1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries

The 1976 Democratic presidential primaries were how voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1976 U.S. presidential election.

1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries

January 27 to June 8, 1976

Candidate Jimmy Carter Jerry Brown George Wallace Home state Georgia California Alabama Contests won 30 3 3 Popular vote 6,235,609 2,449,374 1,955,388 Percentage 39.2% 15.4% 12.3%   Candidate Mo Udall Henry M. Jackson Frank Church Home state Arizona Washington Idaho Contests won 3 4 5 Popular vote 1,611,754 1,134,375 830,818 Percentage 10.1% 7.1% 5.2%

First place finishes by convention roll call

Previous Democratic nominee George McGovern Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter

Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1976 Democratic National Convention held from July 12 to July 15, 1976, in New York City.

Candidates

Nominee

Candidate	Born	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won	Running mate
Jimmy Carter	October 1, 1924 (Age 52) Plains, Georgia	Former Governor of Georgia (1971–1975)	Georgia	Nominated at convention: July 15, 1976	6,235,609 (39.19%)	30 ME, NH, VT, CT, RI NJ, DE, PA, VA, NC FL, GA, TN, KY, OH MI, IL, IN, WI, IA LA, AR, MO, TX, OK KS, CO, NM, SD, DC	Walter Mondale

Eliminated at convention

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won
Jerry Brown			Governor of California (1975–1983)	California	Announced campaign: March 16, 1976	2,449,374 (15.4%)	3 CA, MD, NV
George Wallace			Governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979)	Alabama	Announced campaign: November 1, 1975	1,955,388 (13.76%)	3 AL, MS, SC
Mo Udall			U.S. Representative for Arizona's 2nd congressional district (1961–1991)	Arizona	Announced campaign: November 23, 1974	1,611,754 (10.13%)	3 AZ, HI, WY
Ellen McCormack			Chair of the New York Right to Life Party (1970–1976)	New York		238,027 (1.50%)	None

Withdrew before convention

Candidate			Most recent position	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won
Frank Church			U.S. Senator from Idaho (1957–1981)	Idaho	Announced campaign: March 18, 1976 Withdrew: June 14, 1976 (Endorsed Carter)	830,818 (5.22%)	5 ID, MT, NE, OR, UT
Henry M. Jackson			U.S. Senator from Washington (1953–1983)	Washington	Announced campaign: February 1, 1975 Withdrew: May 1, 1976	1,134,375 (7.13%)	4 AK, MA, NY, WA
Sargent Shriver			Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1972	Maryland	Announced campaign: September 20, 1975 Withdrew: March 16, 1976	304,399 (1.91%)	None
Fred Harris			Former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma (1964–1973)	Oklahoma	Announced campaign: January 11, 1975 Withdrew: April 2, 1976	234,568 (1.47%)	None
Milton Shapp			Governor of Pennsylvania (1970–1978)	Pennsylvania	Announced campaign: September 25, 1975 Withdrew: April 27, 1976	88,254 (0.56%)	None
Birch Bayh			U.S. Senator from Indiana (1969–1981)	Indiana	Announced campaign: October 21, 1975 Withdrew: March 4, 1976	86,438 (0.54%)	None
Lloyd Bentsen			U.S. Senator from Texas (1971–1993)	Texas	Announced campaign: February 17, 1975 Withdrew: May 1, 1976	4,046 (0.03%)	None
Terry Sanford			Former Governor of North Carolina (1961–1965)	North Carolina	Announced campaign: June 1, 1975 Withdrew: January 25, 1976	404 (0.00%)	None