1972 United States presidential election in Florida

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1972 United States presidential election in Florida
Flag of Florida (1900-1985).svg
  1968 November 7, 1972 1976  
TurnoutDecrease2.svg72%
  Richard Nixon presidential portrait (1).jpg George McGovern (D-SD) (3x4-1).jpg
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California South Dakota
Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver
Electoral vote170
Popular vote1,857,759718,117
Percentage71.91%27.80%

Florida Presidential Election Results 1972.svg
1972 US presidential election in Florida by congressional district.svg
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.

Contents

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 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 2020, 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 majority[ clarification needed ] of the Democratic Primary vote in all of the counties in the state. [11]

Democratic Primary March 14, 1972 [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic George C. Wallace 526,65141.65%
Democratic Hubert Humphrey 243,65818.56%
Democratic Henry M. Jackson 170,15613.46%
Democratic Edmund Muskie 112,5238.90%
Democratic John Lindsay 82,3866.52%
Democratic George S. McGovern 78,2326.19%
Democratic Shirley Chisholm 43,9893.48%
Democratic Eugene McCarthy 5,8470.46%
Democratic Wilbur Mills 4,5390.36%
Democratic Vance Hartke 3,0090.24%
Democratic Sam Yorty 2,5640.20%
Total votes1,264,554 100

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]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Richard Nixon 360,27886.98%
Republican John M. Ashbrook 36,6178.84%
Republican Pete McCloskey 17,3124.18%
Total votes414,207 100

Results

Electoral results
Presidential candidatePartyHome statePopular voteElectoral
vote
Running mate
CountPercentageVice-presidential candidateHome stateElectoral vote
Richard Nixon Republican California 1,857,75971.91%17 Spiro Agnew Maryland 17
George McGovern Democratic South Dakota 718,11727.80%0 Sargent Shriver Maryland 0
Various candidates Write-ins 7,4070.29%00
Total2,583,283100%1717
Needed to win270270

Results by county

CountyRichard Milhous Nixon
Republican
George Stanley McGovern
Democratic
Various candidates
Write-ins
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %
Alachua 22,53656.54%17,24543.26%800.20%5,29113.27%39,861
Baker 1,94383.64%37916.32%10.04%1,56467.33%2,323
Bay 20,24583.80%3,91416.20%16,33167.60%24,159
Bradford 3,65273.67%1,21724.55%881.78%2,43549.12%4,957
Brevard 62,77378.73%16,85421.14%1060.13%45,91957.59%79,733
Broward 196,52872.41%74,12727.31%7540.28%122,40145.10%271,409
Calhoun 2,06981.68%46118.20%30.12%1,60863.48%2,533
Charlotte 12,88876.64%3,87423.04%550.33%9,01453.60%16,817
Citrus 8,84877.22%2,60722.75%30.03%6,24154.47%11,458
Clay 10,46785.53%1,74814.28%230.19%8,71971.25%12,238
Collier 13,50180.63%3,20119.12%420.25%10,30061.51%16,744
Columbia 6,72380.16%1,66419.84%5,05960.32%8,387
Dade 256,52958.87%177,69340.78%1,5410.35%78,83618.09%435,763
DeSoto 2,95877.58%85222.34%30.08%2,10655.23%3,813
Dixie 1,62881.52%36718.38%20.10%1,26163.14%1,997
Duval 122,15472.19%46,53027.50%5200.31%75,62444.69%169,204
Escambia 56,07179.57%14,07819.98%3150.45%41,99359.59%70,464
Flagler 1,40974.08%49325.92%91648.16%1,902
Franklin 2,27782.14%49017.68%50.18%1,78764.47%2,772
Gadsden 5,99561.01%3,82938.97%20.02%2,16622.04%9,826
Gilchrist 1,30683.45%24715.78%120.77%1,05967.67%1,565
Glades 1,01978.81%25319.57%211.62%76659.24%1,293
Gulf 2,62878.54%71321.31%50.15%1,91557.23%3,346
Hamilton 1,74173.34%62626.37%70.29%1,11546.97%2,374
Hardee 3,56384.57%64715.36%30.07%2,91669.21%4,213
Hendry 2,76378.85%73921.09%20.06%2,02457.76%3,504
Hernando 6,29674.87%2,11025.09%30.04%4,18649.78%8,409
Highlands 9,64579.49%2,45820.26%300.25%7,18759.24%12,133
Hillsborough 106,95670.13%45,30529.71%2490.16%61,65140.42%152,510
Holmes 3,81992.51%3097.49%3,51085.03%4,128
Indian River 11,74177.85%3,31621.99%250.17%8,42555.86%15,082
Jackson 8,90479.99%2,22019.94%80.07%6,68460.04%11,132
Jefferson 2,10866.04%1,04932.86%351.10%1,05933.18%3,192
Lafayette 1,06085.69%17313.99%40.32%88771.71%1,237
Lake 23,07982.63%4,80317.20%480.17%18,27665.44%27,930
Lee 36,73879.46%9,40420.34%930.20%27,33459.12%46,235
Leon 27,47963.72%15,55536.07%920.21%11,92427.65%43,126
Levy 3,27379.12%86220.84%20.05%2,41158.28%4,137
Liberty 1,19984.38%22215.62%97768.75%1,421
Madison 3,23672.92%1,18726.75%150.34%2,04946.17%4,438
Manatee 32,66479.79%8,05819.68%2180.53%24,60660.10%40,940
Marion 19,50578.18%5,39721.63%460.18%14,10856.55%24,948
Martin 11,29678.83%2,94620.56%880.61%8,35058.27%14,330
Monroe 11,68872.18%4,46927.60%360.22%7,21944.58%16,193
Nassau 5,07879.44%1,29320.23%210.33%3,78559.21%6,392
Okaloosa 23,30388.64%2,84310.81%1440.55%20,46077.82%26,290
Okeechobee 2,58180.58%62119.39%10.03%1,96061.19%3,203
Orange 94,51679.57%23,84020.07%4210.35%70,67659.50%118,777
Osceola 9,32082.94%1,87516.69%420.37%7,44566.25%11,237
Palm Beach 108,67072.35%40,82527.18%7080.47%67,84545.17%150,203
Pasco 29,24971.91%11,33027.85%970.24%17,91944.05%40,676
Pinellas 179,54169.83%77,19730.02%3780.15%102,34439.80%257,116
Polk 60,74878.42%16,41921.20%2930.38%44,32957.23%77,460
Putnam 8,74174.61%2,90124.76%740.63%5,84049.85%11,716
St. John's 8,91977.48%2,54922.14%430.37%6,37055.34%11,511
St. Lucie 14,25875.40%4,59324.29%590.31%9,66551.11%18,910
Santa Rosa 12,66988.94%1,49110.47%850.60%11,17878.47%14,245
Sarasota 48,93979.95%12,23519.99%360.06%36,70459.96%61,210
Seminole 27,65880.84%6,50319.01%510.15%21,15561.84%34,212
Sumter 3,69576.71%1,10722.98%150.31%2,58853.73%4,817
Suwannee 4,43580.77%1,02718.70%290.53%3,40862.07%5,491
Taylor 4,10984.50%75415.50%3,35568.99%4,863
Union 1,31483.85%25316.15%1,06167.71%1,567
Volusia 52,65670.60%21,63729.01%2900.39%31,01941.59%74,583
Wakulla 2,46682.01%53917.92%20.07%1,92764.08%3,007
Walton 6,21785.93%98813.66%300.41%5,22972.27%7,235
Washington 3,77786.11%60613.82%30.07%3,17172.30%4,386
Totals1,857,75971.91%718,11727.80%7,4070.29%1,139,64244.12%2,583,283

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. [15] This made Florida about 21% more Republican than the nation-at-large. Nixon's victory in Florida made it his fifth strongest state after Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama. [16] 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 [17] – 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, [18] was to be Nixon's fourth-best county in 1972 with over 92% of the vote. [19]

In addition to hostility towards busing and the "acid, amnesty and abortion" policies which Nixon consistently accused McGovern of [17] 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, [20] and drove even many voters who had supported Humphrey in 1968 to Nixon and the Republican Party. [21] This allowed the GOP to carry Monroe County, which had consistently voted Democratic since 1888. [22]

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References

  1. See Doherty, Herbert J. (junior); 'Liberal and Conservative Politics in Florida'; The Journal of Politics , nol. 14, no. 3 (August 1952), pp. 403-417
  2. Strong, Donald S.; 'The Presidential Election in the South, 1952'; The Journal of Politics, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 343-389
  3. Encyclopedia of African American History: 5-Volume Set, p. 228 ISBN   0195167791
  4. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 224 ISBN   9780691163246
  5. Lassiter, Matthew D.; The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South, pp. 310-311 ISBN   140084942X
  6. 1 2 Small, Melvin; A Companion to Richard M. Nixon, chapter 9 ISBN   144434093X
  7. 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
  8. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  9. Black & Black 1992, p. 295.
  10. Black & Black 1992, p. 335.
  11. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - D Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  12. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - D Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  13. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - R Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  14. "Our Campaigns - FL US President - R Primary Race - Mar 14, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  15. "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Florida" . Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  16. "1972 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  17. 1 2 Rae, Nicol C.; Southern Democrats, pp. 48-49 ISBN   0198024770
  18. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1968 Presidential Election Statistics
  19. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1972 Presidential Election Statistics
  20. Robertson, Andrew; Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History, p. 195 ISBN   0872893200
  21. Adams, Florence P. and Rodriguez David; Latinos and Local Representation: Changing Realities, Emerging Theories, p. 56 ISBN   0815333706
  22. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 164-165 ISBN   0786422173

Works cited