Was it common for Democrats to vote Ford in 1976?

[darklordoftech]

My mom, who turned 18 in 1979 and has always voted Democrat, says that she would have voted for Ford over Carter in 1976, but would have voted Democrat before 1976. How common is this?

[twenty42]

I doubt many D’s were voting R in a 25-point national D swing. I’d say it was much more the other way around, especially in the South and the Northeast.

[Blair]

According to Wikipedia 22% of Democrats voted for Ford

[Mr. Smith]

Well my Dad didn't, he voted for McGovern in '72 and hasn't moved since.

[Del Tachi]

Looks like the areas of the country with the strongest GOP trends in 1976 were New England and the West.  Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio (the four most populous states after California at that time) also trended GOP.  There are two important things to remember about Carter in 1976 that I think explain these trends:

1) Having been a Southern governor, Carter's relationships with labor unions were not as good as most national Democrats.  The South throughout almost all of its history has been staunchly anti-Union and the fact that Carter had not been visibly more pro-labor in state politics probably hurt him with blue collar workers in MI, PA, OH and other parts of the Industrial Midwest.

2) A lot of McGovern '72 voter might have not perceived Carter as being sufficiently liberal in 1976 (the whole Southern Baptist preacher deal and all) and might have stayed home, voted for McCarthy, or even pulled a lever for Ford (who had ended American involvement in Vietnam).  There might be more of these voters in New England and parts of the West. 

I think its hard for us to imagine in today's political environment how much of Carter's appeal in 1976 was regional.  States like Arkansas and South Carolina were literally having 30 point swings to the Democrats from 1972 to 1976.  That kind of immense regional appeal was necessarily counteracted with decreased enthusiasm for Carter in the North and West because it was perceived (by everybody) that Carter would be a Southern President. 

[VPH]

A paper published in 1994 by Carmines and Berkman about conservative Democrats notes that this group in 1976 saw Ford as being to Carter's left.

[Mr. Smith]

Looks like the areas of the country with the strongest GOP trends in 1976 were New England and the West.  Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio (the four most populous states after California at that time) also trended GOP.  There are two important things to remember about Carter in 1976 that I think explain these trends:

1) Having been a Southern governor, Carter's relationships with labor unions were not as good as most national Democrats.  The South throughout almost all of its history has been staunchly anti-Union and the fact that Carter had not been visibly more pro-labor in state politics probably hurt him with blue collar workers in MI, PA, OH and other parts of the Industrial Midwest.

2) A lot of McGovern '72 voter might have not perceived Carter as being sufficiently liberal in 1976 (the whole Southern Baptist preacher deal and all) and might have stayed home, voted for McCarthy, or even pulled a lever for Ford (who had ended American involvement in Vietnam).  There might be more of these voters in New England and parts of the West. 

I think its hard for us to imagine in today's political environment how much of Carter's appeal in 1976 was regional.  States like Arkansas and South Carolina were literally having 30 point swings to the Democrats from 1972 to 1976.  That kind of immense regional appeal was necessarily counteracted with decreased enthusiasm for Carter in the North and West because it was perceived (by everybody) that Carter would be a Southern President. 

To be fair, McGovern was reasonably liked in The West and with a more competent campaign in '72 against a challenger probably would have won those states all while The Northeast and South jointly said otherwise.

Carter was about as far away from McGovern as could be had for the time.

The better question though is how many Republicans crossed over for Carter just because he appeared more culturally conservative.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Looks like the areas of the country with the strongest GOP trends in 1976 were New England and the West.  Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio (the four most populous states after California at that time) also trended GOP.  There are two important things to remember about Carter in 1976 that I think explain these trends:

1) Having been a Southern governor, Carter's relationships with labor unions were not as good as most national Democrats.  The South throughout almost all of its history has been staunchly anti-Union and the fact that Carter had not been visibly more pro-labor in state politics probably hurt him with blue collar workers in MI, PA, OH and other parts of the Industrial Midwest.

2) A lot of McGovern '72 voter might have not perceived Carter as being sufficiently liberal in 1976 (the whole Southern Baptist preacher deal and all) and might have stayed home, voted for McCarthy, or even pulled a lever for Ford (who had ended American involvement in Vietnam).  There might be more of these voters in New England and parts of the West.  

I think its hard for us to imagine in today's political environment how much of Carter's appeal in 1976 was regional.  States like Arkansas and South Carolina were literally having 30 point swings to the Democrats from 1972 to 1976.  That kind of immense regional appeal was necessarily counteracted with decreased enthusiasm for Carter in the North and West because it was perceived (by everybody) that Carter would be a Southern President.  

To be fair, McGovern was reasonably liked in The West and with a more competent campaign in '72 against a challenger probably would have won those states all while The Northeast and South jointly said otherwise.

Carter was about as far away from McGovern as could be had for the time.

The better question though is how many Republicans crossed over for Carter just because he appeared more culturally conservative.

Only 9% of Republicans voted for Carter in 1976.

Also, he received 29% of the conservative vote (compared to 70% for Ford).

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

Ford was perceived as more being urbane and sophisticated, with his wife being pro choice. Carter on the other hand was a bible thumping self admitted Redneck. I can see why the Northeast and the West Coast may not have been thrilled with Carter in 1976.

[darklordoftech]

Interestingly, Ford won with young voters.

[Bojack Horseman]

George McGovern voted for Ford.

[Liberalrocks]

I would have voted Ford over Carter if alive during that election.

[SingingAnalyst]

It was not that common (22%) compared to Dems who voted for Nixon in '72 (an unheard of 37%) or Reagan (about 26% both in '80 and '84). Dems in 1976 were still a bit more likely to self-identify as conservative than as liberal, and many lived in the South.

On the other hand, most liberal Republicans (that was still a thing in '76) voted for Ford, and many later left the party and/or started voting Dem (especially starting in 1992).

[Joe McCarthy Was Right]

I think Ford had a strong performance when you consider what a bad climate it was to be a Republican. He won a large percentage of the black vote (17%) which a Republican has not done since. He won Connecticut, Washington, and Michigan, which were Democratic states at the time (Romney had MI ties too but didn't come close). But Republicans were vastly outnumbered in 1976.

[136or142]

Yes, the parties did not really become all that divided on social issues until after the Roe V Wade ruling, and even then it took a number of years.  There was once a thing known as 'Planned Parenthood Republicans.'  (George H W Bush was a supporter for a while.)

https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a16149/planned-parenthood-republicans/

I believe Jimmy Carter was actually more anti abortion than Gerald Ford was.

Not only was there a liberal Republican wing especially in the northeast (Senator Jacob Javits for instance, even Spiro Agnew was known as a fairly liberal Republican until he remade himself into a joke as Nixon's attack dog) but there is some argument that Reagan lost the nomination to Ford at the convention by trying to court liberal Republicans with his Vice Presidential selection.  There is so much revisionist history with Reagan and subsequent Republicans designed to put conservatives in a better light, that I don't know how true that argument actually is.

I also dispute that it was a bad climate for Republicans.  The economy was performing well for most of 1976 and the calming influence of Ford seemed to mostly settle Americans after Nixon.  Had it not been for Ford's pardoning of Nixon, he likely would have handily defeated Carter who even then many thought of as kind of an odd person.

[darklordoftech]

He won a large percentage of the black vote (17%) which a Republican has not done since.

Ford refused to use dog whistles, and I'm not aware of any racial issues being salient in 1976. I wonder how much of the black vote Nixon got in 1960.

[136or142]

He won a large percentage of the black vote (17%) which a Republican has not done since.

Ford refused to use dog whistles, and I'm not aware of any racial issues being salient in 1976. I wonder how much of the black vote Nixon got in 1960.

Eisenhower in 1956 received the modern high for Republicans for the black vote with 36%
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.ca/&httpsredir=1&article=1295&context=student_scholarship

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

He won a large percentage of the black vote (17%) which a Republican has not done since.

Ford refused to use dog whistles, and I'm not aware of any racial issues being salient in 1976. I wonder how much of the black vote Nixon got in 1960.

Eisenhower in 1956 received the modern high for Republicans for the black vote with 36%
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.ca/&httpsredir=1&article=1295&context=student_scholarship

The Republicans by not making a firm choice in that election basically let the choice be made for them by events.

It illustrated the necessity for big city Dems to embrace civil rights to keep their machines in power. Northern Democrats became less timid and with Democrats in control on the hill, it meant that the Democrats would be the ones in the driver's seat the next time the won the Presidency.

That is exactly what ended up happening in the 1960's. Disappointed with the black vote result in 1956 (which was ironically partially due to Republican foot dragging) led to a feedback loop where Republicans would put in less effort each time and use that to justify even less the next time. Meanwhile the South kept trending Republican, so in the 1960's the Republican strategy was geared towards getting the middle class Southern whites to solidify as Republicans and poorer Southern whites to default to the Republicans as the "less pro-civil Rights party".

Leaving the more direct 1964 approach aside, in the late 1960's, there was a general desire on the part of Republicans to increase black voting, not because they were necessarily eager to right this century old wrong, but to basically inject Democratic primaries with majority black voting demographics and thus scare the racist whites into becoming Republicans, nor less than Kevin Phillips himself advocated this approach. A similar impetus was likely the motivating factor behind the more aggressive implementation of the VRA in redistricting in the early 1990's, because that would further polarize southern politics based on race.

[TDAS04]

A clear majority of suburban whites in the South voted for Ford, and many of them still identified as Democrats at the time.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Yes, the parties did not really become all that divided on social issues until after the Roe V Wade ruling, and even then it took a number of years.  There was once a thing known as 'Planned Parenthood Republicans.'  (George H W Bush was a supporter for a while.)

https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a16149/planned-parenthood-republicans/

I believe Jimmy Carter was actually more anti abortion than Gerald Ford was.

Not only was there a liberal Republican wing especially in the northeast (Senator Jacob Javits for instance, even Spiro Agnew was known as a fairly liberal Republican until he remade himself into a joke as Nixon's attack dog) but there is some argument that Reagan lost the nomination to Ford at the convention by trying to court liberal Republicans with his Vice Presidential selection.  There is so much revisionist history with Reagan and subsequent Republicans designed to put conservatives in a better light, that I don't know how true that argument actually is.

It played a role in the defection of the Mississippi delegation. Reagan had promised to pick Senator Richard Schweiker (R-PA) as his Vice Presidential candidate, but this alienated many Southerners because he was regarded as a "liberal" Republican, who ironically was also "pro-gun" and there is actually a point in the news coverage in 1968 where NBC credits "gun clubs" with Schweiker's Senate victory. What most likely pissed off the South was his position on the war and his vote against Nixon two failed Supreme Court Nominees:

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[OSR stands with Israel]

A clear majority of suburban whites in the South voted for Ford, and many of them still identified as Democrats at the time.

I thought the suburbs were really the only Republican parts of the south before the 1980s

[darklordoftech]

A clear majority of suburban whites in the South voted for Ford, and many of them still identified as Democrats at the time.

I thought the suburbs were really the only Republican parts of the south before the 1980s

I'd argue that most of America was non-partisan in 1932-1984.

[136or142]

A clear majority of suburban whites in the South voted for Ford, and many of them still identified as Democrats at the time.

I thought the suburbs were really the only Republican parts of the south before the 1980s

I'd argue that most of America was non-partisan in 1932-1984.

Some, but there were, for the most part, definite leans, though maybe from after 1932 and before the late 1960s or early 1970s.  The cities, for the most part, were  Democratic, but the most Republican areas were the suburbs.  This isn't due to the 'white flight' that occurred later, but many of the suburbs then were like the exurbs today: places where young families (so, stay at home wife with child, most likely to be a Republican, probably religious) went to because they were cheaper to live in than the cities.  These suburbs of course started to expand with 'car culture' that obviously goes back a long way now, but really picked up steam after World War II.

The rural areas were often the swing voters at this time.  Social issues weren't as big a deal (though I would argue the attitudes to the 'red scare' largely reflected social views and not foreign policy views as they related to issues of patriotism and black and white vs. nuanced thinking) and there were many single industry manufacturing or resource extraction towns with a lot of private sector union workers.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A clear majority of suburban whites in the South voted for Ford, and many of them still identified as Democrats at the time.

I thought the suburbs were really the only Republican parts of the south before the 1980s

It takes a long time for identification to catch up to voting patterns and even longer for registration. I read in a textbook back when I was in Middle School. That NC had 90% Dem registration in 1960 (voted 52-47 for JFK), 80% in 1968 (Voted for Nixon) and 70% or so in the 1980's. At that time (mid 2000s) Democrats still had about 50% of registered voters and NC had not voted Dem since 1976.

A lot of people tend to keep their same registration without ever changing it. So the numbers really only shift because of generational displacement and the fact that Southern Baby Boomers were much more Republican.

[136or142]

Yes, the parties did not really become all that divided on social issues until after the Roe V Wade ruling, and even then it took a number of years.  There was once a thing known as 'Planned Parenthood Republicans.'  (George H W Bush was a supporter for a while.)

https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a16149/planned-parenthood-republicans/

I believe Jimmy Carter was actually more anti abortion than Gerald Ford was.

Not only was there a liberal Republican wing especially in the northeast (Senator Jacob Javits for instance, even Spiro Agnew was known as a fairly liberal Republican until he remade himself into a joke as Nixon's attack dog) but there is some argument that Reagan lost the nomination to Ford at the convention by trying to court liberal Republicans with his Vice Presidential selection.  There is so much revisionist history with Reagan and subsequent Republicans designed to put conservatives in a better light, that I don't know how true that argument actually is.

It played a role in the defection of the Mississippi delegation. Reagan had promised to pick Senator Richard Schweiker (R-PA) as his Vice Presidential candidate, but this alienated many Southerners because he was regarded as a "liberal" Republican, who ironically was also "pro-gun" and there is actually a point in the news coverage in 1968 where NBC credits "gun clubs" with Schweiker's Senate victory. What most likely pissed off the South was his position on the war and his vote against Nixon two failed Supreme Court Nominees:

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