1972 United States presidential election in New Mexico explained

See main article: 1972 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1972 United States presidential election in New Mexico
Country:New Mexico
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1968 United States presidential election in New Mexico
Previous Year:1968
Next Election:1976 United States presidential election in New Mexico
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 Vote1:235,606
Percentage1:61.05%
Nominee2:George McGovern
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:South Dakota
Running Mate2:Sargent Shriver
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:141,084
Percentage2:36.56%
President
Map Size:265px
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 New Mexico took place on November 7, 1972. This was the fifteenth Presidential Election which New Mexico participated in. All fifty states plus the District of Columbia, were part of this presidential election. State voters chose four electors to represent them in the Electoral College, who voted for the President and Vice President. South Dakota Senator George McGovern was nominated to run against Nixon, and was defeated in one of the most lopsided elections in United States history. McGovern lost every state except Massachusetts to Nixon.[1]

New Mexico was won by President Richard Nixon by a 24-point landslide, mirroring the national popular vote margin by a near-perfect amount and making New Mexico 1.3% more Republican than the nation-at-large. McGovern won only two counties: he comfortably won Rio Arriba County by 12.6 percentage points, and also won San Miguel County by 2.5 percentage points.[2] Nixon was the first Republican to carry Grant County since 1928.

The 1972 election remains the last when Santa Fe, Taos or Mora counties provided a Republican majority or plurality,[3] and Nixon won Mora County by a mere thirty votes. At the other extreme, solidly Republican Lea County in the Plains region was won by Nixon by 55.4 percent, and Lincoln County, which had not voted Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 landslide,[3] by 55.9 percent. As of 2024, this was the best performance for a Republican presidential nominee in New Mexico.

Primaries

Democratic

Election Name:1972 New Mexico Democratic Party presidential primary
Country:New Mexico
Type:primary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1968 United States Presidential Election in New Mexico
Previous Year:1968
Election Date:June 6, 1972
Next Election:1976 United States Presidential Election in New Mexico
Next Year:1976
Colour1:ff0000
Candidate1:George McGovern
Home State1:South Dakota
Popular Vote1:51,011
Percentage1:33.28%
Candidate2:George Wallace
Colour2:008000
Home State2:Alabama
Popular Vote2:44,843
Percentage2:29.25%
Candidate3:Hubert Humphrey
Colour3:0000ff
Home State3:Minnesota
Popular Vote3:39,768
Percentage3:25.94%
Map Size:265px

George McGovern would defeat Alabama Governor, George Wallace, and previous Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey.[4]

Republican

Results

Results by county

County[5] Richard Nixon
Republican		George McGovern
Democratic		John G. Schmitz
American Independent		Linda Jenness
Socialist Workers		MarginTotal votes cast
%%%%%
Bernalillo79,99360.80%48,75337.06%2,6512.02%1650.13%31,24023.74%131,562
Catron82973.49%27124.02%262.30%20.18%55849.47%1,128
Chaves11,49370.87%4,29626.49%4152.56%120.07%7,19744.38%16,216
Colfax2,66357.88%1,85540.32%821.78%10.02%80817.56%4,601
Curry8,39275.85%2,41621.84%2462.22%100.09%5,97654.01%11,064
De Baca75271.82%27025.79%242.29%10.10%48246.03%1,047
Dona Ana14,56259.76%9,41638.64%3671.51%210.09%5,14621.12%24,366
Eddy9,92164.65%5,04032.84%3682.40%170.11%4,88131.81%15,346
Grant4,43150.46%4,08146.48%2622.98%70.08%3503.98%8,781
Guadalupe1,29751.37%1,20247.60%230.91%30.12%953.77%2,525
Harding52268.68%22028.95%182.37%00.00%30239.73%760
Hidalgo1,05163.43%56233.92%442.65%00.00%48929.51%1,657
Lea12,47876.41%3,42921.00%4092.50%150.09%9,04955.41%16,331
Lincoln2,52877.07%69621.22%521.59%40.12%1,83255.85%3,280
Los Alamos5,03966.09%2,43531.94%1381.81%120.16%2,60434.15%7,624
Luna2,95863.25%1,56033.35%1573.36%20.04%1,39829.90%4,677
McKinley5,36649.74%5,12447.49%2732.53%260.24%2422.25%10,789
Mora1,16550.26%1,13548.96%150.65%30.13%301.30%2,318
Otero7,03365.91%2,98127.94%6466.05%100.09%4,05237.97%10,670
Quay3,22471.30%1,16125.67%1332.94%40.09%2,06345.63%4,522
Rio Arriba4,35142.68%5,64255.34%1921.88%100.10%-1,291-12.66%10,195
Roosevelt4,72773.03%1,61224.90%1322.04%20.03%3,11548.13%6,473
San Juan10,78867.55%4,29626.90%8285.18%580.36%6,49240.65%15,970
San Miguel4,43447.71%4,66350.18%1751.88%210.23%-229-2.47%9,293
Sandoval3,50750.25%3,29347.18%1692.42%100.14%2143.07%6,979
Santa Fe12,21152.53%10,76146.29%2551.10%190.08%1,4506.24%23,246
Sierra2,07467.47%93430.38%622.02%40.13%1,14037.09%3,074
Socorro2,65856.19%1,99442.16%721.52%60.13%66414.03%4,730
Taos3,61750.49%3,47248.46%650.91%100.14%1452.03%7,164
Torrance1,75864.54%90833.33%562.06%20.07%85031.21%2,724
Union1,54572.50%49623.28%874.08%30.14%1,04949.22%2,131
Valencia8,23956.09%6,11041.60%3252.21%140.10%2,12914.49%14,688
Totals235,60661.05%141,08436.56%8,7672.27%4740.12%94,52224.49%385,931

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1972 Presidential General Election Results – New Mexico . Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections . 2018-02-11.
  2. Dave Leip’s Atlas of US Presidential Elections; 1972 Presidential General Election Data Graphs – New Mexico by County
  3. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016.
  4. Web site: Our Campaigns - NM US President - D Primary Race - Jun 06, 1972 .
  5. Our Campaigns; NM US President 1972

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