1976 United States presidential election in Oregon

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1976 United States presidential election in Oregon
Flag of Oregon.svg
  1972 November 2, 1976 1980  
  Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped 2).jpg Jimmy Carter 1977 cropped.jpg
Nominee Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Michigan Georgia
Running mate Bob Dole Walter Mondale
Electoral vote60
Popular vote492,120490,407
Percentage47.78%47.62%

Oregon Presidential Election Results 1976.svg
County results

President before election

Gerald Ford
Republican

Elected President

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

The 1976 United States presidential election in Oregon took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose six representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

Oregon was narrowly won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (RMichigan) with 47.78% of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (DGeorgia), with 47.62% of the popular vote. Separated by a margin of 1,713 votes, this was the closest state in the 1976 presidential election. [1]

None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, but Eugene McCarthy (IMinnesota) won 3.90% of the popular vote and came third overall in the nation. Despite losing in Oregon, Carter went on to win the national election and became the 39th president of the United States.

As of 2024, this is the last occasion when Crook County, Wheeler County and Linn County have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. [2] It was to end almost a century as a bellwether for Crook County, which was to become solidly Republican following the "Reagan Revolution". [3] As of 2024, this was last time a Democrat won the presidency without carrying Oregon.

Results

1976 United States presidential election in Oregon [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Gerald Ford (inc.) 492,120 47.78%
Democratic Jimmy Carter 490,40747.62%
Independent Eugene McCarthy 40,2073.90%
Write-in [a] 7,1420.69%
Total votes1,029,876 100%

Results by county

County [5] Gerald Ford
Republican
Jimmy Carter
Democratic
Eugene McCarthy
Independent
Various candidates [5]
Write-ins
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %# %
Baker 3,34048.27%3,30647.78%2253.25%480.69%340.49%6,919
Benton 15,55553.08%11,88740.56%1,6355.58%2300.78%3,66812.52%29,307
Clackamas 47,67150.74%42,50445.24%3,3183.53%4660.50%5,1675.50%93,959
Clatsop 6,17845.37%6,69049.13%6845.02%640.47%-512-3.76%13,616
Columbia 5,22637.71%8,00557.76%5213.76%1070.77%-2,779-20.05%13,859
Coos 9,48138.35%14,16857.30%9243.74%1520.61%-4,687-18.95%24,725
Crook 2,09343.81%2,53653.09%1022.14%460.96%-443-9.28%4,777
Curry 2,96245.52%3,22749.59%2944.52%240.37%-265-4.07%6,507
Deschutes 9,05446.71%9,48048.91%7293.76%1190.61%-426-2.20%19,382
Douglas 16,50050.04%14,96545.39%1,1873.60%3210.97%1,5354.65%32,973
Gilliam 61252.49%50843.57%363.09%100.86%1048.92%1,166
Grant 1,64051.15%1,39343.45%1484.62%250.78%2477.70%3,206
Harney 1,65248.49%1,56745.99%1634.78%250.73%852.50%3,407
Hood River 3,21048.37%3,11446.93%2874.32%250.38%961.44%6,636
Jackson 24,23748.25%23,38446.55%1,9263.83%6891.37%8531.70%50,236
Jefferson 1,81047.92%1,76946.84%1534.05%451.19%411.08%3,777
Josephine 10,72650.81%9,06142.92%8994.26%4242.01%1,6657.89%21,110
Klamath 11,64952.50%9,65943.53%6522.94%2271.02%1,9908.97%22,187
Lake 1,57551.00%1,38144.72%1023.30%300.97%1946.28%3,088
Lane 46,24542.67%56,47952.12%4,7694.40%8740.81%-10,234-9.45%108,367
Lincoln 5,75543.60%6,68550.65%6855.19%740.56%-930-7.05%13,199
Linn 14,12845.22%15,77650.50%1,1983.83%1390.44%-1,648-5.28%31,241
Malheur 5,68259.13%3,50736.49%3683.83%530.55%2,17522.64%9,610
Marion 35,49749.08%33,78146.70%2,6783.70%3750.52%1,7162.38%72,331
Morrow 1,09146.09%1,16249.09%783.30%361.52%-71-3.00%2,367
Multnomah 112,40044.40%129,06050.98%10,0643.98%1,6350.65%-16,660-6.58%253,159
Polk 8,52848.65%8,14146.44%7524.29%1090.62%3872.21%17,530
Sherman 56751.13%49144.27%484.33%30.27%766.86%1,109
Tillamook 4,03345.48%4,45650.25%3373.80%410.46%-423-4.77%8,867
Umatilla 9,34551.83%7,98544.28%5993.33%1020.57%1,3607.55%18,031
Union 5,11152.00%4,28043.54%3974.04%410.42%8318.46%9,829
Wallowa 1,69353.76%1,31041.60%1103.49%361.14%38312.16%3,149
Wasco 4,25846.08%4,56049.35%3503.79%720.78%-302-3.27%9,240
Washington 52,37657.80%34,84738.46%2,9993.31%3890.43%17,52919.34%90,611
Wheeler 35545.57%40251.60%172.18%50.64%-47-6.03%779
Yamhill 9,88550.38%8,88145.27%7733.94%810.41%1,0045.11%19,620
Totals492,12047.78%490,40747.62%40,2073.90%7,1420.69%1,7130.16%1,029,876

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Results by congressional district

Both President Ford and Jimmy Carter won an equal amount of congressional districts in the state with Carter winning two congressional districts while Ford won the other two congressional districts. [6]

District [6] FordCarter
1st56.6%44.4%
2nd51.3%48.7%
3rd45%55%
4th47.4%52.6%

See also

Notes

  1. Amongst these are 1,035 write-ins for national American Party candidate Thomas J. Anderson, which were not separated by county but given only as a statewide total. [5]

References

  1. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S Presidential Elections; 1976 Presidential Election Statistics
  2. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  3. Lewis-Beck; Michael S.; 'Election Forecasts in 1984: How Accurate Were They'; Political Science and Politics 18(1) (January 1985), pp. 53-63
  4. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S Presidential Elections; 1976 Presidential General Election Results – Oregon
  5. 1 2 3 Our Campaigns; OR US President, November 02, 1976
  6. 1 2 "1976 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District". U.S. Presidential Election Results by Congressional District. Western Washington University. Retrieved May 15, 2025.