1976 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses

The 1976 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses were held on January 19, 1976, the first nominating contest in the Democratic presidential primaries for the 1976 presidential election. It had the little-known Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter campaign heavily and end up capturing 27.7% of the vote, the highest of the five candidates. An outpouring of media coverage of Carter soon emerged.

Candidates

Birch Bayh, U.S. Senator from Indiana
Jimmy Carter, Governor of Georgia
Fred R. Harris, former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma
Henry M. Jackson, U.S. Senator from Washington
Sargent Shriver, former U.S. Ambassador to France
Mo Udall, U.S. Representative for Arizona's 2nd congressional district

Results

1976 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses^[1]
Candidate	State Delegates	Popular vote	Percentage	Delegates^[2]^[a]
Uncommitted	1,070	14,508	37.16%	18
Jimmy Carter	940	10,764	27.57%	13
Birch Bayh	257	5,148	13.19%	6
Fred R. Harris	173	3,861	9.89%	5
Mo Udall	88	2,340	5.99%	3
Sargent Shriver	32	1,287	3.30%	2
Henry M. Jackson	0	429	1.10%	0
Other	0	702	1.80%	0
	2,560	39,039	100.00%	47

Uncommitted won 14,508 votes (37%) and Carter 10,764 votes (27%). Birch Bayh, a Senator from Indiana got 5,148 (13%). Udall dropped to 5th place with only 6%, behind Fred R. Harris of Oklahoma, which led to Harris coining the term "winnowed in" to refer to his surprisingly-strong showing.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

References

^ "IA US President - D Caucuses Race - Jan 19, 1976". Our Campaigns. December 2, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^ "CAUCUS RESULTS - Iowa Publications Online" (PDF). Retrieved August 28, 2022.
^ Jules Witcover, No Way to Pick A President: How Money and Hired Guns Have Debased American Elections, 2001, p.166
^ George C. Edwards, John Howard Kessel, Bert A. Rockman, Researching the presidency: vital questions, new approaches, 1993, p.60
^ "The Green Papers: Commentary".
^ "The Green Papers: Commentary".

Notes

^ The delegates given below are rough estimates and based on the strength shown at the caucuses

[1] "IA US President - D Caucuses Race - Jan 19, 1976". Our Campaigns. December 2, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.

[2] "CAUCUS RESULTS - Iowa Publications Online" (PDF). Retrieved August 28, 2022.

[4] Jules Witcover, No Way to Pick A President: How Money and Hired Guns Have Debased American Elections, 2001, p.166

[5] George C. Edwards, John Howard Kessel, Bert A. Rockman, Researching the presidency: vital questions, new approaches, 1993, p.60

[6] "The Green Papers: Commentary".

[7] "The Green Papers: Commentary".

[3] The delegates given below are rough estimates and based on the strength shown at the caucuses

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