1972 United States presidential election

The 1972 United States presidential election happened on November 7, 1972. President Richard Nixon was reelected to a second term. He defeated the Democratic candidate, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Nixon won the election by a landslide (winning 49 of 50 states) and got 520 electoral votes. McGovern got 17 electoral votes. John Hospers got one electoral vote by a Virginia faithless elector.

1972 United States presidential election

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	55.2%[1] 5.7 pp
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Home state California South Dakota Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver (originally Thomas Eagleton) Electoral vote 520 17 States carried 49 1 + D.C. Popular vote 47,168,710 29,173,222 Percentage 60.7% 37.5%
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Nixon/Agnew. Blue denotes states won by McGovern/Shriver. Gold denotes won by Hospers by a Virginia faithless elector. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

This was the highest of any Republican nominee as a vote, as well as a highest electoral vote in a United States election until Ronald Reagan was re-elected in 1984 by a huge landslide.

George Wallace, governor of Alabama was shot by a would-be assassin during the election.

George McGovern's running mate changed from Thomas Eagleton to Sargent Shriver because of revelations about Eagleton's previous psychiatric problems.^[2]

This election occurred during the Watergate scandal, which ultimately caused Nixon to resign in 1974.

Election results by county.

  Richard Nixon

  George McGovern

Candidates

Democratic Party

15 people declared their candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination. They were:^[3]

• George McGovern, Senator from South Dakota
• Hubert Humphrey, Senator from Minnesota and former Vice President
• George Wallace, Governor of Alabama
• Edmund Muskie, Senator from Maine
• Eugene McCarthy, former Senator from Minnesota
• Henry M. Jackson, Senator from Washington
• Shirley Chisholm, Representative of New York's 12th congressional district
• Terry Sanford, former Governor of North Carolina
• John Lindsay, Mayor of New York City
• Wilbur Mills, Representative of Arkansas's 2nd congressional district
• Vance Hartke, Senator from Indiana
• Fred Harris, Senator from Oklahoma
• Sam Yorty, former Representative of California's 26th congressional district
• Patsy Mink, Representative of Hawaii's 2nd congressional district
• Walter Fauntroy, Delegate from Washington, D.C.

Candidates gallery

• 
  Senator George McGovern of South Dakota
• 
  Senator and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota
• 
  Governor George Wallace of Alabama
• 
  Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine
• 
  Former Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota
• 
  Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington
• 
  Representative Shirley Chisholm of New York
• 
  Former Governor Terry Sanford of North Carolina
• 
  Mayor John Lindsay of New York City
• 
  Representative Wilbur Mills of Arkansas
• 
  Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana
• 
  Senator Fred R. Harris of Oklahoma
• 
  Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii
• 
  U.S. Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy of Washington, D.C.

Republican Party

• Republican candidates:
  • Richard Nixon, President of the United States
  • Pete McCloskey, Representative from California
  • John M. Ashbrook, Representative from Ohio

Candidates gallery

• 
  President Richard Nixon
• 
  Representative John Ashbrook of Ohio
• 
  Representative Pete McCloskey of California

Related pages

• Presidential Candidates:
  • Richard Nixon
  • George McGovern
  • Patsy Mink
• Vice Presidential Candidates:
  • Sargent Shriver
  • Spiro Agnew