What specific policies of Carter made him play so poorly in the west?

[Joe "I Have No Empathy" Biden]

I realize the west was much more Republican then, but losing by 16% in AZ when Dems easily won an open Senate seat? Losing by double digits in CO? Was it just dislike of the national Dem party or did Carter have certain policies that were unpopular there even before he was elected?

[Old School Republican]

The West was the most Conservative part of the nation then and California was the most conservative major state in the union(especially SoCal)

[Does the title even matter?]

Carter was hostile to federal water projects, which had played a huge role in developing the Western states and were strongly supported by Western progressives. That almost certainly caused much crossover voting. The West had been his weakest region during the primaries as well partly for this reason.

Also, a Carter aide (Andrew Young, I think) called the LDS church racist for denying blacks the priesthood, which can't have helped either.

[Georgia Democrat in 2021]

Also, a Carter aide (Andrew Young, I think) called the LDS church racist for denying blacks the priesthood, which can't have helped either.

Actually, it was Coleman Young--who was Detroit's mayor for many years--for making the statements before the 1976 Michigan primary:

https://books.google.com/books?id=T4h0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=coleman+young+mormon&source=bl&ots=bc0tlxlmAs&sig=ACfU3U1NEiRwGnpbQQ1peKxsqV-O08gu8w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3j5-vw8PjAhUJnOAKHQB6DOEQ6AEwGnoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=coleman%20young%20mormon&f=false

Carter's policies and personality were simply anathema for the 1970s West.   He was weak in 1976--doing poorly in the primaries and the general election.  And in 1980--Ronald Reagan and his natural appeal just clobbered Carter throughout the Western states.

[L.D. Smith]

He was too conservative for the liberal base, and he never was gonna be a favorite for the more WASP-y/Country Club elements of the GOP that still saw The South as a racist place and were enamored by Reagan.

And then there was how he treated all those water projects.

Finally, the military element was not gonna be receptive to his handling of Iran or general pacifistic tone.

[buritobr]

Did Carter perform so poorly in the west?
The 3 western coast states were very close, the national result was very close.
Comparing to the national vote, California was R+3,8, Oregon was R+2,2 and Washington was R+5,9.
Eugene McCarthy had some progressive votes. 

[L.D. Smith]

Did Carter perform so poorly in the west?
The 3 western coast states were very close, the national result was very close.
Comparing to the national vote, California was R+3,8, Oregon was R+2,2 and Washington was R+5,9.
Eugene McCarthy had some progressive votes. 

He did, he lost the entirety in the '76 primaries, he lost the NV/CA/OR/WA by at least R+2 or more (average being R+6).

Then he lost CA/AZ to Ted Kennedy in 1980.

Also Dukakis/Humphrey got the same vote...the former lost overall by 8, and the later was just behind Nixon...while Carter was ahead by 2.


Mondale literally did better in '84 too.

[darklordoftech]

Is there any correlation between how Carter performed in a state and what that state’s drinking age was? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._history_of_alcohol_minimum_purchase_age_by_state

[brucejoel99]

Carter & the West just didn't mesh, not least because it was, as has already been pointed out, one of, if not the most conservative area of the nation.