Main article: 1972 United States presidential election
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 County Results
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The 1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 7, 1972 as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon won the state of Wisconsin with 53.40 percent of the vote, carrying the state's 11 electoral votes, although Wisconsin was the fifth most Democratic state during the election, voting 13.48 points more Democratic than the nation as a whole. In no other election since the emergence of the Republican Party has Wisconsin voted so much more Democratic than the country as a whole.
McGovern won seven counties (out of 131 county-equivalents including three in Alaska that he won nationally) receiving as usual his highest vote in almost wholly Native American Menominee County where he won 62.3 percent of the vote. McGovern and Shriver also achieved clear majorities in Milwaukee, Dane, Ashland, Douglas and Portage Counties, and Rusk County by 1.1 points. Nixon won Manitowoc County by one hundred and ten votes, achieved pluralities in Pepin, Chippewa and Forest Counties, and won majorities in the remaining sixty-one – the largest being in Waupaca County where Nixon won by forty-two percentage points. Rusk County was one of six nationwide (outside of McGovern's home state of South Dakota) to flip Democratic from the previous election.
Nixon became the first Republican since Warren G. Harding in 1920 to win Iron County, and was the last Republican until Donald Trump in 2016 to win Pepin and Kenosha Counties, and remains the last Republican to claim Bayfield County.
Primaries
Democratic
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 County Results
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George McGovern defeated Alabama Governor, George Wallace, and previous Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey in the Wisconsin presidential primary on April 4, 1972
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | George S. McGovern | 333,528 | 29.55% | |
| Democratic | George Wallace | 248,676 | 22.03% | |
| Democratic | Hubert H. Humphrey | 233,748 | 20.71% | |
| Democratic | Edmund S. Muskie | 115,811 | 10.26% | |
| Democratic | Henry M. Jackson | 88,068 | 7.80% | |
| Democratic | John V. Lindsay | 75,579 | 6.70% | |
| Democratic | Eugene McCarthy | 15,543 | 1.38% | |
| Democratic | Shirley Chisholm | 9,198 | 0.82% | |
| Democratic | None of These Names Shown | 2,450 | 0.22% | |
| Democratic | Samuel Yorty | 2,349 | 0.21% | |
| Democratic | Patsy T. Mink | 1,213 | 0.11% | |
| Democratic | Wilbur D. Mills | 913 | 0.08% | |
| Democratic | Vance Hartke | 766 | 0.07% | |
| Democratic | Edward Kennedy (write-in) | 183 | 0.02% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 559 | 0.05% | |
| Total votes | 1,128,584 | 100.00% | ||
Republican
Incumbent president Richard Nixon easily defeated token opposition from Pete McCloskey and John M. Ashbrook.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Richard M. Nixon | 277,601 | 96.91% | |
| Republican | Pete McCloskey | 3,651 | 1.27% | |
| Republican | John M. Ashbrook | 2,604 | 0.91% | |
| Republican | None of These Names Shown | 2,315 | 0.81% | |
| Republican | George Wallace (write-in) | 46 | 0.02% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 227 | 0.08% | |
| Total votes | 286,444 | 100.00% | ||
Results
| 1972 United States presidential election in Wisconsin | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 989,430 | 53.40% | 11 | |
| Democratic | George McGovern | 810,174 | 43.72% | 0 | |
| American | John G. Schmitz | 47,525 | 2.56% | 0 | |
| People's | Benjamin Spock | 2,701 | 0.15% | 0 | |
| Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher | 998 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Communist | Gus Hall | 663 | 0.04% | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | Evelyn Reed | 506 | 0.03% | 0 | |
| Write-in | Scattering | 893 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,852,890 | 100.00% | 11 | ||
Results by county
| County | Richard Nixon Republican |
George McGovern Democratic |
John G. Schmitz American |
Benjamin Spock People's |
All Others Various |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 2,200 | 53.18% | 1,833 | 44.31% | 96 | 2.32% | 3 | 0.07% | 5 | 0.12% | 367 | 8.87% | 4,137 |
| Ashland | 3,478 | 46.91% | 3,771 | 50.86% | 135 | 1.82% | 5 | 0.07% | 25 | 0.34% | -293 | -3.95% | 7,414 |
| Barron | 8,418 | 59.89% | 5,376 | 38.25% | 211 | 1.50% | 21 | 0.15% | 29 | 0.21% | 3,042 | 21.64% | 14,055 |
| Bayfield | 3,045 | 51.79% | 2,736 | 46.54% | 74 | 1.26% | 4 | 0.07% | 20 | 0.34% | 309 | 5.26% | 5,879 |
| Brown | 37,101 | 56.49% | 26,511 | 40.37% | 1,907 | 2.90% | 94 | 0.14% | 62 | 0.09% | 10,590 | 16.12% | 65,675 |
| Buffalo | 3,079 | 54.28% | 2,461 | 43.39% | 110 | 1.94% | 4 | 0.07% | 18 | 0.32% | 618 | 10.90% | 5,672 |
| Burnett | 2,972 | 54.37% | 2,389 | 43.71% | 92 | 1.68% | 8 | 0.15% | 5 | 0.09% | 583 | 10.66% | 5,466 |
| Calumet | 6,446 | 55.85% | 4,804 | 41.62% | 243 | 2.11% | 31 | 0.27% | 18 | 0.16% | 1,642 | 14.23% | 11,542 |
| Chippewa | 8,451 | 49.35% | 8,210 | 47.95% | 416 | 2.43% | 34 | 0.20% | 12 | 0.07% | 241 | 1.40% | 17,123 |
| Clark | 7,138 | 56.47% | 4,617 | 36.52% | 859 | 6.80% | 18 | 0.14% | 9 | 0.07% | 2,521 | 19.95% | 12,641 |
| Columbia | 10,122 | 58.02% | 7,083 | 40.60% | 216 | 1.24% | 11 | 0.06% | 15 | 0.09% | 3,039 | 17.42% | 17,447 |
| Crawford | 3,705 | 58.67% | 2,487 | 39.38% | 115 | 1.82% | 5 | 0.08% | 3 | 0.05% | 1,218 | 19.29% | 6,315 |
| Dane | 56,020 | 40.84% | 79,567 | 58.00% | 1,040 | 0.76% | 219 | 0.16% | 331 | 0.24% | -23,547 | -17.17% | 137,177 |
| Dodge | 17,068 | 61.54% | 9,898 | 35.69% | 715 | 2.58% | 29 | 0.10% | 27 | 0.10% | 7,170 | 25.85% | 27,737 |
| Door | 6,503 | 64.25% | 3,430 | 33.89% | 167 | 1.65% | 18 | 0.18% | 3 | 0.03% | 3,073 | 30.36% | 10,121 |
| Douglas | 8,419 | 42.58% | 11,054 | 55.91% | 202 | 1.02% | 36 | 0.18% | 60 | 0.30% | -2,635 | -13.33% | 19,771 |
| Dunn | 6,660 | 53.00% | 5,681 | 45.21% | 185 | 1.47% | 16 | 0.13% | 23 | 0.18% | 979 | 7.79% | 12,565 |
| Eau Claire | 15,883 | 51.28% | 14,300 | 46.17% | 671 | 2.17% | 57 | 0.18% | 60 | 0.19% | 1,583 | 5.11% | 30,971 |
| Florence | 971 | 54.06% | 757 | 42.15% | 64 | 3.56% | 1 | 0.06% | 3 | 0.17% | 214 | 11.91% | 1,796 |
| Fond du Lac | 21,007 | 60.94% | 12,050 | 34.96% | 1,291 | 3.75% | 55 | 0.16% | 67 | 0.19% | 8,957 | 25.98% | 34,470 |
| Forest | 1,856 | 49.77% | 1,678 | 45.00% | 190 | 5.10% | 4 | 0.11% | 1 | 0.03% | 178 | 4.77% | 3,729 |
| Grant | 11,873 | 62.29% | 6,915 | 36.28% | 240 | 1.26% | 15 | 0.08% | 18 | 0.09% | 4,958 | 26.01% | 19,061 |
| Green | 7,422 | 66.14% | 3,634 | 32.38% | 145 | 1.29% | 13 | 0.12% | 8 | 0.07% | 3,788 | 33.76% | 11,222 |
| Green Lake | 5,046 | 67.67% | 2,174 | 29.15% | 227 | 3.04% | 6 | 0.08% | 4 | 0.05% | 2,872 | 38.52% | 7,457 |
| Iowa | 4,387 | 57.53% | 3,131 | 41.06% | 97 | 1.27% | 7 | 0.09% | 4 | 0.05% | 1,256 | 16.47% | 7,626 |
| Iron | 1,723 | 49.93% | 1,648 | 47.75% | 70 | 2.03% | 5 | 0.14% | 5 | 0.14% | 75 | 2.18% | 3,451 |
| Jackson | 3,937 | 60.79% | 2,445 | 37.75% | 84 | 1.30% | 9 | 0.14% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,492 | 23.04% | 6,476 |
| Jefferson | 14,621 | 59.32% | 9,303 | 37.74% | 611 | 2.48% | 22 | 0.09% | 91 | 0.37% | 5,318 | 21.58% | 24,648 |
| Juneau | 4,833 | 60.19% | 2,943 | 36.65% | 237 | 2.95% | 7 | 0.09% | 10 | 0.12% | 1,890 | 23.54% | 8,030 |
| Kenosha | 24,041 | 53.93% | 19,441 | 43.61% | 966 | 2.17% | 66 | 0.15% | 62 | 0.14% | 4,600 | 10.32% | 44,576 |
| Kewaunee | 4,802 | 57.15% | 3,360 | 39.99% | 229 | 2.73% | 11 | 0.13% | 1 | 0.01% | 1,442 | 17.16% | 8,403 |
| La Crosse | 21,992 | 63.29% | 12,152 | 34.97% | 541 | 1.56% | 36 | 0.10% | 25 | 0.07% | 9,840 | 28.32% | 34,746 |
| Lafayette | 4,898 | 62.91% | 2,804 | 36.01% | 73 | 0.94% | 6 | 0.08% | 5 | 0.06% | 2,094 | 26.90% | 7,786 |
| Langlade | 4,368 | 57.26% | 3,011 | 39.47% | 238 | 3.12% | 6 | 0.08% | 6 | 0.08% | 1,357 | 17.79% | 7,629 |
| Lincoln | 6,206 | 57.25% | 4,175 | 38.51% | 437 | 4.03% | 11 | 0.10% | 11 | 0.10% | 2,031 | 18.74% | 10,840 |
| Manitowoc | 16,599 | 48.48% | 16,489 | 48.16% | 1,070 | 3.13% | 38 | 0.11% | 41 | 0.12% | 110 | 0.32% | 34,237 |
| Marathon | 21,454 | 51.24% | 18,500 | 44.18% | 1,813 | 4.33% | 42 | 0.10% | 63 | 0.15% | 2,954 | 7.05% | 41,872 |
| Marinette | 8,740 | 57.36% | 5,900 | 38.72% | 537 | 3.52% | 40 | 0.26% | 21 | 0.14% | 2,840 | 18.64% | 15,238 |
| Marquette | 2,682 | 62.53% | 1,537 | 35.84% | 54 | 1.26% | 6 | 0.14% | 10 | 0.23% | 1,145 | 26.70% | 4,289 |
| Menominee | 355 | 36.37% | 608 | 62.30% | 11 | 1.13% | 2 | 0.20% | 0 | 0.00% | -253 | -25.93% | 976 |
| Milwaukee | 191,874 | 46.02% | 210,802 | 50.55% | 12,567 | 3.01% | 724 | 0.17% | 1,010 | 0.24% | -18,928 | -4.54% | 416,977 |
| Monroe | 7,625 | 66.68% | 3,640 | 31.83% | 149 | 1.30% | 10 | 0.09% | 12 | 0.10% | 3,985 | 34.85% | 11,436 |
| Oconto | 6,511 | 59.38% | 4,041 | 36.85% | 385 | 3.51% | 13 | 0.12% | 15 | 0.14% | 2,470 | 22.53% | 10,965 |
| Oneida | 6,811 | 58.83% | 4,262 | 36.81% | 471 | 4.07% | 23 | 0.20% | 10 | 0.09% | 2,549 | 22.02% | 11,577 |
| Outagamie | 27,533 | 59.80% | 17,447 | 37.89% | 896 | 1.95% | 101 | 0.22% | 67 | 0.15% | 10,086 | 21.91% | 46,044 |
| Ozaukee | 15,759 | 61.88% | 8,503 | 33.39% | 1,149 | 4.51% | 20 | 0.08% | 35 | 0.14% | 7,256 | 28.49% | 25,466 |
| Pepin | 1,458 | 49.21% | 1,409 | 47.55% | 86 | 2.90% | 5 | 0.17% | 5 | 0.17% | 49 | 1.65% | 2,963 |
| Pierce | 5,899 | 50.35% | 5,611 | 47.89% | 184 | 1.57% | 10 | 0.09% | 12 | 0.10% | 288 | 2.46% | 11,716 |
| Polk | 6,567 | 52.40% | 5,738 | 45.78% | 204 | 1.63% | 11 | 0.09% | 13 | 0.10% | 829 | 6.62% | 12,533 |
| Portage | 9,346 | 40.04% | 13,564 | 58.11% | 365 | 1.56% | 46 | 0.20% | 20 | 0.09% | -4,218 | -18.07% | 23,341 |
| Price | 3,694 | 54.39% | 2,831 | 41.68% | 250 | 3.68% | 2 | 0.03% | 15 | 0.22% | 863 | 12.71% | 6,792 |
| Racine | 38,490 | 56.41% | 27,778 | 40.71% | 1,785 | 2.62% | 101 | 0.15% | 82 | 0.12% | 10,712 | 15.70% | 68,236 |
| Richland | 5,062 | 66.14% | 2,492 | 32.56% | 90 | 1.18% | 3 | 0.04% | 7 | 0.09% | 2,570 | 33.58% | 7,654 |
| Rock | 30,361 | 58.03% | 21,033 | 40.20% | 823 | 1.57% | 65 | 0.12% | 37 | 0.07% | 9,328 | 17.83% | 52,319 |
| Rusk | 3,007 | 47.89% | 3,075 | 48.97% | 176 | 2.80% | 10 | 0.16% | 11 | 0.18% | -68 | -1.08% | 6,279 |
| Sauk | 10,285 | 58.70% | 6,980 | 39.84% | 204 | 1.16% | 12 | 0.07% | 41 | 0.23% | 3,305 | 18.86% | 17,522 |
| Sawyer | 3,081 | 62.52% | 1,765 | 35.82% | 72 | 1.46% | 7 | 0.14% | 3 | 0.06% | 1,316 | 26.70% | 4,928 |
| Shawano | 8,807 | 66.95% | 3,940 | 29.95% | 378 | 2.87% | 7 | 0.05% | 22 | 0.17% | 4,867 | 37.00% | 13,154 |
| Sheboygan | 21,500 | 49.38% | 21,114 | 48.50% | 779 | 1.79% | 81 | 0.19% | 63 | 0.14% | 386 | 0.89% | 43,537 |
| St. Croix | 8,553 | 52.50% | 7,488 | 45.96% | 213 | 1.31% | 21 | 0.13% | 16 | 0.10% | 1,065 | 6.54% | 16,291 |
| Taylor | 4,125 | 55.76% | 2,934 | 39.66% | 313 | 4.23% | 4 | 0.05% | 22 | 0.30% | 1,191 | 16.10% | 7,398 |
| Trempealeau | 5,723 | 56.69% | 4,232 | 41.92% | 126 | 1.25% | 4 | 0.04% | 10 | 0.10% | 1,491 | 14.77% | 10,095 |
| Vernon | 6,836 | 65.71% | 3,407 | 32.75% | 127 | 1.22% | 10 | 0.10% | 23 | 0.22% | 3,429 | 32.96% | 10,403 |
| Vilas | 4,422 | 65.92% | 1,907 | 28.43% | 366 | 5.46% | 4 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.13% | 2,515 | 37.49% | 6,708 |
| Walworth | 17,823 | 65.95% | 8,598 | 31.82% | 485 | 1.79% | 38 | 0.14% | 79 | 0.29% | 9,225 | 34.14% | 27,023 |
| Washburn | 3,220 | 56.84% | 2,336 | 41.24% | 96 | 1.69% | 6 | 0.11% | 7 | 0.12% | 884 | 15.60% | 5,665 |
| Washington | 15,338 | 56.76% | 10,434 | 38.61% | 1,161 | 4.30% | 45 | 0.17% | 46 | 0.17% | 4,904 | 18.15% | 27,024 |
| Waukesha | 59,399 | 60.85% | 34,573 | 35.42% | 3,404 | 3.49% | 151 | 0.15% | 95 | 0.10% | 24,826 | 25.43% | 97,622 |
| Waupaca | 11,040 | 70.07% | 4,418 | 28.04% | 257 | 1.63% | 20 | 0.13% | 20 | 0.13% | 6,622 | 42.03% | 15,755 |
| Waushara | 4,466 | 66.27% | 2,094 | 31.07% | 166 | 2.46% | 8 | 0.12% | 5 | 0.07% | 2,372 | 35.20% | 6,739 |
| Winnebago | 29,488 | 57.28% | 20,450 | 39.72% | 1,400 | 2.72% | 93 | 0.18% | 51 | 0.10% | 9,038 | 17.56% | 51,482 |
| Wood | 14,806 | 54.88% | 10,415 | 38.60% | 1,719 | 6.37% | 25 | 0.09% | 15 | 0.06% | 4,391 | 16.28% | 26,980 |
| Totals | 989,430 | 53.40% | 810,174 | 43.72% | 47,525 | 2.56% | 2,701 | 0.15% | 3,060 | 0.17% | 179,256 | 9.67% | 1,852,890 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Electors
These were the names of the electors on each ticket.
| Richard M. Nixon & Spiro Agnew Republican Party |
George McGovern & Sargent Shriver Democratic Party |
John G. Schmitz & Thomas J. Anderson American Party |
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| Benjamin Spock & Julius Hobson People's Party |
Louis Fisher & Genevieve Gunderson Socialist Labor Party |
Gus Hall & Jarvis Tyner Communist Party |
Evelyn Reed & Clifton DeBerry Socialist Workers Party |
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See also
Notes
- ^ Not listed directly in the Blue Book but can be obtained by subtracting the candidate totals from the statewide and county totals.
- "Independent People's Party"
- "Independent Socialist Labor"
- "Independent Communist Party USA"
- "Independent Socialist Workers"
- Not listed in the 1973 Blue Book, but are shown separately by county in the Board of Canvassers report
References
- "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Wisconsin". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- Counting the Votes; Wisconsin Archived 2017-01-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ‘1972 Presidential Election Statistics’
- Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
- Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Democratic Presidential Preference Vote By County". The State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1973. Madison, Wisconsin. pp. 786–787.
- Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Republican Presidential Preference Vote By County". The State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1973. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 792.
- ^ Wisconsin Historical Society, Statement of Board of State Canvassers for President, Vice President and Presidential Electors - General Election - November 7, 1972
- ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Vote For President And Vice President By County". The State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1973. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 817.
| State and district results of the 1972 United States presidential election | ||
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| Elections in the United States | |
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