Places where McGovern-1972 did better than Carter-1976

[SingingAnalyst]

In MI, in addition to Washtenaw County: Carter did worse than McGovern in Ingham, Kent, and Ottawa Counties.

Overall, Carter outperformed McGovern by just 4.6 points in MI, but in much of the Northern Lower Peninsula, as well as Macomb County and much of the Thumb, Carter's gain over McGovern was near the national average.

[SingingAnalyst]

Are there any that can't be explained by:

Very socially liberal areas who saw Carter as not liberal enough and not much difference ideologically than Ford.

McGovern's home state of SD and Ford's home state of MI.

Alaska - though there is really no way to find specific areas.

Yes. "Southie" (South Boston) is in a class by itself. Boston's Ward 6 went from 61/39 McGovern to 55/42 Ford; Ward 7 went from 66/34 McGovern to 50/47 Ford.

The reason, of course, is intense and sometimes violent opposition to busing.

[SingingAnalyst]

Are there any that can't be explained by:

Very socially liberal areas who saw Carter as not liberal enough and not much difference ideologically than Ford.

McGovern's home state of SD and Ford's home state of MI.

Alaska - though there is really no way to find specific areas.

Yes. "Southie" (South Boston) is in a class by itself. Boston's Ward 6 went from 61/39 McGovern to 55/42 Ford; Ward 7 went from 66/34 McGovern to 50/47 Ford.

The reason, of course, is intense and sometimes violent opposition to busing.

Why would anti-busing voters vote for McGovern?

Because busing wasn't ordered for Boston until 1974.

Even so, McGovern's showing was a far cry from Humphrey's 78% in each ward.