During a primary season with a long list of candidates, Carter rose from being unknown nationally to become the frontrunner, with Udall coming second in a number of close primaries. Carter won primaries first in his native Georgia, then in Alabama and Indiana, and quickly had a national campaign suitable of defeating challenges from Jackson and Church, and a late challenge from Jerry Brown.
Incumbent president Ford, appointed to the vice presidency after the resignation of Spiro Agnew and then elevated to the presidency by the resignation of Richard M. Nixon, was the only U.S. President never to have been elected president or vice president. A centrist, he faced an uprising from the well-organized conservative faction of the party led by Reagan. In a tightly-fought two-way race, Reagan was unable to overcome fears that he was inexperienced and out of the mainstream, and the incumbent Ford won. He picked Kansas Senator Bob Dole as his vice-presidential candidate.
Jimmy Carter ran as an honest outsider and reformer, which many voters found attractive in the wake of the Watergate scandal. President Ford, although personally unconnected with Watergate, was seen by many as too close to the discredited Richard Nixon administration, especially after Ford granted Nixon a presidential pardon.
Carter led consistently in the polls as Ford was never able to shake voter dissatisfaction following Watergate. Ford was seen as the winner of the first debate, looking more presidential, but during the second debate Ford made an important blunder when he repeatedly insisted that Eastern Europe was not occupied by the communists. In the end, Ford eliminated most of Carter's lead in a dramatic surge, but Carter still narrowly won the election.
