1972 United States presidential election in Illinois
← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout75.99%
 
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California South Dakota
Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver
Electoral vote 26 0
Popular vote 2,788,179 1,913,472
Percentage 59.03% 40.51%
County Results
President before election

Richard Nixon
Republican

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

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The 1972 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on November 7, 1972 as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon won the state of Illinois with 59.03 percent of the vote, carrying the state's 26 electoral votes.[1] He defeated his main opponent, Democratic candidate George McGovern in Illinois by a large margin of 18.52%, which still left Illinois 4.63% more Democratic than the nation.

Nixon won all but one of Illinois’ 102 counties. The solitary exception was Jackson County, home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which notably had voted for Nixon in the previous election and was one of only five counties outside McGovern’s home state to switch from Republican to Democratic at this election.[a][2] Nixon thus became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying this county since Benjamin Harrison in 1888.

This election is the most recent in which Cook County voted Republican, the only Republican victory in St. Clair County since Calvin Coolidge in 1924,[3] and the last until 2016 when Alexander County supported a Republican nominee.[4]

Primaries

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (Senate and House) and those for state offices.[5]

Turnout

Turnout in the primaries was 22.54%, with a total of 1,258,713 votes cast.[5]

Turnout in the general election was 75.99%, with a total of 4,723,236 votes cast.[5] State-run primaries were held for the Democratic and Republican parties on March 21.[5]

Democratic

1972 Illinois Democratic presidential primary
← 1968 March 21, 1972 (1972-03-21) 1976 →
153 Democratic National Convention delegates
 
Candidate Edmund Muskie Eugene McCarthy George McGovern
Home state Maine Minnesota South Dakota
Delegate count 59 0 3
Popular vote 766,914 444,260 3,687
Percentage 62.60% 36.26% 0.30%

The 1972 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 21, 1972 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 presidential election.

The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.[5]

1972 Democratic presidential primary[5][6][7]
Candidate Votes % Delegates[citation needed]
Edmund S. Muskie 766,914 62.60 59
Eugene J. McCarthy 444,260 36.26 0
George Wallace (write-in) 7,017 0.57 0
George S. McGovern (write-in) 3,687 0.30 3
Hubert H. Humphrey (write-in) 1,476 0.12 0
Shirley Chisholm (write-in) 777 0.06 0
Henry Jackson (write-in) 442 0.04 0
Edward M. Kennedy (write-in) 242 0.02 0
John V. Lindsay (write-in) 118 0.01 0
Other write-ins 211 0.02 0
Uncommitted — — 88
Totals 1,225,144 100 153

Republican

1972 Illinois Republican presidential primary
← 1968 March 21, 1972 (1972-03-21) 1976 →
 
Candidate Richard Nixon
Home state California
Popular vote 32,550
Percentage 96.97%

The 1972 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 21, 1972 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 presidential election.

In this election, all candidates were write-ins.[5]

The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.[5]

1972 Republican presidential primary[5][6][7]
Candidate Votes % Delegates
Richard Nixon (write-in) 32,550 96.97
George Wallace (write-in) 516 1.54
John Ashbrook (write-in) 170 0.51
Pete McCloskey (write-in) 47 0.14
Spiro Agnew (write-in) 35 0.10
Other write-ins 251 0.75
Totals 33,569 100

General election

Results

1972 United States presidential election in Illinois
Party Candidates Votes[5] Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Richard M. Nixon/Spiro T. Agnew 2,788,179 59.03% 26
Democratic George McGovern/R. Sargent Shriver 1,913,472 40.51% 0
Socialist Labor Louis Fisher/Genevieve Gunderson 12,344 0.26% 0
Communist Gus Hall/Jarvis Tyner 4,541 0.10% 0
Write-in John Schmitz 2,471 0.05% 0
Other write-ins — 2,229 0.05% 0
Totals 4,723,236 100.0% 26

Results by county

County Richard Milhous Nixon
Republican 		George Stanley McGovern
Democratic 		Louis Fisher
Socialist Labor 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast[8]
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 20,731 69.46% 9,055 30.34% 57 0.19% 3 0.01% 11,676 39.12% 29,846
Alexander 2,669 51.24% 2,482 47.65% 49 0.94% 9 0.17% 187 3.59% 5,209
Bond 4,475 62.30% 2,704 37.64% 4 0.06% 0 0.00% 1,771 24.66% 7,183
Boone 7,003 68.89% 3,131 30.80% 29 0.29% 2 0.02% 3,872 38.09% 10,165
Brown 1,780 58.90% 1,203 39.81% 36 1.19% 3 0.10% 577 19.09% 3,022
Bureau 12,786 67.47% 6,133 32.36% 22 0.12% 11 0.06% 6,653 35.10% 18,952
Calhoun 1,705 56.51% 1,299 43.06% 13 0.43% 0 0.00% 406 13.46% 3,017
Carroll 6,041 69.99% 2,571 29.79% 18 0.21% 1 0.01% 3,470 40.20% 8,631
Cass 4,414 61.14% 2,803 38.83% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 1,611 22.32% 7,219
Champaign 33,700 57.43% 24,743 42.17% 97 0.17% 139 0.24% 8,957 15.26% 58,679
Christian 10,072 56.98% 7,556 42.75% 44 0.25% 3 0.02% 2,516 14.23% 17,675
Clark 5,706 65.74% 2,965 34.16% 8 0.09% 1 0.01% 2,741 31.58% 8,680
Clay 5,283 64.92% 2,844 34.95% 8 0.10% 3 0.04% 2,439 29.97% 8,138
Clinton 7,931 62.39% 4,756 37.41% 15 0.12% 10 0.08% 3,175 24.98% 12,712
Coles 13,681 62.90% 7,988 36.72% 15 0.07% 67 0.31% 5,693 26.17% 21,751
Cook 1,234,307 53.41% 1,063,268 46.01% 7,328 0.32% 6,134 0.27% 171,039 7.40% 2,311,037
Crawford 6,568 65.32% 3,477 34.58% 9 0.09% 1 0.01% 3,091 30.74% 10,055
Cumberland 3,257 60.79% 2,083 38.88% 9 0.17% 9 0.17% 1,174 21.91% 5,358
DeKalb 18,910 60.25% 12,375 39.43% 41 0.13% 58 0.18% 6,535 20.82% 31,384
DeWitt 5,025 65.22% 2,672 34.68% 7 0.09% 1 0.01% 2,353 30.54% 7,705
Douglas 5,840 68.66% 2,656 31.23% 8 0.09% 2 0.02% 3,184 37.43% 8,506
DuPage 172,341 75.02% 57,043 24.83% 297 0.13% 58 0.03% 115,298 50.19% 229,739
Edgar 7,195 64.73% 3,889 34.99% 29 0.26% 3 0.03% 3,306 29.74% 11,116
Edwards 3,017 73.93% 1,055 25.85% 9 0.22% 0 0.00% 1,962 48.08% 4,081
Effingham 8,752 66.34% 4,431 33.59% 7 0.05% 3 0.02% 4,321 32.75% 13,193
Fayette 6,574 61.05% 4,192 38.93% 1 0.01% 1 0.01% 2,382 22.12% 10,768
Ford 5,656 74.51% 1,934 25.48% 1 0.01% 0 0.00% 3,722 49.03% 7,591
Franklin 10,121 54.04% 8,545 45.62% 32 0.17% 31 0.17% 1,576 8.41% 18,729
Fulton 12,328 61.80% 7,529 37.74% 77 0.39% 15 0.08% 4,799 24.06% 19,949
Gallatin 2,148 53.69% 1,844 46.09% 6 0.15% 3 0.07% 304 7.60% 4,001
Greene 4,673 62.13% 2,824 37.55% 23 0.31% 1 0.01% 1,849 24.58% 7,521
Grundy 8,725 70.70% 3,584 29.04% 20 0.16% 12 0.10% 5,141 41.66% 12,341
Hamilton 3,282 61.94% 2,006 37.86% 9 0.17% 2 0.04% 1,276 24.08% 5,299
Hancock 7,519 67.56% 3,592 32.28% 16 0.14% 2 0.02% 3,927 35.29% 11,129
Hardin 1,915 62.54% 1,140 37.23% 6 0.20% 1 0.03% 775 25.31% 3,062
Henderson 2,689 60.62% 1,744 39.31% 2 0.05% 1 0.02% 945 21.30% 4,436
Henry 14,796 63.82% 8,368 36.09% 17 0.07% 4 0.02% 6,428 27.72% 23,185
Iroquois 11,995 76.00% 3,723 23.59% 12 0.08% 52 0.33% 8,272 52.41% 15,782
Jackson 12,393 48.42% 13,146 51.37% 48 0.19% 6 0.02% -753 -2.94% 25,593
Jasper 3,461 61.18% 2,114 37.37% 8 0.14% 74 1.31% 1,347 23.81% 5,657
Jefferson 9,448 71.55% 3,696 27.99% 50 0.38% 11 0.08% 5,752 43.56% 13,205
Jersey 5,164 60.70% 3,317 38.99% 8 0.09% 18 0.21% 1,847 21.71% 8,507
Jo Daviess 5,763 63.34% 3,318 36.47% 13 0.14% 5 0.05% 2,445 26.87% 9,099
Johnson 2,826 68.54% 1,293 31.36% 4 0.10% 0 0.00% 1,533 37.18% 4,123
Kane 64,546 69.87% 27,525 29.80% 163 0.18% 143 0.15% 37,021 40.08% 92,377
Kankakee 26,866 66.54% 13,434 33.27% 54 0.13% 19 0.05% 13,432 33.27% 40,373
Kendall 9,373 78.65% 2,525 21.19% 19 0.16% 0 0.00% 6,848 57.46% 11,917
Knox 17,315 64.69% 9,333 34.87% 60 0.22% 58 0.22% 7,982 29.82% 26,766
Lake 92,052 65.84% 47,416 33.91% 278 0.20% 66 0.05% 44,636 31.93% 139,812
LaSalle 31,190 59.20% 21,405 40.63% 82 0.16% 10 0.02% 9,785 18.57% 52,687
Lawrence 5,347 65.36% 2,818 34.45% 15 0.18% 1 0.01% 2,529 30.91% 8,181
Lee 10,636 68.67% 4,788 30.91% 12 0.08% 53 0.34% 5,848 37.76% 15,489
Livingston 13,217 72.07% 5,110 27.86% 9 0.05% 3 0.02% 8,107 44.21% 18,339
Logan 10,277 69.95% 4,395 29.91% 18 0.12% 2 0.01% 5,882 40.04% 14,692
Macon 29,596 59.16% 20,296 40.57% 114 0.23% 23 0.05% 9,300 18.59% 50,029
Macoupin 13,583 58.03% 9,662 41.28% 147 0.63% 15 0.06% 3,921 16.75% 23,407
Madison 55,385 55.88% 43,289 43.68% 137 0.14% 305 0.31% 12,096 12.20% 99,116
Marion 10,755 60.58% 6,968 39.25% 21 0.12% 10 0.06% 3,787 21.33% 17,754
Marshall 4,452 67.43% 2,141 32.43% 8 0.12% 1 0.02% 2,311 35.00% 6,602
Mason 4,897 62.70% 2,901 37.14% 8 0.10% 4 0.05% 1,996 25.56% 7,810
Massac 4,313 69.99% 1,831 29.71% 14 0.23% 4 0.06% 2,482 40.28% 6,162
McDonough 10,573 67.18% 5,143 32.68% 17 0.11% 5 0.03% 5,430 34.50% 15,738
McHenry 36,114 74.75% 12,090 25.02% 88 0.18% 20 0.04% 24,024 49.73% 48,312
McLean 31,060 67.59% 14,824 32.26% 57 0.12% 14 0.03% 16,236 35.33% 45,955
Menard 3,657 69.49% 1,587 30.15% 8 0.15% 11 0.21% 2,070 39.33% 5,263
Mercer 5,452 60.98% 3,477 38.89% 8 0.09% 3 0.03% 1,975 22.09% 8,940
Monroe 6,479 68.44% 2,958 31.25% 24 0.25% 5 0.05% 3,521 37.20% 9,466
Montgomery 9,025 56.71% 6,858 43.10% 27 0.17% 3 0.02% 2,167 13.62% 15,913
Morgan 11,103 66.13% 5,674 33.80% 11 0.07% 1 0.01% 5,429 32.34% 16,789
Moultrie 3,143 57.07% 2,350 42.67% 9 0.16% 5 0.09% 793 14.40% 5,507
Ogle 13,512 73.88% 4,743 25.93% 32 0.17% 3 0.02% 8,769 47.94% 18,290
Peoria 50,324 64.49% 27,264 34.94% 112 0.14% 337 0.43% 23,060 29.55% 78,037
Perry 6,968 62.98% 4,084 36.91% 9 0.08% 3 0.03% 2,884 26.07% 11,064
Piatt 5,057 67.72% 2,394 32.06% 16 0.21% 1 0.01% 2,663 35.66% 7,468
Pike 5,940 60.23% 3,883 39.37% 38 0.39% 2 0.02% 2,057 20.86% 9,863
Pope 1,440 64.92% 773 34.85% 4 0.18% 1 0.05% 667 30.07% 2,218
Pulaski 2,485 59.27% 1,683 40.14% 21 0.50% 4 0.10% 802 19.13% 4,193
Putnam 1,556 58.10% 1,112 41.52% 4 0.15% 6 0.22% 444 16.58% 2,678
Randolph 9,761 60.20% 6,440 39.72% 14 0.09% 0 0.00% 3,321 20.48% 16,215
Richland 5,558 68.41% 2,553 31.42% 12 0.15% 2 0.02% 3,005 36.98% 8,125
Rock Island 37,548 53.39% 32,529 46.25% 227 0.32% 26 0.04% 5,019 7.14% 70,330
Saline 7,660 59.30% 5,226 40.46% 26 0.20% 6 0.05% 2,434 18.84% 12,918
Sangamon 50,458 65.46% 25,720 33.37% 284 0.37% 617 0.80% 24,738 32.09% 77,079
Schuyler 2,994 66.03% 1,534 33.83% 2 0.04% 4 0.09% 1,460 32.20% 4,534
Scott 2,228 66.00% 1,145 33.92% 2 0.06% 1 0.03% 1,083 32.08% 3,376
Shelby 7,217 62.08% 4,389 37.75% 17 0.15% 3 0.03% 2,828 24.32% 11,626
St. Clair 50,519 51.50% 46,636 47.54% 876 0.89% 66 0.07% 3,883 3.96% 98,097
Stark 2,529 71.44% 993 28.05% 8 0.23% 10 0.28% 1,536 43.39% 3,540
Stephenson 13,584 67.86% 6,404 31.99% 24 0.12% 7 0.03% 7,180 35.87% 20,019
Tazewell 31,937 67.08% 15,576 32.71% 83 0.17% 17 0.04% 16,361 34.36% 47,613
Union 5,034 59.36% 3,428 40.42% 16 0.19% 2 0.02% 1,606 18.94% 8,480
Vermilion 24,863 63.06% 14,413 36.56% 70 0.18% 79 0.20% 10,450 26.51% 39,425
Wabash 4,310 68.35% 1,985 31.48% 5 0.08% 6 0.10% 2,325 36.87% 6,306
Warren 7,021 70.15% 2,969 29.67% 15 0.15% 3 0.03% 4,052 40.49% 10,008
Washington 5,179 68.85% 2,327 30.94% 12 0.16% 4 0.05% 2,852 37.92% 7,522
Wayne 6,400 69.75% 2,763 30.11% 10 0.11% 2 0.02% 3,637 39.64% 9,175
White 6,052 62.10% 3,678 37.74% 11 0.11% 5 0.05% 2,374 24.36% 9,746
Whiteside 17,305 68.40% 7,909 31.26% 80 0.32% 7 0.03% 9,396 37.14% 25,301
Will 65,155 65.67% 33,633 33.90% 185 0.19% 245 0.25% 31,522 31.77% 99,218
Williamson 14,101 60.02% 9,202 39.17% 12 0.05% 177 0.75% 4,899 20.85% 23,492
Winnebago 57,682 61.46% 35,937 38.29% 179 0.19% 52 0.06% 21,745 23.17% 93,850
Woodford 9,622 72.85% 3,558 26.94% 18 0.14% 10 0.08% 6,064 45.91% 13,208
Totals 2,788,179 59.03% 1,913,472 40.51% 12,344 0.26% 9,241 0.20% 874,707 18.52% 4,723,236

Analysis

Nixon's 2,788,179 votes is the most received by a Republican presidential candidate in the state's history. Nixon was the first Republican to win strongly Democratic Macoupin County since 1924 and the first ever to receive a majority there, which thus meant that every antebellum free state county had, as of 1972, given a majority to a Republican presidential candidate at least once. Madison County voted Republican for the first time since 1928.

This was the closest anyone has come to sweeping every Illinois county, making the state along with Kentucky and North Carolina, the only states where no one candidate has ever swept every county in the state's history.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The others were Pitkin County, Colorado, Stevens County, Minnesota, Washtenaw County, Michigan and Athens County, Ohio.

References

  1. ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Illinois". Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  2. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 98 ISBN 0786422173
  3. ^ The Political Graveyard; St. Clair County, Illinois
  4. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1972 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 21, 1972" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 26, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b "Late Vote Totals In Illinois Races". The New York Times. March 18, 1976. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Ford and Carter Amass Delegates in Illinois Races – Georgian Shows Surprising Strength in the Tabulation, Though Stevenson Leads – New Momentum Seen – Reagan, Resisting, Pressed Again to Quit as Gesture Toward Party Unity Ford and Carter Amassing Delegates". The New York Times. March 18, 1976. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Our Campaigns; IL US President 1972
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