South Carolina — 1972 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1972 presidential electionSouth Carolina · PresidentNixonR+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 |
1972presidential margin
D+60R+60
46 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
South Carolina cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (46 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County, SC | Republican | R+40.5 |
| Aiken County, SC | Republican | R+56.1 |
| Allendale County, SC | Republican | R+11.3 |
| Anderson County, SC | Republican | R+52.7 |
| Bamberg County, SC | Republican | R+20.2 |
| Barnwell County, SC | Republican | R+43.4 |
| Beaufort County, SC | Republican | R+29.1 |
| Berkeley County, SC | Republican | R+34.6 |
| Calhoun County, SC | Republican | R+23.5 |
| Charleston County, SC | Republican | R+39.7 |
| Cherokee County, SC | Republican | R+55.7 |
| Chester County, SC | Republican | R+33.2 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Republican | R+27.9 |
| Clarendon County, SC | Republican | R+9.4 |
| Colleton County, SC | Republican | R+40.7 |
| Darlington County, SC | Republican | R+45.0 |
| Dillon County, SC | Republican | R+45.7 |
| Dorchester County, SC | Republican | R+37.8 |
| Edgefield County, SC | Republican | R+35.2 |
| Fairfield County, SC | Republican | R+2.3 |
| Florence County, SC | Republican | R+31.2 |
| Georgetown County, SC | Republican | R+15.6 |
| Greenville County, SC | Republican | R+62.2 |
| Greenwood County, SC | Republican | R+46.0 |
| Hampton County, SC | Republican | R+16.0 |
| Horry County, SC | Republican | R+54.6 |
| Jasper County, SC | Republican | R+15.5 |
| Kershaw County, SC | Republican | R+51.2 |
| Lancaster County, SC | Republican | R+56.6 |
| Laurens County, SC | Republican | R+50.2 |
| Lee County, SC | Republican | R+21.2 |
| Lexington County, SC | Republican | R+71.1 |
| Marion County, SC | Republican | R+29.8 |
| Marlboro County, SC | Republican | R+31.4 |
| McCormick County, SC | Republican | R+21.2 |
| Newberry County, SC | Republican | R+55.6 |
| Oconee County, SC | Republican | R+58.2 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | Republican | R+20.6 |
| Pickens County, SC | Republican | R+66.6 |
| Richland County, SC | Republican | R+29.5 |
| Saluda County, SC | Republican | R+49.5 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | Republican | R+52.3 |
| Sumter County, SC | Republican | R+30.3 |
| Union County, SC | Republican | R+51.2 |
| Williamsburg County, SC | Republican | R+4.7 |
| York County, SC | Republican | R+38.4 |
South Carolina results by county
46 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Richard Nixon+1,917 | 3,26668.9% | 1,34928.5% | 1222.6% | 4,737 |
| Aiken County | Richard Nixon+15,372 | 21,11777.0% | 5,74521.0% | 5452.0% | 27,407 |
| Allendale County | Richard Nixon+355 | 1,74155.3% | 1,38644.1% | 190.6% | 3,146 |
| Anderson County | Richard Nixon+12,273 | 17,51475.2% | 5,24122.5% | 5372.3% | 23,292 |
| Bamberg County | Richard Nixon+857 | 2,53759.7% | 1,68039.5% | 360.8% | 4,253 |
| Barnwell County | Richard Nixon+2,395 | 3,95571.7% | 1,56028.3% | 00.0% | 5,515 |
| Beaufort County | Richard Nixon+2,692 | 5,92964.1% | 3,23735.0% | 810.9% | 9,247 |
| Berkeley County | Richard Nixon+4,848 | 9,34566.7% | 4,49732.1% | 1771.3% | 14,019 |
| Calhoun County | Richard Nixon+719 | 1,86760.9% | 1,14837.5% | 501.6% | 3,065 |
| Charleston County | Richard Nixon+23,008 | 39,86368.8% | 16,85529.1% | 1,2292.1% | 57,947 |
| Cherokee County | Richard Nixon+5,463 | 7,57077.2% | 2,10721.5% | 1231.3% | 9,800 |
| Chester County | Richard Nixon+2,372 | 4,72466.2% | 2,35233.0% | 600.8% | 7,136 |
| Chesterfield County | Richard Nixon+2,292 | 5,23063.6% | 2,93835.7% | 610.7% | 8,229 |
| Clarendon County | Richard Nixon+682 | 3,95854.3% | 3,27645.0% | 500.7% | 7,284 |
| Colleton County | Richard Nixon+3,347 | 5,72369.5% | 2,37628.9% | 1341.6% | 8,233 |
| Darlington County | Richard Nixon+7,342 | 11,75672.0% | 4,41427.0% | 1490.9% | 16,319 |
| Dillon County | Richard Nixon+2,760 | 4,36472.3% | 1,60426.6% | 661.1% | 6,034 |
| Dorchester County | Richard Nixon+4,489 | 8,09568.1% | 3,60630.3% | 1851.6% | 11,886 |
| Edgefield County | Richard Nixon+1,486 | 2,81266.7% | 1,32631.4% | 801.9% | 4,218 |
| Fairfield County | Richard Nixon+116 | 2,60850.7% | 2,49248.4% | 460.9% | 5,146 |
| Florence County | Richard Nixon+8,651 | 18,10665.3% | 9,45534.1% | 1650.6% | 27,726 |
| Georgetown County | Richard Nixon+1,668 | 6,11457.3% | 4,44641.6% | 1161.1% | 10,676 |
| Greenville County | Richard Nixon+36,217 | 46,36079.6% | 10,14317.4% | 1,7263.0% | 58,229 |
| Greenwood County | Richard Nixon+5,970 | 9,37072.2% | 3,40026.2% | 2051.6% | 12,975 |
| Hampton County | Richard Nixon+805 | 2,89157.6% | 2,08641.5% | 460.9% | 5,023 |
| Horry County | Richard Nixon+10,887 | 15,32476.8% | 4,43722.2% | 1830.9% | 19,944 |
| Jasper County | Richard Nixon+447 | 1,65057.2% | 1,20341.7% | 311.1% | 2,884 |
| Kershaw County | Richard Nixon+5,504 | 8,03574.8% | 2,53123.6% | 1781.7% | 10,744 |
| Lancaster County | Richard Nixon+6,555 | 9,01677.9% | 2,46121.3% | 1030.9% | 11,580 |
| Laurens County | Richard Nixon+5,491 | 8,14174.5% | 2,65024.2% | 1421.3% | 10,933 |
| Lee County | Richard Nixon+1,080 | 3,07660.3% | 1,99639.1% | 280.5% | 5,100 |
| Lexington County | Richard Nixon+21,258 | 25,32784.7% | 4,06913.6% | 4901.6% | 29,886 |
| Marion County | Richard Nixon+2,174 | 4,71964.7% | 2,54534.9% | 340.5% | 7,298 |
| Marlboro County | Richard Nixon+1,839 | 3,83865.6% | 1,99934.2% | 150.3% | 5,852 |
| McCormick County | Richard Nixon+458 | 1,30260.2% | 84439.0% | 160.7% | 2,162 |
| Newberry County | Richard Nixon+5,290 | 7,32576.9% | 2,03521.4% | 1611.7% | 9,521 |
| Oconee County | Richard Nixon+5,084 | 6,82478.2% | 1,74019.9% | 1641.9% | 8,728 |
| Orangeburg County | Richard Nixon+4,059 | 11,71159.3% | 7,65238.8% | 3821.9% | 19,745 |
| Pickens County | Richard Nixon+9,521 | 11,77682.4% | 2,25515.8% | 2651.9% | 14,296 |
| Richland County | Richard Nixon+18,284 | 39,74664.1% | 21,46234.6% | 7871.3% | 61,995 |
| Saluda County | Richard Nixon+2,073 | 3,09573.8% | 1,02224.4% | 741.8% | 4,191 |
| Spartanburg County | Richard Nixon+21,722 | 31,30875.3% | 9,58623.1% | 6621.6% | 41,556 |
| Sumter County | Richard Nixon+5,091 | 10,89264.8% | 5,80134.5% | 1070.6% | 16,800 |
| Union County | Richard Nixon+5,661 | 8,33775.3% | 2,67624.2% | 520.5% | 11,065 |
| Williamsburg County | Richard Nixon+516 | 5,72952.0% | 5,21347.3% | 730.7% | 11,015 |
| York County | Richard Nixon+8,067 | 14,44168.7% | 6,37430.3% | 2111.0% | 21,026 |
Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)
South Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context
| 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% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1972 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.