1976 United States presidential election in South Dakota

1976 United States presidential election in South Dakota

November 2, 1976
 
Nominee Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Michigan Georgia
Running mate Bob Dole Walter Mondale
Electoral vote 4 0
Popular vote 151,505 147,068
Percentage 50.39% 48.91%

County Results

President before election

Gerald Ford
Republican

Elected President

Jimmy Carter
Democratic

The 1976 United States presidential election in South Dakota was held on November 2, 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Gerald Ford won the state of South Dakota, defeating Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter by a slim margin of 1.48%. Ford won all four of the state's electoral votes, but lost the national election to Carter. This is the closest that a Democrat presidential nominee has come to carrying South Dakota since 1964.

South Dakota weighed in as 4 points more Republican than the national average. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which Codington County, Edmunds County, Faulk County, Gregory County, and McCook County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. This is also the last time a Democrat won any of South Dakota's congressional districts, namely the 1st, as both it and the 2nd would be eliminated after the 1980 census.