Why did Jimmy Carter lose Virginia and Oklahoma in 1976?

[The Arizonan]

Jimmy Carter was from the South and even managed to win Texas. Why did he lose these two states?

[President Johnson]

Virginia was a Republican leaning state then. Probably due to pro Republican suburbs. Oklahoma is not a real Southern State as is Texas or Arkansas. It was a bellwether though and he came pretty close to winning it.

[Hydera]

There was a thread about it if you search for it. Basically TLDR: Jimmy Carter didnt perform well(as expected given his margin and % of total votes) in Southern suburbs. Ford's strong performance in Richmond made up for his weakness in Nova and hampton roads.

Then in Oklahoma he won the more culturally southern areas of Oklahoma but lost the More south western/great plains region that included metro Oklahoma city and Tulsa which were more populous. What made have made this happen was that Jimmy was campaigning on oil conservation which made this part of Oklahoma that was more dependent on oil and gas to be upset.

[TDAS04]

Carter only narrowly carried Texas, and Oklahoma hardly ever votes more Democratic than Texas.

[morgankingsley]

I think 1976 was really the first sign that Oklahoma was no longer really going to be a democrat state like at all and become a solidly republican one. Usually it voted democrat in general elections or republican only in landslides (1960 being an exception, 1968 was an electoral landslide, but nowhere close to being a popular vote landslide). But 1976 shows that even with a popular southerner, the state was just growing tired of democrats.

The better question is how the hell did Dukakis do better in Oklahoma than like every post Johnson democrat minus Carter

[Hydera]

I think 1976 was really the first sign that Oklahoma was no longer really going to be a democrat state like at all and become a solidly republican one. Usually it voted democrat in general elections or republican only in landslides (1960 being an exception, 1968 was an electoral landslide, but nowhere close to being a popular vote landslide). But 1976 shows that even with a popular southerner, the state was just growing tired of democrats.

The better question is how the hell did Dukakis do better in Oklahoma than like every post Johnson democrat minus Carter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm_crisis#1980s_crisis


Also Oklahoma got hid hard not just by the farm crisis but the oil price being low in the 1980s which was bad for oil producing states like Texas and Oklahoma. without the Oil prices then their swung might had been 15-16% to Dukakis instead of 21.30%.

[Mr. Smith]

Carter lost Virginia for the same reasons Trump did, NOVA 'Burbs.

And Oklahoma being so close was the real miracle.

[Skunk]

Virginia was a Republican leaning state then. Probably due to pro Republican suburbs. Oklahoma is not a real Southern State as is Texas or Arkansas. It was a bellwether though and he came pretty close to winning it.

BOO! FAKE NEWS!

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

Oklahoma does have southern elements to it, look at the southeastern corner which is nicknamed little Dixie. But it is also more of a plains state, which makes it solidly Republican now, and a Republican leaning state in the solid south days.

[Mechavada]

Oklahoma does have southern elements to it, look at the southeastern corner which is nicknamed little Dixie. But it is also more of a plains state, which makes it solidly Republican now, and a Republican leaning state in the solid south days.

Oklahoma is really it's own beast and as a longtime resident I think it's amusing so many people (not just the ones here) try to put a regional label on a state that is just there.  There are parts of the state that come across as downright Dixie.  There are parts of the state that feel like the Ozarks.  There are parts of the state that feel like the Plains.  And then there are parts of the state that sell like "Northern Texas".

Oklahoma defies regional convention.  In fact I would argue that it's largely conservative and Republican precisely because it is on the literal fringes of several notoriously conservative cultural regions.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

It's worth mentioning Mississippi was among close states.

Oklahoma does have southern elements to it, look at the southeastern corner which is nicknamed little Dixie. But it is also more of a plains state, which makes it solidly Republican now, and a Republican leaning state in the solid south days.

Wouldn't Texas also fit into "not entirely southern" category as well?

[CatoMinor]

Like Texas, Oklahoma is on the fault lines of what is culturally Southern and Western. And, someone more knowledgeable of Oklahoma feel free to correct me, that year the more culturally Western and Urban/Suburban GOP vote was enough to to just barely triumph over Little Dixie.

[DINGO Joe]

Oklahoma does have southern elements to it, look at the southeastern corner which is nicknamed little Dixie. But it is also more of a plains state, which makes it solidly Republican now, and a Republican leaning state in the solid south days.

Oklahoma is really it's own beast and as a longtime resident I think it's amusing so many people (not just the ones here) try to put a regional label on a state that is just there.  There are parts of the state that come across as downright Dixie.  There are parts of the state that feel like the Ozarks.  There are parts of the state that feel like the Plains.  And then there are parts of the state that sell like "Northern Texas".

Oklahoma defies regional convention.  In fact I would argue that it's largely conservative and Republican precisely because it is on the literal fringes of several notoriously conservative cultural regions.

A true Okie would never call their state "Northern Texas" but would refer to Texas as Baja Oklahoma. 

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

I once made a similar thread about how a county results map would look like if Edmondson wins.

It seems like the biggest cities were very wealthy at that time so that their inhabitants refused to give Carter their votes. Plus, Carter seemed to be to Southern to the upscale big-city residents.