U.S. presidential election, 1972

The U.S. presidential election of 1972 was waged on the issues of law and order and the Vietnam War. George Wallace, the popular segregationist governor of Alabama, ran a law and order campaign for the Democratic nomination, but saw his chances for nomination end when he was shot in May. The Democratic nomination was eventually won by George McGovern who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon won the election in a landslide, but the seeds of his eventual ouster were planted as people working for his campaign broke into the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel.

General election

Campaign

George McGovern ran on a platform of ending the Vietnam War and instituting guaranteed minimum incomes for the nation's poor. Between difficulties with his running-mate, Thomas Eagleton (who he eventually dropped and replaced with Sargent Shriver), and the Republicans' successful campaign to paint him as unacceptably radical, he suffered a landslide defeat of 61%-38% to sitting President Richard Nixon. Nixon's percentage of the popular vote was only sightly less than Lyndon Johnson's record in the 1964 election. Nixon won a majority vote in 49 states, with only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia voting for the challenger, resulting in an even more lopsided Electoral College tally.

Related Topics:
George McGovern - Platform - Thomas Eagleton - Sargent Shriver - Republicans' - Richard Nixon - 1964 election - Massachusetts - District of Columbia

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Nixon ran a harsh campaign with an aggressive policy of keeping tabs on perceived enemies, and his campaign aides committed the Watergate burglary to steal Democratic Party information during the election. Nixon's level of personal involvement with the burglary was never clear, but his tactics during the later coverup would eventually destroy his public support and lead to his resignation.

Related Topics:
Watergate - Democratic Party

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This election had the lowest voter turnout for a presidential election since 1948, with only 55 percent of the electorate voting. Part of the steep drop from the previous elections can be explained by the ratification of the 26th Amendment which expanded the franchise to 18-year-olds.

Related Topics:
1948 - 26th Amendment

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Results

Source (Popular Vote): {{Leip PV source 2| year=1972| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 7 - 2005

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Source (Electoral Vote): {{National Archives EV source| year=1972| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 7 - 2005

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(a)A Virginia elector, Roger MacBride, though pledged to vote for Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, instead voted for Libertarian John Hospers and Theodora Nathan.

Related Topics:
Roger MacBride - Richard Nixon - Spiro Agnew - John Hospers - Theodora Nathan

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(b) Wikipedia research has been unable to determine whether Anderson's home state was Tennessee or Texas at the time of this election.

Related Topics:
Tennessee - Texas

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