A Team to be Proud of

Blue and white photographs of Ford and Dole on a white background with red stripes around and between and blue at the top with white text and blue text along the bottom

The presidential election of 1976 coincided with the United States Bicentennial. President Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole utilized patriotic themes throughout their campaign. Ford had not been elected to either the vice-presidency or the presidency. President Nixon appointed him the vice president under the terms of the 25^th Amendment after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. Following the resignation of President Nixon, Gerald Ford became the 38^th President of the United States. Ford had anticipated retiring from politics after his vice-presidential term was over and therefore had to be convinced to enter the 1976 presidential election campaign. He won the nomination of the Republican party over former Governor of California Ronald Reagan. Bob Dole was chosen as a running mate to satisfy the more conservative members of the party. While President Ford’s campaign got increased press coverage due to him presiding over numerous bicentennial events, the Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter won the election with 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes compared to Ford’s 48% of the popular vote and 240 electoral votes.