Editing Eugene McCarthy (section)

=== 1976 presidential campaign ===
{{main|1976 United States presidential election}}
After his 1972 campaign, McCarthy left the Democratic Party, and ran as an [[Independent (politician)|Independent]] candidate for president in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]. During that campaign, he took a [[libertarianism|libertarian]] stance on [[civil liberties]], promised to create [[full employment]] by shortening the [[working time|work week]], came out in favor of [[nuclear disarmament]], attacked the [[Internal Revenue Service]],<ref>[[Jesse Walker|Walker, Jesse]] (November 1, 2009) [http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/nov/01/00012/ "Five Faces of Jerry Brown"], ''[[The American Conservative]]'', November 1, 2009.</ref> and said whom he would nominate to various [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]] posts if elected. Mainly, however, he battled [[ballot access]] laws he deemed too restrictive and encouraged voters to reject the [[two-party system]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.4president.org/brochures/mccarthy1976brochure.htm |title=Eugene McCarthy for President 1976 Campaign Brochure |publisher=4president.org |date=September 22, 2007 |access-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref>

His numerous legal battles during the election, along with a strong [[grassroots]] effort in friendly states, allowed him to appear on the ballot in 30 states and eased ballot access for later third-party candidates. His party affiliation was variously listed on ballots as "Independent," "McCarthy '76," "Non-Partisan," "Nom. Petition," "Nomination," "Not Designated," and "Court Order". Although he was not on the California and [[Wyoming]] ballots, he was recognized as a [[write-in candidate]] in those states. In many states, he did not run with a vice-presidential nominee, but he came to have a total of 15 running mates in states where he was required to have one. At least eight of his running mates were women.<ref name=USAtlas>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1976&minper=0&f=1&off=0&elect=0|first=David|last=Leip|work=Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|title=1976 Presidential General Election Results|date=2005}}</ref>

Nationally, McCarthy received 740,460 votes, 0.91% of the total, finishing third in the election.<ref name=USAtlas /> His best showing came in [[Oregon]], where he received 40,207 votes, 3.90% of the vote.<ref name=USAtlas/>