After trailing 62-29% in the national polls following the DNC, Ford slowly chipped away over the summer and then made a frantic surge in October to draw near even at the end. Several states probably flipped because of this, including: IL, CA, WA, OR, ME, NJ, CT, VA and SD.
In the end, Carter's razor thin wins in OH, WI, MS and HI got him over the top. NY was tight, but Carter's unusually strong performance (at the time) on Long Island was the difference. McCarthy was also a thorn in Carter's side.
Given the momentum Ford had in the end, if the race were two weeks longer, is he able to overtake Carter in some of the states listed and win a full term?
Most likely. The public was beginning to realize how bad of a candidate Carter was, but the surge came too late.
