Carter sought to appeal to various groups in the party ; his advocacy for cutting defense spending and reining in the CIA appealed to liberals , while his emphasis on eliminating government waste appealed to conservatives . Carter won the most votes of any candidate in the Iowa caucus , and he dominated media coverage in advance of the New Hampshire primary , which he also won . Carter 's subsequent defeat of Wallace in the Florida and North Carolina primaries eliminated Carter 's main rival in the South . With a victory over Jackson in the Pennsylvania primary , Carter established himself as the clear front-runner . Despite the late entrance of Senator Frank Church and Governor Jerry Brown into the race , Carter clinched the nomination on the final day of the primaries . The 1976 Democratic National Convention proceeded harmoniously and , after interviewing several candidates , Carter chose Mondale as his running mate . The selection of Mondale was well received by many liberal Democrats , many of whom had been skeptical of Carter
1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
Presidency of Jimmy Carter