The 1976 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 2, 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election.

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, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

won the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

with 49.50 percent of the vote giving him 11 electoral votes. In September, President Ford announced he would devote $20,000 to campaigning in Wisconsin. The state was one of ten he considered critical to defeating Carter, but Ford devoted less money to it than any of the others. During his campaign, Ford focused chiefly on the Catholic working-class electorate in

South Milwaukee South Milwaukee is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 20,795 at the 2020 census. History South Milwaukee was laid out in 1891 by the South Milwaukee company within the Town of Oak Creek, with the purpose o ...

, whose hierarchy had been disappointed Carter was not committed – following ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

'' – to a constitutional amendment banning abortion. Carter himself responded by visiting white ethnic communities in the state during September. His campaign amongst the

Polish-Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

and

Greek-Americans Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

in the southeast of the state was strongly aimed at Ford's policy towards the

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

regimes of Eastern Europe and their human rights violations. In early October, polls showed Wisconsin as a tossup. Aided by a return of traditionally Democratic Catholic voters and a gain amongst nonpartisans, Carter established a lead in mid-October polls. The Georgia Governor would retain this lead to election day, and carry Wisconsin by 1.68 points. This result nonetheless made Wisconsin 0.43% more Republican than the nation at large. Wisconsin was the

tipping-point state In United States presidential elections, the tipping-point state is the first state that gives the winning candidate a majority of electoral votes, thereby securing the candidate's victory in the Electoral College, when all states are arranged in ...

of the election. Ronald Reagan would flip Wisconsin back into the Republican column in 1980 and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, but Carter’s victory was a sign of things to come for the state, as it would transition into a Democratic-leaning swing state in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, and would vote Republican only once since then. This is the third most recent election in which Wisconsin voted for a different candidate than neighboring

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, a phenomenon that has only been repeated twice since, in 2004, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Primaries

Democratic primaries

Despite the fact that at the time of this election Wisconsin had been dominated for a decade by very liberal Democrats like Senators

Gaylord Nelson Gaylord Anton Nelson (June 4, 1916July 3, 2005) was an American politician and environmentalist from Wisconsin who served as a United States senator and governor. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the founder of Earth Day, which launch ...

and

William Proxmire Edward William Proxmire (November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989. He holds the record for being the longest-serv ...

, and had been the fifth-best state for George McGovern in his landslide 1972 presidential defeat, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the state on a "nonideological" campaign in the April primaries, despite claiming that price floors for dairy farmers in the nation's leading dairy state would need to be lowered. *

– 36.63% *

Mo Udall Morris King "Mo" Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991. He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democ ...

– 35.62% * George Wallace – 12.49% * Scoop Jackson – 6.43%

Republican primaries

Gerald Ford won the GOP primary against the insurgent conservative challenge of Ronald Reagan, saying that his win was largely due to the endorsement of

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

. * Gerald Ford – 55.23% * Ronald Reagan – 44.29%

Results

Results by county

References

{{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 ...