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The1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors, to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Rhode Island voted for theRepublican incumbent,Richard Nixon, over theDemocratic challenger,South DakotaSenatorGeorge 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 neighboringMassachusetts, which recurred only in 1852 and1980.
As of the2024 presidential election[update], this is the last election in whichProvidence 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; in1984, whenRonald Reagan narrowly won the state.
| 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 | — | ||||
| 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 |
State and district results of the1972 United States presidential election | ||
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