The 1972 United States presidential election in California took place on November 7, 1972 as part of the

1972 United States presidential election The 1972 United States presidential election was the 47th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Un ...

. State voters chose 45 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. California voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

. Nixon took 55.00% of the vote to McGovern's 41.54%, a margin of 13.46%. Although California was Richard Nixon's home state, his performance in the state was somewhat underwhelming, as California's result was about 9% more Democratic than the nation as a whole. Nixon had previously won California against John F. Kennedy in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and then against Hubert Humphrey in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. This was the first presidential election in which California had the most electoral college votes as a result of the 1970 census, a status it has maintained ever since.

Primaries

Democratic

Republican

Richard Nixon would easily win the California Republican Primary by a wide margin over his only state challenger.

Results

Results by county

References

{{California U.S. Presidential elections

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

California 1972 California elections