1972 United States presidential election in Maine explained

See main article: 1972 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1972 United States presidential election in Maine
Country:Maine
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1968 United States presidential election in Maine
Previous Year:1968
Next Election:1976 United States presidential election in Maine
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 Vote1:4
Popular Vote1:256,458
Percentage1:61.46%
Nominee2:George McGovern
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:South Dakota
Running Mate2:Sargent Shriver
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:160,584
Percentage2:38.48%
Map Size:350px
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 Maine took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election which was held throughout all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Maine was won by the incumbent Republican president Richard Nixon by a landslide 23 point margin over his Democratic challenger, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Nixon took 61.46% of the vote, totaling up to 256,458 votes, to McGovern’s 38.48%, and 160,584 votes. In the midst of Nixon’s massive 49-state landslide victory, Maine voted almost exactly as the country did, only voting about 0.7% more Republican than the nation as a whole.

Richard Nixon swept every county in the state except for Androscoggin, where McGovern won by a mere 103 votes.[1] Androscoggin was the solitary county McGovern won in the Northeast outside of Massachusetts or in the city limits of Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington.

Nixon's victory was the first of five consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Maine would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until Bill Clinton in 1992; it has since become a Democratic-leaning state.

Since 1972 no presidential candidate of either party has surpassed Nixon’s 61.46% of the vote in Maine (the closest being Ronald Reagan’s 60.83% in 1984).

This was the first presidential election in which Maine allocated its electoral votes proportionally, giving 2 electoral votes to the overall winner of the state and 1 electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district.

Results

1972 United States presidential election in Maine[2]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
RepublicanRichard Nixon (incumbent)256,45861.46%4
DemocraticGeorge McGovern160,58438.48%0
American IndependentJohn G. Schmitz (write-in)1170.03%0
Peace and FreedomBenjamin Spock (write-in)30.00%0
Socialist WorkersLinda Jenness (write-in)20.00%0
CommunistGus Hall (write-in)20.00%0
LibertarianJohn Hospers (write-in)10.00%0
Write-insScattered (Other write-ins)1040.02%0
Totals417,271100.00%4
Voter turnout60%/68%

Congressional district

districtNixonMcGovernRepresentative
61.42%38.58%Peter Kyros
61.58%38.42%William Hathaway (92nd Congress)
William Cohen (93rd Congress)

Results by county

CountyRichard Nixon
Republican
George McGovern
Democratic
Various candidates
Write-ins
MarginTotal votes cast
%%%%
Androscoggin19,40649.86%19,50950.12%90.02%-103-0.26%38,924
Aroostook19,05162.37%11,47437.56%220.07%7,57724.81%30,547
Cumberland51,26860.59%33,32639.38%230.03%17,94221.21%84,617
Franklin5,95866.50%2,98833.35%140.16%2,97033.15%8,960
Hancock11,88973.90%4,19126.05%70.04%7,69847.85%16,087
Kennebec24,61759.99%16,37939.91%390.10%8,23820.08%41,035
Knox8,47870.19%3,60129.81%4,87740.38%12,079
Lincoln7,58072.28%2,90327.68%40.04%4,67744.60%10,487
Oxford12,11464.36%6,66135.39%480.26%5,45328.97%18,823
Penobscot30,18661.92%18,55238.06%110.02%11,63423.86%48,749
Piscataquis4,61764.70%2,51835.29%10.01%2,09929.41%7,136
Sagadahoc6,46365.35%3,41434.52%130.13%3,04930.83%9,890
Somerset10,07962.97%5,92136.99%50.03%4,15825.98%16,005
Waldo6,48068.78%2,94131.21%10.01%3,53937.57%9,422
Washington7,82067.57%3,74232.33%120.10%4,07835.24%11,574
York30,45257.53%22,46442.44%200.04%7,98815.09%52,936
Totals256,45861.46%160,58438.48%2290.05%95,87422.98%417,271

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1972 Presidential General Election Results - Maine. 2015-10-02. 2015-07-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20150701164135/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1972&fips=23&f=0&off=0&elect=0. live.
  2. Web site: 1972 Presidential General Election Results - Maine . 2008-08-25 . Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas . 2016-02-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215195236/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1972&fips=23&f=0&off=0&elect=0&minper=0 . live .