United States presidential election in California, 1972

United States presidential election in California, 1972
California
November 7, 1972
 
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
  McGovern—50-60%
  McGovern—<50%
  Nixon—<50%
  Nixon—50-60%
  Nixon—60-70%
President before election

Richard Nixon
Republican

 Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1972 United States presidential election in California refers to how California participated in the 1972 United States presidential election.

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 nearly 10 points more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

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.

Results

United States presidential election in California, 1972[1]
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
No party John Hospers (write-in) 980 0.01% 0
No party Linda Jenness (write-in) 574 0.01% 0
No party Gus Hall (write-in) 373 0.00% 0
No party Louis Fisher (write-in) 197 0.00% 0
No party E. Harold Munn (write-in) 53 0.00% 0
No 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 Nixon Votes McGovern Votes Schmitz Votes Others Votes
Orange 68.27% 448,291 26.93% 176,847 4.36% 28,634 0.44% 2,881
Inyo 68.07% 4,873 28.02% 2,006 3.35% 240 0.56% 40
Mono 66.88% 1,872 29.58% 828 2.79% 78 0.75% 21
Alpine 63.54% 366 33.85% 195 1.22% 7 1.39% 8
Ventura 63.20% 95,310 32.70% 49,307 3.70% 5,586 0.40% 602
Sutter 62.45% 10,224 33.04% 5,409 3.95% 647 0.56% 92
Imperial 62.05% 14,178 34.93% 7,982 2.66% 607 0.36% 82
San Diego 61.82% 371,627 34.34% 206,455 3.36% 20,188 0.48% 2,867
Calaveras 60.76% 4,119 33.46% 2,268 4.48% 304 1.30% 88
Kern 60.14% 71,686 35.18% 41,937 4.29% 5,112 0.38% 458
Tulare 59.93% 36,048 36.20% 21,775 3.45% 2,076 0.42% 251
San Bernardino 59.73% 144,689 35.49% 85,986 4.27% 10,342 0.51% 1,239
Napa 59.61% 23,403 37.01% 14,529 2.91% 1,141 0.48% 188
Glenn 59.01% 4,569 34.62% 2,681 5.92% 458 0.45% 35
Modoc 58.49% 2,085 35.65% 1,271 5.27% 188 0.59% 21
Riverside 58.00% 108,120 38.41% 71,591 3.13% 5,843 0.46% 850
Butte 57.61% 28,819 36.78% 18,401 4.93% 2,468 0.68% 340
San Benito 57.56% 3,961 37.52% 2,582 4.48% 308 0.44% 30
Colusa 57.56% 2,715 38.37% 1,810 3.54% 167 0.53% 25
Monterey 57.04% 47,004 39.49% 32,545 2.76% 2,274 0.71% 585
Yuba 56.95% 6,623 38.13% 4,435 4.45% 518 0.46% 54
Kings 56.52% 10,509 39.12% 7,274 3.99% 742 0.38% 70
Mariposa 56.15% 2,122 39.35% 1,487 3.73% 141 0.77% 29
San Luis Obispo 55.98% 28,566 40.72% 20,779 2.27% 1,156 1.04% 532
San Joaquin 55.30% 61,646 39.53% 44,062 4.51% 5,027 0.66% 734
Santa Barbara 55.19% 67,075 41.64% 50,609 2.55% 3,103 0.62% 754
Lake 55.12% 6,477 40.13% 4,715 4.33% 509 0.42% 49
Los Angeles 54.75% 1,549,717 42.04% 1,189,977 2.54% 71,978 0.66% 18,698
Sonoma 54.72% 57,697 41.49% 43,746 3.03% 3,192 0.76% 799
Nevada 54.68% 8,004 38.89% 5,693 5.93% 868 0.50% 73
Merced 54.33% 17,737 42.62% 13,914 2.56% 836 0.49% 161
Tuolumne 54.29% 5,894 42.34% 4,596 2.75% 299 0.62% 67
El Dorado 54.20% 11,330 41.40% 8,654 3.80% 794 0.61% 127
Contra Costa 54.13% 139,044 43.49% 111,718 1.83% 4,701 0.55% 1,421
Solano 54.02% 31,314 42.73% 24,766 2.79% 1,616 0.46% 269
Amador 53.40% 3,533 40.89% 2,705 5.14% 340 0.57% 38
San Mateo 52.82% 135,377 42.82% 109,745 1.59% 4,079 2.77% 7,096
Madera 52.61% 7,835 44.18% 6,580 2.87% 428 0.33% 49
Marin 52.10% 54,123 45.64% 47,414 1.28% 1,326 0.98% 1,020
Santa Clara 51.90% 237,334 45.60% 208,506 1.80% 8,236 0.70% 3,217
Del Norte 51.82% 2,927 38.17% 2,156 9.12% 515 0.89% 50
Siskiyou 51.46% 7,563 43.78% 6,434 4.23% 621 0.53% 78
Stanislaus 51.41% 39,521 45.54% 35,005 2.53% 1,943 0.52% 398
Mendocino 51.01% 11,128 43.25% 9,435 4.81% 1,050 0.92% 201
Lassen 50.80% 3,618 44.00% 3,134 4.49% 320 0.70% 50
Trinity 50.75% 1,868 44.04% 1,621 4.59% 169 0.62% 23
Fresno 50.44% 79,051 46.38% 72,682 2.51% 3,927 0.68% 1,059
Placer 50.34% 18,597 45.77% 16,911 3.39% 1,251 0.50% 186
Santa Cruz 49.88% 34,799 46.35% 32,336 2.77% 1,931 0.99% 693
Sacramento 49.00% 141,218 47.63% 137,287 2.72% 7,841 0.65% 1,875
Humboldt 48.83% 22,345 46.18% 21,132 4.14% 1,896 0.85% 390
Tehama 48.73% 6,054 41.65% 5,175 9.34% 1,161 0.27% 34
Sierra 47.51% 629 49.70% 658 2.04% 27 0.76% 10
Shasta 46.68% 16,618 48.35% 17,214 4.48% 1,595 0.49% 176
Plumas 46.42% 2,952 48.07% 3,057 5.00% 318 0.52% 33
Alameda 42.84% 201,862 55.02% 259,254 1.47% 6,930 0.67% 3,149
Yolo 42.04% 17,969 55.44% 23,694 1.87% 800 0.64% 275
San Francisco 41.82% 127,461 56.07% 170,882 1.21% 3,702 0.89% 2,725

References

  1. ↑ "1972 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 2008-08-25.