See main article: 1976 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1976 United States presidential election in Washington (state) |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Country: | Washington |
| Previous Election: | 1972 United States presidential election in Washington (state) |
| Previous Year: | 1972 |
| Next Election: | 1980 United States presidential election in Washington (state) |
| 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: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 777,732 |
| Percentage1: | 50.00% |
| Nominee2: | Jimmy Carter |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | Georgia |
| Running Mate2: | Walter Mondale |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 717,323 |
| Percentage2: | 46.11% |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Gerald Ford |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Jimmy Carter |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1976 United States presidential election in Washington was held on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Incumbent President Gerald Ford won the state of Washington with 50% of the vote, which made the state 6% more Republican than the nation-at-large,[1] but Ford received only eight of the state's nine electoral votes. Former California Governor Ronald Reagan lost the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976 and was not on the ballot in any state. However, he was given one electoral vote by Washington faithless elector Mike Padden.
As of 2020, the 1976 election remains the last time that a Democrat would win the presidency without carrying Washington state, or that the state would vote Republican in a close nationwide contest. 1976 was also the last time until 2016 that a presidential candidate would lose an electoral vote to a faithless elector in the state. The 1976 election was also the last time that Clallam County backed the losing national candidate, and the county now has the nation's longest streak of picking the winner of the electoral college in presidential elections by being the only county in the nation, as of 2020, that has backed the winning national candidate every time since 1980. In addition, Clallam County has only twice gone for the losing national candidate since 1920 (in 1968 and 1976).
| 1976 United States presidential election in Washington[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | ||
| Republican | Gerald Ford (incumbent) | 777,732 | 50.00% | 8 | ||
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter | 717,323 | 46.11% | 0 | ||
| Independent | Eugene McCarthy | 36,986 | 2.38% | 0 | ||
| Right Government | Lester Maddox | 8,585 | 0.55% | 0 | ||
| American | Thomas J. Anderson | 5,046 | 0.32% | 0 | ||
| Libertarian | Roger MacBride | 5,042 | 0.32% | 0 | ||
| Bicentennial Reality | Margaret Wright | 1,124 | 0.07% | 0 | ||
| Socialist Workers | Peter Camejo | 905 | 0.06% | 0 | ||
| U.S. Labor | Lyndon LaRouche | 903 | 0.06% | 0 | ||
| Communist | Gus Hall | 817 | 0.05% | 0 | ||
| Socialist Labor | Julius Levin | 713 | 0.05% | 0 | ||
| Socialist | Frank Zeidler | 358 | 0.02% | 0 | ||
| Republican | Ronald Reagan | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | ||
| Totals | 1,555,534 | 100.00% | 9 | |||
| Voter turnout (Voting age/Registered voters) | 60%/75% | |||||
| County | Gerald Ford Republican | Jimmy Carter Democratic | Eugene McCarthy Independent | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Adams | 2,795 | 58.56% | 1,790 | 37.50% | 68 | 1.43% | 115 | 2.41% | 1,005 | 21.06% | 4,773 | ||||||||||||
| Asotin | 2,752 | 47.22% | 2,898 | 49.73% | 80 | 1.38% | 87 | 1.50% | -146 | -2.51% | 5,828 | ||||||||||||
| Benton | 22,135 | 63.95% | 11,306 | 32.67% | 677 | 1.96% | 441 | 1.28% | 10,829 | 31.28% | 34,611 | ||||||||||||
| Chelan | 10,492 | 56.13% | 7,623 | 40.78% | 322 | 1.73% | 219 | 1.17% | 2,869 | 15.35% | 18,692 | ||||||||||||
| Clallam | 9,132 | 49.67% | 8,268 | 44.97% | 475 | 2.60% | 418 | 2.29% | 864 | 4.70% | 18,386 | ||||||||||||
| Clark | 27,938 | 45.65% | 31,080 | 50.78% | 1,469 | 2.40% | 597 | 0.98% | -3,142 | -5.13% | 61,201 | ||||||||||||
| Columbia | 1,153 | 56.69% | 829 | 40.76% | 29 | 1.43% | 23 | 1.13% | 324 | 15.93% | 2,034 | ||||||||||||
| Cowlitz | 12,531 | 44.11% | 14,958 | 52.66% | 562 | 1.98% | 293 | 1.03% | -2,427 | -8.55% | 28,406 | ||||||||||||
| Douglas | 4,547 | 53.09% | 3,809 | 44.48% | 111 | 1.30% | 83 | 0.97% | 738 | 8.61% | 8,564 | ||||||||||||
| Ferry | 776 | 45.86% | 814 | 48.11% | 45 | 2.66% | 55 | 3.25% | -38 | -2.25% | 1,692 | ||||||||||||
| Franklin | 5,671 | 54.51% | 4,369 | 42.00% | 192 | 1.85% | 151 | 1.45% | 1,302 | 12.51% | 10,403 | ||||||||||||
| Garfield | 892 | 57.18% | 616 | 39.49% | 26 | 1.67% | 23 | 1.48% | 276 | 17.69% | 1,560 | ||||||||||||
| Grant | 9,192 | 51.87% | 7,777 | 43.89% | 400 | 2.26% | 305 | 1.73% | 1,415 | 7.98% | 17,721 | ||||||||||||
| Grays Harbor | 9,464 | 39.61% | 13,478 | 56.41% | 534 | 2.24% | 331 | 1.39% | -4,014 | -16.80% | 23,893 | ||||||||||||
| Island | 7,804 | 55.33% | 5,859 | 41.54% | 280 | 1.99% | 134 | 0.95% | 1,945 | 13.79% | 14,104 | ||||||||||||
| Jefferson | 2,794 | 45.86% | 2,913 | 47.82% | 199 | 3.29% | 136 | 2.25% | -119 | -1.96% | 6,092 | ||||||||||||
| King | 279,382 | 50.79% | 248,743 | 45.22% | 14,234 | 2.60% | 5,483 | 1.00% | 30,609 | 5.57% | 550,119 | ||||||||||||
| Kitsap | 23,124 | 45.56% | 25,701 | 50.64% | 1,179 | 2.33% | 642 | 1.27% | -2,577 | -5.08% | 50,750 | ||||||||||||
| Kittitas | 4,765 | 47.57% | 4,858 | 48.50% | 267 | 2.67% | 99 | 0.99% | -93 | -0.93% | 10,017 | ||||||||||||
| Klickitat | 2,573 | 44.99% | 2,890 | 50.53% | 126 | 2.21% | 119 | 2.08% | -317 | -5.54% | 5,719 | ||||||||||||
| Lewis | 10,933 | 51.65% | 9,026 | 42.64% | 557 | 2.64% | 601 | 2.85% | 1,907 | 9.01% | 21,167 | ||||||||||||
| Lincoln | 2,925 | 57.57% | 1,978 | 38.93% | 98 | 1.93% | 71 | 1.40% | 947 | 18.64% | 5,081 | ||||||||||||
| Mason | 4,758 | 42.14% | 6,060 | 53.67% | 268 | 2.38% | 178 | 1.58% | -1,302 | -11.53% | 11,291 | ||||||||||||
| Okanogan | 5,455 | 47.05% | 5,543 | 47.81% | 338 | 2.92% | 233 | 2.01% | -88 | -0.76% | 11,595 | ||||||||||||
| Pacific | 2,781 | 37.84% | 4,278 | 58.20% | 192 | 2.62% | 77 | 1.05% | -1,497 | -20.36% | 7,350 | ||||||||||||
| Pend Oreille | 1,516 | 47.82% | 1,533 | 48.36% | 62 | 1.96% | 51 | 1.61% | -17 | -0.54% | 3,170 | ||||||||||||
| Pierce | 74,668 | 46.92% | 78,238 | 49.16% | 4,316 | 2.72% | 1,502 | 0.95% | -3,570 | -2.24% | 159,148 | ||||||||||||
| San Juan | 1,998 | 53.68% | 1,467 | 39.41% | 152 | 4.12% | 76 | 2.06% | 531 | 14.27% | 3,722 | ||||||||||||
| Skagit | 13,060 | 48.66% | 12,718 | 47.39% | 575 | 2.15% | 412 | 1.54% | 342 | 1.27% | 26,837 | ||||||||||||
| Skamania | 1,102 | 41.55% | 1,436 | 54.15% | 82 | 3.09% | 30 | 1.13% | -334 | -12.60% | 2,652 | ||||||||||||
| Snohomish | 55,375 | 47.95% | 55,623 | 48.16% | 2,470 | 2.14% | 1,731 | 1.50% | -248 | -0.21% | 115,488 | ||||||||||||
| Spokane | 68,290 | 53.37% | 55,660 | 43.50% | 2,033 | 1.59% | 1,683 | 1.32% | 12,630 | 9.87% | 127,954 | ||||||||||||
| Stevens | 4,719 | 51.81% | 3,824 | 41.98% | 181 | 1.99% | 357 | 3.93% | 895 | 9.83% | 9,109 | ||||||||||||
| Thurston | 21,000 | 47.67% | 21,247 | 48.23% | 1,120 | 2.55% | 494 | 1.13% | -247 | -0.56% | 44,056 | ||||||||||||
| Wahkiakum | 704 | 41.17% | 942 | 55.09% | 32 | 1.87% | 30 | 1.76% | -238 | -13.92% | 1,710 | ||||||||||||
| Walla Walla | 10,883 | 59.15% | 7,012 | 38.11% | 328 | 1.78% | 153 | 0.83% | 3,871 | 21.04% | 18,400 | ||||||||||||
| Whatcom | 20,007 | 48.00% | 19,739 | 47.36% | 1,393 | 3.36% | 373 | 0.90% | 268 | 0.64% | 41,679 | ||||||||||||
| Whitman | 8,168 | 54.21% | 6,197 | 41.13% | 428 | 2.85% | 215 | 1.43% | 1,971 | 13.08% | 15,068 | ||||||||||||
| Yakima | 29,478 | 53.12% | 24,223 | 43.65% | 1,086 | 1.96% | 624 | 1.13% | 5,255 | 9.47% | 55,492 | ||||||||||||
| Totals | 777,732 | 50.00% | 717,323 | 46.11% | 36,986 | 2.38% | 23,493 | 1.51% | 60,409 | 3.89% | 1,555,534 | ||||||||||||