Iowa — 1972 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1972 presidential electionIowa · PresidentNixonR+17.1
How it voted
Share of the 1972 vote
| Richard Nixon ✓Republican | 57.6% | 706,207 |
|---|---|---|
| George McGovernDemocratic | 40.5% | 496,206 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.9% | 23,531 |
1972presidential margin
D+60R+60
99 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Iowa cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (99 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adair County, IA | Republican | R+29.3 |
| Adams County, IA | Republican | R+21.4 |
| Allamakee County, IA | Republican | R+28.6 |
| Appanoose County, IA | Republican | R+30.2 |
| Audubon County, IA | Republican | R+24.1 |
| Benton County, IA | Republican | R+10.2 |
| Black Hawk County, IA | Republican | R+17.1 |
| Boone County, IA | Republican | R+10.5 |
| Bremer County, IA | Republican | R+33.4 |
| Buchanan County, IA | Republican | R+18.4 |
| Buena Vista County, IA | Republican | R+24.0 |
| Butler County, IA | Republican | R+45.6 |
| Calhoun County, IA | Republican | R+21.6 |
| Carroll County, IA | Democratic | D+2.1 |
| Cass County, IA | Republican | R+45.6 |
| Cedar County, IA | Republican | R+28.3 |
| Cerro Gordo County, IA | Republican | R+11.0 |
| Cherokee County, IA | Republican | R+25.6 |
| Chickasaw County, IA | Republican | R+10.0 |
| Clarke County, IA | Republican | R+16.0 |
| Clay County, IA | Republican | R+21.8 |
| Clayton County, IA | Republican | R+23.0 |
| Clinton County, IA | Republican | R+12.5 |
| Crawford County, IA | Republican | R+19.2 |
| Dallas County, IA | Republican | R+9.3 |
| Davis County, IA | Republican | R+11.5 |
| Decatur County, IA | Republican | R+16.5 |
| Delaware County, IA | Republican | R+24.0 |
| Des Moines County, IA | Republican | R+7.0 |
| Dickinson County, IA | Republican | R+21.4 |
| Dubuque County, IA | Democratic | D+3.1 |
| Emmet County, IA | Republican | R+26.8 |
| Fayette County, IA | Republican | R+23.9 |
| Floyd County, IA | Republican | R+16.9 |
| Franklin County, IA | Republican | R+28.6 |
| Fremont County, IA | Republican | R+36.7 |
| Greene County, IA | Republican | R+21.5 |
| Grundy County, IA | Republican | R+43.2 |
| Guthrie County, IA | Republican | R+23.2 |
| Hamilton County, IA | Republican | R+24.0 |
| Hancock County, IA | Republican | R+22.1 |
| Hardin County, IA | Republican | R+24.6 |
| Harrison County, IA | Republican | R+32.8 |
| Henry County, IA | Republican | R+29.7 |
| Howard County, IA | Republican | R+9.9 |
| Humboldt County, IA | Republican | R+26.9 |
| Ida County, IA | Republican | R+30.5 |
| Iowa County, IA | Republican | R+23.3 |
| Jackson County, IA | Republican | R+14.2 |
| Jasper County, IA | Republican | R+12.9 |
| Jefferson County, IA | Republican | R+31.7 |
| Johnson County, IA | Democratic | D+16.8 |
| Jones County, IA | Republican | R+17.5 |
| Keokuk County, IA | Republican | R+18.5 |
| Kossuth County, IA | Republican | R+14.0 |
| Lee County, IA | Republican | R+12.7 |
| Linn County, IA | Republican | R+7.4 |
| Louisa County, IA | Republican | R+24.0 |
| Lucas County, IA | Republican | R+23.3 |
| Lyon County, IA | Republican | R+45.3 |
| Madison County, IA | Republican | R+21.2 |
| Mahaska County, IA | Republican | R+30.0 |
| Marion County, IA | Republican | R+16.8 |
| Marshall County, IA | Republican | R+23.6 |
| Mills County, IA | Republican | R+52.4 |
| Mitchell County, IA | Republican | R+16.0 |
| Monona County, IA | Republican | R+19.1 |
| Monroe County, IA | Republican | R+14.9 |
| Montgomery County, IA | Republican | R+46.9 |
| Muscatine County, IA | Republican | R+25.8 |
| O'Brien County, IA | Republican | R+39.2 |
| Osceola County, IA | Republican | R+26.1 |
| Page County, IA | Republican | R+54.4 |
| Palo Alto County, IA | Republican | R+4.9 |
| Plymouth County, IA | Republican | R+22.0 |
| Pocahontas County, IA | Republican | R+16.3 |
| Polk County, IA | Republican | R+8.3 |
| Pottawattamie County, IA | Republican | R+40.9 |
| Poweshiek County, IA | Republican | R+12.3 |
| Ringgold County, IA | Republican | R+38.2 |
| Sac County, IA | Republican | R+23.9 |
| Scott County, IA | Republican | R+17.4 |
| Shelby County, IA | Republican | R+27.8 |
| Sioux County, IA | Republican | R+57.3 |
| Story County, IA | Republican | R+8.5 |
| Tama County, IA | Republican | R+15.4 |
| Taylor County, IA | Republican | R+41.4 |
| Union County, IA | Republican | R+27.1 |
| Van Buren County, IA | Republican | R+27.9 |
| Wapello County, IA | Republican | R+5.2 |
| Warren County, IA | Republican | R+17.1 |
| Washington County, IA | Republican | R+29.7 |
| Wayne County, IA | Republican | R+25.6 |
| Webster County, IA | Republican | R+13.9 |
| Winnebago County, IA | Republican | R+29.6 |
| Winneshiek County, IA | Republican | R+14.1 |
| Woodbury County, IA | Republican | R+16.4 |
| Worth County, IA | Republican | R+11.4 |
| Wright County, IA | Republican | R+20.9 |
Iowa results by county
99 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County | Richard Nixon+1,399 | 3,04163.6% | 1,64234.3% | 992.1% | 4,782 |
| Adams County | Richard Nixon+653 | 1,81459.6% | 1,16138.1% | 702.3% | 3,045 |
| Allamakee County | Richard Nixon+1,879 | 4,15063.2% | 2,27134.6% | 1412.1% | 6,562 |
| Appanoose County | Richard Nixon+2,038 | 4,32164.0% | 2,28333.8% | 1432.1% | 6,747 |
| Audubon County | Richard Nixon+982 | 2,51561.6% | 1,53337.6% | 340.8% | 4,082 |
| Benton County | Richard Nixon+991 | 5,27354.1% | 4,28243.9% | 1942.0% | 9,749 |
| Black Hawk County | Richard Nixon+9,208 | 30,92957.5% | 21,72140.4% | 1,1322.1% | 53,782 |
| Boone County | Richard Nixon+1,214 | 6,27154.3% | 5,05743.8% | 2231.9% | 11,551 |
| Bremer County | Richard Nixon+3,211 | 6,33365.9% | 3,12232.5% | 1561.6% | 9,611 |
| Buchanan County | Richard Nixon+1,668 | 5,27758.3% | 3,60939.9% | 1621.8% | 9,048 |
| Buena Vista County | Richard Nixon+2,225 | 5,68561.3% | 3,46037.3% | 1361.5% | 9,281 |
| Butler County | Richard Nixon+2,933 | 4,61571.8% | 1,68226.2% | 1292.0% | 6,426 |
| Calhoun County | Richard Nixon+1,375 | 3,82160.0% | 2,44638.4% | 1011.6% | 6,368 |
| Carroll County | George McGovern+193 | 4,41547.5% | 4,60849.6% | 2622.8% | 9,285 |
| Cass County | Richard Nixon+3,311 | 5,23472.1% | 1,92326.5% | 1061.5% | 7,263 |
| Cedar County | Richard Nixon+1,987 | 4,45263.4% | 2,46535.1% | 1061.5% | 7,023 |
| Cerro Gordo County | Richard Nixon+2,396 | 11,85654.7% | 9,46043.6% | 3771.7% | 21,693 |
| Cherokee County | Richard Nixon+1,946 | 4,72662.2% | 2,78036.6% | 881.2% | 7,594 |
| Chickasaw County | Richard Nixon+702 | 3,83654.6% | 3,13444.6% | 600.9% | 7,030 |
| Clarke County | Richard Nixon+624 | 2,21456.8% | 1,59040.8% | 972.5% | 3,901 |
| Clay County | Richard Nixon+1,677 | 4,56459.3% | 2,88737.5% | 2453.2% | 7,696 |
| Clayton County | Richard Nixon+2,081 | 5,44760.2% | 3,36637.2% | 2352.6% | 9,048 |
| Clinton County | Richard Nixon+2,873 | 12,76855.6% | 9,89543.1% | 3011.3% | 22,964 |
| Crawford County | Richard Nixon+1,475 | 4,49358.6% | 3,01839.4% | 1562.0% | 7,667 |
| Dallas County | Richard Nixon+1,058 | 6,14353.7% | 5,08544.5% | 2081.8% | 11,436 |
| Davis County | Richard Nixon+481 | 2,28754.6% | 1,80643.1% | 952.3% | 4,188 |
| Decatur County | Richard Nixon+758 | 2,63857.4% | 1,88040.9% | 751.6% | 4,593 |
| Delaware County | Richard Nixon+1,904 | 4,84861.2% | 2,94437.2% | 1281.6% | 7,920 |
| Des Moines County | Richard Nixon+1,347 | 10,21652.8% | 8,86945.8% | 2731.4% | 19,358 |
| Dickinson County | Richard Nixon+1,366 | 3,73958.6% | 2,37337.2% | 2694.2% | 6,381 |
| Dubuque County | George McGovern+1,145 | 17,27247.3% | 18,41750.4% | 8322.3% | 36,521 |
| Emmet County | Richard Nixon+1,466 | 3,43662.9% | 1,97036.1% | 551.0% | 5,461 |
| Fayette County | Richard Nixon+2,850 | 7,26360.8% | 4,41337.0% | 2642.2% | 11,940 |
| Floyd County | Richard Nixon+1,388 | 4,72657.7% | 3,33840.7% | 1281.6% | 8,192 |
| Franklin County | Richard Nixon+1,657 | 3,64363.0% | 1,98634.3% | 1572.7% | 5,786 |
| Fremont County | Richard Nixon+1,432 | 2,64267.6% | 1,21031.0% | 551.4% | 3,907 |
| Greene County | Richard Nixon+1,219 | 3,37159.3% | 2,15237.9% | 1572.8% | 5,680 |
| Grundy County | Richard Nixon+2,862 | 4,70671.0% | 1,84427.8% | 751.1% | 6,625 |
| Guthrie County | Richard Nixon+1,397 | 3,65560.7% | 2,25837.5% | 1091.8% | 6,022 |
| Hamilton County | Richard Nixon+1,890 | 4,80360.9% | 2,91336.9% | 1742.2% | 7,890 |
| Hancock County | Richard Nixon+1,357 | 3,70660.5% | 2,34938.3% | 741.2% | 6,129 |
| Hardin County | Richard Nixon+2,353 | 5,86961.4% | 3,51636.8% | 1711.8% | 9,556 |
| Harrison County | Richard Nixon+2,352 | 4,72165.8% | 2,36933.0% | 811.1% | 7,171 |
| Henry County | Richard Nixon+2,345 | 5,06664.3% | 2,72134.5% | 971.2% | 7,884 |
| Howard County | Richard Nixon+541 | 2,98054.4% | 2,43944.5% | 621.1% | 5,481 |
| Humboldt County | Richard Nixon+1,560 | 3,62262.5% | 2,06235.6% | 1081.9% | 5,792 |
| Ida County | Richard Nixon+1,329 | 2,81964.7% | 1,49034.2% | 501.1% | 4,359 |
| Iowa County | Richard Nixon+1,624 | 4,20260.3% | 2,57837.0% | 1842.6% | 6,964 |
| Jackson County | Richard Nixon+1,271 | 4,97555.7% | 3,70441.5% | 2452.7% | 8,924 |
| Jasper County | Richard Nixon+2,126 | 9,13355.3% | 7,00742.4% | 3732.3% | 16,513 |
| Jefferson County | Richard Nixon+2,266 | 4,62864.8% | 2,36233.1% | 1492.1% | 7,139 |
| Johnson County | George McGovern+6,099 | 14,82340.9% | 20,92257.7% | 4911.4% | 36,236 |
| Jones County | Richard Nixon+1,494 | 4,96258.2% | 3,46840.7% | 911.1% | 8,521 |
| Keokuk County | Richard Nixon+1,212 | 3,83158.4% | 2,61939.9% | 1151.8% | 6,565 |
| Kossuth County | Richard Nixon+1,448 | 5,84156.4% | 4,39342.4% | 1241.2% | 10,358 |
| Lee County | Richard Nixon+2,238 | 9,74855.3% | 7,51042.6% | 3602.0% | 17,618 |
| Linn County | Richard Nixon+5,133 | 36,50352.8% | 31,37045.4% | 1,2871.9% | 69,160 |
| Louisa County | Richard Nixon+1,099 | 2,80661.3% | 1,70737.3% | 641.4% | 4,577 |
| Lucas County | Richard Nixon+1,092 | 2,85160.8% | 1,75937.5% | 801.7% | 4,690 |
| Lyon County | Richard Nixon+2,381 | 3,78872.1% | 1,40726.8% | 571.1% | 5,252 |
| Madison County | Richard Nixon+1,246 | 3,48059.3% | 2,23438.1% | 1502.6% | 5,864 |
| Mahaska County | Richard Nixon+2,992 | 6,37463.8% | 3,38233.9% | 2322.3% | 9,988 |
| Marion County | Richard Nixon+1,940 | 6,58357.1% | 4,64340.3% | 3052.6% | 11,531 |
| Marshall County | Richard Nixon+4,180 | 10,79860.9% | 6,61837.3% | 3281.8% | 17,744 |
| Mills County | Richard Nixon+2,471 | 3,53174.9% | 1,06022.5% | 1212.6% | 4,712 |
| Mitchell County | Richard Nixon+946 | 3,39557.4% | 2,44941.4% | 671.1% | 5,911 |
| Monona County | Richard Nixon+1,048 | 3,23758.9% | 2,18939.8% | 691.3% | 5,495 |
| Monroe County | Richard Nixon+621 | 2,35756.7% | 1,73641.8% | 621.5% | 4,155 |
| Montgomery County | Richard Nixon+2,832 | 4,39172.7% | 1,55925.8% | 911.5% | 6,041 |
| Muscatine County | Richard Nixon+3,519 | 8,43661.8% | 4,91736.0% | 2892.1% | 13,642 |
| O'Brien County | Richard Nixon+2,935 | 5,15968.9% | 2,22429.7% | 1081.4% | 7,491 |
| Osceola County | Richard Nixon+945 | 2,26262.6% | 1,31736.4% | 371.0% | 3,616 |
| Page County | Richard Nixon+4,410 | 6,20076.4% | 1,79022.1% | 1221.5% | 8,112 |
| Palo Alto County | Richard Nixon+296 | 3,14151.8% | 2,84546.9% | 801.3% | 6,066 |
| Plymouth County | Richard Nixon+2,306 | 6,33960.6% | 4,03338.5% | 940.9% | 10,466 |
| Pocahontas County | Richard Nixon+897 | 3,13857.2% | 2,24140.8% | 1082.0% | 5,487 |
| Polk County | Richard Nixon+11,076 | 70,24553.0% | 59,16944.6% | 3,2452.4% | 132,659 |
| Pottawattamie County | Richard Nixon+11,648 | 19,72269.3% | 8,07428.4% | 6542.3% | 28,450 |
| Poweshiek County | Richard Nixon+1,067 | 4,78555.3% | 3,71843.0% | 1451.7% | 8,648 |
| Ringgold County | Richard Nixon+1,261 | 2,26468.5% | 1,00330.4% | 361.1% | 3,303 |
| Sac County | Richard Nixon+1,565 | 4,01761.4% | 2,45237.5% | 721.1% | 6,541 |
| Scott County | Richard Nixon+10,325 | 34,13557.4% | 23,81040.0% | 1,5102.5% | 59,455 |
| Shelby County | Richard Nixon+1,793 | 4,05262.9% | 2,25935.1% | 1282.0% | 6,439 |
| Sioux County | Richard Nixon+7,854 | 10,72178.3% | 2,86720.9% | 1090.8% | 13,697 |
| Story County | Richard Nixon+2,645 | 16,61753.6% | 13,97245.0% | 4361.4% | 31,025 |
| Tama County | Richard Nixon+1,365 | 5,05857.0% | 3,69341.6% | 1291.5% | 8,880 |
| Taylor County | Richard Nixon+1,795 | 3,04270.2% | 1,24728.8% | 471.1% | 4,336 |
| Union County | Richard Nixon+1,622 | 3,73462.5% | 2,11235.3% | 1312.2% | 5,977 |
| Van Buren County | Richard Nixon+1,004 | 2,27263.2% | 1,26835.3% | 561.6% | 3,596 |
| Wapello County | Richard Nixon+953 | 9,30151.2% | 8,34845.9% | 5222.9% | 18,171 |
| Warren County | Richard Nixon+2,189 | 7,33257.3% | 5,14340.2% | 3292.6% | 12,804 |
| Washington County | Richard Nixon+2,403 | 5,18764.1% | 2,78434.4% | 1181.5% | 8,089 |
| Wayne County | Richard Nixon+1,107 | 2,68162.0% | 1,57436.4% | 691.6% | 4,324 |
| Webster County | Richard Nixon+2,775 | 11,13356.0% | 8,35842.0% | 4022.0% | 19,893 |
| Winnebago County | Richard Nixon+1,976 | 4,30064.5% | 2,32434.8% | 450.7% | 6,669 |
| Winneshiek County | Richard Nixon+1,476 | 5,87756.2% | 4,40142.1% | 1741.7% | 10,452 |
| Woodbury County | Richard Nixon+6,783 | 23,75757.3% | 16,97441.0% | 6991.7% | 41,430 |
| Worth County | Richard Nixon+530 | 2,56455.3% | 2,03443.9% | 380.8% | 4,636 |
| Wright County | Richard Nixon+1,498 | 4,27859.7% | 2,78038.8% | 1041.5% | 7,162 |
Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)
Iowa's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −5.3% |
| 1896 | −12.6% |
| 1900 | −18.6% |
| 1904 | −32.7% |
| 1908 | −15.0% |
| 1912 | +13.3% |
| 1916 | −11.4% |
| 1920 | −45.5% |
| 1924 | −38.6% |
| 1928 | −24.2% |
| 1932 | +17.7% |
| 1936 | +11.7% |
| 1940 | −4.4% |
| 1944 | −4.5% |
| 1948 | +2.7% |
| 1952 | −28.2% |
| 1956 | −18.4% |
| 1960 | −13.5% |
| 1964 | +24.0% |
| 1968 | −12.2% |
| 1972 | −17.1% |
| 1976 | −1.0% |
| 1980 | −12.7% |
| 1984 | −7.4% |
| 1988 | +10.2% |
| 1992 | +6.0% |
| 1996 | +10.3% |
| 2000 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | −0.7% |
| 2008 | +9.5% |
| 2012 | +5.8% |
| 2016 | −9.3% |
| 2020 | −8.2% |
| 2024 | −13.2% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1972 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.