Presidential Election of 1976

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION of 1976, pitting Republican Gerald Ford against Democrat limmy Carter, focused primarily on the perception of the candidates, not policy issues. Richard Nixon's forced resignation after Watergate created a political and social crisis in the United States. Americans lost faith in their government and questioned the social and cultural changes since the 1960s. Moreover, stagflation—high inflation and high unemployment—took hold because of the oil embargo in 1973, and worldwide food shortages. While Americans cared about the deteriorating economic solution, they really wanted a leader to restore their faith in themselves and in their country. Both Carter and Ford tailored their campaigns to that desire.

Gerald Ford, who succeeded Richard Nixon when Nixon resigned, seemed the likely candidate for the Republican nomination. However, Ronald Reagan entered the primaries to challenge Ford from the right. Ford, a moderate from Michigan, benefited from his incumbency and the resources it provided, but he struggled to stop Reagan's early momentum. Voters remained concerned about Ford's leadership qualities, especially because he pardoned Nixon. Conservative Republicans had supported Reagan in 1968, and he emerged as their candidate of choice, again, in 1976. Reagan, since his first run for governor of California in 1966, successfully sold conservatism to a wider audience—especially the merits of limited government.

Ford narrowly defeated Reagan in the New Hampshire primary, but Reagan continued his fight, attacking Ford on detente and negotiations on the future of the Panama Canal. Ford and Reagan split the remaining primaries; Ford took the northeast and midwest, while Reagan prevailed in the Sunbelt. As the convention approached, Ford and Reagan looked to secure uncommitted delegates. Ford dropped Vice President Nelson Rockefeller as a possible running mate because conservatives considered him too liberal. Reagan, in an unusual step, announced he preferred Richard Schweiker, a liberal from Pennsylvania, for the second spot.

Divisions in the Democratic Party made for a crowded field, including Morris Udall, Henry lackson, George Wallace, limmy Carter, Pat Brown, and Frank Church. Each candidate appealed to a different wing of the party—Udall for liberal intellectuals, lackson for cold warriors, Wallace for social conservatives, and Church for party regulars, limmy Carter attracted supporters in several of these groups and became an early frontrunner, with wins in the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary.

Carter used the expanding number of primaries to his advantage. He took the campaign to the people, drawing on populist themes and his outsider status. Carter appealed to his image as a common man with a missionary message. He knocked out Wallace in Florida, lack-son in Pennsylvania, and Udall after Michigan and Wisconsin. While Church and Brown challenged Carter in California, these latecomers simply did not have enough time to build up support before the convention. Carter's victory in Ohio, and his support from Richard Daley's Democratic Party machine in Chicago, meant he possessed a solid lead before the convention.

When the Democrats met in New York City from July 12 to July 15, the delegates nominated limmy Carter on the first ballot. In Carter, they found a candidate able to lessen the party's image as ideologically extreme after McGovern's defeat in 1972. Carter selected Walter Mon-dale, a liberal senator from Minnesota, as his choice for [Page 648]vice president. Carter opened his acceptance speech simply by saying: “My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for President.” Then he emphasized that it was not only a year for hope and inspiration, but also a year to give the government back to the people and get the country moving again.

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