1972 Elections

Presidential Year

3 offices contested.

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1972

Balance of Power

37.3%Popular Vote60.3%

78,152,011 votes

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President

Full results →

1972

Presidential Election · 1972

Elected President

Richard M. Nixon

Republicandefeating George McGovern

McGovern

Electoral

Votes

269 to win

520

Nixon

Hospers

17 EV1 EV269 needed to win520 EV

Popular Vote

Nixon(REP)60.3%

McGovern(DEM)37.3%

candidates(OTH)2.3%

Nixon(REP)0.1%

National margin:R+23.0%

78,152,011 total votes cast

View state-by-state results →

Results by State

McGovern: 2 states · 17 EV|Nixon: 49 states · 520 EV|LIB: 0 states · 1 EV

	State	EV	Cum. EV ▲	McGovern %	Votes	Nixon %	Votes	Other %	Margin	Swing
▶	Mississippi	7	7	19.6%	126,782	78.2%	505,125	—	R+58.6	↓ R+68.1
▶	Georgia	12	19	24.7%	289,529	75.3%	881,496	—	R+50.5	↓ R+46.9
▶	Oklahoma	8	27	24.0%	247,147	73.7%	759,025	—	R+49.7	↓ R+34.0
▶	Alabama	9	36	25.5%	256,923	72.4%	728,701	—	R+46.9	↓ R+98.7
▶	Florida	17	53	27.8%	718,117	71.9%	1,857,759	—	R+44.1	↓ R+34.5
▶	South Carolina	8	61	27.9%	189,270	70.6%	478,427	—	R+42.7	↓ R+34.2
▶	Utah	4	65	26.4%	126,284	67.6%	323,643	6.0%	R+41.3	↓ R+21.8
▶	Nebraska	5	70	29.5%	169,991	70.5%	406,298	—	R+41.0	↓ R+13.0
▶	North Carolina	13	83	28.9%	438,705	69.5%	1,054,889	—	R+40.6	↓ R+30.3
▶	Wyoming	3	86	30.5%	44,358	69.0%	100,464	—	R+38.5	↓ R+18.3
▶	Idaho	4	90	26.0%	80,826	64.2%	199,384	9.7%	R+38.2	↓ R+12.1
▶	Kansas	7	97	29.5%	270,287	67.7%	619,812	—	R+38.1	↓ R+18.0
▶	Arkansas	6	103	30.7%	198,899	68.8%	445,751	—	R+38.1	↓ R+37.4
▶	Tennessee	10	113	29.8%	357,293	67.7%	813,147	—	R+38.0	↓ R+28.2
▶	Virginia	12*	124*	30.1%	434,958	67.9%	982,726	—	R+37.9	↓ R+27.0
▶	Louisiana	10	134	28.4%	298,142	65.3%	686,852	6.3%	R+37.0	↓ R+41.7
▶	Texas	26	160	33.2%	1,154,291	66.2%	2,298,896	—	R+33.0	↓ R+34.2
▶	Indiana	13	173	33.3%	708,568	66.1%	1,405,154	—	R+32.8	↓ R+20.5
▶	Arizona	6	179	30.4%	198,540	61.6%	402,812	8.0%	R+31.3	↓ R+11.5
▶	New Hampshire	4	183	34.9%	116,435	64.0%	213,724	—	R+29.1	↓ R+20.9
▶	Kentucky	9	192	34.8%	371,159	63.4%	676,446	—	R+28.6	↓ R+22.5
▶	Colorado	7	199	34.6%	329,980	62.6%	597,189	—	R+28.0	↓ R+18.9
▶	Nevada	3	202	36.3%	66,016	63.7%	115,750	—	R+27.4	↓ R+19.2
▶	West Virginia	6	208	36.4%	277,435	63.6%	484,964	—	R+27.2	↓ R+36.0
▶	North Dakota	3	211	35.8%	100,384	62.1%	174,109	—	R+26.3	↓ R+8.6
▶	Vermont	3	214	36.5%	68,174	62.7%	117,149	—	R+26.2	↓ R+17.0
▶	Hawaii	4	218	37.5%	101,409	62.5%	168,865	—	R+25.0	↓ R+46.1
▶	New Jersey	17	235	36.8%	1,102,211	61.6%	1,845,502	—	R+24.8	↓ R+22.7
▶	New Mexico	4	239	36.6%	141,084	61.0%	235,606	—	R+24.5	↓ R+12.4
▶	Maryland	10	249	37.4%	505,781	61.3%	829,305	—	R+23.9	↓ R+25.5
▶	Maine	4	253	38.5%	160,584	61.5%	256,458	—	R+23.0	↓ R+35.7
▶	Ohio	25	278	38.1%	1,558,889	59.6%	2,441,827	—	R+21.6	↓ R+19.3
▶	Delaware	3	281	39.2%	92,283	59.6%	140,357	—	R+20.4	↓ R+16.9
▶	Montana	4	285	37.9%	120,197	57.9%	183,976	—	R+20.1	↓ R+11.1
▶	Missouri	12	297	30.6%	697,147	50.7%	1,153,852	18.7%	R+20.1	↓ R+19.1
▶	Pennsylvania	27	324	39.1%	1,796,951	59.1%	2,714,521	—	R+20.0	↓ R+23.6
▶	Illinois	26	350	40.5%	1,913,472	59.0%	2,788,179	—	R+18.5	↓ R+15.6
▶	Connecticut	8	358	40.1%	555,498	58.6%	810,763	—	R+18.4	↓ R+23.6
▶	Washington	9	367	38.6%	568,334	56.9%	837,135	—	R+18.3	↓ R+20.1
▶	New York	41	408	41.2%	2,951,084	58.5%	4,192,778	—	R+17.3	↓ R+18.2
▶	Iowa	8	416	40.5%	496,206	57.6%	706,207	—	R+17.1	↓ R+4.9
▶	Michigan	21	437	41.8%	1,459,435	56.2%	1,961,721	—	R+14.4	↓ R+21.1
▶	California	45	482	41.5%	3,475,847	55.0%	4,602,096	—	R+13.5	↓ R+10.4
▶	Oregon	6	488	42.3%	392,760	52.5%	486,686	5.2%	R+10.1	↓ R+4.1
▶	Wisconsin	11	499	43.8%	810,174	53.4%	989,430	—	R+9.7	↓ R+6.1
▶	South Dakota	4	503	45.5%	139,945	54.1%	166,476	—	R+8.6	↑ D+2.7
▶	Rhode Island	4	507	46.8%	194,645	53.0%	220,383	—	R+6.2	↓ R+38.4
▶	Minnesota	10	517	46.1%	802,346	51.6%	898,269	—	R+5.5	↓ R+18.0
▶	District of Columbia	3	3	78.1%	127,627	21.6%	35,226	—	D+56.5	↓ R+7.1
▶	Massachusetts	14	17	54.2%	1,332,540	45.2%	1,112,078	—	D+9.0	↓ R+21.1
▶	Alaska	3	3	34.6%	32,967	58.1%	55,349	7.2%	R+23.5	↓ R+20.9

Margin = (Dem votes − Rep votes) ÷ total votes × 100. Swing = current margin − 1968 margin. Cum. EV orders each winning ticket's states from largest win to closest win and accumulates the official EV awarded in each state, so the closest state is that candidate's final cumulative total.Other % shown when > 5% of total votes.

Default sort follows each winning ticket's cumulative EV path; click any header to switch views.

`*` indicates special Electoral College handling such as split electors, faithless electors, or blank ballots. Expand a row for details.

U.S. Senate

Full results →

33 contests|D won 16|R won 17

	State ▲	Winner	W%	Votes	Runner-up	R-up%	Votes	Margin	Swing
▶	Alabama	SparkmanDEM	62.3%	654,491	BlountREP	33.1%	347,523	D+29.2	↑ D+8.1
▶	Arkansas	McClellanDEM	60.9%	386,398	BabbittREP	39.1%	248,238	D+21.8	—
▶	Colorado	HaskellDEM	49.4%	457,545	AllottREP	48.4%	447,957	D+1.0	↑ D+17.1
▶	Delaware	BidenDEM	50.5%	116,006	BoggsREP	49.1%	112,844	D+1.4	↑ D+19.6
▶	Georgia	NunnDEM	54.0%	635,970	ThompsonREP	46.0%	542,331	D+7.9	↓ R+92.1
▶	Idaho	McClureREP	52.3%	161,804	DavisDEM	45.5%	140,913	R+6.8	↑ D+4.0
▶	Illinois	PercyREP	62.2%	2,867,078	PucinskiDEM	37.4%	1,721,031	R+24.9	↓ R+13.8
▶	Iowa	ClarkDEM	55.1%	662,637	MillerREP	44.1%	530,525	D+11.0	↑ D+34.1
▶	Kansas	PearsonREP	71.4%	622,591	TetzlaffDEM	23.0%	200,764	R+48.4	↓ R+41.4
▶	Kentucky	HuddlestonDEM	50.9%	528,550	NunnREP	47.6%	494,337	D+3.3	↑ D+32.4
▶	Louisiana	JohnstonDEM	55.2%	598,987	OtherOTH	25.7%	279,071	D+36.1	↓ R+63.9
▶	Maine	HathawayDEM	53.2%	224,270	SmithREP	46.8%	197,040	D+6.5	↑ D+24.4
▶	Massachusetts	BrookeREP	63.5%	1,505,932	DroneyDEM	34.7%	823,278	R+28.8	↓ R+6.9
▶	Michigan	GriffinREP	52.3%	1,781,065	KelleyDEM	46.3%	1,577,178	R+6.0	↑ D+6.1
▶	Minnesota	MondaleDEM	56.7%	981,340	HansenREP	42.9%	742,121	D+13.8	↑ D+5.9
▶	Mississippi	EastlandDEM	58.1%	375,102	CarmichaelREP	38.7%	249,779	D+19.4	↓ R+19.5
▶	Montana	MetcalfDEM	52.0%	163,609	HibbardREP	48.0%	151,316	D+3.9	↓ R+2.4
▶	Nebraska	CurtisREP	53.1%	301,841	CarpenterDEM	46.8%	265,922	R+6.3	↑ D+16.0
▶	New Hampshire	McIntyreDEM	56.9%	184,495	PowellREP	43.1%	139,852	D+13.8	↑ D+5.6
▶	New Jersey	CaseREP	62.5%	1,743,854	KrebsDEM	34.5%	963,573	R+27.9	↓ R+4.9
▶	New Mexico	DomeniciREP	54.0%	204,253	DanielsDEM	45.9%	173,815	R+8.1	↓ R+14.3
▶	North Carolina	HelmsREP	54.0%	795,248	GalifianakisDEM	46.0%	677,293	R+8.0	↓ R+23.1
▶	Oklahoma	BartlettREP	51.4%	516,934	EdmondsonDEM	47.6%	478,212	R+3.9	↓ R+11.3
▶	Oregon	HatfieldREP	53.7%	494,671	MorseDEM	46.2%	425,036	R+7.6	↓ R+4.0
▶	Rhode Island	PellDEM	53.7%	221,942	ChafeeREP	45.7%	188,990	D+8.0	↓ R+27.4
▶	South Carolina	ThurmondREP	63.5%	426,601	ZeiglerDEM	36.5%	245,457	R+26.9	↓ R+29.6
▶	South Dakota	AbourezkDEM	57.0%	174,773	HirschREP	43.0%	131,613	D+14.1	↑ D+46.7
▶	Tennessee	BakerREP	61.5%	716,539	BlantonDEM	37.9%	440,599	R+23.7	↓ R+12.3
▶	Texas	TowerREP	53.4%	1,822,877	SandersDEM	44.3%	1,511,985	R+9.1	↑ D+4.2
▶	Vermont(S)	StaffordREP	64.3%	45,888	MajorDEM	33.4%	23,842	R+30.9	—
▶	Virginia	ScottREP	51.5%	714,575	SpongDEM	46.0%	638,386	R+5.5	↓ R+21.4
▶	West Virginia	RandolphDEM	66.5%	486,310	LeonardREP	33.5%	245,531	D+32.9	↑ D+13.9
▶	Wyoming	HansenREP	71.3%	101,314	VinichDEM	28.7%	40,753	R+42.6	↓ R+39.0

Governor

Full results →

19 contests|D won 12|R won 7

	State ▲	Winner	W%	Votes	Runner-up	R-up%	Votes	Margin	Swing
▶	Arkansas	BumpersDEM	75.4%	488,892	BlaylockREP	24.6%	159,177	D+50.9	↑ D+55.8
▶	Delaware	TribbittDEM	51.3%	117,274	PetersonREP	47.9%	109,583	D+3.4	↑ D+4.4
▶	Illinois	WalkerDEM	50.7%	2,371,301	OgilvieREP	49.0%	2,293,809	D+1.7	↑ D+4.5
▶	Indiana	BowenREP	56.8%	1,203,903	WelshDEM	42.5%	900,489	R+14.3	↓ R+8.7
▶	Iowa	RayREP	58.4%	707,177	FranzenburgDEM	40.3%	487,282	R+18.2	↓ R+10.0
▶	Kansas	DockingDEM	62.0%	571,256	KayREP	37.0%	341,438	D+24.9	↑ D+20.7
▶	Louisiana	EdwardsDEM	57.2%	641,146	TreenREP	42.8%	480,424	D+14.3	↓ R+85.7
▶	Missouri	BondREP	55.2%	1,029,451	DowdDEM	44.6%	832,751	R+10.5	↓ R+32.0
▶	Montana	JudgeDEM	54.1%	172,523	SmithREP	45.9%	146,231	D+8.3	↓ R+4.0
▶	New Hampshire	ThomsonREP	41.4%	133,702	CrowleyDEM	39.0%	126,107	R+2.4	↑ D+2.7
▶	North Carolina	HolshouserREP	51.0%	767,470	BowlesDEM	48.5%	729,104	R+2.5	↓ R+8.0
▶	North Dakota	LinkDEM	51.0%	143,899	DavisREP	49.0%	138,032	D+2.1	↓ R+9.0
▶	Rhode Island	NoelDEM	52.5%	216,953	DesimoneREP	47.1%	194,315	D+5.5	↑ D+3.5
▶	South Dakota	KneipDEM	60.0%	185,012	ThompsonREP	40.0%	123,165	D+20.1	↑ D+35.4
▶	Texas	BriscoeDEM	47.9%	1,633,913	GroverREP	45.0%	1,534,060	D+2.9	↓ R+11.1
▶	Utah	RamptonDEM	69.7%	331,998	StrikeREP	30.3%	144,449	D+39.4	↑ D+1.9
▶	Vermont	SalmonDEM	55.2%	104,533	HackettREP	43.6%	82,491	D+11.7	↑ D+22.7
▶	Washington	EvansREP	50.8%	747,825	RoselliniDEM	42.8%	630,613	R+8.0	↑ D+2.5
▶	West Virginia	MooreREP	54.7%	423,817	RockefellerDEM	45.3%	350,462	R+9.5	↓ R+7.8