1972 United States presidential election in New York explained

See main article: 1972 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1972 United States presidential election in New York
Country:	New York
Flag Image:	Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1968 United States presidential election in New York
Previous Year:	1968
Next Election:	1976 United States presidential election in New York
Next Year:	1976
Election Date:	November 7, 1972
Image1:	Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg
Nominee1:	Richard Nixon
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Alliance1:	Conservative
Home State1:	California
Running Mate1:	Spiro Agnew
Electoral Vote1:	41
Popular Vote1:	4,192,778
Percentage1:	58.54%
Nominee2:	George McGovern
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Alliance2:	Liberal
Home State2:	South Dakota
Running Mate2:	Sargent Shriver
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	2,951,084
Percentage2:	41.21%
Map Size:	445px
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 New York took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose 41 electors to the Electoral College, which voted for President and Vice President.

New York was won by incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon, who succeeded in securing re-election against Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Nixon ran with Vice President, and former Maryland Governor, Spiro Agnew for vice president, and McGovern ran with United States Ambassador Sargent Shriver for vice president. In the midst of a nationwide Republican landslide, Nixon took 58.54% of the vote in New York State to McGovern's 41.21%, a margin of 17.34%. New York weighed in for this election as more Democratic than the national average by about 6%.

Nearly all counties in New York State turned out for Nixon, and only the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx voted for McGovern. McGovern was able to win New York City overall with his victories in these three boroughs, taking two-thirds of the vote in Manhattan and also winning majority votes in Brooklyn and the Bronx. However, Nixon was able to put in a relatively strong performance citywide, winning 56% of the vote in Queens and 74% of the vote in Staten Island. 1972 remains the last election in which a Republican presidential nominee has won any New York City borough other than Staten Island, Queens being a heavily populated county that was historically key to Republican competition in New York. This was also the last election in which a Republican presidential nominee has won the upstate counties of Erie County, where the city of Buffalo is located, and Albany County, where the state capital of Albany is located, as well as in turn, the last Republican to win every county of upstate New York.^[1] Both of these counties have become solidly Democratic in the years that have followed.

The presidential election of 1972 was an extremely partisan election for New York, with 99.75% of the electorate voting either Republican or Democrat.^[2] Having delivered as President a period of relative economic stability and growth, and showing promising movements towards peace in Vietnam, Nixon was able to gain reelection with electors from every State in the U.S., except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. The Vietnam War continued to be a strong issue during this election, with both candidates declaring desire to end the conflict.^[3]

This was the first election since 1808 in which New York did not have the largest number of electors in the Electoral College, having fallen to 41 electors versus California's 45 as a result of the 1970 census. It is also the only presidential election from 1952 onwards in which New York did not vote the same way as Massachusetts. As of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, this is the last time that New York state voted more Republican than Michigan, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.

Campaign

The number of votes cast on the Liberal Party of New York's ballot line declined by almost 60%.

Results

1972 United States presidential election in New York
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Richard Nixon	3,824,642	53.40%
	Conservative	Richard Nixon	368,136	5.14%
	Total	Richard Nixon (incumbent)	4,192,778	58.54%	41
	Democratic	George McGovern	2,767,956	38.65%
	Liberal	George McGovern	183,128	2.56%
	Total	George McGovern	2,951,084	41.21%	0
	Socialist Workers	Evelyn Reed	7,797	0.11%	0
	Communist	Gus Hall	5,641	0.08%	0
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	4,530	0.06%	0
Totals			7,161,830	100.0%	41

New York City results

1972 presidential election in New York City			Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Staten Island	Total
	Democratic- Liberal	George McGovern	354,326	243,345	387,768	328,316	29,241	1,342,996	51.46%
			66.25%	55.16%	50.78%	43.42%	25.62%
	Republican- Conservative	Richard Nixon	178,515	196,754	373,903	426,015	84,686	1,259,873	48.27%
			33.38%	44.60%	48.96%	56.34%	74.21%
	Communist	Gus Hall	938	458	797	628	71	2,892	0.11%
			0.18%	0.10%	0.10%	0.08%	0.06%
	Socialist Workers	Evelyn Reed	702	355	672	674	84	2,487	0.10%
			0.13%	0.08%	0.09%	0.09%	0.07%
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	382	262	480	454	41	1,619	0.06%
			0.07%	0.06%	0.06%	0.06%	0.04%
TOTAL			534,863	441,174	763,620	756,087	114,123	2,609,867	100.00%

Results by county

County	Richard Nixon Republican/Conservative		George McGovern Democratic/Liberal		Evelyn Reed^[4] Socialist Workers		Gus Hall Communist		Louis Fisher Socialist Labor		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Albany		81,848		54.76%		67,297		45.02%		158		0.11%		85		0.06%		87		0.06%		14,551		9.74%		149,475
	Allegany		13,426		73.43%		4,812		26.32%		28		0.15%		9		0.05%		9		0.05%		8,614		47.11%		18,284
	Bronx		196,754		44.60%		243,345		55.16%		355		0.08%		458		0.10%		262		0.06%		−46,591		−10.56%		441,174
	Broome		55,736		59.84%		37,154		39.89%		132		0.14%		49		0.05%		64		0.07%		18,582		19.95%		93,135
	Cattaraugus		21,906		66.53%		10,909		33.13%		66		0.20%		21		0.06%		25		0.08%		10,997		33.40%		32,927
	Cayuga		22,774		67.08%		11,097		32.68%		34		0.10%		11		0.03%		36		0.11%		11,677		34.40%		33,952
	Chautauqua		37,158		58.44%		26,253		41.29%		77		0.12%		39		0.06%		56		0.09%		10,905		17.15%		63,583
	Chemung		26,200		67.28%		12,650		32.48%		50		0.13%		16		0.04%		28		0.07%		13,550		34.80%		38,944
	Chenango		13,770		70.58%		5,695		29.19%		28		0.14%		5		0.03%		11		0.06%		8,075		41.39%		19,509
	Clinton		17,048		63.60%		9,703		36.20%		31		0.12%		10		0.04%		12		0.04%		7,345		27.40%		26,804
	Columbia		17,995		70.27%		7,558		29.51%		26		0.10%		12		0.05%		19		0.07%		10,437		40.76%		25,610
	Cortland		12,885		70.97%		5,234		28.83%		20		0.11%		10		0.06%		7		0.04%		7,651		42.14%		18,156
	Delaware		15,136		74.10%		5,243		25.67%		27		0.13%		10		0.05%		10		0.05%		9,893		48.43%		20,426
	Dutchess		64,864		69.82%		27,872		30.00%		79		0.09%		38		0.04%		50		0.05%		36,992		39.82%		92,903
	Erie		256,462		53.88%		218,105		45.82%		568		0.12%		377		0.08%		511		0.11%		38,357		8.06%		476,023
	Essex		11,763		70.22%		4,955		29.58%		14		0.08%		13		0.08%		7		0.04%		6,808		40.64%		16,752
	Franklin		10,959		67.40%		5,266		32.39%		20		0.12%		3		0.02%		12		0.07%		5,693		35.01%		16,260
	Fulton		15,200		67.33%		7,303		32.35%		28		0.12%		16		0.07%		28		0.12%		7,897		34.98%		22,575
	Genesee		17,107		66.28%		8,631		33.44%		41		0.16%		11		0.04%		21		0.08%		8,476		32.84%		25,811
	Greene		14,313		72.96%		5,260		26.81%		28		0.14%		10		0.05%		7		0.04%		9,053		46.15%		19,618
	Hamilton		2,597		77.89%		731		21.93%		1		0.03%		1		0.03%		4		0.12%		1,866		55.96%		3,334
	Herkimer		20,194		67.84%		9,487		31.87%		46		0.15%		23		0.08%		17		0.06%		10,707		35.97%		29,767
	Jefferson		23,123		66.41%		11,629		33.40%		31		0.09%		15		0.04%		19		0.05%		11,494		33.01%		34,817
	Kings		373,903		48.96%		387,768		50.78%		672		0.09%		797		0.10%		480		0.06%		−13,865		−1.82%		763,620
	Lewis		6,591		68.60%		2,987		31.09%		14		0.15%		6		0.06%		10		0.10%		3,604		37.51%		9,608
	Livingston		15,886		69.13%		7,031		30.60%		31		0.13%		15		0.07%		17		0.07%		8,855		38.53%		22,980
	Madison		18,392		74.47%		6,241		25.27%		32		0.13%		14		0.06%		18		0.07%		12,151		49.20%		24,697
	Monroe		196,579		61.95%		120,031		37.83%		358		0.11%		162		0.05%		175		0.06%		76,548		24.12%		317,305
	Montgomery		16,640		63.58%		9,460		36.15%		44		0.17%		11		0.04%		16		0.06%		7,180		27.43%		26,171
	Nassau		438,723		63.31%		252,831		36.48%		723		0.10%		418		0.06%		332		0.05%		185,892		26.83%		693,027
	New York		178,515		33.38%		354,326		66.25%		702		0.13%		938		0.18%		382		0.07%		−175,811		−32.87%		534,863
	Niagara		54,777		58.22%		38,991		41.44%		156		0.17%		90		0.10%		77		0.08%		15,786		16.78%		94,091
	Oneida		78,549		69.86%		33,642		29.92%		135		0.12%		54		0.05%		64		0.06%		44,907		39.94%		112,444
	Onondaga		140,039		69.18%		61,895		30.58%		231		0.11%		105		0.05%		146		0.07%		78,144		38.60%		202,416
	Ontario		23,828		68.23%		11,012		31.53%		42		0.12%		22		0.06%		17		0.05%		12,816		36.70%		34,921
	Orange		63,556		71.00%		25,778		28.80%		92		0.10%		36		0.04%		53		0.06%		37,778		42.20%		89,515
	Orleans		10,938		71.35%		4,371		28.51%		13		0.08%		3		0.02%		4		0.03%		6,567		42.84%		15,329
	Oswego		29,109		71.84%		11,317		27.93%		44		0.11%		16		0.04%		32		0.08%		17,792		43.91%		40,518
	Otsego		17,364		68.58%		7,898		31.19%		33		0.13%		11		0.04%		15		0.06%		9,466		37.39%		25,321
	Putnam		21,673		73.48%		7,747		26.26%		32		0.11%		23		0.08%		22		0.07%		13,926		47.22%		29,497
	Queens		426,015		56.34%		328,316		43.42%		674		0.09%		628		0.08%		454		0.06%		97,699		12.92%		756,087
	Rensselaer		48,864		66.87%		24,019		32.87%		79		0.11%		54		0.07%		55		0.08%		24,845		34.00%		73,071
	Richmond		84,686		74.21%		29,241		25.62%		84		0.07%		71		0.06%		41		0.04%		55,445		48.59%		114,123
	Rockland		64,753		64.29%		35,771		35.52%		73		0.07%		54		0.05%		69		0.07%		28,982		28.77%		100,720
	St. Lawrence		26,145		63.00%		15,286		36.83%		77		0.13%		35		0.06%		38		0.06%		10,859		26.17%		41,503
	Saratoga		40,582		69.22%		17,899		30.53%		98		0.13%		42		0.05%		51		0.07%		22,683		38.69%		58,631
	Schenectady		47,529		61.46%		29,619		38.30%		15		0.12%		16		0.13%		1		0.01%		17,910		23.16%		77,339
	Schoharie		8,644		69.68%		3,730		30.07%		5		0.07%		1		0.01%		3		0.04%		4,914		39.61%		12,406
	Schuyler		4,945		71.76%		1,937		28.11%		18		0.13%		5		0.04%		10		0.07%		3,008		43.65%		6,891
	Seneca		9,368		67.68%		4,441		32.08%		44		0.11%		10		0.02%		18		0.04%		4,927		35.60%		13,842
	Steuben		28,708		75.05%		9,462		24.74%		39		0.10%		17		0.04%		27		0.07%		19,246		50.31%		38,253
	Suffolk		316,452		70.34%		132,441		29.44%		505		0.11%		273		0.06%		227		0.05%		184,011		40.90%		449,898
	Sullivan		17,035		63.24%		9,847		36.55%		30		0.11%		15		0.06%		11		0.04%		7,188		26.69%		26,938
	Tioga		13,396		70.84%		5,470		28.93%		29		0.15%		5		0.03%		10		0.05%		7,926		41.91%		18,910
	Tompkins		17,605		58.66%		12,344		41.13%		32		0.11%		16		0.05%		14		0.05%		5,261		17.53%		30,011
	Ulster		46,883		68.51%		21,371		31.23%		81		0.12%		45		0.07%		53		0.08%		25,512		37.28%		68,433
	Warren		16,649		74.11%		5,760		25.64%		33		0.15%		6		0.03%		17		0.08%		10,889		48.47%		22,465
	Washington		16,136		73.80%		5,677		25.97%		24		0.11%		8		0.04%		19		0.09%		10,459		47.83%		21,864
	Wayne		23,379		73.89%		8,203		25.92%		34		0.11%		19		0.06%		7		0.02%		15,176		47.97%		31,642
	Westchester		262,901		62.83%		154,412		36.90%		548		0.13%		345		0.08%		229		0.05%		108,489		25.93%		418,435
	Wyoming		11,184		71.75%		4,365		28.00%		22		0.14%		9		0.06%		8		0.05%		6,819		43.75%		15,588
	Yates		6,639		77.04%		1,958		22.72%		11		0.13%		4		0.05%		6		0.07%		4,681		54.32%		8,618
Totals	4,192,778	58.54%	2,951,084	41.21%	7,797	0.11%	5,641	0.08%	4,530	0.06%	1,241,694	17.33%	7,161,830

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Albany
• Erie
• Niagara
• Queens
• Schenectady

See also

• United States presidential elections in New York
• George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign
• Presidency of Richard Nixon
• Presidency of Gerald Ford
• Watergate scandal

Works cited

• Book: Soyer, Daniel . Left in the Center: The Liberal Party of New York and the Rise and Fall of American Social Democracy . . 2021 . 10.7591/j.ctv1hw3x50.2 . 9781501759888.

Notes and References

1. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016.
2. Web site: 1972 Presidential General Election Results – New York. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 2013-07-09.
3. News: McGovern Enters '72 Race, Pledging Troop Withdrawal . . . 1971-01-18 . 1 . fee required. 2013-07-09.
4. Our Campaigns; NY US President 1972