1976 Democratic National Convention

The 1976 Democratic National Convention met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The assembled United States Democratic Party delegates at the convention nominated former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia for president and Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota for vice president. John Glenn and Barbara Jordan gave the keynote addresses. Jordan's keynote address made her the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. The convention was the first in New York City since the 103-ballot 1924 convention.

1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 presidential election
Nominees
Carter and Mondale
Convention
Date(s)July 12–15, 1976
CityNew York City
VenueMadison Square Garden
Candidates
Presidential nomineeJimmy Carter of Georgia
Vice presidential nomineeWalter Mondale of Minnesota

Madison Square Garden was the site of the 1976 Democratic National Convention
Barbara Jordan delivering the keynote address on the first day of the convention
Michael Dukakis speaks on the second day of the convention
Coretta Scott King (the widow of Martin Luther King Jr.) attending the second day of the convention
Cesar Chavez nominating Jerry Brown during the presidential roll call vote on the third-day of the convention
Carter kisses his wife Rosalynn on the final day of the convention, with members of their family surrounding them
Carter and Mondale stand alongside their wives on the final day of the convention

By the time the convention opened Carter already had more than enough delegates to clinch the nomination, and so the major emphasis at the convention was to create an appearance of party unity, which had been lacking in the 1968 and 1972 Democratic Conventions. Carter easily won the nomination on the first ballot. He then chose Mondale, a liberal and a protégé of Hubert Humphrey, as his running mate.

The Carter–Mondale ticket went on to win the 1976 presidential election on November 2.

The convention is also notable for the fact that congresswoman Lindy Boggs, who presided over it, thus became the first woman to preside over a national political convention.[1]

Platform

The Democrats' 1976 platform called for continued price controls on natural gas, a policy which had caused dwindling domestic natural gas reserves since 1974 and which President Gerald Ford was asking to rescind.[2] The platform stated: "Those now pressing to turn natural-gas price regulation over to OPEC, while arguing the rhetoric of so-called deregulation, must not prevail."

Abortion

The platform added "it is undesirable to attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution to overturn [Roe v. Wade]".

Presidential vote tally

The following people had their names placed in nomination.

The tally at the convention was:[3] [4]

Democratic National Convention Presidential nominee vote, 1976
Candidate Votes Percentage
Jimmy Carter 2,238.5 74.42%
Mo Udall 329.5 10.95%
Jerry Brown 300.5 9.99%
George Wallace 57.0 1.89%
Ellen McCormack 22.0 0.73%
Frank Church 19.0 0.63%
Hubert Humphrey 10.0 0.33%
Henry M. Jackson 10.0 0.33%
Fred R. Harris 9.0 0.30%
Milton Shapp 2.0 0.07%
Robert Byrd 2.0 0.07%
César Chávez, Leon Jaworski, Barbara Jordan, Ted Kennedy, Jennings Randolph and Fred W. Stover 1 vote each 0.03% each
"nobody" 0.5 0.02%
Abstention 3.0 0.10%
Totals 3,008 100.00%

Vice Presidential nomination

According to Jimmy Carter,[5] his top choices for vice president were: Walter Mondale, Edmund Muskie, Frank Church, Adlai Stevenson III, John Glenn, and Henry M. Jackson. He selected Mondale.

The vice presidential tally was:[6]

In his acceptance speech, Mondale diverted from his printed text which echoed John F. Kennedy's call to "get the country moving again;" Mondale instead said, "Let's get this government moving again!"[7]

See also

References
  1. "Former Congresswoman and Ambassador Lindy Boggs Dies at 97 - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. July 27, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  2. Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York, New York: Basic Books. p. 322. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
  3. "Our Campaigns - US President - D Convention Race - Jul 12, 1976". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  4. CQ Almanac 1976 (32nd ed.). Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. 1977. pp. 845–54. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  5. "Virtual Tour: Race to the White House". jimmycarterlibrary.gov. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
  6. "US Vice President - D Convention 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  7. Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York, New York: Basic Books. p. 301. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
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Preceded by
1972
Miami Beach, Florida		 Democratic National Conventions Succeeded by
1980
New York, New York
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