1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia

Main article: 1972 United States presidential election

1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia

November 7, 1972

Nominee George McGovern Richard Nixon Party Democratic Republican Home state South Dakota California Running mate Sargent Shriver Spiro Agnew Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 127,627 35,226 Percentage 78.10% 21.56%

Ward Results McGovern   50-60%   70-80%   80-90%   90-100%

President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

The 1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Washington, D.C. voters chose 3 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Spiro Agnew, against Democratic challenger and Senator George McGovern from South Dakota and his running mate, former United States Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver.

McGovern won D.C. by an overwhelming margin, receiving 78.10% of the vote.[1] Along with Massachusetts, the District of Columbia was the only jurisdiction with electoral votes in the country that voted for George McGovern in the general election. Despite McGovern's overwhelming victory in the District, this is the only election, as of 2024, in which the Republican nominee received more than 20% of the vote in D.C., or in which the Democratic margin of victory was less than 60%; and it is one of only two elections in which the Democratic nominee fell short of 80% of the vote, along with the three-way election of 1980. Nixon managed a victory in one of the district's eight wards, Ward 3.[2] Nixon's 35,226 votes remain the most raw votes any Republican nominee has ever received in D.C.

This was one of only two elections where Washington, D.C. wasn't the largest margin for either candidate along with 1964, this time being second to a 58.57% margin for Nixon in Mississippi.

Results

1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George McGovern Sargent Shriver	127,627	78.10%	−3.72%
	Republican	Richard Nixon (incumbent) Spiro Agnew (incumbent)	35,226	21.56%	+3.38%
	Socialist Workers	Linda Jenness Andrew Pulley	316	0.19%	+0.19%
	Communist	Gus Hall Jarvis Tyner	252	0.15%	+0.15%
Total votes			163,421	100.00%	-

See also

• United States presidential elections in the District of Columbia
• 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts, the only other place that voted Democratic in the 1972 presidential election.

References

1. "1972 Presidential General Election Results - District of Columbia". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
2. "In 1972 Defeat, D.C. Gave McGovern Its Electoral Votes". DCist. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.