1972 United States presidential election in California
← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout82.13% (of registered voters) Decrease 3.62 pp
64.52% (of eligible voters) Increase 2.18 pp[1]
 
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California South Dakota
Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver
Electoral vote 45 0
Popular vote 4,602,096 3,475,847
Percentage 55.00% 41.54%
County Results
President before election

Richard Nixon
Republican

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

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The 1972 United States presidential election in California took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

California voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Nixon took 55.00% of the vote to McGovern's 41.54%, a margin of 13.46%. Although California was Richard Nixon's home state, his performance in the state was somewhat underwhelming, as California's result was about 9% more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

Nixon had previously won California against John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then against Hubert Humphrey in 1968. This was the first presidential election in which California had the most electoral college votes as a result of the 1970 census, a status it has maintained ever since.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

Richard Nixon would easily win the California Republican Primary by a wide margin over his only state challenger.

Republican Primary – June 6, 1972
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Nixon 90.14%
Republican John M. Ashbrook 9.85%
Total votes 100

Results

1972 United States presidential election in California[2]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Richard Nixon (incumbent) 4,602,096 55.00% 45
Democratic George McGovern 3,475,847 41.54% 0
American Independent John G. Schmitz 232,554 2.78% 0
Peace and Freedom Benjamin Spock 55,167 0.66% 0
Libertarian John Hospers (write-in) 980 0.01% 0
Socialist Workers Linda Jenness (write-in) 574 0.01% 0
Communist Gus Hall (write-in) 373 0.00% 0
Socialist Labor Louis Fisher (write-in) 197 0.00% 0
Prohibition Party E. Harold Munn (write-in) 53 0.00% 0
Universal Party Gabriel Green (write-in) 21 0.00% 0
Invalid or blank votes —
Totals 8,367,862 100.00% 45
Voter turnout —

Results by county

County Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican 		George Stanley McGovern
Democratic 		John George Schmitz
American Independent 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin
% # % # % # % # % #
Orange 68.27% 448,291 26.93% 176,847 4.36% 28,634 0.44% 2,881 41.34% 271,444
Inyo 68.07% 4,873 28.02% 2,006 3.35% 240 0.56% 40 40.05% 2,867
Mono 66.88% 1,872 29.58% 828 2.79% 78 0.75% 21 37.30% 1,044
Ventura 63.20% 95,310 32.70% 49,307 3.70% 5,586 0.40% 602 30.50% 46,003
Alpine 63.54% 366 33.85% 195 1.22% 7 1.39% 8 29.69% 171
Sutter 62.45% 10,224 33.04% 5,409 3.95% 647 0.56% 92 29.41% 4,815
San Diego 61.82% 371,627 34.34% 206,455 3.36% 20,188 0.48% 2,867 27.48% 165,172
Calaveras 60.76% 4,119 33.46% 2,268 4.48% 304 1.30% 88 27.30% 1,851
Imperial 62.05% 14,178 34.93% 7,982 2.66% 607 0.36% 82 27.12% 6,196
Kern 60.14% 71,686 35.18% 41,937 4.29% 5,112 0.38% 458 24.96% 29,749
Glenn 59.01% 4,569 34.62% 2,681 5.92% 458 0.45% 35 24.39% 1,888
San Bernardino 59.73% 144,689 35.49% 85,986 4.27% 10,342 0.51% 1,239 24.24% 58,703
Tulare 59.93% 36,048 36.20% 21,775 3.45% 2,076 0.42% 251 23.73% 14,273
Modoc 58.49% 2,085 35.65% 1,271 5.27% 188 0.59% 21 22.84% 814
Napa 59.61% 23,403 37.01% 14,529 2.91% 1,141 0.48% 188 22.60% 8,874
Butte 57.61% 28,819 36.78% 18,401 4.93% 2,468 0.68% 340 20.83% 10,418
San Benito 57.56% 3,961 37.52% 2,582 4.48% 308 0.44% 30 20.04% 1,379
Riverside 58.00% 108,120 38.41% 71,591 3.13% 5,843 0.46% 850 19.59% 36,529
Colusa 57.56% 2,715 38.37% 1,810 3.54% 167 0.53% 25 19.19% 905
Yuba 56.95% 6,623 38.13% 4,435 4.45% 518 0.46% 54 18.82% 2,188
Monterey 57.04% 47,004 39.49% 32,545 2.76% 2,274 0.71% 585 17.55% 14,459
Kings 56.52% 10,509 39.12% 7,274 3.99% 742 0.38% 70 17.40% 3,235
Mariposa 56.15% 2,122 39.35% 1,487 3.73% 141 0.77% 29 16.80% 635
Nevada 54.68% 8,004 38.89% 5,693 5.93% 868 0.50% 73 15.79% 2,311
San Joaquin 55.30% 61,646 39.53% 44,062 4.51% 5,027 0.66% 734 15.77% 17,584
San Luis Obispo 55.98% 28,566 40.72% 20,779 2.27% 1,156 1.04% 532 15.26% 7,787
Lake 55.12% 6,477 40.13% 4,715 4.33% 509 0.42% 49 14.99% 1,762
Del Norte 51.82% 2,927 38.17% 2,156 9.12% 515 0.89% 50 13.65% 771
Santa Barbara 55.19% 67,075 41.64% 50,609 2.55% 3,103 0.62% 754 13.55% 16,466
Sonoma 54.72% 57,697 41.49% 43,746 3.03% 3,192 0.76% 799 13.23% 13,951
El Dorado 54.20% 11,330 41.40% 8,654 3.80% 794 0.61% 127 12.80% 2,676
Los Angeles 54.75% 1,549,717 42.04% 1,189,977 2.54% 71,978 0.66% 18,698 12.71% 359,740
Amador 53.40% 3,533 40.89% 2,705 5.14% 340 0.57% 38 12.51% 828
Tuolumne 54.29% 5,894 42.34% 4,596 2.75% 299 0.62% 67 11.95% 1,298
Merced 54.33% 17,737 42.62% 13,914 2.56% 836 0.49% 161 11.71% 3,823
Solano 54.02% 31,314 42.73% 24,766 2.79% 1,616 0.46% 269 11.29% 6,548
Contra Costa 54.13% 139,044 43.49% 111,718 1.83% 4,701 0.55% 1,421 10.64% 27,326
San Mateo 52.82% 135,377 42.82% 109,745 1.59% 4,079 2.77% 7,096 10.00% 25,632
Madera 52.61% 7,835 44.18% 6,580 2.87% 428 0.33% 49 8.43% 1,255
Mendocino 51.01% 11,128 43.25% 9,435 4.81% 1,050 0.92% 201 7.76% 1,693
Siskiyou 51.46% 7,563 43.78% 6,434 4.23% 621 0.53% 78 7.68% 1,129
Tehama 48.73% 6,054 41.65% 5,175 9.34% 1,161 0.27% 34 7.08% 879
Lassen 50.80% 3,618 44.00% 3,134 4.49% 320 0.70% 50 6.80% 484
Trinity 50.75% 1,868 44.04% 1,621 4.59% 169 0.62% 23 6.71% 247
Marin 52.10% 54,123 45.64% 47,414 1.28% 1,326 0.98% 1,020 6.46% 6,709
Santa Clara 51.90% 237,334 45.60% 208,506 1.80% 8,236 0.70% 3,217 6.30% 28,828
Stanislaus 51.41% 39,521 45.54% 35,005 2.53% 1,943 0.52% 398 5.87% 4,516
Placer 50.34% 18,597 45.77% 16,911 3.39% 1,251 0.50% 186 4.57% 1,686
Fresno 50.44% 79,051 46.38% 72,682 2.51% 3,927 0.68% 1,059 4.06% 6,369
Santa Cruz 49.88% 34,799 46.35% 32,336 2.77% 1,931 0.99% 693 3.53% 2,463
Humboldt 48.83% 22,345 46.18% 21,132 4.14% 1,896 0.85% 390 2.65% 1,213
Sacramento 49.00% 141,218 47.63% 137,287 2.72% 7,841 0.65% 1,875 1.37% 3,931
Plumas 46.42% 2,952 48.07% 3,057 5.00% 318 0.52% 33 -1.65% -105
Shasta 46.68% 16,618 48.35% 17,214 4.48% 1,595 0.49% 176 -1.67% -596
Sierra 47.51% 629 49.70% 658 2.04% 27 0.76% 10 -2.19% -29
Alameda 42.84% 201,862 55.02% 259,254 1.47% 6,930 0.67% 3,149 -12.18% -57,392
Yolo 42.04% 17,969 55.44% 23,694 1.87% 800 0.64% 275 -13.40% -5,725
San Francisco 41.82% 127,461 56.07% 170,882 1.21% 3,702 0.89% 2,725 -14.25% -43,421

References

  1. ^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
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