Tuesday, November 7, 1972
1972 presidential election results
Richard M. Nixon (Republican) and running mate Spiro Agnew won with 520 electoral votes and 60.7% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Ohio, R+21.6 (nation R+23.2). It delivered electoral vote number 269 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard M. Nixon Won | Spiro Agnew | Republican | 520 | 47,169,911 | 60.70% | 49 |
| George McGovern | Sargent Shriver | Democratic | 17 | 29,170,383 | 37.50% | 2 |
| Total popular votes counted | 77,718,554 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
* John Hospers (Libertarian) received one electoral vote from a faithless elector in Virginia
Results by state
Download CSV| State | Richard M. Nixon | George McGovern | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 72.4% 9 | 25.5% | 46.9 | 9 | 1,006,111 |
| Alaska | 58.1% 3 | 34.6% | 23.5 | 3 | 95,219 |
| Arizona | 64.7% 6 | 31.9% | 32.8 | 6 | 622,926 |
| Arkansas | 68.9% 6 | 30.7% | 38.2 | 6 | 651,320 |
| California | 55.0% 45 | 41.5% | 13.5 | 45 | 8,367,862 |
| Colorado | 62.6% 7 | 34.6% | 28.0 | 7 | 953,884 |
| Connecticut | 58.6% 8 | 40.1% | 18.4 | 8 | 1,384,277 |
| Delaware | 59.6% 3 | 39.2% | 20.4 | 3 | 235,516 |
| District of Columbia | 21.6% | 78.1% 3 | 56.5 | 3 | 163,421 |
| Florida | 71.9% 17 | 27.8% | 44.1 | 17 | 2,583,283 |
| Georgia | 75.0% 12 | 24.6% | 50.4 | 12 | 1,174,772 |
| Hawaii | 62.5% 4 | 37.5% | 25.0 | 4 | 270,274 |
| Idaho | 64.2% 4 | 26.0% | 38.2 | 4 | 310,379 |
| Illinois | 59.0% 26 | 40.5% | 18.5 | 26 | 4,723,236 |
| Indiana | 66.1% 13 | 33.3% | 32.8 | 13 | 2,125,529 |
| Iowa | 57.6% 8 | 40.5% | 17.1 | 8 | 1,225,944 |
| Kansas | 67.7% 7 | 29.5% | 38.2 | 7 | 916,095 |
| Kentucky | 63.4% 9 | 34.8% | 28.6 | 9 | 1,067,499 |
| Louisiana | 65.3% 10 | 28.4% | 37.0 | 10 | 1,051,491 |
| Maine | 61.5% 4 | 38.5% | 23.0 | 4 | 417,042 |
| Maryland | 61.3% 10 | 37.4% | 23.9 | 10 | 1,353,812 |
| Massachusetts | 45.2% | 54.2% 14 | 9.0 | 14 | 2,458,756 |
| Michigan | 56.2% 21 | 41.8% | 14.4 | 21 | 3,489,727 |
| Minnesota | 51.6% 10 | 46.1% | 5.5 | 10 | 1,741,652 |
| Mississippi | 78.2% 7 | 19.6% | 58.6 | 7 | 645,963 |
| Missouri | 62.2% 12 | 37.6% | 24.6 | 12 | 1,855,803 |
| Montana | 57.9% 4 | 37.8% | 20.1 | 4 | 317,603 |
| Nebraska | 70.5% 5 | 29.5% | 41.0 | 5 | 576,289 |
| Nevada | 63.7% 3 | 36.3% | 27.4 | 3 | 181,766 |
| New Hampshire | 64.0% 4 | 34.9% | 29.1 | 4 | 334,055 |
| New Jersey | 61.6% 17 | 36.8% | 24.8 | 17 | 2,997,229 |
| New Mexico | 61.0% 4 | 36.5% | 24.5 | 4 | 386,241 |
| New York | 58.5% 41 | 41.2% | 17.3 | 41 | 7,165,919 |
| North Carolina | 69.5% 13 | 28.9% | 40.6 | 13 | 1,518,612 |
| North Dakota | 62.1% 3 | 35.8% | 26.3 | 3 | 280,514 |
| Ohio | 59.6% 25 | 38.1% | 21.6 | 25 | 4,094,787 |
| Oklahoma | 73.7% 8 | 24.0% | 49.7 | 8 | 1,029,900 |
| Oregon | 52.4% 6 | 42.3% | 10.1 | 6 | 927,946 |
| Pennsylvania | 59.1% 27 | 39.1% | 20.0 | 27 | 4,592,106 |
| Rhode Island | 53.0% 4 | 46.8% | 6.2 | 4 | 415,808 |
| South Carolina | 70.8% 8 | 27.7% | 43.1 | 8 | 673,960 |
| South Dakota | 54.2% 4 | 45.5% | 8.6 | 4 | 307,415 |
| Tennessee | 67.7% 10 | 29.7% | 38.0 | 10 | 1,201,182 |
| Texas | 66.2% 26 | 33.3% | 33.0 | 26 | 3,471,281 |
| Utah | 67.6% 4 | 26.4% | 41.3 | 4 | 478,476 |
| Vermont | 62.7% 3 | 36.5% | 26.2 | 3 | 186,947 |
| Virginia | 67.8% 11 | 30.1% | 37.7 | 11 | 1,457,019 |
| Washington | 56.9% 9 | 38.6% | 18.3 | 9 | 1,470,847 |
| West Virginia | 63.6% 6 | 36.4% | 27.2 | 6 | 762,399 |
| Wisconsin | 53.4% 11 | 43.7% | 9.7 | 11 | 1,852,890 |
| Wyoming | 69.0% 3 | 30.5% | 38.5 | 3 | 145,570 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1972
- Minnesota Richard M. Nixon by 95,923 votes (5.51 pts)
- Rhode Island Richard M. Nixon by 25,738 votes (6.19 pts)
- South Dakota Richard M. Nixon by 26,531 votes (8.63 pts)
- Massachusetts George McGovern by 220,462 votes (8.97 pts)
- Wisconsin Richard M. Nixon by 179,256 votes (9.67 pts)
- Oregon Richard M. Nixon by 93,926 votes (10.12 pts)
- California Richard M. Nixon by 1,126,249 votes (13.46 pts)
- Michigan Richard M. Nixon by 502,286 votes (14.39 pts)
Flipped since 1968
- Alabama: American Independent → Republican (9 EV)
- Arkansas: American Independent → Republican (6 EV)
- Connecticut: Democratic → Republican (8 EV)
- Georgia: American Independent → Republican (12 EV)
- Hawaii: Democratic → Republican (4 EV)
- Louisiana: American Independent → Republican (10 EV)
- Maine: Democratic → Republican (4 EV)
- Maryland: Democratic → Republican (10 EV)
- Michigan: Democratic → Republican (21 EV)
- Minnesota: Democratic → Republican (10 EV)
- Mississippi: American Independent → Republican (7 EV)
- New York: Democratic → Republican (41 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Democratic → Republican (27 EV)
- Rhode Island: Democratic → Republican (4 EV)
- Texas: Democratic → Republican (26 EV)
- Washington: Democratic → Republican (9 EV)
- West Virginia: Democratic → Republican (6 EV)
Source: 1972
Questions and answers
Who won the 1972 presidential election?
Richard M. Nixon (Republican) won the 1972 election with 520 electoral votes, with Spiro Agnew as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1972?
Richard M. Nixon 520; George McGovern 17 (out of 537).
Who won the popular vote in 1972?
Richard M. Nixon received the most popular votes: 47,169,911 (60.7%) of 77,718,554 counted.
What was the closest state in 1972?
Minnesota, which Richard M. Nixon won by 95,923 votes (5.51 points).
Which states flipped in 1972?
Compared with 1968, 17 states changed party: Alabama (to Republican), Arkansas (to Republican), Connecticut (to Republican), Georgia (to Republican), Hawaii (to Republican), Louisiana (to Republican), Maine (to Republican), Maryland (to Republican), Michigan (to Republican), Minnesota (to Republican), Mississippi (to Republican), New York (to Republican), Pennsylvania (to Republican), Rhode Island (to Republican), Texas (to Republican), Washington (to Republican) and West Virginia (to Republican).
What was the tipping-point state in 1972?
Ohio. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 269; it voted Republican by 21.6 points, against Republican by 23.2 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data