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1972 United States presidential election in Arizona

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1972 United States presidential election in Arizona

← 1968 November 7, 1972[1] 1976 →
 
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California South Dakota
Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver
Electoral vote 6 0
Popular vote 402,812 198,540
Percentage 61.64% 30.38%

County Results

President before election

Richard Nixon
Republican

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1972 United States presidential election in Arizona took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose six[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Arizona was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), with 61.64% of the popular vote, against George McGovern (DSouth Dakota), with 30.38% of the popular vote.[3][4] Socialist Workers Party electors and John G. Schmitz, the only other candidates on the ballot, combined for just over 52,000 votes and over seven percent of Arizona's popular vote. Even in a huge landslide, this result left Arizona exactly 8% more Republican than the nation at-large.

In a state that would reflect McGovern's national results,[5][6] the Democratic nominee won only one county in Arizona: heavily unionized Greenlee County, where no Republican had won before this nor would win until George W. Bush in 2000.[7]

The massive surge in ballots for the Socialist candidate (there had been only 85 in 1968, now there were nearly 31,000) was due to a ballot error in Pima County. Linda Jenness, the Socialist Workers candidate, was only 31, and thus was deemed ineligible to be put on the ballot. Instead, the names of her six electors were listed. However, the layout of the ballot was what caused the confusion. Atop the ballot was "President of the United States (Vote for one)" with the given options of Nixon, McGovern, and Schmitz. Below that was "Presidential Electors (Vote for six)," and the names of the six Socialist Workers' electors. The text labelling the as "Socialist Workers' Party" was only half as small as the instructions to vote for six, and thus 28,000 voters followed both instructions, likely perceiving the Socialist electors as being part of a separate race. The Secretary of State, Wesley Bolin, and Attorney General, Gary Nelson, at first agreed the ballots ought to be thrown out. Pima County election chief David O'Hern and county attorney Rose Silver believed the ballots should be counted since the Socialist Workers candidate had been disqualified. In the end, that was the line of thinking taken, and the votes were counted for both the candidates they were cast for. This resulted not only in an increase in the state's total by some 28,000, but that in some Democratic southside precincts, the Socialist ticket outperformed Nixon and was the only place the landslide victor came third anywhere in the country.[8]

Results

[edit]
General election results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Party Richard Nixon (incumbent), for President 402,812 61.64%
Democratic Party George McGovern, for President 198,540 30.38%
Socialist Workers Party Timothy Joseph Clennon, for Presidential Elector 30,945 4.74
Socialist Workers Party Betsy Ann McDonald, for Presidential Elector 30,140 4.61
Socialist Workers Party Alberta J. Dannells, for Presidential Elector 30,036 4.60
Socialist Workers Party Lois M. Turner, for Presidential Elector 29,612 4.53
Socialist Workers Party Eleanor Voris, for Presidential Elector 29,519 4.52
Socialist Workers Party Bradley Wells Tracy, for Presidential Elector 29,470 4.51
American Independent Party John G. Schmitz, for President 21,208 3.22
Total votes 653,505[a] 100.00%
Registered voters/Turnout 861,809 75.20%

Results by county

[edit]
County[9] Richard Nixon
Republican
George McGovern
Democratic
Linda Jenness
Socialist Workers
John G. Schmitz
American Independent
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Apache 3,394 50.28% 3,145 46.59% 11 0.16% 200 2.96% 249 3.69% 6,750
Cochise 11,706 63.97% 6,023 32.91% 13 0.07% 557 3.04% 5,683 31.06% 18,299
Coconino 10,611 61.02% 6,250 35.94% 15 0.09% 313 1.82% 4,361 25.38% 17,389
Gila 5,673 54.70% 4,295 41.41% 7 0.07% 397 3.83% 1,378 13.29% 10,372
Graham 3,575 60.15% 1,863 31.35% 1 0.02% 504 8.48% 1,712 28.80% 5,943
Greenlee 1,758 45.57% 2,013 52.18% 6 0.16% 81 2.10% -255 -6.61% 3,858
Maricopa 244,593 69.29% 95,135 26.95% 273 0.08% 12,999 3.68% 149,458 42.34% 353,000
Mohave 6,755 68.92% 2,588 26.41% 9 0.09% 449 4.58% 4,167 42.51% 9,801
Navajo 6,999 60.48% 4,003 34.59% 9 0.08% 561 4.85% 2,996 25.89% 11,572
Pima 73,154 45.41% 56,223 34.90% 29,113[b] 18.07% 2,620 1.63% 16,931 10.51% 161,110
Pinal 10,584 60.28% 6,404 36.47% 16 0.09% 555 3.16% 4,180 23.81% 17,559
Santa Cruz 2,137 52.39% 1,866 45.75% 3 0.07% 73 1.79% 271 6.64% 4,079
Yavapai 12,277 65.77% 3,977 21.30% 1,466[b] 7.85% 947 5.07% 8,300 44.47% 18,667
Yuma 9,596 63.52% 4,755 31.48% 3 0.02% 752 4.98% 4,841 32.04% 15,106
Totals 402,812 61.64% 198,540 30.38% 30,945 4.74% 21,208 3.25% 204,272 31.26% 653,505

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

Electors

[edit]

Electors were chosen by their party's voters in primary elections held on September 12, 1972.[10]

George McGovern
& Sargent Shriver
Democratic Party
Richard Nixon
& Spiro Agnew
Republican Party
No Candidate[c]
& Andrew Pulley
Socialist Workers Party
John G. Schmitz
& Thomas J. Anderson
American Independent Party
  • Shirley Angle
  • Jacqueline Ashford
  • Amelia D. Lewis
  • Bruce B. Masony
  • Michael M. Sophy
  • Lloyd Vacovsky
  • Lenora Claridge
  • Jane W. Drees
  • Helen M. Ely
  • Ross F. Jones
  • Orme Lewis Sr.
  • Marion R. Sundt
  • Timothy Joseph Clennon
  • Alberta J. Dannells
  • Betsy Ann McDonald
  • Bradley Wells Tracy
  • Lois M. Turner
  • Eleanor Voris
  • Lyndon Larson
  • Jerry Minnus
  • Delwyn Myers
  • Eugene Pyle
  • Russell Reason
  • Clifford Titus

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ This number is higher than the total number of ballots cast due to the SWP ballot defect. The total number of ballots cast was 648,061.
  2. ^ a b In this county there occurred a ballot malfunction that counted many votes for both a major party candidate and Linda Jenness. A court ordered that the ballots be counted for both.
  3. ^ Linda Jenness was disqualified from the ballot in Arizona due not meeting the constitutional age requirement

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1972 – Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "1972 Election for the Forty-Seventh Term (1973–77)". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  3. ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Arizona". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  4. ^ "The American Presidency Project – Election of 1972". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "1972 Presidential Election – 270toWin.com". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  6. ^ "1972 Election – Voting America". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  7. ^ Menendez Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, p. 121 ISBN 0786422173
  8. ^ Seeley, John (November 22, 2000). "Early and Often". LA Weekly. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "State of Arizona Official Canvass General Election - November 7, 1972". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  10. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass Primary Election - September 12, 1972". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved July 30, 2024.