Richard Nixon carried South Dakota R+8.6.

George McGovern (D) vs Richard Nixon (R) in South Dakota, 1972. The state ran 14.5 points more Democratic than the nation (R+23.2 nationally).

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

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South Dakota result

307,415 votes counted

McGovern (D)

139,945

45.5%

Nixon (R)

166,476

54.2%

All others

994

0.3%

Margin

R+8.6

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1972 presidential election

South Dakota, 1972

NixonR+8.6

How it voted

Share of the 1972 vote

Richard Nixon ✓Republican	54.2%	166,476
George McGovernDemocratic	45.5%	139,945
OtherAll other candidates	0.3%	994

D+60

R+60

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

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South Dakota's presidential margins

1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context

South Dakota's presidential margins

Year	Margin (D minus R)
1892	−36.5%
1896	+0.2%
1900	−15.6%
1904	−49.4%
1908	−23.8%
1912	+42.1%
1916	+3.9%
1920	−41.0%
1924	−36.3%
1928	−21.0%
1932	+29.2%
1936	+11.5%
1940	−14.8%
1944	−16.7%
1948	−4.8%
1952	−38.5%
1956	−16.8%
1960	−16.4%
1964	+11.2%
1968	−11.3%
1972	−8.6%
1976	−1.5%
1980	−28.8%
1984	−26.5%
1988	−6.3%
1992	−3.5%
1996	−3.5%
2000	+22.7%
2004	−21.3%
2008	−8.4%
2012	−18.0%
2016	−29.8%
2020	−26.2%
2024	−29.2%

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County results — 1972

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

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County	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
Aurora County	D	+7.8%	1,257	1,075	2,339
Beadle County	R	−15.9%	4,297	5,922	10,244
Bennett County	R	−25.8%	476	808	1,286
Bon Homme County	D	+5.6%	2,368	2,116	4,493
Brookings County	R	−4.9%	4,701	5,182	9,916
Brown County	D	+0.5%	8,216	8,134	16,451
Brule County	D	+7.9%	1,665	1,421	3,097
Buffalo County	D	+10.9%	275	221	497
Butte County	R	−38.4%	1,085	2,452	3,563
Campbell County	R	−52.6%	361	1,169	1,537
Charles Mix County	D	+14.2%	2,691	2,020	4,721
Clark County	R	−9.5%	1,336	1,617	2,962
Clay County	D	+5.7%	2,821	2,518	5,352
Codington County	R	−3.5%	4,601	4,936	9,564
Corson County	R	−17.1%	689	975	1,673
Custer County	R	−29.6%	798	1,476	2,289
Davison County	D	+10.7%	4,710	3,796	8,531
Day County	D	+15.9%	2,719	1,971	4,699
Deuel County	D	+0.5%	1,370	1,357	2,736
Dewey County	R	−18.0%	699	1,008	1,712
Douglas County	R	−23.5%	887	1,434	2,325
Edmunds County	D	+2.5%	1,646	1,567	3,216
Fall River County	R	−36.2%	1,107	2,374	3,497
Faulk County	R	−0.9%	986	1,004	2,005
Grant County	R	−0.4%	2,231	2,247	4,490
Gregory County	R	−3.6%	1,555	1,670	3,237
Haakon County	R	−46.9%	366	1,021	1,396
Hamlin County	R	−14.0%	1,276	1,693	2,978
Hand County	R	−16.0%	1,307	1,806	3,119
Hanson County	D	+7.7%	1,022	876	1,906
Harding County	R	−43.1%	253	637	890
Hughes County	R	−34.9%	2,037	4,231	6,282
Hutchinson County	R	−15.8%	2,248	3,092	5,348
Hyde County	R	−19.3%	533	789	1,326
Jackson County	R	−27.2%	472	826	1,302
Jerauld County	R	−8.7%	829	988	1,820
Jones County	R	−29.7%	346	642	997
Kingsbury County	R	−17.4%	1,632	2,320	3,958
Lake County	R	−0.6%	2,886	2,919	5,822
Lawrence County	R	−30.8%	2,533	4,795	7,352
Lincoln County	R	−10.0%	2,617	3,201	5,828
Lyman County	R	−20.2%	774	1,166	1,944
Marshall County	D	+4.6%	1,646	1,500	3,147
McCook County	D	+0.8%	1,993	1,963	3,963
McPherson County	R	−54.1%	579	1,950	2,535
Meade County	R	−35.1%	1,633	3,416	5,080
Mellette County	R	−19.0%	433	637	1,076
Miner County	D	+11.6%	1,337	1,059	2,405
Minnehaha County	R	−0.1%	22,386	22,447	44,988
Moody County	D	+6.9%	1,895	1,648	3,554
Oglala Lakota County	D	+55.2%	1,246	356	1,611
Pennington County	R	−22.7%	8,592	13,654	22,326
Perkins County	R	−30.4%	900	1,691	2,598
Potter County	R	−23.6%	858	1,389	2,253
Roberts County	D	+15.3%	2,976	2,187	5,172
Sanborn County	D	+0.5%	1,074	1,064	2,145
Spink County	R	−4.6%	2,321	2,547	4,880
Stanley County	R	−22.5%	492	779	1,278
Sully County	R	−30.1%	414	773	1,191
Todd County	D	+5.9%	907	806	1,723
Tripp County	R	−25.5%	1,538	2,592	4,132
Turner County	R	−20.2%	1,993	3,007	5,010
Union County	D	+5.8%	2,554	2,271	4,842
Walworth County	R	−30.4%	1,287	2,416	3,711
Yankton County	R	−6.5%	3,835	4,366	8,225
Ziebach County	R	−12.4%	378	486	870