The American Vote
Cold War RealignmentIL · 26 EV

1976

Illinois: Ford carries 26 EV.
Illinois cast its 26 electoral votes for Ford (Republican). National winner: Jimmy Carter (Democratic) — Illinois voted against the national winner this cycle.

Illinois in 1976

The 1976 contest saw Illinois line up behind Ford, delivering 26 electoral votes to the Republican ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — Jimmy Carter (Democratic) won the presidency, leaving Illinois among the states he did not carry.

It marked the 3rd consecutive election in which Illinois backed the Republican party, a streak reaching back to 1968. The region divided — Iowa and Indiana joined Illinois for the Republican ticket, while Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kentucky did not. Across the 53 presidential elections Illinois has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (26 times). The vote fell within the Cold War Realignment — Nixon, Reagan, and the Republican South.

In the national count, Jimmy Carter took 297 of the 538 electoral votes, against Gerald Ford's 240. Jimmy Carter led the national popular vote with 50.08% of the ballots cast.

The 1976 national map
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Illinois in nearby cycles