See main article: 1976 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico |
| Country: | New Mexico |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1972 United States presidential election in New Mexico |
| Previous Year: | 1972 |
| Next Election: | 1980 United States presidential election in New Mexico |
| Next Year: | 1980 |
| Election Date: | November 2, 1976 |
| Image1: | Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped 2).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Gerald Ford |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Home State1: | Michigan |
| Running Mate1: | Bob Dole |
| Electoral Vote1: | 4 |
| Popular Vote1: | 211,419 |
| Percentage1: | 50.75% |
| Nominee2: | Jimmy Carter |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | Georgia |
| Running Mate2: | Walter Mondale |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 201,148 |
| Percentage2: | 48.28% |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Gerald Ford |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Jimmy Carter |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Map Size: | 265px |
The 1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 2, 1976. All fifty states and The District of Columbia were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose four electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
New Mexico was won by President Gerald Ford by a 2-point lead. A very partisan election in New Mexico, only one percent of the electorate voted for third-party candidates.[1] While Ford took the State of New Mexico, and much of the American Southwest and Midwest, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the electoral college with 297 votes, and was elected president.
A reliable bellwether state in presidential elections up to this point, this was the first election since gaining statehood that New Mexico did not back the winning presidential candidate, and the only time, as of 2020, that New Mexico did not back the national popular-vote winner (in 2000 and 2016, it voted for the candidate who won the popular vote but not the electoral vote), giving it the longest current streak in the nation. It is also the only election a Democrat has won while losing New Mexico., this is the last election in which Torrance County and Quay County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[2]
| County | Gerald Ford Republican | Jimmy Carter Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Bernalillo | 76,614 | 53.98% | 63,949 | 45.06% | 1,363 | 0.96% | 12,665 | 8.92% | 141,926 | ||||||||||
| Catron | 602 | 53.18% | 517 | 45.67% | 13 | 1.15% | 85 | 7.51% | 1,132 | ||||||||||
| Chaves | 10,631 | 59.26% | 7,139 | 39.79% | 170 | 0.95% | 3,492 | 19.47% | 17,940 | ||||||||||
| Colfax | 2,259 | 45.13% | 2,718 | 54.29% | 29 | 0.58% | -459 | -9.16% | 5,006 | ||||||||||
| Curry | 6,232 | 54.87% | 5,004 | 44.06% | 122 | 1.07% | 1,228 | 10.81% | 11,358 | ||||||||||
| De Baca | 556 | 47.93% | 597 | 51.47% | 7 | 0.60% | -41 | -3.54% | 1,160 | ||||||||||
| Dona Ana | 13,888 | 53.09% | 12,036 | 46.01% | 233 | 0.90% | 1,852 | 7.08% | 26,157 | ||||||||||
| Eddy | 7,698 | 45.59% | 9,073 | 53.73% | 115 | 0.68% | -1,375 | -8.14% | 16,886 | ||||||||||
| Grant | 4,095 | 43.90% | 5,176 | 55.49% | 57 | 0.61% | -1,081 | -11.59% | 9,328 | ||||||||||
| Guadalupe | 1,047 | 42.68% | 1,379 | 56.22% | 27 | 1.10% | -332 | -13.54% | 2,453 | ||||||||||
| Harding | 387 | 57.08% | 285 | 42.04% | 6 | 0.88% | 102 | 15.04% | 678 | ||||||||||
| Hidalgo | 891 | 48.56% | 938 | 51.12% | 6 | 0.32% | -47 | -2.56% | 1,835 | ||||||||||
| Lea | 8,773 | 56.82% | 6,533 | 42.31% | 135 | 0.87% | 2,240 | 14.51% | 15,441 | ||||||||||
| Lincoln | 2,320 | 61.64% | 1,415 | 37.59% | 29 | 0.77% | 905 | 24.05% | 3,764 | ||||||||||
| Los Alamos | 5,383 | 64.43% | 2,890 | 34.59% | 82 | 0.98% | 2,493 | 29.84% | 8,355 | ||||||||||
| Luna | 2,966 | 50.25% | 2,872 | 48.65% | 65 | 1.10% | 94 | 1.60% | 5,903 | ||||||||||
| McKinley | 4,617 | 39.83% | 6,856 | 59.14% | 120 | 1.03% | -2,239 | -19.31% | 11,593 | ||||||||||
| Mora | 904 | 38.29% | 1,438 | 60.91% | 19 | 0.80% | -534 | -22.62% | 2,361 | ||||||||||
| Otero | 5,914 | 52.10% | 5,333 | 46.98% | 105 | 0.92% | 581 | 5.12% | 11,352 | ||||||||||
| Quay | 2,059 | 49.08% | 2,095 | 49.94% | 41 | 0.98% | -36 | -0.86% | 4,195 | ||||||||||
| Rio Arriba | 3,213 | 30.75% | 7,125 | 68.19% | 111 | 1.06% | -3,912 | -37.44% | 10,449 | ||||||||||
| Roosevelt | 3,269 | 50.85% | 3,111 | 48.39% | 49 | 0.76% | 158 | 2.46% | 6,429 | ||||||||||
| San Juan | 10,852 | 55.13% | 8,615 | 43.77% | 216 | 1.10% | 2,237 | 11.36% | 19,683 | ||||||||||
| San Miguel | 3,162 | 37.17% | 5,204 | 61.17% | 141 | 1.66% | -2,042 | -24.00% | 8,507 | ||||||||||
| Sandoval | 4,110 | 44.34% | 5,072 | 54.72% | 87 | 0.94% | -962 | -10.38% | 9,269 | ||||||||||
| Santa Fe | 11,576 | 44.53% | 14,127 | 54.34% | 294 | 1.13% | -2,551 | -9.81% | 25,997 | ||||||||||
| Sierra | 1,665 | 51.04% | 1,564 | 47.95% | 33 | 1.01% | 101 | 3.09% | 3,262 | ||||||||||
| Socorro | 2,265 | 45.86% | 2,606 | 52.76% | 68 | 1.38% | -341 | -6.90% | 4,939 | ||||||||||
| Taos | 3,012 | 40.07% | 4,414 | 58.72% | 91 | 1.21% | -1,402 | -18.65% | 7,517 | ||||||||||
| Torrance | 1,462 | 48.54% | 1,526 | 50.66% | 24 | 0.80% | -64 | -2.12% | 3,012 | ||||||||||
| Union | 1,146 | 53.30% | 975 | 45.35% | 29 | 1.35% | 171 | 7.95% | 2,150 | ||||||||||
| Valencia | 7,851 | 47.43% | 8,566 | 51.75% | 136 | 0.82% | -715 | -4.32% | 16,553 | ||||||||||
| Totals | 211,419 | 50.75% | 201,148 | 48.28% | 4,023 | 0.97% | 10,271 | 2.47% | 416,590 | ||||||||||