1972 United States presidential election in Florida

Main article: 1972 United States presidential election

1972 United States presidential election in Florida

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Turnout	72%
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Home state California South Dakota Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver Electoral vote 17 0 Popular vote 1,857,759 718,117 Percentage 71.91% 27.80%
County Results Congressional District Results Nixon   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   90-100% The 1972 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 7, 1972, as part of the concurrent United States presidential election. Florida voters chose seventeen electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon won the state over the Democratic nominee, South Dakota Senator George McGovern, by a landslide margin of 44.11% and over one million votes. After having been among the strongest parts of the Democratic "Solid South" between 1892 and 1944 – except when vehement anti-Catholicism in the Panhandle and urban Republican support gave the state's electoral votes to Herbert Hoover in 1928 – Florida turned into a Republican-leaning state at the presidential level from 1948 due to the growth of a strongly business-oriented society in, and influx of conservative Northern retirees to, newly-developed South Florida following World War II. [1] Aided by this vote, the Republicans carried Florida in all three presidential elections from 1952 to 1960, [2] though North Florida remained Democratic-leaning. The civil rights movement of the 1960s saw a dramatic change in the next two elections. The classically Deep Southern north of the state, affected by turmoil over school and university desegregation, [3] went powerfully to the staunchly conservative Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964 and then to the segregationist third-party candidacy of George Wallace in 1968. The southern urban areas that had supported the Republicans between 1948 and 1960, meanwhile, contained huge numbers of former Northern retirees hostile to Goldwater's proposed privatization of Social Security, and turned first to Lyndon Johnson before Nixon recaptured most of them for the Republicans in 1968. [4] The 1972 Democratic presidential primary in Florida saw Wallace easily carry the state (including every county but highly urbanized Dade) in a ballot that also featured a referendum on court-ordered busing, in which more than three-fourths of voters supported a constitutional ban on the practice. [5] [6] McGovern and John Lindsay were supporters of busing who accused even their rivals Hubert Humphrey and Henry M. Jackson of being covert racists for their opposition thereto, while Wallace openly campaigned against it. [6] Wallace, the opponent most feared by Nixon, was paralyzed by an attempted assassination in May, and McGovern won the nomination from powerful support in the Midwestern and Pacific states. Once McGovern won the nomination, he offered Florida Governor Reubin Askew the vice-presidential slot, but Askew turned the position down. [7] As of 2024, this is the last election in which Gadsden County voted for a Republican presidential candidate, and the only election in which a Republican won all of the state's counties. [8] 78% of white voters supported Nixon while 22% supported McGovern. [9] [10] Primary elections Democratic George Wallace would win a plurality[ clarification needed ] of the Democratic Primary vote in all of the counties in the state. [11] Democratic Primary – March 14, 1972 [12] Party Candidate Votes % Democratic George C. Wallace 526,651 41.65% Democratic Hubert Humphrey 243,658 18.56% Democratic Henry M. Jackson 170,156 13.46% Democratic Edmund Muskie 112,523 8.90% Democratic John Lindsay 82,386 6.52% Democratic George S. McGovern 78,232 6.19% Democratic Shirley Chisholm 43,989 3.48% Democratic Eugene McCarthy 5,847 0.46% Democratic Wilbur Mills 4,539 0.36% Democratic Vance Hartke 3,009 0.24% Democratic Sam Yorty 2,564 0.20% Total votes 1,264,554 100 Republican Richard Nixon would end up winning a majority of the vote in all counties except for Desoto County. [13] Republican Primary – March 14, 1972 [14] Party Candidate Votes % Republican Richard Nixon (incumbent) 360,278 86.98% Republican John M. Ashbrook 36,617 8.84% Republican Pete McCloskey 17,312 4.18% Total votes 414,207 100 Results Electoral results Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral vote Running mate Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote Richard Nixon (incumbent) Republican California 1,857,759 71.91% 17 Spiro Agnew (incumbent) Maryland 17 George McGovern Democratic South Dakota 718,117 27.80% 0 Sargent Shriver Maryland 0 Various candidates Write-ins — 7,407 0.29% 0 — — 0 Total 2,583,283 100% 17 17 Needed to win 270 270 Results by county County Richard Nixon Republican George McGovern Democratic Various candidates Write-ins Margin Total votes cast #  % #  % #  % #  % Alachua 22,536 56.54% 17,245 43.26% 80 0.20% 5,291 13.28% 39,861 Baker 1,943 83.64% 379 16.32% 1 0.04% 1,564 67.32% 2,323 Bay 20,245 83.80% 3,914 16.20% 16,331 67.60% 24,159 Bradford 3,652 73.67% 1,217 24.55% 88 1.78% 2,435 49.12% 4,957 Brevard 62,773 78.73% 16,854 21.14% 106 0.13% 45,919 57.59% 79,733 Broward 196,528 72.41% 74,127 27.31% 754 0.28% 122,401 45.10% 271,409 Calhoun 2,069 81.68% 461 18.20% 3 0.12% 1,608 63.48% 2,533 Charlotte 12,888 76.64% 3,874 23.04% 55 0.33% 9,014 53.60% 16,817 Citrus 8,848 77.22% 2,607 22.75% 3 0.03% 6,241 54.47% 11,458 Clay 10,467 85.53% 1,748 14.28% 23 0.19% 8,719 71.25% 12,238 Collier 13,501 80.63% 3,201 19.12% 42 0.25% 10,300 61.51% 16,744 Columbia 6,723 80.16% 1,664 19.84% 5,059 60.32% 8,387 Dade 256,529 58.87% 177,693 40.78% 1,541 0.35% 78,836 18.09% 435,763 DeSoto 2,958 77.58% 852 22.34% 3 0.08% 2,106 55.24% 3,813 Dixie 1,628 81.52% 367 18.38% 2 0.10% 1,261 63.14% 1,997 Duval 122,154 72.19% 46,530 27.50% 520 0.31% 75,624 44.69% 169,204 Escambia 56,071 79.57% 14,078 19.98% 315 0.45% 41,993 59.59% 70,464 Flagler 1,409 74.08% 493 25.92% 916 48.16% 1,902 Franklin 2,277 82.14% 490 17.68% 5 0.18% 1,787 64.46% 2,772 Gadsden 5,995 61.01% 3,829 38.97% 2 0.02% 2,166 22.04% 9,826 Gilchrist 1,306 83.45% 247 15.78% 12 0.77% 1,059 67.67% 1,565 Glades 1,019 78.81% 253 19.57% 21 1.62% 766 59.24% 1,293 Gulf 2,628 78.54% 713 21.31% 5 0.15% 1,915 57.23% 3,346 Hamilton 1,741 73.34% 626 26.37% 7 0.29% 1,115 46.97% 2,374 Hardee 3,563 84.57% 647 15.36% 3 0.07% 2,916 69.21% 4,213 Hendry 2,763 78.85% 739 21.09% 2 0.06% 2,024 57.76% 3,504 Hernando 6,296 74.87% 2,110 25.09% 3 0.04% 4,186 49.78% 8,409 Highlands 9,645 79.49% 2,458 20.26% 30 0.25% 7,187 59.23% 12,133 Hillsborough 106,956 70.13% 45,305 29.71% 249 0.16% 61,651 40.42% 152,510 Holmes 3,819 92.51% 309 7.49% 3,510 85.02% 4,128 Indian River 11,741 77.85% 3,316 21.99% 25 0.17% 8,425 55.86% 15,082 Jackson 8,904 79.99% 2,220 19.94% 8 0.07% 6,684 60.05% 11,132 Jefferson 2,108 66.04% 1,049 32.86% 35 1.10% 1,059 33.18% 3,192 Lafayette 1,060 85.69% 173 13.99% 4 0.32% 887 71.70% 1,237 Lake 23,079 82.63% 4,803 17.20% 48 0.17% 18,276 65.43% 27,930 Lee 36,738 79.46% 9,404 20.34% 93 0.20% 27,334 59.12% 46,235 Leon 27,479 63.72% 15,555 36.07% 92 0.21% 11,924 27.65% 43,126 Levy 3,273 79.12% 862 20.84% 2 0.05% 2,411 58.28% 4,137 Liberty 1,199 84.38% 222 15.62% 977 68.76% 1,421 Madison 3,236 72.92% 1,187 26.75% 15 0.34% 2,049 46.17% 4,438 Manatee 32,664 79.79% 8,058 19.68% 218 0.53% 24,606 60.11% 40,940 Marion 19,505 78.18% 5,397 21.63% 46 0.18% 14,108 56.55% 24,948 Martin 11,296 78.83% 2,946 20.56% 88 0.61% 8,350 58.27% 14,330 Monroe 11,688 72.18% 4,469 27.60% 36 0.22% 7,219 44.58% 16,193 Nassau 5,078 79.44% 1,293 20.23% 21 0.33% 3,785 59.21% 6,392 Okaloosa 23,303 88.64% 2,843 10.81% 144 0.55% 20,460 77.83% 26,290 Okeechobee 2,581 80.58% 621 19.39% 1 0.03% 1,960 61.19% 3,203 Orange 94,516 79.57% 23,840 20.07% 421 0.35% 70,676 59.50% 118,777 Osceola 9,320 82.94% 1,875 16.69% 42 0.37% 7,445 66.25% 11,237 Palm Beach 108,670 72.35% 40,825 27.18% 708 0.47% 67,845 45.17% 150,203 Pasco 29,249 71.91% 11,330 27.85% 97 0.24% 17,919 44.06% 40,676 Pinellas 179,541 69.83% 77,197 30.02% 378 0.15% 102,344 39.81% 257,116 Polk 60,748 78.42% 16,419 21.20% 293 0.38% 44,329 57.22% 77,460 Putnam 8,741 74.61% 2,901 24.76% 74 0.63% 5,840 49.85% 11,716 St. John's 8,919 77.48% 2,549 22.14% 43 0.37% 6,370 55.34% 11,511 St. Lucie 14,258 75.40% 4,593 24.29% 59 0.31% 9,665 51.11% 18,910 Santa Rosa 12,669 88.94% 1,491 10.47% 85 0.60% 11,178 78.47% 14,245 Sarasota 48,939 79.95% 12,235 19.99% 36 0.06% 36,704 59.96% 61,210 Seminole 27,658 80.84% 6,503 19.01% 51 0.15% 21,155 61.83% 34,212 Sumter 3,695 76.71% 1,107 22.98% 15 0.31% 2,588 53.73% 4,817 Suwannee 4,435 80.77% 1,027 18.70% 29 0.53% 3,408 62.07% 5,491 Taylor 4,109 84.50% 754 15.50% 3,355 69.00% 4,863 Union 1,314 83.85% 253 16.15% 1,061 67.70% 1,567 Volusia 52,656 70.60% 21,637 29.01% 290 0.39% 31,019 41.59% 74,583 Wakulla 2,466 82.01% 539 17.92% 2 0.07% 1,927 64.09% 3,007 Walton 6,217 85.93% 988 13.66% 30 0.41% 5,229 72.27% 7,235 Washington 3,777 86.11% 606 13.82% 3 0.07% 3,171 72.29% 4,386 Totals 1,857,759 71.91% 718,117 27.80% 7,407 0.29% 1,139,642 44.11% 2,583,283 By congressional district Nixon won all 15 congressional districts, including 11 held by Democrats. [15] District [15] Nixon McGovern 1st 83.7% 16.3% 2nd 68.6% 31.4% 3rd 69.8% 30.2% 4th 76.5% 23.5% 5th 76.3% 23.7% 6th 69.4% 30.6% 7th 69.7% 30.3% 8th 79.4% 20.6% 9th 80.5% 19.5% 10th 79.2% 20.8% 11th 74.2% 25.8% 12th 72% 28% 13th 55.5% 44.5% 14th 58.1% 41.9% 15th 63.4% 36.6% Analysis Incumbent President Nixon overwhelmingly won the state of Florida with 71.91% of the vote, carrying all of Florida's 67 counties (the last time any presidential candidate has won every single county in the state) and seventeen electoral votes. [16] This made Florida about 21% more Republican than the nation-at-large, the farthest to the right of the nation it has ever voted. Nixon's victory in Florida made it his fifth strongest state after Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama. [17] McGovern reached 40% of the vote only in Dade County with its substantial Jewish and Latin populations, plus Alachua County with its large population of liberal college students who were a major base for his candidacy [18] – and the Democratic candidate only reached thirty percent of the vote in four other counties. Nixon's message enabled him to capture virtually all of the Wallace vote from 1968, as shown by the fact that pineywoods Holmes County, which had been Wallace's fifth-strongest county in 1968, [19] was to be Nixon's fourth-best county in 1972 with over 92% of the vote. [20] In addition to hostility towards busing and the "acid, amnesty and abortion" policies which Nixon consistently accused McGovern of [18] despite eventual running mate Sargent Shriver being firmly opposed to abortion, the Democratic campaign in Florida was also crippled by McGovern's policy of normalizing relationships with Fidel Castro's Cuba. Relationships with Cuba were a hotbed issue in the most liberal and least Southern region of the state around Miami, [21] and drove even many voters who had supported Humphrey in 1968 to Nixon and the Republican Party. [22] This allowed the GOP to carry Monroe County, which had consistently voted Democratic since 1888. [23] References See Doherty, Herbert J. (junior); 'Liberal and Conservative Politics in Florida'; The Journal of Politics , nol. 14, no. 3 (August 1952), pp. 403-417 Strong, Donald S.; 'The Presidential Election in the South, 1952'; The Journal of Politics, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 343-389 Encyclopedia of African American History: 5-Volume Set, p. 228 ISBN   0195167791 Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 224 ISBN   9780691163246 Lassiter, Matthew D.; The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South, pp. 310-311 ISBN   140084942X Small, Melvin; A Companion to Richard M. Nixon, chapter 9 ISBN   144434093X Young, Josh; And Give Up Showbiz?: How Fred Levin Beat Big Tobacco, Avoided Two Murder Prosecutions, Became a Chief of Ghana, Earned Boxing Manager of the Year, and Transformed American Law, p. 183 ISBN   1940363411 Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Black & Black 1992, p. 295. Black & Black 1992, p. 335. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - D Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - D Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - R Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - R Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021. "1972 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District". Western Washington University. Retrieved July 9, 2024. "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Florida" . Retrieved April 25, 2016. "1972 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018. Rae, Nicol C.; Southern Democrats, pp. 48-49 ISBN   0198024770 Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1968 Presidential Election Statistics Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1972 Presidential Election Statistics Robertson, Andrew; Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History, p. 195 ISBN   0872893200 Adams, Florence P. and Rodriguez David; Latinos and Local Representation: Changing Realities, Emerging Theories, p. 56 ISBN   0815333706 Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 164-165 ISBN   0786422173 Works cited Black, Earl; Black, Merle (1992). The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected. Harvard University Press. ISBN   0674941306. 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