1972 United States presidential election in Texas

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →
Turnout	66.59% (of registered voters) 44.90% (of voting age population)[1]
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Home state California South Dakota Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver Electoral vote 26 0 Popular vote 2,298,896 1,154,291 Percentage 66.20% 33.24%
County results Congressional district results Nixon   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90% McGovern   50–60%   60–70%   80–90%
President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

The1972 United States presidential election in Texas was held on November 7, 1972, as part of the1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent Republican PresidentRichard Nixon overwhelmingly won the state of Texas with 66.20% of the vote,^[2] to the Democratic Party candidateGeorge McGovern's 33.24%, thus giving him the state's 26 electoral votes. This result made Texas 9.8% more Republican than the nation-at-large. This was the first time a Republican won the state of Texas since Texas-bornDwight D. Eisenhower won it in1956, even as DemocratDolph Briscoe won the gubernatorial election on the same Ballot.

Nixon's win in Texas made him the first ever Republican presidential candidate to break sixty percent of Texas' popular vote in a presidential election, surpassing former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's performance of 55.26% in 1956, and even native sonLyndon B. Johnson's 63.32% in1964. Nixon is so far the only Republican candidate to break 65% of the state's popular vote. At the county level, 246 of Texas' 254 counties voted for Nixon, all by wide margins except forRobertson County, where Nixon won by a single vote. Nixon won 22 of Texas' 24 congressional districts – with the18th (Harris County) and20th (Bexar County) constituting the only congressional districts McGovern won anywhere in the formerConfederacy. McGovern, however, did not win either county each of these districts were located in.

McGovern's only county wins came from the south Texas region along theU.S.-Mexico border andCottle County in the northern part of the state, though even his performances here were underwhelming. In fact, this is the only election since1952 in whichDimmit County andPresidio County voted for the Republican candidate. This is the first since the1956 United States presidential election in which a Republican carriedTravis County. This is also the last election in whichZavala County voted Republican,^[3] though that county did so even in 1960.Duval County, however, gave McGovern over 85 percent of the vote, which was the highest percentage of votes he received in any county nationally.^[4] 1972 was the third successive election when Duval proved the most Democratic county in the nation. He was the first Republican to ever carry La Salle, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Willacy, Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, and Nueces counties (all in South Texas), and the first since 1920 to carry Zavala County; and the first since 1928 to carry Dimmit, Frio, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. He was the first Republican to carry many historically Democratic East Texas counties as well.

Nixon had previously narrowly lost Texas toJohn F. Kennedy in1960 and had lost it narrowly again toHubert Humphrey in1968. However, as with the rest of the country in 1972, with the exception ofMassachusetts andWashington, D.C., Texas voted for the Republicanticket of incumbent Nixon and Agnew.

As of the2024 presidential election, this is the best Republican election performance in Texas, as well as the last time every single county in theTexas Triangle was won by the Republican candidate.Jefferson County would not vote Republican again until 2016,La Salle andJim Wells counties until 2020, andHidalgo andWillacy counties until 2024.

In the national race, McGovern was constantly portrayed throughout the election campaign as being a left-wing extremist because of his support forbusing and civil rights, plus hisopposition to the Vietnam War, support for granting amnesty todraft dodgers.^[5] and support for a thousand-dollar giveaway to each American as a solution to poverty.^[6] McGovern was also viewed as inconsistent following the replacement of his first running mate,Thomas Eagleton, while many Republican campaigners believed McGovern would legalize abortion and illicit drugs if he were elected^[7] – despite the fact that his ultimate running mate Sargent Shriver was firmly pro-life.^{[citation needed]}

McGovern's Texas campaign was managed byBill Clinton.^[8] SenatorLloyd Bentsen had originally been asked to manage the Texas campaign, but declined.^[9]

While those working on the campaign expected McGovern to lose in Texas, they aimed to decrease his margin of defeat.^[10] McGovern's campaign received little support from Democratic statewide officeholders.^[9] Additionally,Dolph Briscoe, the Democratic nominee in the coinciding1972 Texas gubernatorial election refused to make any campaign appearances alongside McGovern.^[9] One of the few statewide office holders to support McGovern's campaign wasTexas Land CommissionerBob Armstrong.^[9] Lloyd Bentsen also endorsed McGovern.^[11]

Gonzo journalistHunter S. Thompson would occasionally observe the Texas campaign operation.^[9] In addition to manager Bill Clinton, a future United States president, and his then-girlfriend (and future wife)Hillary, a future Democratic Party presidential nominee herself, there were a number of individuals who worked on McGovern's Texas campaign effort who would later achieve individual notability.^[10]

Bill Clinton, and his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Hillary (bothYale Law School students at the time) had both moved toAustin to work on the Texas McGovern campaign.^[10] Bill had originally planned to begin working as a southern states coordinator for the McGovern campaign during the summer of 1971. However, he postponed those plans in order to spend that summer with Hillary, who had taken a summer job inCalifornia.^[12] The following summer, Bill took a job as the state manager of McGovern's campaign in Texas.^[10][8] He asked Hillary if she would be interested in joining him there. In her memoirLiving History, Hillary recalled, "Bill asked if I wanted to go too. I did, but only if I had a specific job."^[10]

Hillary was tasked with registering black and Hispanic voters in South Texas on behalf of theDemocratic National Committee. With the 1972 election being the first in which 18-year-olds were able to vote, the task of voter registration was much greater than in other years.^[10] In addition to registering voters, as a law student, Clinton was utilized as a legal resource.^[13]

Hillary worked alongsideSara Ehrman, with whom she bonded.^[10][14] She also bonded withBetsey Wright while working on the campaign, with whom she frequently would travel toBarton Springs.^[10]

Bill, meanwhile, worked closely withEddie Bernice Johnson. He also worked withRon Kirk (futuremayor of Dallas),Ann Richards (futuregovernor of Texas).^[15][16] He additionally worked withSteven Spielberg who, at the time, was a little-known television producer.^[17] He traveled frequently across the state to organize events and to hang posters in county courthouses.^[10] He spent considerable time in Dallas, where he had an office in the campaign's local headquarters on Lemmon Avenue.^[15]

The Clintons worked withGarry Mauro, aUniversity of Texas Law School student, on the campaign.^[9][10] Mauro would go on to later serve as Texas Land Commissioner, and would head Bill's1992 campaignin Texas.^[10] They also worked alongside future Austin advertising executivesRoy Spence and Judy Trabulsi, who would both go on to work on Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns. Spence would also work as a media adviser to Hillary inher 2008 presidential campaign, while Trablusi supportedthe candidacy ofBarack Obama. Both worked in support ofher 2016 presidential campaign.^[10]

While working in Texas, the Clintons also networked with some donors that would later contribute to their own campaigns for political office, such asBernard Rapoport.^[10] Occasionally, Bill would receive phone calls from former presidentLyndon B. Johnson, who would inquire about the campaign effort and offer advice.^[9] Both Clintons were absent from attending their fall classes that term in order to work for the campaign. However, they both managed to ace their finals.^[10]

Incumbent president Richard Nixon emphasized on a good economy and his successes in foreign affairs, such as coming near to ending American involvement in theVietnam War and establishing relations withChina.^[5] Though he had narrowly lost the state in 1968, Texas was beginning to trend Republican, with a lone Representative pickup and a pickup of a handful of state senate seats. He campaigned inLaredo at the Laredo Air Force Base, and he also visitedHarlingen.^[18] Nixon had the support of former Democratic Texas governorJohn Connally, who headed the groupDemocrats for Nixon.^[9] Connally would, however, join the Republican party in 1973. Overall, Nixon's campaigning was less so than in 1968, as he rode a good economy and incumbency to a landslide victory in the state.

Among white voters, 73% supported Nixon while 26% supported McGovern.^[19][20]

• United States presidential elections in Texas

• Black, Earl;Black, Merle (1992).The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected.Harvard University Press.ISBN 0674941306.

• 1972 United States presidential election by state
• 1972 Texas elections
• United States presidential elections in Texas
• Early life of Bill Clinton
• Early life of Hillary Clinton

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