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1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →

Nominee George McGovern Richard Nixon Party Democratic Republican Home state South Dakota California Running mate Sargent Shriver Spiro Agnew Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 127,627 35,226 Percentage 78.10% 21.56%

Ward Results McGovern   50–60%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100%

President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

The1972 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the1972 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated. Washington, D.C. voters chose 3 electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote pittingincumbentRepublicanPresidentRichard Nixon and hisrunning mate, incumbentVice PresidentSpiro Agnew, againstDemocratic challenger andSenatorGeorge McGovern fromSouth Dakota and his running mate, formerUnited States Ambassador to FranceSargent Shriver.

McGovern won D.C. by an overwhelming margin, receiving 78.10% of the vote.^[1] Along withMassachusetts, the District of Columbia was the only jurisdiction with electoral votes in the country that voted for George McGovern in the general election. Despite McGovern's overwhelming victory in the District, this is the only election, as of2024, in which the Republican nominee received more than 20% of the vote in D.C., or the Democratic margin of victory was less than 60%; and it is one of only two elections in which the Democratic nominee fell short of 80% of the vote, along with the three-way election of1980. Nixon managed a victory in one of the district's eight wards, Ward 3.^[2] Nixon's 35,226 votes remain the most raw votes any Republican nominee has ever received in D.C.

This was one of only two elections whereWashington, D.C. wasn't the largest margin for either candidate along with1964, this time being second to a 58.57% margin forNixon inMississippi.

• United States presidential elections in the District of Columbia
• 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts, the only other place that voted Democratic in the 1972 presidential election.

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