1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts

none June 2025 September 2023 1972 United States presidential election 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts Massachusetts presidential no 1968 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 1968 1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 1976 80.76%https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/research-and-statistics/voter-turnout-statistics.htm Voter Turnout Statistics Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts November 7, 1972 x200px George McGovern (D-SD) (3x4-1).jpg George McGovern Democratic Party (United States) South Dakota Sargent Shriver 14 1,332,540 54.20% Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg Richard Nixon Republican Party (United States) California Spiro Agnew 0 1,112,078 45.23% 350px County results 350px| Municipality results 1 401px McGovern #B9D7FF 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666CB 70–80% Nixon #F2B3BE 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #D40000 70–80% #AA0000 80–90% President Richard Nixon Republican Party (United States) Richard Nixon Republican Party (United States) The 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Massachusetts voted for the Democratic nominee, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, over incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon of California. McGovern's running mate was U.S. Ambassador Sargent Shriver of Maryland, who had replaced Senator Thomas Eagleton during the campaign, while Nixon ran with incumbent Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland. McGovern carried Massachusetts with 54.20% of the vote to Nixon's 45.23%, a Democratic victory margin of 8.97 percentage points (19.82% more votes than Nixon). In the midst of a massive nationwide Republican landslide in which Richard Nixon had carried 49 states, Massachusetts proved to be the only state in the nation that would cast its electoral votes for George McGovern, joined by the District of Columbia. McGovern also carried the state by a surprisingly comfortable nine-point margin, making the state 32% more Democratic than the national average in the 1972 election. McGovern, a staunch liberal Democrat best known for his strong principled opposition to the Vietnam War, was painted by the Nixon campaign as an extremist too far to the left of the American mainstream at the time, and this paid off in delivering Nixon a nationwide re-election landslide. Prior to 1972, Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960. But McGovern's comfortable victory in 1972 still stands out, as many other traditional Democratic strongholds abandoned the Democrats in 1972. For example, Nixon took neighboring Rhode Island by six points, even though it normally voted similarly to Massachusetts. J. Anthony Lukas noted that many New Yorkers felt that Ted Kennedy's outsize money and influence in Massachusetts played a major role in keeping the state in the Democratic column, summing up this explanation simply as "Teddy did it". Kennedy was also the brother-in-law of Democratic vice presidential nominee Shriver.https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/14/archives/as-massachusetts-went-im-frommassachusetts-dont-blame-me.html As Massachusetts went— Lukas J. Anthony 1973-01-14 The New York Times 2019-05-17 en-US 0362-4331 To date, this is the last time that the towns of Deerfield, Gill, Monterey, Oak Bluffs, Pelham, Tisbury, Williamsburg, and Williamstown have voted Republican. Results 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusettshttp://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1972&fips=25&f=0&off=0&elect=0 1972 Presidential General Election Results - Massachusetts 2013-02-07 Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential ElectionsPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic George McGovern 1,332,540 54.20% 14 Republican Richard Nixon (inc.) 1,112,078 45.23% 0 Socialist Workers Linda Jenness 10,600 0.43% 0 American Independent John G. Schmitz (Write-in) 2,877 0.12% 0 Socialist Labor Louis Fisher (Write-in) 129 0.01% 0 People's Benjamin Spock (Write-in) 101 0.00% 0 Communist Gus Hall (Write-in) 46 0.00% 0 Libertarian John G. Hospers (Write-in) 43 0.00% 0 Write-ins Scattered (Other write-ins) 342 0.01% 0 Totals 2,458,756 100.00% 14 Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) 62%/79% Results by county County1972 President General Election https://electionstats.state.ma.us/elections/view/116994/ July 8, 2024 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Elections Division: Election Results ArchiveGeorge McGovernDemocraticRichard NixonRepublicanVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotal votes cast # % # % # % # % Barnstable 22,636 38.08% 36,340 61.14% 466 0.78% -13,704 -23.06% 59,442 Berkshire 35,391 53.39% 30,380 45.83% 513 0.78% 5,011 7.56% 66,284 Bristol 103,163 54.65% 84,390 44.71% 1,215 0.64% 18,773 9.94% 188,768 Dukes 2,001 46.15% 2,312 53.32% 23 0.53% -311 -7.27% 4,336 Essex 157,324 52.96% 138,040 46.47% 1,719 0.57% 19,284 6.49% 297,083 Franklin 11,968 42.35% 16,088 56.93% 202 0.72% -4,120 -14.58% 28,258 Hampden 94,945 52.13% 86,164 47.31% 1,024 0.56% 8,781 4.82% 182,133 Hampshire 28,572 53.25% 24,529 45.72% 553 1.03% 4,043 7.53% 53,654 Middlesex 345,343 55.91% 269,064 43.56% 3,244 0.53% 76,279 12.35% 617,651 Nantucket 952 40.00% 1,418 59.58% 10 0.42% -466 -19.58% 2,380 Norfolk 150,732 52.57% 134,459 46.89% 1,558 0.54% 16,273 5.68% 286,749 Plymouth 69,124 47.32% 76,062 52.07% 878 0.61% -6,938 -4.75% 146,064 Suffolk 166,250 65.76% 85,272 33.73% 1,299 0.51% 80,978 32.03% 252,821 Worcester 144,139 52.77% 127,560 46.70% 1,428 0.53% 16,579 6.07% 273,127Totals1,332,54054.20%1,112,07845.23%14,1380.57%220,4628.97%2,458,756 Counties flipped from Democratic to Republican Plymouth Results by congressional district McGovern won 11 of 12 congressional districts, including three that elected Republicans. Nixon won one that elected a Democrat (the MA 12 c). The results below show the percentage of the two-party vote share won by each candidate and do not account for third party votes.1972 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District https://wwu.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/minimalist/index.html?appid=29e29b308b5b40aa8fa2cf696592e97f 9 October 2023 District Nixon McGovern RepresentativeMassachusetts 1 r 48.8% 51.2%Silvio O. ConteMA 2 r 48.2% 51.8%Edward BolandMA 3 r45.9%54.1%Robert DrinanHarold DonohueMA 4 r44.3%55.7%Harold DonohueRobert DrinanMA 5 r47.0%53.0%F. Bradford MorsePaul W. CroninMA 6 r 47.2% 52.8%Michael J. HarringtonMA 7 r 42.9% 57.1%Torbert MacdonaldMA 8 r 33.9% 66.1%Tip O'NeillMA 9 r40.6%59.4%Louise Day HicksJoe MoakleyMA 10 r 49.6% 50.4%Margaret HecklerMA 11 r 43.4% 56.6%James BurkeMA 12 r51.8%48.2%Hastings KeithGerry Studds Analysis On the county map, McGovern carried 9 of the state's 14 counties, including the most heavily populated parts of the state. The state's capital and largest city, Boston, would prove to be a McGovern stronghold; voters in Suffolk County, where Boston is located, cast 66% of the vote for McGovern. Boston is one of the few areas in the country where McGovern actually outperformed Jimmy Carter’s performance four years later in 1976; while Carter won narrow popular and electoral victories nationally, he carried Suffolk County with only 61%. On the other hand, despite Nixon's loss in the state and though Ronald Reagan would carry the state twice, this election remains the last time Dukes County, which had never voted Democratic before Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide in 1964,The Political Graveyard; Dukes County, Massachusetts has voted Republican.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 The results in 1972 made Massachusetts the only state which Richard Nixon never carried in any of his three presidential campaigns, although it voted for Nixon when he was Dwight Eisenhower's running mate in 1952 and 1956. It voted for its native son John F. Kennedy when he defeated Nixon in 1960, and Hubert Humphrey when he lost to Nixon in 1968. This was also the first time in history that a Republican president was elected twice without ever carrying Massachusetts at least once, a feat that has since been repeated twice, in 2004 and 2024. Nixon was the first president to win two terms without carrying the state since Andrew Jackson in 1828 and 1832. As of 2024, this election marks only the second of three times (after 1852 and 1980) that Massachusetts has not voted for the same candidate as neighboring Rhode Island. "Don't blame me! I'm from Massachusetts" thumb|A car with an 'I'm From Massachusetts, Don't Blame Me' bumper sticker in 1974. After Nixon was re-elected, he would later resign only a year and a half into his second term due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal and the illegal activities he committed. After the Watergate scandal broke and Nixon resigned due to criminal activity, bumper stickers with the words "Don't blame me! I'm from Massachusetts" (and variants such as "Massachusetts - We'd Rather Be Right") became a symbol of the sentiment felt by Massachusetts residents, serving as a proverbial "I told you so" to the 49 states that supported Nixon's re-election.Kahn Joseph P. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/10/22/george-mcgovern-indelible-mark-massachusetts-politics/lRRZ5LTa4NP0OQBtxPahGM/story.html George McGovern's indelible mark on Massachusetts politics Boston Globe October 23, 2012 May 31, 2015 See also 1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia, the only other place that voted Democratic in the 1972 presidential election. 1984 United States presidential election in Minnesota, the only state to vote Democratic in 1984, like Massachusetts was in 1972. United States presidential elections in Massachusetts References 1972 Category:1972 Massachusetts elections Massachusetts