See main article: 1972 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1972 United States presidential election in Arizona |
| Country: | Arizona |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1968 United States presidential election in Arizona |
| Previous Year: | 1968 |
| Next Election: | 1976 United States presidential election in Arizona |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1972[1] |
| Image1: | Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Richard Nixon |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Home State1: | California |
| Running Mate1: | Spiro Agnew |
| Electoral Vote1: | 6 |
| Popular Vote1: | 402,812 |
| Percentage1: | 61.64% |
| Nominee2: | George McGovern |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | South Dakota |
| Running Mate2: | Sargent Shriver |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 198,540 |
| Percentage2: | 30.38% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Richard Nixon |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Richard Nixon |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 1972 United States presidential election in Arizona took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose six[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Arizona was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon (R–California), with 61.64% of the popular vote, against George McGovern (D–South Dakota), with 30.38% of the popular vote.[3] [4] Socialist Workers Party electors and John G. Schmitz, the only other candidates on the ballot, combined for just over 52,000 votes and over seven percent of Arizona's popular vote. Even in a huge landslide, this result left Arizona exactly 8% more Republican than the nation at-large.
In a state that would reflect McGovern's national results,[5] [6] the Democratic nominee won only one county in Arizona: heavily unionized Greenlee County, where no Republican had won before this nor would win until George W. Bush in 2000.[7]
The massive surge in ballots for the Socialist candidate (there had been only 85 in 1968, now there were nearly 31,000) was due to a ballot error in Pima County. Linda Jenness, the Socialist Workers candidate, was only 31, and thus was deemed ineligible to be put on the ballot. Instead, the names of her six electors were listed. However, the layout of the ballot was what caused the confusion. Atop the ballot was "President of the United States (Vote for one)" with the given options of Nixon, McGovern, and Schmitz. Below that was "Presidential Electors (Vote for six)," and the names of the six Socialist Workers' electors. The text labelling the as "Socialist Workers' Party" was only half as small as the instructions to vote for six, and thus 28,000 voters followed both instructions, likely perceiving the Socialist electors as being part of a separate race. The Secretary of State, Wesley Bolin, and Attorney General, Gary Nelson, at first agreed the ballots ought to be thrown out. Pima County election chief David O'Hern and county attorney Rose Silver believed the ballots should be counted since the Socialist Workers candidate had been disqualified. In the end, that was the line of thinking taken, and the votes were counted for both the candidates they were cast for. This resulted not only in an increase in the state's total by some 28,000, but that in some Democratic southside precincts, the Socialist ticket outperformed Nixon and was the only place the landslide victor came third anywhere in the country.[8]
| bgcolor= | Republican Party | Richard Nixon (incumbent), for President | 402,812 | 61.64% | |
| bgcolor= | Democratic Party | George McGovern, for President | 198,540 | 30.38% | |
| bgcolor= | Socialist Workers Party | Timothy Joseph Clennon, for Presidential Elector | 30,945 | 4.74 | |
| bgcolor= | Socialist Workers Party | Betsy Ann McDonald, for Presidential Elector | 30,140 | 4.61 | |
| bgcolor= | Socialist Workers Party | Alberta J. Dannells, for Presidential Elector | 30,036 | 4.60 | |
| bgcolor= | Socialist Workers Party | Lois M. Turner, for Presidential Elector | 29,612 | 4.53 | |
| bgcolor= | Socialist Workers Party | Eleanor Voris, for Presidential Elector | 29,519 | 4.52 | |
| bgcolor= | Socialist Workers Party | Bradley Wells Tracy, for Presidential Elector | 29,470 | 4.51 | |
| bgcolor= | American Independent Party | John G. Schmitz, for President | 21,208 | 3.22 | |
| Total votes | 653,505 | 100.00% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered voters/Turnout | 861,809 | 75.20% | |||
| County | Richard Nixon Republican | George McGovern Democratic | Linda Jenness Socialist Workers | John G. Schmitz American Independent | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Apache | 3,394 | 50.28% | 3,145 | 46.59% | 11 | 0.16% | 200 | 2.96% | 249 | 3.69% | 6,750 | ||||||||||||
| Cochise | 11,706 | 63.97% | 6,023 | 32.91% | 13 | 0.07% | 557 | 3.04% | 5,683 | 31.06% | 18,299 | ||||||||||||
| Coconino | 10,611 | 61.02% | 6,250 | 35.94% | 15 | 0.09% | 313 | 1.82% | 4,361 | 25.38% | 17,389 | ||||||||||||
| Gila | 5,673 | 54.70% | 4,295 | 41.41% | 7 | 0.07% | 397 | 3.83% | 1,378 | 13.29% | 10,372 | ||||||||||||
| Graham | 3,575 | 60.15% | 1,863 | 31.35% | 1 | 0.02% | 504 | 8.48% | 1,712 | 28.80% | 5,943 | ||||||||||||
| Greenlee | 1,758 | 45.57% | 2,013 | 52.18% | 6 | 0.16% | 81 | 2.10% | -255 | -6.61% | 3,858 | ||||||||||||
| Maricopa | 244,593 | 69.29% | 95,135 | 26.95% | 273 | 0.08% | 12,999 | 3.68% | 149,458 | 42.34% | 353,000 | ||||||||||||
| Mohave | 6,755 | 68.92% | 2,588 | 26.41% | 9 | 0.09% | 449 | 4.58% | 4,167 | 42.51% | 9,801 | ||||||||||||
| Navajo | 6,999 | 60.48% | 4,003 | 34.59% | 9 | 0.08% | 561 | 4.85% | 2,996 | 25.89% | 11,572 | ||||||||||||
| Pima | 73,154 | 45.41% | 56,223 | 34.90% | 29,113 | 18.07% | 2,620 | 1.63% | 16,931 | 10.51% | 161,110 | ||||||||||||
| Pinal | 10,584 | 60.28% | 6,404 | 36.47% | 16 | 0.09% | 555 | 3.16% | 4,180 | 23.81% | 17,559 | ||||||||||||
| Santa Cruz | 2,137 | 52.39% | 1,866 | 45.75% | 3 | 0.07% | 73 | 1.79% | 271 | 6.64% | 4,079 | ||||||||||||
| Yavapai | 12,277 | 65.77% | 3,977 | 21.30% | 1,466 | 7.85% | 947 | 5.07% | 8,300 | 44.47% | 18,667 | ||||||||||||
| Yuma | 9,596 | 63.52% | 4,755 | 31.48% | 3 | 0.02% | 752 | 4.98% | 4,841 | 32.04% | 15,106 | ||||||||||||
| Totals | 402,812 | 61.64% | 198,540 | 30.38% | 30,945 | 4.74% | 21,208 | 3.25% | 204,272 | 31.26% | 653,505 | ||||||||||||
Electors were chosen by their party's voters in primary elections held on September 12, 1972.[9]