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1972 presidential election map and results

Richard Nixon won 520 electoral votes. George McGovern received 17, and one Virginia elector voted for Libertarian John Hospers. A majority was 270 of 538 electoral votes.

Map of the 1972 presidential election results by state — Nixon (Republican)McGovern (Democratic)

Explore the 1972 map interactively →

Candidates

Candidate	Party	Electoral votes	Popular vote	%
Richard Nixon ✓	Republican	520	47,169,911	60.7%
George McGovern	Democratic	17	29,170,383	37.5%
John Hospers	Libertarian	1	0	0.0%

Popular-vote totals add up the states with recorded votes; some states chose electors through their legislatures in this era.

Results by state

State	Won by	Electoral votes	Winner %	Margin (pts)
Alabama	Richard Nixon	9	72.4%	46.9
Alaska	Richard Nixon	3	58.1%	23.5
Arizona	Richard Nixon	6	64.7%	32.8
Arkansas	Richard Nixon	6	68.9%	38.2
California	Richard Nixon	45	55.0%	13.5
Colorado	Richard Nixon	7	62.6%	28.0
Connecticut	Richard Nixon	8	58.6%	18.4
Delaware	Richard Nixon	3	59.6%	20.4
District of Columbia	George McGovern	3	78.1%	56.5
Florida	Richard Nixon	17	71.9%	44.1
Georgia	Richard Nixon	12	75.0%	50.4
Hawaii	Richard Nixon	4	62.5%	25.0
Idaho	Richard Nixon	4	64.2%	38.2
Illinois	Richard Nixon	26	59.0%	18.5
Indiana	Richard Nixon	13	66.1%	32.8
Iowa	Richard Nixon	8	57.6%	17.1
Kansas	Richard Nixon	7	67.7%	38.2
Kentucky	Richard Nixon	9	63.4%	28.6
Louisiana	Richard Nixon	10	65.3%	37.0
Maine	Richard Nixon	4	61.5%	23.0
Maryland	Richard Nixon	10	61.3%	23.9
Massachusetts	George McGovern	14	54.2%	9.0
Michigan	Richard Nixon	21	56.2%	14.4
Minnesota	Richard Nixon	10	51.6%	5.5
Mississippi	Richard Nixon	7	78.2%	58.6
Missouri	Richard Nixon	12	62.2%	24.6
Montana	Richard Nixon	4	57.9%	20.1
Nebraska	Richard Nixon	5	70.5%	41.0
Nevada	Richard Nixon	3	63.7%	27.4
New Hampshire	Richard Nixon	4	64.0%	29.1
New Jersey	Richard Nixon	17	61.6%	24.8
New Mexico	Richard Nixon	4	61.0%	24.5
New York	Richard Nixon	41	58.5%	17.3
North Carolina	Richard Nixon	13	69.5%	40.6
North Dakota	Richard Nixon	3	62.1%	26.3
Ohio	Richard Nixon	25	59.6%	21.6
Oklahoma	Richard Nixon	8	73.7%	49.7
Oregon	Richard Nixon	6	52.4%	10.1
Pennsylvania	Richard Nixon	27	59.1%	20.0
Rhode Island	Richard Nixon	4	53.0%	6.2
South Carolina	Richard Nixon	8	70.8%	43.1
South Dakota	Richard Nixon	4	54.2%	8.6
Tennessee	Richard Nixon	10	67.7%	38.0
Texas	Richard Nixon	26	66.2%	33.0
Utah	Richard Nixon	4	67.6%	41.2
Vermont	Richard Nixon	3	62.7%	26.2
Virginia *	Richard Nixon	Nixon 11, Hospers 1	67.8%	37.7
Washington	Richard Nixon	9	56.9%	18.3
West Virginia	Richard Nixon	6	63.6%	27.2
Wisconsin	Richard Nixon	11	53.4%	9.7
Wyoming	Richard Nixon	3	69.0%	38.5

Notes

Virginia: One Virginia elector cast a presidential vote for Libertarian John Hospers instead of Richard Nixon.

Sources