| Elections in California |
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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%.
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
George McGovern would defeat previous Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey, by just under 200,000 votes.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | George McGovern | 1,550,652 | 43.50% | |
| Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 1,375,064 | 38.58% | |
| Democratic | George Wallace | 268,551 | 7.53% | |
| Democratic | Shirley Chisholm | 157,435 | 4.42% | |
| Democratic | Edmund Muskie | 72,701 | 2.04% | |
| Democratic | Sam Yorty | 50,745 | 1.42% | |
| Democratic | Eugene McCarthy | 34,203 | 0.96% | |
| Democratic | Henry M. Jackson | 28,901 | 0.81% | |
| Democratic | John Lindsay | 26,246 | 0.74% | |
| Democratic | Others | 20 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 3,564,518 | 100 | ||
Republican
Richard Nixon would easily win the California Republican Primary by a wide margin over his only state challenger.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 2,058,825 | 90.14% | |
| Republican | John M. Ashbrook | 224,922 | 9.85% | |
| Republican | Others | 175 | 0.01% | |
| Total votes | 2,283,922 | 100 | ||
Results
| 1972 United States presidential election in California[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Nixon Republican |
George McGovern Democratic |
John G. Schmitz American Independent |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 201,862 | 42.84% | 259,254 | 55.02% | 6,930 | 1.47% | 3,149 | 0.67% | -57,392 | -12.18% | 471,195 |
| Alpine | 366 | 63.54% | 195 | 33.85% | 7 | 1.22% | 8 | 1.39% | 171 | 29.69% | 576 |
| Amador | 3,533 | 53.40% | 2,705 | 40.89% | 340 | 5.14% | 38 | 0.57% | 828 | 12.51% | 6,616 |
| Butte | 28,819 | 57.61% | 18,401 | 36.78% | 2,468 | 4.93% | 340 | 0.68% | 10,418 | 20.83% | 50,028 |
| Calaveras | 4,119 | 60.76% | 2,268 | 33.46% | 304 | 4.48% | 88 | 1.30% | 1,851 | 27.30% | 6,779 |
| Colusa | 2,715 | 57.56% | 1,810 | 38.37% | 167 | 3.54% | 25 | 0.53% | 905 | 19.19% | 4,717 |
| Contra Costa | 139,044 | 54.13% | 111,718 | 43.49% | 4,701 | 1.83% | 1,421 | 0.55% | 27,326 | 10.64% | 256,884 |
| Del Norte | 2,927 | 51.82% | 2,156 | 38.17% | 515 | 9.12% | 50 | 0.89% | 771 | 13.65% | 5,648 |
| El Dorado | 11,330 | 54.20% | 8,654 | 41.40% | 794 | 3.80% | 127 | 0.61% | 2,676 | 12.80% | 20,905 |
| Fresno | 79,051 | 50.44% | 72,682 | 46.38% | 3,927 | 2.51% | 1,059 | 0.68% | 6,369 | 4.06% | 156,719 |
| Glenn | 4,569 | 59.01% | 2,681 | 34.62% | 458 | 5.92% | 35 | 0.45% | 1,888 | 24.39% | 7,743 |
| Humboldt | 22,345 | 48.83% | 21,132 | 46.18% | 1,896 | 4.14% | 390 | 0.85% | 1,213 | 2.65% | 45,763 |
| Imperial | 14,178 | 62.05% | 7,982 | 34.93% | 607 | 2.66% | 82 | 0.36% | 6,196 | 27.12% | 22,849 |
| Inyo | 4,873 | 68.07% | 2,006 | 28.02% | 240 | 3.35% | 40 | 0.56% | 2,867 | 40.05% | 7,159 |
| Kern | 71,686 | 60.14% | 41,937 | 35.18% | 5,112 | 4.29% | 458 | 0.38% | 29,479 | 24.96% | 119,193 |
| Kings | 10,509 | 56.52% | 7,274 | 39.12% | 742 | 3.99% | 70 | 0.38% | 3,235 | 17.40% | 18,595 |
| Lake | 6,477 | 55.12% | 4,715 | 40.13% | 509 | 4.33% | 49 | 0.42% | 1,762 | 14.99% | 11,750 |
| Lassen | 3,618 | 50.80% | 3,134 | 44.00% | 320 | 4.49% | 50 | 0.70% | 484 | 6.80% | 7,122 |
| Los Angeles | 1,549,717 | 54.75% | 1,189,977 | 42.04% | 71,978 | 2.54% | 18,698 | 0.66% | 359,740 | 12.71% | 2,830,370 |
| Madera | 7,835 | 52.61% | 6,580 | 44.18% | 428 | 2.87% | 49 | 0.33% | 1,255 | 8.43% | 14,892 |
| Marin | 54,123 | 52.10% | 47,414 | 45.64% | 1,326 | 1.28% | 1,020 | 0.98% | 6,709 | 6.46% | 103,883 |
| Mariposa | 2,122 | 56.15% | 1,487 | 39.35% | 141 | 3.73% | 29 | 0.77% | 635 | 16.80% | 3,779 |
| Mendocino | 11,128 | 51.01% | 9,435 | 43.25% | 1,050 | 4.81% | 201 | 0.92% | 1,693 | 7.76% | 21,814 |
| Merced | 17,737 | 54.33% | 13,914 | 42.62% | 836 | 2.56% | 161 | 0.49% | 3,823 | 11.71% | 32,648 |
| Modoc | 2,085 | 58.49% | 1,271 | 35.65% | 188 | 5.27% | 21 | 0.59% | 814 | 22.84% | 3,565 |
| Mono | 1,872 | 66.88% | 828 | 29.58% | 78 | 2.79% | 21 | 0.75% | 1,044 | 37.30% | 2,799 |
| Monterey | 47,004 | 57.04% | 32,545 | 39.49% | 2,274 | 2.76% | 585 | 0.71% | 14,459 | 17.55% | 82,408 |
| Napa | 23,403 | 59.61% | 14,529 | 37.01% | 1,141 | 2.91% | 188 | 0.48% | 8,874 | 22.60% | 39,261 |
| Nevada | 8,004 | 54.68% | 5,693 | 38.89% | 868 | 5.93% | 73 | 0.50% | 2,311 | 15.79% | 14,638 |
| Orange | 448,291 | 68.27% | 176,847 | 26.93% | 28,634 | 4.36% | 2,881 | 0.44% | 271,444 | 41.34% | 656,653 |
| Placer | 18,597 | 50.34% | 16,911 | 45.77% | 1,251 | 3.39% | 186 | 0.50% | 1,686 | 4.57% | 36,945 |
| Plumas | 2,952 | 46.42% | 3,057 | 48.07% | 318 | 5.00% | 33 | 0.52% | -105 | -1.65% | 6,360 |
| Riverside | 108,120 | 58.00% | 71,591 | 38.41% | 5,843 | 3.13% | 850 | 0.46% | 36,529 | 19.59% | 186,404 |
| Sacramento | 141,218 | 49.00% | 137,287 | 47.63% | 7,841 | 2.72% | 1,875 | 0.65% | 3,931 | 1.37% | 288,221 |
| San Benito | 3,961 | 57.56% | 2,582 | 37.52% | 308 | 4.48% | 30 | 0.44% | 1,379 | 20.04% | 6,881 |
| San Bernardino | 144,689 | 59.73% | 85,986 | 35.49% | 10,342 | 4.27% | 1,239 | 0.51% | 58,703 | 24.24% | 242,256 |
| San Diego | 371,627 | 61.82% | 206,455 | 34.34% | 20,188 | 3.36% | 2,867 | 0.48% | 165,172 | 27.48% | 601,137 |
| San Francisco | 127,461 | 41.82% | 170,882 | 56.07% | 3,702 | 1.21% | 2,725 | 0.89% | -43,421 | -14.25% | 304,770 |
| San Joaquin | 61,646 | 55.30% | 44,062 | 39.53% | 5,027 | 4.51% | 734 | 0.66% | 17,584 | 15.77% | 111,469 |
| San Luis Obispo | 28,566 | 55.98% | 20,779 | 40.72% | 1,156 | 2.27% | 532 | 1.04% | 7,787 | 15.26% | 51,033 |
| San Mateo | 135,377 | 52.82% | 109,745 | 42.82% | 4,079 | 1.59% | 7,096 | 2.77% | 25,632 | 10.00% | 256,297 |
| Santa Barbara | 67,075 | 55.19% | 50,609 | 41.64% | 3,103 | 2.55% | 754 | 0.62% | 16,466 | 13.55% | 121,541 |
| Santa Clara | 237,334 | 51.90% | 208,506 | 45.60% | 8,236 | 1.80% | 3,217 | 0.70% | 28,828 | 6.30% | 457,293 |
| Santa Cruz | 34,799 | 49.88% | 32,336 | 46.35% | 1,931 | 2.77% | 693 | 0.99% | 2,463 | 3.53% | 69,759 |
| Shasta | 16,618 | 46.68% | 17,214 | 48.35% | 1,595 | 4.48% | 176 | 0.49% | -596 | -1.67% | 35,603 |
| Sierra | 629 | 47.51% | 658 | 49.70% | 27 | 2.04% | 10 | 0.76% | -29 | -2.19% | 1,324 |
| Siskiyou | 7,563 | 51.46% | 6,434 | 43.78% | 621 | 4.23% | 78 | 0.53% | 1,129 | 7.68% | 14,696 |
| Solano | 31,314 | 54.02% | 24,766 | 42.73% | 1,616 | 2.79% | 269 | 0.46% | 6,548 | 11.29% | 57,965 |
| Sonoma | 57,697 | 54.72% | 43,746 | 41.49% | 3,192 | 3.03% | 799 | 0.76% | 13,951 | 13.23% | 105,434 |
| Stanislaus | 39,521 | 51.41% | 35,005 | 45.54% | 1,943 | 2.53% | 398 | 0.52% | 4,516 | 5.87% | 76,867 |
| Sutter | 10,224 | 62.45% | 5,409 | 33.04% | 647 | 3.95% | 92 | 0.56% | 4,815 | 29.41% | 16,372 |
| Tehama | 6,054 | 48.73% | 5,175 | 41.65% | 1,161 | 9.34% | 34 | 0.27% | 879 | 7.08% | 12,424 |
| Trinity | 1,868 | 50.75% | 1,621 | 44.04% | 169 | 4.59% | 23 | 0.62% | 247 | 6.71% | 3,681 |
| Tulare | 36,048 | 59.93% | 21,775 | 36.20% | 2,076 | 3.45% | 251 | 0.42% | 14,273 | 23.73% | 60,150 |
| Tuolumne | 5,894 | 54.29% | 4,596 | 42.34% | 299 | 2.75% | 67 | 0.62% | 1,298 | 11.95% | 10,856 |
| Ventura | 95,310 | 63.20% | 49,307 | 32.70% | 5,586 | 3.70% | 602 | 0.40% | 46,003 | 30.50% | 150,805 |
| Yolo | 17,969 | 42.04% | 23,694 | 55.44% | 800 | 1.87% | 275 | 0.64% | -5,725 | -13.40% | 42,738 |
| Yuba | 6,623 | 56.95% | 4,435 | 38.13% | 518 | 4.45% | 54 | 0.46% | 2,188 | 18.82% | 11,630 |
| Total | 4,602,096 | 55.00% | 3,475,847 | 41.54% | 232,554 | 2.78% | 57,365 | 0.69% | 1,126,249 | 13.46% | 8,367,862 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Amador
- Contra Costa
- Fresno
- Kings
- Lassen
- Madera
- Merced
- Placer
- San Mateo
- Santa Clara
- Stanislaus
- Solano
- Sacramento
- Napa
- Trinity
References
- ^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US President - D Primary Race - Jun 06, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US President - R Primary Race - Jun 06, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
