1972 United States presidential election in Ohio explained

See main article: 1972 United States presidential election.

Election Name:	1972 United States presidential election in Ohio
Country:	Ohio
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1968 United States presidential election in Ohio
Previous Year:	1968
Next Election:	1976 United States presidential election in Ohio
Next Year:	1976
Election Date:	November 7, 1972
Map Size:	250px
Map Alt:	Map of election results by county
Image1:	Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg
Nominee1:	Richard Nixon
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	California
Running Mate1:	Spiro Agnew
Electoral Vote1:	25
Popular Vote1:	2,441,827
Percentage1:	59.63%
Nominee2:	George McGovern
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	South Dakota
Running Mate2:	Sargent Shriver
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	1,558,889
Percentage2:	38.07%
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 Ohio took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose 25 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Ohio was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon (R) for the third time by a margin of 21.56%. Nixon won every county in the state except Lucas and Athens counties, which McGovern won by only 0.95% and 1.22% respectively,^[1] and gained a majority in all eighty-six winning counties except Cuyahoga, Mahoning and Summit counties. Nixon's biggest win was in Union County where he obtained 75.89 percent of the vote. Nonetheless, this result made Ohio almost 2% more Democratic than the nation at large. Athens County was one of six counties nationwide that McGovern flipped outside of his home state of South Dakota.

This was the last occasion until 2012 that Belmont, Jefferson and Monroe counties voted for a Republican presidential candidate, the last until 2016 that Trumbull County would vote for a Republican presidential candidate, the last until 2020 that Mahoning County would do so, and remains the last to date where Cuyahoga County has supported a Republican presidential candidate.^[2] Nixon became the first ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Athens County.

Results

1972 United States presidential election in Ohio
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Richard Nixon (incumbent)	2,441,827	59.63%	26
	Democrat	George McGovern	1,558,889	38.07%	0
	American Independent	John G. Schmitz	80,067	1.96%	0
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	7,107	0.17%	0
	Not Designated	Gus Hall	6,437	0.16%	0
	No party	Write-ins	460	0.01%	0
Totals			4,094,787	100.00%	25
Voter turnout (voting age/registered votes)					57%/90%

Results by county

County	Richard Nixon Republican		George McGovern Democratic		John G. Schmitz^[3] American Independent		Louis Fisher Socialist Labor		Gus Hall Not designated		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		4,980		63.18%		2,709		34.37%		172		2.18%		11		0.14%		10		0.13%		2,271		28.81%		7,882
	Allen		26,966		69.96%		10,184		26.42%		1,231		3.19%		77		0.20%		85		0.22%		16,782		43.54%		38,543
	Ashland		12,470		73.04%		4,302		25.20%		268		1.57%		24		0.14%		10		0.06%		8,168		47.84%		17,074
	Ashtabula		22,762		58.96%		15,052		38.99%		731		1.89%		30		0.08%		29		0.08%		7,710		19.97%		38,608
	Athens		9,735		48.88%		9,977		50.10%		142		0.71%		27		0.14%		34		0.17%		−242		−1.22%		19,915
	Auglaize		11,900		69.81%		4,617		27.08%		500		2.93%		14		0.08%		7		0.04%		7,283		42.73%		17,047
	Belmont		17,628		53.62%		14,800		45.01%		337		1.03%		47		0.14%		54		0.16%		2,828		8.61%		32,878
	Brown		6,772		62.68%		3,770		34.89%		246		2.28%		7		0.06%		6		0.06%		3,002		27.79%		10,804
	Butler		50,380		68.42%		21,194		28.78%		1,840		2.50%		80		0.11%		141		0.19%		29,186		39.64%		73,635
	Carroll		5,984		66.39%		2,755		30.56%		262		2.91%		6		0.07%		6		0.07%		3,229		35.83%		9,014
	Champaign		8,756		69.48%		3,626		28.77%		211		1.67%		6		0.05%		4		0.03%		5,130		40.71%		12,603
	Clark		34,447		61.79%		19,725		35.38%		1,197		2.15%		214		0.38%		165		0.30%		14,722		26.41%		55,750
	Clermont		22,936		71.70%		8,276		25.87%		738		2.31%		18		0.06%		18		0.06%		14,660		45.83%		31,989
	Clinton		8,140		74.08%		2,709		24.65%		133		1.21%		3		0.03%		3		0.03%		5,431		49.43%		10,988
	Columbiana		27,308		62.63%		15,683		35.97%		554		1.27%		23		0.05%		24		0.06%		11,625		26.66%		43,602
	Coshocton		8,082		66.21%		3,790		31.05%		245		2.01%		50		0.41%		39		0.32%		4,292		35.16%		12,206
	Crawford		14,632		69.50%		5,518		26.21%		863		4.10%		14		0.07%		19		0.09%		9,114		43.29%		21,053
	Cuyahoga		329,493		49.94%		317,670		48.15%		10,078		1.53%		1,303		0.20%		1,191		0.18%		11,823		1.79%		659,751
	Darke		13,862		65.71%		6,534		30.97%		658		3.12%		16		0.08%		26		0.12%		7,328		34.74%		21,096
	Defiance		8,914		65.40%		4,377		32.11%		322		2.36%		5		0.04%		6		0.04%		4,537		33.29%		13,630
	Delaware		12,950		72.40%		4,452		24.89%		468		2.62%		9		0.05%		7		0.04%		8,498		47.51%		17,886
	Erie		16,714		58.46%		10,889		38.09%		813		2.84%		103		0.36%		72		0.25%		5,825		20.37%		28,591
	Fairfield		21,909		71.67%		7,746		25.34%		852		2.79%		19		0.06%		19		0.06%		14,163		46.33%		30,568
	Fayette		6,970		73.25%		2,344		24.63%		191		2.01%		5		0.05%		3		0.03%		4,626		48.62%		9,515
	Franklin		219,771		63.74%		117,562		34.09%		5,496		1.59%		1,028		0.30%		948		0.27%		102,209		29.65%		344,808
	Fulton		8,387		68.55%		3,615		29.55%		212		1.73%		5		0.04%		9		0.07%		4,772		39.00%		12,234
	Gallia		6,506		72.40%		2,341		26.05%		108		1.20%		13		0.14%		14		0.16%		4,165		46.35%		8,986
	Geauga		15,624		66.27%		7,329		31.09%		538		2.28%		47		0.20%		37		0.16%		8,295		35.18%		23,577
	Greene		25,349		65.15%		12,736		32.73%		743		1.91%		38		0.10%		38		0.10%		12,613		32.42%		38,909
	Guernsey		9,648		66.00%		4,757		32.54%		175		1.20%		9		0.06%		18		0.12%		4,891		33.46%		14,619
	Hamilton		239,212		65.65%		119,054		32.67%		5,552		1.52%		320		0.09%		186		0.05%		120,158		32.98%		364,385
	Hancock		18,111		70.68%		6,084		23.74%		1,330		5.19%		48		0.19%		51		0.20%		12,027		46.94%		25,624
	Hardin		8,713		69.14%		3,535		28.05%		338		2.68%		8		0.06%		5		0.04%		5,178		41.09%		12,602
	Harrison		4,554		64.96%		2,388		34.07%		58		0.83%		3		0.04%		7		0.10%		2,166		30.89%		7,010
	Henry		8,099		70.58%		3,145		27.41%		213		1.86%		4		0.03%		8		0.07%		4,954		43.17%		11,475
	Highland		8,524		69.72%		3,464		28.33%		219		1.79%		2		0.02%		4		0.03%		5,060		41.39%		12,226
	Hocking		5,407		63.67%		2,874		33.84%		201		2.37%		1		0.01%		9		0.11%		2,533		29.83%		8,492
	Holmes		3,752		69.97%		1,507		28.11%		103		1.92%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		2,245		41.86%		5,362
	Huron		10,942		63.10%		5,491		31.67%		846		4.88%		41		0.24%		20		0.12%		5,451		31.43%		17,340
	Jackson		7,351		67.30%		3,410		31.22%		148		1.35%		6		0.05%		8		0.07%		3,941		36.08%		10,923
	Jefferson		21,531		56.25%		16,198		42.32%		442		1.15%		59		0.15%		44		0.11%		5,333		13.93%		38,274
	Knox		10,705		63.95%		5,370		32.08%		566		3.38%		56		0.33%		42		0.25%		5,335		31.87%		16,739
	Lake		42,488		58.90%		27,523		38.15%		1,900		2.63%		121		0.17%		109		0.15%		14,965		20.75%		72,141
	Lawrence		15,125		67.02%		7,112		31.52%		299		1.32%		23		0.10%		8		0.04%		8,013		35.50%		22,567
	Licking		28,070		66.47%		12,460		29.50%		1,633		3.87%		33		0.08%		33		0.08%		15,610		36.97%		42,232
	Logan		10,938		71.12%		3,786		24.62%		641		4.17%		9		0.06%		6		0.04%		7,152		46.50%		15,380
	Lorain		51,102		56.15%		36,634		40.25%		2,768		3.04%		314		0.34%		198		0.22%		14,468		15.90%		91,016
	Lucas		88,401		48.38%		90,142		49.34%		3,101		1.70%		577		0.32%		479		0.26%		−1,741		−0.96%		182,709
	Madison		8,372		75.67%		2,484		22.45%		202		1.83%		4		0.04%		2		0.02%		5,888		53.22%		11,064
	Mahoning		64,144		49.69%		62,428		48.36%		1,765		1.37%		387		0.30%		355		0.28%		1,716		1.33%		129,088
	Marion		17,197		67.02%		7,970		31.06%		449		1.75%		23		0.09%		12		0.05%		9,227		35.96%		25,659
	Medina		21,010		64.82%		10,643		32.84%		696		2.15%		22		0.07%		28		0.09%		10,367		31.98%		32,411
	Meigs		5,961		70.69%		2,335		27.69%		118		1.40%		4		0.05%		8		0.09%		3,626		43.00%		8,433
	Mercer		8,587		57.60%		5,798		38.89%		497		3.34%		10		0.07%		6		0.04%		2,789		18.71%		14,907
	Miami		21,226		68.44%		9,121		29.41%		629		2.03%		16		0.05%		11		0.04%		12,105		39.03%		31,012
	Monroe		3,721		59.14%		2,483		39.46%		79		1.26%		2		0.03%		1		0.02%		1,238		19.68%		6,292
	Montgomery		120,998		58.02%		82,231		39.43%		4,109		1.97%		568		0.27%		636		0.30%		38,767		18.59%		208,552
	Morgan		3,679		68.50%		1,554		28.93%		128		2.38%		3		0.06%		7		0.13%		2,125		39.57%		5,371
	Morrow		6,886		70.56%		2,527		25.89%		339		3.47%		2		0.02%		2		0.02%		4,359		44.67%		9,759
	Muskingum		19,897		63.99%		10,313		33.17%		833		2.68%		21		0.07%		22		0.07%		9,584		30.82%		31,094
	Noble		3,274		68.22%		1,449		30.19%		64		1.33%		8		0.17%		4		0.08%		1,825		38.03%		4,799
	Ottawa		9,772		57.86%		6,465		38.28%		629		3.72%		12		0.07%		11		0.07%		3,307		19.58%		16,889
	Paulding		4,553		64.81%		2,283		32.50%		175		2.49%		4		0.06%		9		0.13%		2,270		32.31%		7,025
	Perry		6,716		62.13%		3,728		34.49%		344		3.18%		8		0.07%		6		0.06%		2,988		27.64%		10,809
	Pickaway		9,661		74.30%		2,978		22.90%		268		2.06%		45		0.35%		50		0.38%		6,683		51.40%		13,002
	Pike		5,037		57.49%		3,531		40.30%		163		1.86%		20		0.23%		10		0.11%		1,506		17.19%		8,761
	Portage		23,294		51.76%		20,769		46.15%		869		1.93%		36		0.08%		31		0.07%		2,525		5.61%		45,002
	Preble		8,993		70.29%		3,472		27.14%		306		2.39%		11		0.09%		8		0.06%		5,521		43.15%		12,795
	Putnam		8,185		66.32%		3,729		30.21%		405		3.28%		6		0.05%		6		0.05%		4,456		36.11%		12,342
	Richland		31,117		68.18%		13,468		29.51%		769		1.68%		151		0.33%		136		0.30%		17,649		38.67%		45,641
	Ross		15,573		71.15%		5,879		26.86%		346		1.58%		42		0.19%		48		0.22%		9,694		44.29%		21,888
	Sandusky		15,489		63.63%		8,308		34.13%		507		2.08%		17		0.07%		16		0.07%		7,181		29.50%		24,343
	Scioto		19,998		63.13%		11,008		34.75%		597		1.89%		34		0.11%		34		0.11%		8,990		28.38%		31,679
	Seneca		13,939		60.82%		8,180		35.69%		779		3.40%		7		0.03%		9		0.04%		5,759		25.13%		22,918
	Shelby		9,089		61.82%		4,721		32.11%		871		5.92%		11		0.07%		11		0.07%		4,368		29.71%		14,703
	Stark		92,110		62.74%		51,565		35.12%		2,981		2.03%		74		0.05%		50		0.03%		40,545		27.62%		146,810
	Summit		112,419		49.92%		108,534		48.19%		3,925		1.74%		194		0.09%		113		0.05%		3,885		1.73%		225,216
	Trumbull		47,680		55.92%		35,278		41.37%		1,579		1.85%		332		0.39%		394		0.46%		12,402		14.55%		85,266
	Tuscarawas		18,413		59.07%		12,255		39.32%		452		1.45%		20		0.06%		11		0.04%		6,158		19.75%		31,169
	Union		8,389		75.89%		2,447		22.14%		206		1.86%		1		0.01%		5		0.05%		5,942		53.75%		11,054
	Van Wert		9,545		71.28%		3,644		27.21%		183		1.37%		6		0.04%		9		0.07%		5,901		44.07%		13,391
	Vinton		2,725		62.85%		1,537		35.45%		67		1.55%		5		0.12%		2		0.05%		1,188		27.40%		4,336
	Warren		20,210		72.45%		6,941		24.88%		720		2.58%		11		0.04%		13		0.05%		13,269		47.57%		27,897
	Washington		14,023		68.63%		5,814		28.45%		497		2.43%		52		0.25%		48		0.23%		8,209		40.18%		20,434
	Wayne		20,368		67.72%		9,260		30.79%		395		1.31%		22		0.07%		23		0.08%		11,108		36.93%		30,076
	Williams		9,083		66.76%		4,278		31.44%		221		1.63%		9		0.07%		7		0.05%		4,805		35.32%		13,605
	Wood		21,080		59.17%		13,494		37.88%		1,002		2.81%		29		0.08%		20		0.06%		7,586		21.29%		35,625
	Wyandot		6,414		68.15%		2,771		29.44%		221		2.35%		2		0.02%		4		0.04%		3,643		38.71%		9,412
Totals	2,441,827	59.63%	1,558,889	38.07%	80,067	1.96%	7,107	0.17%	6,437	0.16%	882,938	21.56%	4,094,787

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Belmont
• Clark
• Cuyahoga
• Harrison
• Hocking
• Jefferson
• Lorain
• Mahoning
• Mercer
• Monroe
• Montgomery
• Portage
• Tuscarawas
• Pike
• Summit
• Trumbull

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Athens

See also

• United States presidential elections in Ohio

Notes and References

1. David Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections; 1972 Presidential General Election Data Graphs – Ohio by County
2. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016.
3. Our Campaigns; OH US President 1972