The 1976 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 2, 1976, as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Nevada was coming off a landslide win by incumbent Mike O'Callaghan in the 1974 gubernatorial election over a severely divided oppositionMalcolm, Andrew H.; ‘Woman, 39, Wins the Republican Primary for Governor in Nevada: G. O. P. House Winner’; The New York Times, September 5, 1974, p. 27 and anger over the Watergate scandal.Broder, David S.; ‘Nationwide Sweep Nets 6 Governors, Over 30 in House: Democrats Solidify Control Of Congress, State Capitols’; The Washington Post, November 6, 1974, p. A1Broder, David; ‘Democrats savor nationwide gains: Albert calls vote a mandate’; The Boston Globe, November 7, 1974, p. 1 However, veteran Democratic Senator Alan Bible, who had survived Richard Nixon’s 1968 victory, retired and was replaced by Republican Paul Laxalt who won a narrow victory at the same time the GOP were suffering landslide losses in other races.

This presidential election saw Nevada hold its first ever presidential primary, won by California Governor Jerry Brown,Winchester, Simon; ‘Jimmy Carter takes a tumble on his trip to Wild West’; The Guardian, 27 May 1976, p. 2 who had only entered the primaries two weeks beforehand after most were already conducted.‘Jerry-Come-Lately’, The New York Times, May 11, 1976, p. 32

Senator Paul Laxalt, who had supported Ford's rival Ronald Reagan in the Republican primaries earlier in 1976, nonetheless campaigned vigorously for Ford once he won the GOP nomination.‘The West’; The Boston Globe, October 31, 1976, p. 48 Consequently, despite the state having not voted against a winning Democratic nominee since 1892 and not for a losing Republican nominee since James G. Blaine in 1884, early October polls gave the state provisionally to Ford, with the lack of familiarity with Southern Evangelical Carter being viewed as a critical factor.‘State by State:: A Nationwide Survey’; The Washington Post, October 3, 1976, p. 36 Two days before Nevada's voters were to enter the polls Ford remained a slight favorite.

Nevada was won by incumbent President Gerald Ford (R–Michigan), with 50.17% of the popular vote, against Jimmy Carter (D–Georgia), with 45.81% of the popular vote. None of the third-party candidates amounted to a significant portion of the vote, as 2.53% of the voters either wrote-in another candidate or selected "None of These Candidates", the latter of which appeared on Nevada's ballot for the first time in 1976.

Nevada has generally been a bellwether state since the early 20th century, and this election marked the first time since 1908 whereby Nevada was carried by the losing presidential candidate. It was the only time between 1912 and 2012. Nevada would vote for the winning candidate in each election afterward except 2016. It was also the first time since 1908 that Nevada did not back the national popular-vote winner and this feat would occur again in 2000. , this is the last time in which a Democrat has won the White House without carrying Nevada, as well as the last time that Nye County, Storey County, and Esmeralda County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 This also marks the last time that Nevada voted for a candidate that lost both the electoral college and the popular vote. For the first time, Clark County, home to Las Vegas, cast over 50% of the statewide vote, which it would do in every presidential election since.

Results

Results by county County Gerald FordRepublican Jimmy CarterDemocratic None of These Candidates Roger MacBrideLibertarian Lester MaddoxAmerican Independent Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % Carson City 5,282 54.11% 3,874 39.69% 367 3.76% 155 1.59% 83 0.85% 1,408 14.42% 9,761 Churchill 2,358 53.04% 1,800 40.49% 178 4.00% 33 0.74% 77 1.73% 558 12.55% 4,446 Clark 48,236 46.92% 51,178 49.78% 2,015 1.96% 731 0.71% 652 0.63% -2,942 -2.86% 102,812 Douglas 3,095 58.60% 1,934 36.61% 162 3.07% 46 0.87% 45 0.85% 1,161 21.99% 5,282 Elko 3,293 60.32% 1,955 35.81% 103 1.89% 40 0.73% 68 1.25% 1,338 24.51% 5,459 Esmeralda 181 43.51% 214 51.44% 9 2.16% 3 0.72% 9 2.16% -33 -7.93% 416 Eureka 272 58.24% 163 34.90% 21 4.50% 5 1.07% 6 1.28% 109 23.34% 467 Humboldt 1,380 53.38% 1,074 41.55% 88 3.40% 14 0.54% 29 1.12% 306 11.83% 2,585 Lander 561 49.96% 518 46.13% 21 1.87% 8 0.71% 15 1.34% 43 3.83% 1,123 Lincoln 700 50.04% 642 45.89% 34 2.43% 10 0.71% 13 0.93% 58 4.15% 1,399 Lyon 2,068 49.69% 1,866 44.83% 155 3.72% 27 0.65% 46 1.11% 202 4.86% 4,162 Mineral 1,104 42.56% 1,361 52.47% 92 3.55% 8 0.31% 29 1.12% -257 -9.91% 2,594 Nye 1,027 42.53% 1,261 52.22% 84 3.48% 18 0.75% 25 1.04% -234 -9.69% 2,415 Pershing 635 46.93% 633 46.78% 59 4.36% 13 0.96% 13 0.96% 2 0.15% 1,353 Storey 274 43.08% 310 48.74% 30 4.72% 17 2.67% 5 0.79% -36 -5.66% 636 Washoe 29,264 54.98% 21,687 40.74% 1,599 3.00% 374 0.70% 303 0.57% 7,577 14.24% 53,227 White Pine 1,543 41.27% 2,009 53.73% 91 2.43% 17 0.45% 79 2.11% -466 -12.46% 3,739Totals101,27350.17%92,47945.81%5,1082.53%1,5190.75%1,4970.74%8,7944.36%201,876

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Clark Esmeralda Nye Mineral Storey White Pine

By congressional district As Nevada was represented by one at-large congressional district, the district results are identical to the statewide results. US Election Atlas District Ford Carter Representative 50.17% 45.81%James David Santini

See also United States presidential elections in Nevada

Notes

References