Well, most Southern conservatives still voted for Carter. I doubt he would have won much bigger without the incident.
Also crazy to think about the "scandals" of the early days now compared Trump. Just like Poppy dared to check his watch during a debate.
??
Assuming you are referring to White Southern conservatives only here... Carter very likely lost the non-Hispanic White Southern vote in 1976, and considering that some White liberals existed... I have to give it a no.
At the very least, Ford won whites in Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Texas. Probably Florida too.
