1972 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary

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1972 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary
Flag of New Hampshire.svg
  1968 March 7, 1972 (1972-03-07) 1976  
  Edmund Muskie (D-ME) (croppedmore).jpg George McGovern (D-SD) (3x4-1).jpg
Candidate Edmund Muskie George McGovern
Home state Maine South Dakota
Popular vote41,23533,007
Percentage46.4%37.1%

1972 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary election results map by county.svg
New Hampshire results by county
  Muskie
  McGovern

The 1972 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary was held on March 7, 1972, in New Hampshire as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 United States presidential election.

Details

The first-in-the-nation primary was won by Edmund Muskie, but by a much narrower margin than expected over his much more liberal opponent, George McGovern. [1] [2] Muskie's surprisingly close victory would slow his momentum to a halt, eventually leading him to drop out of the race altogether. [3] McGovern would go on to become the 1972 Democratic nominee, but he lost to incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon in a 49-state landslide.

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References

  1. "NH Elections Database » 1972 President Democratic Primary". NH Elections Database. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  2. "State of New Hampshire Manual for the General Court, 1972". NH Election Stats. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  3. "The Democrat who cried (maybe) in New Hampshire and lost the presidential nomination". The Washington Post. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2024.