Brown began his first campaign for the Democratic nomination for president on March 16 , 1976 , late in the primary season and over a year after some candidates had started campaigning . Brown declared : " The country is rich , but not so rich as we have been led to believe . The choice to do one thing may preclude another . In short , we are entering an era of limits . " Brown 's name began appearing on primary ballots in May and he won in Maryland , Nevada , and his home state of California . He missed the deadline in Oregon , but he ran as a write-in candidate and finished in third behind Jimmy Carter and Senator Frank Church of Idaho . Brown is often credited with winning the New Jersey and Rhode Island primaries , but in reality , uncommitted slates of delegates that Brown advocated in those states finished first . With support from Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards , Brown won a majority of delegates at the Louisiana delegate selection convention ; thus Louisiana was the only southern state to not support Southerners Carter or Alabama Governor George Wallace . Despite this success , he was unable to stall Carter 's momentum , and his rival was nominated on the first ballot at the 1976 Democratic National Convention . Brown finished third with roughly 300 delegate votes , narrowly behind Congressman Morris Udall and Carter
1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
Jerry Brown