Richard Nixon carried South Carolina R+42.7.

George McGovern (D) vs Richard Nixon (R) in South Carolina, 1972. The state ran 19.5 points more Republican than the nation (R+23.2 nationally).

Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)

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South Carolina result

677,863 votes counted

McGovern (D)

189,270

27.9%

Nixon (R)

478,427

70.6%

All others

10,166

1.5%

Margin

R+42.7

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1972 presidential election

South Carolina, 1972

NixonR+42.7

How it voted

Share of the 1972 vote

Richard Nixon ✓Republican	70.6%	478,427
George McGovernDemocratic	27.9%	189,270
OtherAll other candidates	1.5%	10,166

D+60

R+60

46 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.

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South Carolina's presidential margins

1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context

South Carolina's presidential margins

Year	Margin (D minus R)
1892	+58.6%
1896	+71.8%
1900	+86.0%
1904	+90.8%
1908	+87.8%
1912	+95.9%
1916	+94.3%
1920	+92.1%
1924	+94.3%
1928	+82.9%
1932	+98.0%
1936	+98.6%
1940	+91.3%
1944	+83.2%
1948	+20.4%
1952	+1.4%
1956	+20.2%
1960	+2.5%
1964	−17.8%
1968	−8.5%
1972	−42.7%
1976	+13.1%
1980	−1.5%
1984	−28.0%
1988	−23.9%
1992	−8.1%
1996	−6.0%
2000	−15.9%
2004	−17.1%
2008	−9.0%
2012	−10.5%
2016	−14.3%
2020	−11.7%
2024	−17.9%

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County results — 1972

46 counties; every row links to the county's full page.

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County	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
Abbeville County	R	−40.5%	1,349	3,266	4,737
Aiken County	R	−56.1%	5,745	21,117	27,407
Allendale County	R	−11.3%	1,386	1,741	3,146
Anderson County	R	−52.7%	5,241	17,514	23,292
Bamberg County	R	−20.2%	1,680	2,537	4,253
Barnwell County	R	−43.4%	1,560	3,955	5,515
Beaufort County	R	−29.1%	3,237	5,929	9,247
Berkeley County	R	−34.6%	4,497	9,345	14,019
Calhoun County	R	−23.5%	1,148	1,867	3,065
Charleston County	R	−39.7%	16,855	39,863	57,947
Cherokee County	R	−55.7%	2,107	7,570	9,800
Chester County	R	−33.2%	2,352	4,724	7,136
Chesterfield County	R	−27.9%	2,938	5,230	8,229
Clarendon County	R	−9.4%	3,276	3,958	7,284
Colleton County	R	−40.7%	2,376	5,723	8,233
Darlington County	R	−45.0%	4,414	11,756	16,319
Dillon County	R	−45.7%	1,604	4,364	6,034
Dorchester County	R	−37.8%	3,606	8,095	11,886
Edgefield County	R	−35.2%	1,326	2,812	4,218
Fairfield County	R	−2.3%	2,492	2,608	5,146
Florence County	R	−31.2%	9,455	18,106	27,726
Georgetown County	R	−15.6%	4,446	6,114	10,676
Greenville County	R	−62.2%	10,143	46,360	58,229
Greenwood County	R	−46.0%	3,400	9,370	12,975
Hampton County	R	−16.0%	2,086	2,891	5,023
Horry County	R	−54.6%	4,437	15,324	19,944
Jasper County	R	−15.5%	1,203	1,650	2,884
Kershaw County	R	−51.2%	2,531	8,035	10,744
Lancaster County	R	−56.6%	2,461	9,016	11,580
Laurens County	R	−50.2%	2,650	8,141	10,933
Lee County	R	−21.2%	1,996	3,076	5,100
Lexington County	R	−71.1%	4,069	25,327	29,886
Marion County	R	−29.8%	2,545	4,719	7,298
Marlboro County	R	−31.4%	1,999	3,838	5,852
McCormick County	R	−21.2%	844	1,302	2,162
Newberry County	R	−55.6%	2,035	7,325	9,521
Oconee County	R	−58.2%	1,740	6,824	8,728
Orangeburg County	R	−20.6%	7,652	11,711	19,745
Pickens County	R	−66.6%	2,255	11,776	14,296
Richland County	R	−29.5%	21,462	39,746	61,995
Saluda County	R	−49.5%	1,022	3,095	4,191
Spartanburg County	R	−52.3%	9,586	31,308	41,556
Sumter County	R	−30.3%	5,801	10,892	16,800
Union County	R	−51.2%	2,676	8,337	11,065
Williamsburg County	R	−4.7%	5,213	5,729	11,015
York County	R	−38.4%	6,374	14,441	21,026