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.

See also

• President of the United States
• U.S. Senate election, 1972
• History of the United States (1964-1980)
• Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972