1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey

The 1976 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose 17 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

New Jersey was won by the Republican nominees, incumbent President Gerald Ford of Michigan and his running mate Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Ford and Dole defeated the Democratic nominees, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia and his running mate Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota.

Ford narrowly carried New Jersey with 50.08% of the vote to Carter's 47.92%, a victory margin of 2.16%. Anti-war former Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, running as an independent presidential candidate, came in a distant third, with 1.09%.

New Jersey weighed in for this election as about 4% more Republican than the national average. New Jersey in this era was a swing state with a slight Republican lean, and Gerald Ford, a moderate Republican, held enough appeal among New Jersey's many moderate suburban voters to carry the state 50–48 even as Jimmy Carter narrowly won nationally by a 50–48 margin. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time a Democrat won the presidency and/or the national popular vote without winning New Jersey. The state would not vote for a losing candidate again until 2000, and for the loser of the popular vote until 2004.

Republican primary

Democratic primary

Results 1976 United States presidential election in New JerseyPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Gerald Ford (incumbent) 1,509,688 50.08% 17 Democratic Jimmy Carter 1,444,653 47.92% 0 Independent Eugene McCarthy 32,717 1.09% 0 Libertarian Roger MacBride 9,449 0.31% 0 American Independent Lester Maddox 7,716 0.26% 0 Socialist Labor Julius Levin 3,686 0.12% 0 Communist Gus Hall 1,662 0.06% 0 U.S. Labor Lyndon LaRouche 1,650 0.05% 0 Socialist Workers Peter Camejo 1,184 0.04% 0 People's Margaret Wright 1,044 0.03% 0 Prohibition Ben Bubar 554 0.02% 0 Socialist Frank Zeidler 469 0.02% 0 Totals 3,014,472 100.0% 17 Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) 58%/80%

Results by county County Gerald FordRepublican Jimmy CarterDemocratic Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Atlantic 36,733 45.56% 41,965 52.05% 1,932 2.40% -5,232 -6.49% 80,630 Bergen 237,331 55.86% 180,738 42.54% 6,784 1.60% 56,593 13.32% 424,853 Burlington 60,960 48.07% 63,309 49.92% 2,551 2.01% -2,349 -1.85% 126,820 Camden 82,801 42.33% 108,854 55.65% 3,956 2.02% -26,053 -13.32% 195,611 Cape May 19,498 53.18% 16,489 44.97% 680 1.85% 3,009 8.21% 36,667 Cumberland 20,535 40.84% 29,165 58.00% 587 1.17% -8,630 -17.16% 50,287 Essex 133,911 42.40% 174,434 55.23% 7,467 2.36% -40,523 -12.83% 315,812 Gloucester 34,888 46.33% 38,726 51.43% 1,688 2.24% -3,838 -5.10% 75,302 Hudson 92,636 43.55% 116,241 54.64% 3,853 1.81% -23,605 -11.09% 212,730 Hunterdon 19,616 59.50% 12,592 38.20% 758 2.30% 7,024 21.30% 32,966 Mercer 58,453 44.67% 69,621 53.20% 2,782 2.13% -11,168 -8.53% 130,856 Middlesex 113,539 47.14% 122,859 51.01% 4,466 1.85% -9,320 -3.87% 240,864 Monmouth 110,104 54.29% 88,956 43.87% 3,730 1.84% 21,148 10.42% 202,790 Morris 105,921 61.45% 63,749 36.98% 2,703 1.57% 42,172 24.47% 172,373 Ocean 77,875 56.93% 56,413 41.24% 2,493 1.82% 21,462 15.69% 136,781 Passaic 85,102 51.20% 76,194 45.84% 4,930 2.97% 8,908 5.36% 166,226 Salem 11,639 46.60% 12,826 51.35% 512 2.05% -1,187 -4.75% 24,977 Somerset 51,260 57.15% 36,258 40.43% 2,173 2.42% 15,002 16.72% 89,691 Sussex 23,613 60.19% 14,759 37.62% 857 2.18% 8,854 22.57% 39,229 Union 118,019 51.56% 106,267 46.42% 4,616 2.02% 11,752 5.14% 228,902 Warren 15,254 50.67% 14,238 47.29% 613 2.04% 1,016 3.38% 30,105Totals1,509,68850.08%1,444,65347.92%60,1312.00%65,0352.16%3,014,472

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Essex Hudson Mercer Middlesex Burlington Camden Salem Gloucester Atlantic Cumberland

By congressional district Ford won 9 of the state's 15 congressional districts, including 5 which elected Democrats, while Carter won the remaining 6 districts.

District Ford Carter Representative 42.4% 57.6%James Florio 49.5% 50.5%William J. Hughes 56% 44%James J. Howard 46.2% 53.8%Frank Thompson 59.3% 40.7%Millicent Fenwick 51.7% 48.3%Edwin B. Forsythe 58.1% 40.9%Andrew Maguire 52.1% 47.9%Robert A. Roe54.5%45.5%Henry HelstoskiHarold C. Hollenbeck 27.5% 72.5%Peter Rodino 51.7% 48.3%Joseph Minish 53.8% 46.2%Matt Rinaldo 59.3% 40.7%Helen Meyner43.4%56.6%Dominick V. DanielsJoseph A. LeFante 46.4% 53.6%Edward J. Patten

Analysis Reflecting the closeness of the statewide result, Ford and Carter virtually split New Jersey's 21 counties: Ford won 11 counties to Carter's 10. The native Southerner Jimmy Carter performed unusually well among rural voters in South Jersey, winning 6 out of 7 of the southernmost counties in the state. Carter's strongest county by vote share was rural Cumberland County in the far south of the state by the Delaware border, where he won 58–41. However his comfortable victories in more populous traditional Democratic base counties are what made him competitive statewide: in Essex County, he won 55–42, in Hudson County, he won 55–44, and in Mercer County, he won 53–45. He also won heavily populated Middlesex County, but by a narrow 51–47 margin.

The Northern moderate Ford, however, edged out Carter statewide with comfortable victories in heavily populated suburban counties which were dominated by moderate Republicans. In most presidential elections in this era, the most Republican county in the state would usually be rural, sparsely populated Sussex County. While Ford did win Sussex County decisively by a 60–38 margin, Ford's strongest county by vote share was actually suburban Morris County, where he beat Carter 61–37. In suburban Monmouth County, Ford won 54–44. Other important victories for Ford were in fairly populated Ocean County, which he won 57–41, and Passaic County, which he won 51–46. However Ford's biggest prize was very heavily populated Bergen County, which went decisively to Ford by a 56–43 margin. This was the first time since 1916 that a Democrat won the presidency without Passaic County.

See also United States presidential elections in New Jersey Presidency of Jimmy Carter

References