Also, a Carter aide (Andrew Young, I think) called the LDS church racist for denying blacks the priesthood, which can't have helped either.
Actually, it was Coleman Young--who was Detroit's mayor for many years--for making the statements before the 1976 Michigan primary:
https://books.google.com/books?id=T4h0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=coleman+young+mormon&source=bl&ots=bc0tlxlmAs&sig=ACfU3U1NEiRwGnpbQQ1peKxsqV-O08gu8w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3j5-vw8PjAhUJnOAKHQB6DOEQ6AEwGnoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=coleman%20young%20mormon&f=falseCarter's policies and personality were simply anathema for the 1970s West. He was weak in 1976--doing poorly in the primaries and the general election. And in 1980--Ronald Reagan and his natural appeal just clobbered Carter throughout the Western states.
