New Mexico in 1976
       |           

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
April 28, 2024, 06:16:35 PM
News: Election Simulator 2.0 Released. Senate/Gubernatorial maps, proportional electoral votes, and more - Read more

  Talk Elections
  Presidential Elections - Analysis and Discussion
  U.S. Presidential Election Results (Moderator: Dereich)
  New Mexico in 1976		 « previous next »
Pages: [1]
Poll
Question: Why did New Mexico spoil its PV bellwether streak in 1976?
#1
Because they voted in favor of Ford.
#2
Because they voted against Carter.
Show Pie Chart
Partisan results

Author Topic: New Mexico in 1976  (Read 723 times)
Anzeigenhauptmeister
Hades
Junior Chimp
*****
Posts: 6,375
Israel


Show only this user's posts in this thread
« on: November 05, 2020, 10:34:41 PM »
Why did New Mexico vote for Gerald Ford in 1976?
This question is particularly interesting as the state spoiled its perfect popular-vote bellwether streak by refusing to vote for the peanut farmer from Georgia?
New Mexico, down to the present day, has always voted for the popular vote winner - bar 1976.
Is there a reason for that strange aberrant voting behavior? Were it just some considerable reservations about a Southern Democrat becoming president, or was Ford just very popular in the Southwest?
Logged
Red Wall
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 736


Show only this user's posts in this thread
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2020, 09:15:49 AM »
The Missouri river is the geographical reference that better depicts the Ford-Carter divide. New Mexico lies west of it so Ford won it. Just like he won every state in the Western Region (by the census bureau definiton of West).
Logged
Anzeigenhauptmeister
Hades
Junior Chimp
*****
Posts: 6,375
Israel


Show only this user's posts in this thread
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2020, 05:32:28 AM »
Quote from: Red Wall on November 06, 2020, 09:15:49 AM
The Missouri river is the geographical reference that better depicts the Ford-Carter divide. New Mexico lies west of it so Ford won it. Just like he won every state in the Western Region (by the census bureau definiton of West).

That's certainly true, but why do you think it is?
Did Gerald Ford bear some certain appeal for Westerners, or did they bear widespread resentment for Carter for being a Southerner?
Logged
Alcibiades
YaBB God
*****
Posts: 3,874
United Kingdom


Political Matrix
E: -4.39, S: -6.96

P P
Show only this user's posts in this thread
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2020, 05:44:21 AM »
Quote from: XFD1048576 on November 07, 2020, 05:32:28 AM
Quote from: Red Wall on November 06, 2020, 09:15:49 AM
The Missouri river is the geographical reference that better depicts the Ford-Carter divide. New Mexico lies west of it so Ford won it. Just like he won every state in the Western Region (by the census bureau definiton of West).

That's certainly true, but why do you think it is?
Did Gerald Ford bear some certain appeal for Westerners, or did they bear widespread resentment for Carter for being a Southerner?


Carter was a terrible fit for the West, not just because he was a Southerner, but because he was perceived to have a poor understanding of Western issues, such as water rights.
Logged
TDAS04
Atlas Star
*****
Posts: 23,527
Bhutan


Show only this user's posts in this thread
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2020, 06:29:22 AM »
Actually, NM voted to the right of the national PV each election, 1964-1988.  In a narrow Democratic PV victory, a Republican carrying NM shouldn’t be surprising.  The entire Interior West was quite Republican at the presidential level during the time.
Logged
Pages: [1]  
« previous next »
Jump to:  


Login with username, password and session length

Terms of Service - DMCA Agent and Policy - Privacy Policy and Cookies

Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines

Page created in 0.028 seconds with 13 queries.