility from the left wing of the Democratic Party.
Jackson chose to run on social issues, emphasizing law and order and his opposition to busing. Jackson was also hoping for support from labor, but the possibility that Hubert Humphrey might enter the race caused unions to offer only lukewarm support.[1][2][3][4]
The 1976 campaign was the first presidential campaign in which the primary system was dominant.[citation needed] However, most of the Democratic candidates failed to realize the significance of the increased number of primaries, or the importance of creating momentum by winning the early contests. Jimmy Carter, who was virtually unknown at the national level, leveraged his obscurity to run as an "outsider" to Washington. Carter's plan was to run in all of the primaries and caucuses, beginning with the Iowa caucuses, and build up momentum by winning "somewhere" each time primary elections were held.
↑ This should not be taken as a finalized list of results. While a significant amount of research was done, there were a number of Delegates who were not bound by the instruction, or "Pledged" to a candidate, and to simplify the data these delegates were considered "Uncommitted". Many states also held primaries for the delegate positions, and these on occasion were where slates or candidates pledge to a certain candidate might be elected; however, as these elections allowed for a single person to vote for multiple candidates, as many as the number of positions being filled, it is difficult to determine how many people actually voted in these primaries. For this reason, while the results of some are in the table, they are not included in the popular vote summaries at the bottom of the table.
↑ Includes 14,508 votes for Unpledged slate of Delegates at (37.16%).
↑ Only half the vote was accounted for in those sources found.
↑ The Uncommitted Delegates here represent a number of different camps. The largest with 85 delegates was controlled Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who had used Senator Adlai Stevenson III as a stand-in. 18 truly uncommitted delegates were divided into two camps, one led by congressman Paul Simon and the other by state treasurer Alan Dixon, both inclined to supporting Hubert Humphrey's potential entrance into the race. The final 4 were pledged to Governor Daniel Walker, who had been engaged in a number of power struggles with Richard Daley..
↑ The Caucus was initially held in two phases due to fighting which distrupted the first round on February 22, resulting in a second round being held on this date. However, supporters of Carter opted to not participate in the second round, initially allowing Jackson supporters to win the remainder of the delegates. To head off a dispute before the Convention, a compromise was reached in which the delegation would be divided as shown below.
↑ The situation in New York is complicated in that the rather than voting for the candidates themselves, voters were instead voting for the individual delegates; it wasn't uncommon for the allegiance of some of these delegates to be ill-defined.
↑ Includes 7,154 votes for "None of the Names Shown" at (0.97%), and 14,473 Write-In votes at (1.95%); the Write-Ins were not broken down on the State level.
↑ Includes 797 votes for Uncommitted Delegates at (2.99%).
↑ Technically none of the delegates were apportioned based on the Presidential Primary; 134 of Pennsylvania's 178 delegates delegates were elected in a separate series of primaries held concurrently, with 44 apportioned based on the number of delegate to each candidate based on the number of delegate contests won.
↑ As majorities were required, run-offs were held later (May 25th) in those delegate primaries that only resulted in a plurality. No vote totals were given.
↑ Includes 10,983 votes for Senator Ted Kennedy at (2.54%), 1,389 Write-In votes for Ronald Reagan at (0.32%), and 691 Write-In votes for Gerald Ford at (0.16%).
The following candidates ran only in their home state or district's delegate elections for the purpose of controlling those delegates at the national convention:
At multiple times during the primaries, Humphrey hinted at a campaign for the nomination and expressed his willingness to be drafted, but ultimately declined to actively seek the nomination on April 29, after Carter's victory in Pennsylvania. Several unsuccessful draft movements were formed and many uncommitted delegates expressed their preference for Humphrey.[citation needed]
↑ Hubert Humphrey with 8%, John Lindsay with 2%, Sargent Shriver with 2%, and Reubin Askew, Walter Mondale, William Proxmire, and John Tunney with 1% each
↑ Walter Mondale and William Proxmire with 2% each, and Robert Byrd and John Tunney with 1% each
↑ William Proxmire with 4%, Walter Mondale and John Tunney with 3% each, and Robert Byrd with 2%
↑ Walter Mondale with 2% and William Proxmire, John Tunney, and Robert Byrd with 1% each
↑ Walter Mondale with 2%, William Proxmire with 2%, John Tunney with 2%, and Robert Byrd with 1%
↑ Walter Mondale with 3%, John Tunney and William Proxmire with 2% each, and Robert Byrd with 1%
↑ William Proxmire with 3%, Eugene McCarthy with 3%, and Walter Mondale with 2%
↑ Eugene McCarthy with 7%, William Proxmire with 5%, and Walter Mondale with 2%
↑ John Lindsay with 3%, Julian Bond with 3%, Adlai Stevenson III with 3%, Ralph Nader with 2%, Walter Mondale with 2%, Lloyd Bentsen with 2%, Jerry Brown with 2%, John Glenn with 2%; Reubin Askew, John Tunney, William Proxmire, Dale Bumpers, Robert Byrd, Hugh Carey, Thomas Eagleton, Eugene McCarthy, Gary Hart, Ella Grasso, and Milton Shapp with 1% each; and Brendan Byrne, Terry Sanford, Frank Church, Mo Udall, and Kevin White with <1% each
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gallup did not break down results for other candidates individually.
With no clear front-runner for the nomination and a political climate that seemed tilted heavily in their party's favor, a record number of Democrats competed for their party's presidential nomination.
Jimmy Carter startled many political experts by finishing second in the Iowa caucuses, behind only "uncommitted" delegates largely elected on the backs of minor candidates and Humphrey supporters. Arizona Congressman Morris Udall, who had been leading in the polls at one point, came in fifth behind former Oklahoma Senator Fred R. Harris, leading Harris to coin the term "winnowed in", referring to his surprisingly strong showing.[85][86][87][88]
February 24: New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary was another victory for Carter, albeit one in which he was the lone moderate or conservative candidate in the field, both Jackson and Wallace choosing to bypass New Hampshire in favor of neighboring Massachusetts. Thus, with the liberal vote split, Carter won. The New Hampshire primary nevertheless had symbolic value for the Carter campaign, showing that a Southerner could appeal in New England in advance of the Massachusetts primary. Among the liberal candidates in New Hampshire, Udall emerged as the leader.
March 2: Massachusetts primary
One week after the New Hampshire primary, Carter's campaign was dealt a serious blow in Massachusetts. With Jackson and Wallace joining the field to split moderate and conservative voters, Carter finished fourth, behind Jackson, Wallace, and Udall. None of the candidates campaigned heavily in the state, preferring to advertise on television. Jackson won the race by relying on experienced political activists, especially in Boston, and support from organized labor.
March 9: Florida primary
The week after Massachusetts, Carter righted the ship by defeating Wallace and Jackson in Florida. The liberal candidates, with the exception of Milton Shapp, were not on the ballot and largely stayed out of the state; Jackson finished third. Jackson sought to capitalize on momentum from his victory in Massachusetts, but set expectations low given his poor polling in the state. The campaign was acrimonious; Carter sought to maintain his status as the frontrunner by accusing Washington insiders of coordinating against him and accused Jackson of exploiting desegregation busing as an issue. Jackson countered with attacks on Carter's civil rights record as Governor. Wallace, who had won Florida in 1972, staked his campaign on the state. Carter ultimately defeated Wallace narrowly with around a third of the vote; in his victory speech, Carter declared that the result represented "not only a New South, but a new America."
March 16: Illinois primary
Carter then proceeded to slowly but steadily accumulate delegates in primaries around the nation. In Illinois, the Democratic presidential candidates were overshadowed by a power struggle between Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley and Governor Dan Walker. Daley won control of the delegation through a slate of delegates pledged to Senator Adlai Stevenson III, but among the declared candidates for the presidency, Carter won a convincing victory over Wallace in both the presidential preference primary and the separate delegate selection races.
April: New York, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania
He also knocked his key rivals out of the race one by one. He won a more dominant victory over Wallace in the North Carolina primary on March 23, winning his first majority in any state and thus neutralizing his main rival in the South. On April 6, Carter won a narrow come-from-behind victory in Wisconsin over Mo Udall, although Udall won the most delegates. Jackson won a convincing victory over Udall in the New York primaries, but when Carter defeated Jackson in Pennsylvania on April 27, Jackson quit the race, citing a lack of funds.[1][2][3][4]
As Carter continued to gain momentum, a "Stop Carter" movement behind the late-starting campaigns of California Governor Jerry Brown and Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Though neither candidate could secure the nomination themselves, they stood in the hopes of deadlocking the convention and denying Carter the nomination. Now facing an organized opposition, Carter dropped several key Western primaries in May and June.
The 1976 Democratic National Convention was held in New York City. By the time the convention opened Carter already had more than enough delegates to win the nomination, and so the major emphasis at the convention was to create an appearance of party unity, which had been lacking in the 1968 and 1972 Democratic Conventions. Carter easily won the nomination on the first ballot; he then chose Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota, a liberal and a protege of Hubert Humphrey, as his running mate.
By June, Carter had the nomination sufficiently locked up and could take time to interview potential vice-presidential candidates.
The pundits predicted that Frank Church would be tapped to provide balance as an experienced senator with strong liberal credentials. Church promoted himself, persuading friends to intervene with Carter in his behalf. If a quick choice had been required as in past conventions, Carter later recalled, he would probably have chosen Church. But the longer period for deliberation gave Carter time to worry about his compatibility with the publicity-seeking Church, who had a tendency to be long-winded. Instead, Carter invited Senators Edmund Muskie, John Glenn and Walter Mondale, and Congressman Peter W. Rodino to visit his home in Plains, Georgia, for personal interviews, while Church, Henry M. Jackson, and Adlai Stevenson III would be interviewed at the convention in New York. Rodino revealed he had no interest in the position, and of all the other potential candidates, Carter found Mondale the most compatible. As a result, Carter selected Mondale as his running mate.
African American leadership within the Democratic Party had sought to potentially place Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Congressman Ron Dellums, or Congresswoman Barbara Jordan on the ticket with Carter. However, Jordan took herself out of consideration, and Carter did not have any interest in the other candidates put forward.
The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace. This was the last election until 1988 in which the incumbent president was not on the ballot. This was also the last election where a third-party candidate received an electoral vote.
The 1976 United States presidential election was the 48th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1976. Democrat Jimmy Carter, former Governor of Georgia, defeated incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford in a narrow victory. This was the first presidential election since 1932 in which the incumbent was defeated, as well as the only Democratic victory of the six presidential elections between 1968 and 1988.
The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican president Ronald Reagan was re-elected to a second term defeating Democratic former vice president Walter Mondale in a landslide victory.
The 1984 Democratic National Convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select candidates for the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was nominated for president and Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York was nominated for vice president. Ferraro became the first woman to be nominated by either major party for the presidency or vice presidency. In another first, the 1984 Democratic Convention was chaired by the female governor of Kentucky, Martha Layne Collins. The Democratic National Committee Chairman at the time, Charles T. Manatt, led the convention.
The 1980 Democratic National Convention nominated President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City from August 11 to August 14, 1980.
The 1976 Democratic National Convention met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The assembled United States Democratic Party delegates at the convention nominated former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia for president and Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota for vice president. John Glenn and Barbara Jordan gave the keynote addresses. Jordan's keynote address made her the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. The convention was the first in New York City since the 103-ballot 1924 convention.
From February 20 to June 12, 1984, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1984 Democratic National Convention held from July 16 to July 19, 1984, in San Francisco, California.
From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Jimmy Carter was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses, culminating in the 1980 Democratic National Convention, held from August 11 to 14, 1980, in New York City.
From January 24 to June 20, 1972, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1972 United States presidential election. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections, caucuses, and state party conventions, culminating in the 1972 Democratic National Convention held from July 10 to July 13, 1972, in Miami, Florida.
From January 19 to June 8, 1976, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1976 United States presidential election. The major candidates were incumbent President Gerald Ford and former Governor of California Ronald Reagan. After a series of primary elections and caucuses, neither secured a majority of the delegates before the convention.
From March 8 to June 7, 1960, voters and members of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1960 Democratic National Convention through a series of caucuses, conventions, and primaries, partly for the purpose of nominating a candidate for President of the United States in the 1960 election. The presidential primaries were inconclusive, as several of the leading contenders did not enter them, but U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts emerged as the strongest candidate and won the nomination over Lyndon B. Johnson at the convention, held from July 11 to 15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
From March to July 1968, Democratic Party voters elected delegates to the 1968 Democratic National Convention for the purpose of selecting the party's nominee for president in the upcoming election. After an inconclusive and tumultuous campaign focused on the Vietnam War and marred by the June assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey was nominated at the 1968 Democratic National Convention held from August 26 to August 29, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois.
Electoral history of Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States (1977–1981) and the 76th governor of Georgia (1971–1975).
Electoral history of Ted Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts (1962–2009) and, at the time of his death, the second most senior member of the Senate.
Electoral history of Walter Mondale, who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States (1977–1981); as a United States senator from Minnesota (1964–1976), and as the 23rd attorney general of Minnesota (1960–1964).
The 1976 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses were held on January 19, 1976, the first nominating contest in the Democratic presidential primaries for the 1976 presidential election. It had the little-known Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter campaign heavily and end up capturing 27.7% of the vote, the highest of the five candidates. An outpouring of media coverage of Carter soon emerged.
Electoral history of George Wallace, 45th governor of Alabama, 1968 American Independent Party presidential nominee and candidate for 1964, 1972 and 1976 Democratic Party presidential nomination
Since 1983, the Democratic Party of the United States holds a few debates between candidates for the Democratic nomination in presidential elections during the primary election season. Unlike debates between party-nominated candidates, which have been organized by the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates since 1988, debates between candidates for party nomination are organized by mass media outlets.
The 1976 presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter resulted in the election of Jimmy Carter and his running mate Walter Mondale as president and vice president of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole. Carter, a Democrat and former governor of Georgia, launched his presidential bid in December 1974, as the Constitution of Georgia barred him from running for a second term as governor. In the wake of the Watergate scandal, the declining popularity of President Ford due to his pardon of Nixon, and the severe recession of 1974–75, many Democrats were sure of victory in the 1976 presidential election. As a result, 17 Democrats ran for their party's nomination in 1976. Carter's opponents mocked his candidacy by saying "Jimmy, who?", for his being relatively unknown outside Georgia. In response, Carter began saying "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president." Carter extensively campaigned in the primaries, and in the end received 39.19% of his party's primary votes.
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