1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts

The 1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C.. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1972 United States presidential election in Massachusetts

November 7, 1972
Turnout	68.7%[1] 2.3 pp
Nominee George McGovern Richard Nixon Party Democratic Republican Home state South Dakota California Running mate Sargent Shriver Spiro Agnew Electoral vote 14 0 Popular vote 1,332,540 1,112,078 Percentage 54.20% 45.23%
County Results McGovern   50–60%   60–70% Nixon   50–60%   60–70%
President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

Elections in Massachusetts
General 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Federal government U.S. President 1788–89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 Dem 2008 Dem GOP 2012 2016 Dem GOP 2020 Dem GOP U.S. Senate Class 1: 1788 1790 1796 (S) 1796 1798 1800 (S) 1803 1808 (S) 1810 (S) 1811 1813 (S) 1815 1815 (S) 1816 (S) 1818 (S) 1820 1820 (S) 1822 1826 1827 1829 (S) 1833 1839 February 1841 (S) 1845 1851 1851 (S) 1857 1863 1869 1874 (S) 1875 1881 1887 1893 1899 1905 1911 1916 1922 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 1962 (S) 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2010 (S) 2012 2018 2024 Class 2: 1788 1793 1796 1800 (S) 1803 (S) 1805 1810 1811 (S) 1816 1822 (S) 1826 (S) 1828 1835 January 1841 (S) 1841 1845 (S) 1847 1853 1855 (S) 1859 1865 1871 1873 (S) 1877 1883 1889 1895 1901 1905 (S) 1907 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1942 1944 (S) 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2013 (S) 2014 2020 U.S. House 1788/1789 1790/1792 1792/1793 1794/1795 1796/1797 1798/1799 1800/1801 1802/1803 1804 1806 1808 1810/1811 1812/1813 1814/1815 3rd 1816/1817 1818/1819 1820/1821 1822/1823 1824/1825 1826/1827 1828 1830/1832 1833/1834 1834/1835 1836 1838/1839 1840/1841 1842/1844 1844/1846 1846 1848/1850 1850/1851 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1991 (1st) 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 (9th) 2002 2004 2006 2007 (5th) 2008 2010 2012 2013 (5th) 2014 2016 2018 2020
State government Governor 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 ... 1839 ... 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 ... 1870 ... 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 ... 1897 ... 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Senate 1787 1824 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 State House 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2020 Governor's Council 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Ballot measures 1980: Proposition 2½ 2002: English Language Education in Public Schools 2006: 2008 Greyhound Protection Sensible Marijuana Policy State Income Tax Repeal 2010: No Sales Tax for Alcohol Sales Tax Relief Comprehensive Permits and Regional Planning 2012: Right to Repair Death with Dignity Medical Marijuana 2014: Automatic Gas Tax Increase Repeal Expansion of Bottle Deposits Casino Repeal Paid Sick Days 2016: Expand Slot Machine Gaming Charter School Expansion Farm Animal Confinement Legalization, Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana 2018: Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination 2020: pending
Boston Mayor 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1910 1914 1917 1921 1925 1929 1933 1937 1941 1945 1949 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 City council 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021
Springfield Mayor 1983 1985 1987 2007 2011 2015 2019
Worcester Mayor 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Massachusetts voted for the Democratic nominee, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, over incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon of California. McGovern's running mate was U.S. Ambassador Sargent Shriver of Maryland, who had replaced Senator Thomas Eagleton during the campaign, while Nixon ran with incumbent Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland.

McGovern carried Massachusetts with 54.20% of the vote to Nixon's 45.23%, a Democratic victory margin of 8.97%.

In the midst of a massive nationwide Republican landslide in which Richard Nixon had carried 49 states, Massachusetts proved to be the only state in the nation that would cast its electoral votes for George McGovern, joined by the District of Columbia. McGovern also carried the state by a surprisingly comfortable nine-point margin, making the state 32% more Democratic than the national average in the 1972 election.

McGovern, a staunch liberal Democrat best known for his strong principled opposition to the Vietnam War, was painted by the Nixon campaign as an extremist too far to the left of the American mainstream at the time, and this paid off in delivering Nixon a nationwide re-election landslide.

Prior to 1972, Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960. But McGovern's comfortable victory in 1972 still stands out, as many other traditional Democratic strongholds abandoned the Democrats in 1972. For example, Nixon took neighboring Rhode Island by six points, even though it normally voted similarly to Massachusetts. J. Anthony Lukas noted that many New Yorkers felt that Ted Kennedy's outsize money and influence in Massachusetts played a major role in keeping the state in the Democratic column, summing up this explanation simply as "Teddy did it". Kennedy was also the brother-in-law of Democratic vice presidential nominee Shriver.[2]

On the county map, McGovern carried 9 of the state's 14 counties, including the most heavily populated parts of the state. The state's capital and largest city, Boston, would prove to be a McGovern stronghold; voters in Suffolk County, where Boston is located, cast 66% of the vote for McGovern. Boston is one of the few areas in the country where McGovern actually outperformed Jimmy Carter’s performance four years later in 1976; while Carter won narrow popular and electoral victories nationally, he carried Suffolk County with only 61%. On the other hand, this election remains the last time Dukes County, which had never voted Democratic before Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide in 1964,[3] has voted Republican.[4]

The results in 1972 made Massachusetts the only state which Richard Nixon never carried in any of his three presidential campaigns. It voted for its native son John F. Kennedy when he defeated Nixon in 1960, and Hubert Humphrey when he lost to Nixon in 1968.