Preparing for a run and
Birch Bayh, showing their support for Carter. As the
Georgia state constitution barred him from running for a second term as governor, Carter announced his candidacy for president on December 12, 1974. During his campaign announcement speech, he emphasized promises of decency, equality, freedom, and his religious values. He said: Initially, many political experts gave Carter little chance of winning the Democratic nomination, because he was little-known outside Georgia, In response, Carter started to say, "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president". Early polling data showed that a majority of the voters were undecided, but showed a preference for candidates such as
Hubert Humphrey and
Ted Kennedy. Besides positioning him as anti‐establishment and ideologically centrist, the Carter campaign made early primaries and caucuses a pivotal point in their campaign. Their strategy called for a strong effort in crucial early states.
Democratic presidential primaries In the aftermath of the
Watergate scandal, the declining popularity of President Ford due to his
pardon of Nixon, and the severe recession of 1974–75, many Democrats were sure of victory in the presidential election. As a result, 17 Democrats were running for the nomination. Primaries were held in all 50 states, from January 19 to June 8, 1976. Apart from Carter, early candidates included
Mo Udall,
George Wallace,
Jerry Brown,
Frank Church,
Henry M. Jackson, and
Sargent Shriver. There was speculation about the potential candidacy of former vice president and presidential nominee
Hubert Humphrey and Senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy declined to run due to his promise to his mother not to run for president. Humphrey, too, declined to run in the primaries, but he hinted at a campaign and expressed his willingness to accept the nomination. Although Carter led in the Iowa caucus, 37.18% of those voters were uncommitted. George Wallace won the Mississippi caucus after his entry in the primaries. After that, Carter won most of the caucuses and primaries, with an exception being Jerry Brown winning 204 delegates from his home state of
California. Although Henry M. Jackson won the Massachusetts and New York primaries, he dropped out after losing the critical
Pennsylvania primary to Carter. Udall carried his home state of
Arizona and Washington D.C. The early count in the Wisconsin primary showed Udall leading, but eventually Carter won that state. Carter's primary campaign raised $13.8 million, with $3.5 million coming from federal matching funds. Southern rock groups like
The Allman Brothers Band, with whom Carter had a personal relationship, hosted campaign fundraisers during the primaries. One of the band's shows in Providence, Rhode Island resulted in over $64,000 being raised in 1975. A Florida campaign fundraising event that featured Betts, Daniels,
The Marshall Tucker Band,
Bonnie Bramlett, and the
Outlaws raised an additional $280,000 for the Carter campaign.
Jimmy Buffett also aided the Carter campaign in Oregon. Not only did these fundraisers help Carter raise money but they also boosted his name recognition around the country, especially since he was not very well known outside of Georgia. By the end of primaries, Carter had received 39.19% of the popular vote, Brown 15.39%, Wallace 12.29%, Udall 10.13%, Jackson 7.13%, Church 5.22%, and the rest under 5%.
Democratic National Convention and
Walter Mondale at the
Democratic National Convention, New York City The 1976 Democratic National Convention was convened at
Madison Square Garden in
New York City. Notably,
Barbara Jordan became the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at a
Democratic National Convention. With most contests in the states settled in Carter's favor, the convention delegates overwhelmingly favored Carter, although many other candidates also won delegates. Carter received 2,239 delegates, Udall 330, Brown 301, Wallace 57,
McCormack 22, Church 19, Humphrey and Jackson each received 10, and other candidates received the remaining 22 delegates. In his acceptance speech, Carter referred to the Vietnam war and the Watergate scandal and said: Carter, after getting a sufficient number of delegates to be the nominee, shortlisted six possible vice presidential candidates, which included senators
Walter Mondale,
Edmund Muskie,
John Glenn,
Frank Church,
Adlai Stevenson III, and
Henry "Scoop" Jackson. He ultimately selected Mondale to be his running mate, emphasizing Mondale's experience in Washington D.C., as Carter himself was a Southern "outsider". Carter said that his ticket could bring "the national vigor, vision, aggressive leadership, and a president who feels your pain, shares your dream and takes his strength, wisdom, and courage from citizens". The convention energized the Democratic base and gave the Carter-Mondale ticket a
bounce in the polls, from 53% to 62% preference among registered voters. == General election campaign ==