1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

The 1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
 
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern
Party Republican Democratic
Home state California South Dakota
Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver
Electoral vote 4 0
Popular vote 220,383 194,645
Percentage 53.00% 46.81%


President before election

Richard Nixon
Republican

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

Rhode Island voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern.  Nixon took 53.00% of the vote to McGovern's 46.81%, a margin of 6.19%. However, this result made Rhode Island about 17% more Democratic than the nation as a whole. This was the second of three elections in which Rhode Island did not vote for the same candidate as neighboring Massachusetts, which recurred only in 1852 and 1980.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Providence County voted for the Republican candidate, and Nixon won the county by only 186 votes. This is the most recent presidential election where a Republican presidential candidate was able to win every county in the state of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island would go on to vote Republican only once more since this election; in 1984, when Ronald Reagan narrowly won the state.

Results

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1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican Richard Nixon (incumbent) 220,383 53.00% 4
Democratic George McGovern 194,645 46.81% 0
Socialist Workers Linda Jenness 729 0.18% 0
American Independent John G. Schmitz (write-in) 25 0.01% 0
People's Benjamin Spock (write-in) 5 0.00% 0
Libertarian John Hospers (write-in) 2 0.00% 0
Write-ins Scattered (write-ins) 19 0.00% 0
Totals 415,808 100.00% 4
Voter turnout

By county

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County Richard Nixon
Republican
George McGovern
Democratic
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Bristol 12,009 54.62% 9,928 45.16% 48 0.22% 2,081 9.46% 21,985
Kent 40,534 58.19% 29,004 41.64% 115 0.17% 11,530 16.55% 69,653
Newport 19,142 59.75% 12,844 40.09% 49 0.16% 6,298 19.66% 32,035
Providence 129,418 49.94% 129,232 49.87% 506 0.19% 186 0.07% 259,156
Washington 19,280 58.46% 13,637 41.35% 62 0.19% 5,643 17.11% 32,979
Totals 220,383 53.00% 194,645 46.81% 780 0.19% 25,738 6.19% 415,808

Counties flipped from Democratic to Republican

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections (p. 848). CQ Press (12 January 2016). December 24, 2015. ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  2. ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results - Rhode Island". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 9, 2016.