1968  1972 Presidential Election Returns  1976

Richard Nixon approached the 1972 election benefiting from a good economy. He had also had successes in foreign affairs, with a promise to end the Vietnam War. He also established good relations with China. Democrats nominated South Dakota Senator George McGovern. However, McGovern did not receive much support from his own party. His running mate had to step down and be replaced because of his mental illness. Many voters believed that McGovern was too liberal, and he had advocated for a mandatory minimum income for all Americans. He also advocated for an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam. McGovern was a Senator from South Dakota, and he did not even win his home state in the election! He accused Nixon of being corrupt, but hardly anyone believed him. Nixon would win every state but Massachusetts, the home state of McGovern's running mate, a Peace Corps Director named Sargent Shriver. Just two years later, Nixon would be implicated in the famous Watergate scandal. UNITED STATES VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 47,165,234 61 520 McGovern/Shriver 29,170,774 38 17 Schmitz/Anderson 1,100,896 1 0 Jeness/Pulley 83,310 0 0 Spock/Hobson 78,759 0 0 All Other Candidates 54,936 0 0 Fisher/Gunderson 53,814 0 0 Write-Ins 26,639 0 0 Hospers/Nathan 3,674 0 1 ALABAMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 728,701 72 9 McGovern/Shriver 256,923 26 0 ALASKA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 55,349 58 3 McGovern/Shriver 32,967 35 0 ARIZONA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 402,812 62 6 McGovern/Shriver 198,540 30 0 ARKANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 445,751 69 6 McGovern/Shriver 198,899 31 0 CALIFORNIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 4,602,096 55 45 McGovern/Shriver 3,475,847 42 0 COLORADO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 597,189 63 7 McGovern/Shriver 329,980 35 0 CONNECTICUT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 810,763 59 8 McGovern/Shriver 555,498 40 0 DELAWARE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 140,357 60 3 McGovern/Shriver 92,283 39 0 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 35,226 22 0 McGovern/Shriver 127,627 78 3 FLORIDA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,857,759 72 17 McGovern/Shriver 718,117 28 0 GEORGIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 881,496 75 12 McGovern/Shriver 289,529 25 0 HAWAII VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 168,865 62 4 McGovern/Shriver 101,409 38 0 IDAHO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 199,384 64 4 McGovern/Shriver 80,826 26 0 Schmitz/Anderson 28,869 9 0 ILLINOIS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 2,788,179 59 26 McGovern/Shriver 1,913,472 41 0 INDIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,405,154 66 13 McGovern/Shriver 708,568 33 0 IOWA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 706,207 58 8 McGovern/Shriver 496,206 40 0 KANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 619,812 68 7 McGovern/Shriver 270,287 30 0 KENTUCKY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 676,446 63 9 McGovern/Shriver 371,159 35 0 LOUISIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 686,852 65 10 McGovern/Shriver 298,142 28 0 Schmitz/Anderson 52,099 5 0 MAINE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 256,458 61 4 McGovern/Shriver 160,584 38 0 MARYLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 829,305 61 10 McGovern/Shriver 505,781 37 0 MASSACHUSETTS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,112,078 45 0 McGovern/Shriver 1,332,540 54 14 MICHIGAN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,961,721 56 21 McGovern/Shriver 1,459,435 42 0 MINNESOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 898,269 52 10 McGovern/Shriver 802,346 46 0 MISSISSIPPI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 505,125 78 7 McGovern/Shriver 126,782 20 0 MISSOURI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,154,058 62 12 McGovern/Shriver 698,531 38 0 MONTANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 183,976 58 4 McGovern/Shriver 120,197 38 0 NEBRASKA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 406,298 71 5 McGovern/Shriver 169,991 29 0 NEVADA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 115,750 64 3 McGovern/Shriver 66,016 36 0 NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 213,724 64 4 McGovern/Shriver 116,435 36 0 NEW JERSEY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,845,502 62 17 McGovern/Shriver 1,102,211 37 0 NEW MEXICO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 235,606 61 4 McGovern/Shriver 141,084 37 0 NEW YORK VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 4,192,778 59 41 McGovern/Shriver 2,951,084 41 0 NORTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 1,054,889 69 13 McGovern/Shriver 438,705 29 0 NORTH DAKOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 174,109 62 3 McGovern/Shriver 100,384 36 0 OHIO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 2,441,827 60 25 McGovern/Shriver 1,558,889 38 0 OKLAHOMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 759,025 74 8 McGovern/Shriver 247,147 24 0 OREGON VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 486,686 52 6 McGovern/Shriver 392,760 42 0 Schmitz/Anderson 46,211 5 0 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 2,714,521 59 27 McGovern/Shriver 1,796,951 39 0 RHODE ISLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 220,383 53 4 McGovern/Shriver 194,645 47 0 SOUTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 478,427 71 8 McGovern/Shriver 189,270 28 0 SOUTH DAKOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 166,476 54 4 McGovern/Shriver 139,945 46 0 TENNESSEE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 813,147 68 10 McGovern/Shriver 357,293 30 0 TEXAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 2,298,896 66 26 McGovern/Shriver 1,154,291 33 0 UTAH VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 323,643 68 4 McGovern/Shriver 126,284 26 0 Schmitz/Anderson 28,549 6 0 VERMONT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 117,149 63 3 McGovern/Shriver 68,174 36 0 VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 988,493 68 11* McGovern/Shriver 438,887 30 0 *-One Elector Voted for John Hospers for President WASHINGTON VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 837,135 57 9 McGovern/Shriver 568,334 39 0 WEST VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 484,964 64 6 McGovern/Shriver 277,435 36 0 WISCONSIN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 989,430 53 11 McGovern/Shriver 810,174 44 0 WYOMING VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Nixon/Agnew* 100,464 69 3 McGovern/Shriver 44,358 30 0 SYMBOLS KEY Republican Democratic Other Independent Libertarian Socialist Workers Winner * Incumbent + Incumbent Party