See main article: 1972 United States presidential election.
| Election Name: | 1972 United States presidential election in Connecticut |
| Country: | Connecticut |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1968 United States presidential election in Connecticut |
| Previous Year: | 1968 |
| Next Election: | 1976 United States presidential election in Connecticut |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1972 |
| Image1: | Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Richard Nixon |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Home State1: | California |
| Running Mate1: | Spiro Agnew |
| Electoral Vote1: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 810,763 |
| Percentage1: | 58.57% |
| Nominee2: | George McGovern |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State2: | South Dakota |
| Running Mate2: | Sargent Shriver |
| Electoral Vote2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 555,498 |
| Percentage2: | 40.13% |
| 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 Connecticut took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Connecticut voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Connecticut was won by the Republican nominees, incumbent President Richard Nixon of California and his running mate Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland. Nixon and Agnew defeated the Democratic nominees, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and his running mate U.S. Ambassador Sargent Shriver of Maryland.
Nixon carried Connecticut with 58.57% of the vote to McGovern's 40.13%, a victory margin of 18.44%.[1] He won every county in the state, but this result nonetheless made Connecticut almost 5% more Democratic than the nation-at-large.
Nixon's victory was the first of five consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Connecticut would not be won by a Democratic candidate again until Bill Clinton in 1992. Since then, it has become a safe Democratic state.
To date, this is the last time that the cities of Bridgeport and New London voted Republican.
| 1972 United States presidential election in Connecticut[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | ||
| Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 810,763 | 58.57% | 8 | ||
| Democratic | George McGovern | 555,498 | 40.13% | 0 | ||
| American Independent | John G. Schmitz | 17,239 | 1.25% | 0 | ||
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 777 | 0.06% | 0 | ||
| Totals | 1,384,277 | 100.00% | 8 | |||
| Voter turnout | - | |||||
| County | Richard Nixon Republican | George McGovern Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Fairfield | 233,188 | 64.00% | 125,128 | 34.34% | 6,050 | 1.66% | 108,060 | 29.66% | 364,366 | ||||||||||
| Hartford | 194,095 | 52.09% | 174,837 | 46.93% | 3,654 | 0.98% | 19,258 | 5.16% | 372,586 | ||||||||||
| Litchfield | 43,478 | 60.20% | 27,929 | 38.67% | 812 | 1.13% | 15,549 | 21.53% | 72,219 | ||||||||||
| Middlesex | 33,249 | 57.90% | 23,573 | 41.05% | 602 | 1.05% | 9,676 | 16.85% | 57,424 | ||||||||||
| New Haven | 200,818 | 59.01% | 135,132 | 39.71% | 4,373 | 1.28% | 65,686 | 19.30% | 340,323 | ||||||||||
| New London | 58,516 | 63.40% | 32,935 | 35.68% | 850 | 0.92% | 25,581 | 27.72% | 92,301 | ||||||||||
| Tolland | 25,798 | 56.45% | 19,505 | 42.68% | 394 | 0.87% | 6,293 | 13.77% | 45,697 | ||||||||||
| Windham | 21,621 | 56.04% | 16,459 | 42.66% | 504 | 1.30% | 5,162 | 13.38% | 38,584 | ||||||||||
| Totals | 810,763 | 58.57% | 555,498 | 40.13% | 18,016 | 1.30% | 255,265 | 18.44% | 1,384,277 | ||||||||||