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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

was narrowly won by

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

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 ...

( R–

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

) with 47.78% of the popular vote, against

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

( D–

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

), 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. This was also the closest presidential election in Oregon since its statehood in 1859. Oregon voted in this election at just over 2% more Republican than the nation-at-large. None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, but Eugene McCarthy ( I–

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) 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 2020, this is the last occasion when Crook County,

Wheeler County Wheeler County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Wheeler County, Georgia * Wheeler County, Nebraska * Wheeler County, Oregon * Wheeler County, Texas Wheeler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of t ...

and Linn County have 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 It was to end almost a century as a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

for Crook County, which was to become solidly Republican following the "Reagan Revolution".Lewis-Beck; Michael S.; 'Election Forecasts in 1984: How Accurate Were They'; ''Political Science and Politics'' 18(1) (January 1985), pp. 53-63

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

, which supported Ford, would not vote for a losing presidential nominee again until

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. This was the last election in which Oregon would vote Republican in a close presidential election, as well as in which it would vote for a losing Republican, as of

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. This was also the last time that Oregon voted more Republican than

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Results

Results by county

Notes

References

{{1976 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 Oregon elections

Results

Results by county

See also

Notes

References