1972 United States presidential election in Minnesota
1972 United States presidential election in Minnesota Turnout 70.31%[ 2]
County Results
Precinct/Township Results[ 1]
Nixon
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90–100%
McGovern
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90–100%
The 1972 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election . Voters chose ten electors, or representatives to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president.
Minnesota was won by the Republican candidate, incumbent President Richard Nixon , who won the state over U.S. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota by a margin of 95,923 votes, or 5.51%, the closest state in the election. This result made Minnesota around 18% more Democratic than the nation as a whole. Nixon went on to win the election nationally, by a landslide margin of 23.15% of the popular vote. McGovern carried only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia .
As of the 2024 presidential election , this is the last time Minnesota, a state that has generally favored Democrats since the New Deal , was carried by a Republican. Minnesota would go on to have the longest streak voting for Democrats out of any state after this election, as every other state would be won by Ronald Reagan in the landslide year of 1984 . This is also the last time a Republican has won heavily populated Hennepin County . Nixon further became the first-ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Stevens County , which was one of six counties outside of McGovern's home state of South Dakota that he flipped nationwide.
During Nixon's second term as president, the Watergate scandal resulted in the loss of the Republican Party's credibility both nationally and in Minnesota. The damage caused by Watergate was so pronounced that the Republican Party of Minnesota was forced to rebrand itself as the "Independent-Republican Party" from 1975 to 1995 to distance itself from the national Republican Party.
Results
Results by county
County[ 4]
Richard Nixon Republican
George McGovern DFL
John G. Schmitz American
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Aitkin
3,241
53.73%
2,687
44.55%
58
0.96%
46
0.76%
554
9.18%
6,032
Anoka
29,546
49.77%
28,031
47.22%
1,312
2.21%
471
0.79%
1,515
2.55%
59,360
Becker
6,033
55.43%
4,695
43.14%
123
1.13%
33
0.30%
1,338
12.29%
10,884
Beltrami
5,947
52.20%
5,194
45.59%
210
1.84%
42
0.37%
753
6.61%
11,393
Benton
4,652
49.35%
4,282
45.43%
438
4.65%
54
0.57%
370
3.92%
9,426
Big Stone
1,748
43.52%
2,185
54.39%
71
1.77%
13
0.32%
-437
-10.87%
4,017
Blue Earth
12,702
53.68%
10,638
44.96%
216
0.91%
106
0.45%
2,064
8.72%
23,662
Brown
7,791
61.21%
4,347
34.15%
557
4.38%
34
0.27%
3,444
27.06%
12,729
Carlton
5,445
42.77%
7,116
55.90%
111
0.87%
58
0.46%
-1,671
-13.13%
12,730
Carver
8,546
61.46%
4,852
34.89%
446
3.21%
61
0.44%
3,694
26.57%
13,905
Cass
4,906
57.70%
3,347
39.36%
219
2.58%
31
0.36%
1,559
18.34%
8,503
Chippewa
3,787
50.18%
3,630
48.10%
114
1.51%
16
0.21%
157
2.08%
7,547
Chisago
4,718
51.06%
4,174
45.17%
306
3.31%
43
0.47%
544
5.89%
9,241
Clay
11,089
54.36%
9,076
44.49%
169
0.83%
66
0.32%
2,013
9.87%
20,400
Clearwater
1,819
49.39%
1,751
47.54%
90
2.44%
23
0.62%
68
1.85%
3,683
Cook
1,047
57.62%
742
40.84%
21
1.16%
7
0.39%
305
16.78%
1,817
Cottonwood
4,396
60.19%
2,802
38.37%
94
1.29%
11
0.15%
1,594
21.82%
7,303
Crow Wing
8,774
53.01%
7,328
44.28%
329
1.99%
120
0.73%
1,446
8.73%
16,551
Dakota
34,967
53.96%
28,479
43.95%
951
1.47%
399
0.62%
6,488
10.01%
64,796
Dodge
3,863
65.08%
1,921
32.36%
139
2.34%
13
0.22%
1,942
32.72%
5,936
Douglas
6,678
52.97%
5,501
43.64%
389
3.09%
38
0.30%
1,177
9.33%
12,606
Faribault
6,503
64.05%
3,519
34.66%
105
1.03%
26
0.26%
2,984
29.39%
10,153
Fillmore
7,107
67.94%
3,155
30.16%
161
1.54%
37
0.35%
3,952
37.78%
10,460
Freeborn
9,747
56.90%
7,163
41.82%
162
0.95%
58
0.34%
2,584
15.08%
17,130
Goodhue
11,107
63.00%
6,147
34.86%
293
1.66%
84
0.48%
4,960
28.14%
17,631
Grant
1,899
46.84%
2,085
51.43%
55
1.36%
15
0.37%
-186
-4.59%
4,054
Hennepin
228,951
51.64%
205,943
46.45%
6,386
1.44%
2,078
0.47%
23,008
5.19%
443,358
Houston
5,186
66.57%
2,467
31.67%
103
1.32%
34
0.44%
2,719
34.90%
7,790
Hubbard
3,294
59.31%
2,136
38.46%
105
1.89%
19
0.34%
1,158
20.85%
5,554
Isanti
3,715
48.66%
3,660
47.94%
223
2.92%
36
0.47%
55
0.72%
7,634
Itasca
7,558
45.58%
8,683
52.36%
238
1.44%
104
0.63%
-1,125
-6.78%
16,583
Jackson
3,599
51.50%
3,304
47.27%
65
0.93%
21
0.30%
295
4.23%
6,989
Kanabec
2,395
51.71%
1,969
42.51%
243
5.25%
25
0.54%
426
9.20%
4,632
Kandiyohi
6,624
45.74%
7,241
50.00%
511
3.53%
105
0.73%
-617
-4.26%
14,481
Kittson
1,832
52.66%
1,584
45.53%
50
1.44%
13
0.37%
248
7.13%
3,479
Koochiching
3,681
50.91%
3,396
46.97%
118
1.63%
35
0.48%
285
3.94%
7,230
Lac qui Parle
2,773
48.43%
2,845
49.69%
96
1.68%
12
0.21%
-72
-1.26%
5,726
Lake
2,575
40.70%
3,640
57.53%
65
1.03%
47
0.74%
-1,065
-16.83%
6,327
Lake of the Woods
877
55.44%
672
42.48%
29
1.83%
4
0.25%
205
12.96%
1,582
Le Sueur
5,388
52.50%
4,725
46.04%
107
1.04%
42
0.41%
663
6.46%
10,262
Lincoln
1,881
45.93%
2,148
52.45%
55
1.34%
11
0.27%
-267
-6.52%
4,095
Lyon
5,820
50.04%
5,614
48.27%
141
1.21%
55
0.47%
206
1.77%
11,630
Mahnomen
1,246
46.30%
1,397
51.91%
37
1.37%
11
0.41%
-151
-5.61%
2,691
Marshall
3,264
52.73%
2,790
45.07%
100
1.62%
36
0.58%
474
7.66%
6,190
Martin
7,569
64.59%
3,816
32.57%
311
2.65%
22
0.19%
3,753
32.02%
11,718
McLeod
7,820
61.42%
4,538
35.64%
321
2.52%
54
0.42%
3,282
25.78%
12,733
Meeker
5,097
57.06%
3,601
40.31%
196
2.19%
39
0.44%
1,496
16.75%
8,933
Mille Lacs
4,291
55.83%
3,221
41.91%
147
1.91%
27
0.35%
1,070
13.92%
7,686
Morrison
5,714
46.35%
5,993
48.61%
568
4.61%
54
0.44%
-279
-2.26%
12,329
Mower
9,929
48.36%
10,286
50.10%
193
0.94%
122
0.59%
-357
-1.74%
20,530
Murray
2,959
49.92%
2,893
48.81%
58
0.98%
17
0.29%
66
1.11%
5,927
Nicollet
6,230
56.28%
4,680
42.28%
110
0.99%
49
0.44%
1,550
14.00%
11,069
Nobles
4,951
47.04%
5,464
51.91%
72
0.68%
38
0.36%
-513
-4.87%
10,525
Norman
2,536
50.76%
2,444
48.92%
2
0.04%
14
0.28%
92
1.84%
4,996
Olmsted
23,806
68.96%
9,817
28.44%
753
2.18%
145
0.42%
13,989
40.52%
34,521
Otter Tail
13,519
62.21%
7,881
36.27%
264
1.21%
67
0.31%
5,638
25.94%
21,731
Pennington
3,548
53.72%
2,892
43.79%
147
2.23%
18
0.27%
656
9.93%
6,605
Pine
3,881
48.41%
3,794
47.32%
306
3.82%
36
0.45%
87
1.09%
8,017
Pipestone
3,543
55.57%
2,758
43.26%
59
0.93%
16
0.25%
785
12.31%
6,376
Polk
8,139
51.24%
7,366
46.37%
337
2.12%
43
0.27%
773
4.87%
15,885
Pope
2,610
45.94%
2,910
51.22%
150
2.64%
11
0.19%
-300
-5.28%
5,681
Ramsey
95,716
45.59%
108,392
51.63%
3,559
1.70%
2,284
1.09%
-12,676
-6.04%
209,951
Red Lake
1,052
41.40%
1,409
55.45%
72
2.83%
8
0.31%
-357
-14.05%
2,541
Redwood
5,776
62.43%
3,177
34.34%
275
2.97%
24
0.26%
2,599
28.09%
9,252
Renville
5,329
53.06%
4,499
44.79%
177
1.76%
39
0.39%
830
8.27%
10,044
Rice
9,195
52.62%
8,065
46.15%
156
0.89%
59
0.34%
1,130
6.47%
17,475
Rock
3,470
61.83%
2,089
37.22%
44
0.78%
9
0.16%
1,381
24.61%
5,612
Roseau
2,844
53.22%
2,396
44.84%
85
1.59%
19
0.36%
448
8.38%
5,344
St. Louis
41,435
39.77%
61,103
58.65%
862
0.83%
780
0.75%
-19,668
-18.88%
104,180
Scott
7,310
50.85%
6,745
46.92%
259
1.80%
62
0.43%
565
3.93%
14,376
Sherburne
4,332
50.03%
4,070
47.01%
209
2.41%
47
0.54%
262
3.02%
8,658
Sibley
4,543
64.17%
2,433
34.36%
77
1.09%
27
0.38%
2,110
29.81%
7,080
Stearns
18,951
45.78%
19,315
46.65%
2,873
6.94%
261
0.63%
-364
-0.87%
41,400
Steele
7,678
64.69%
4,010
33.79%
146
1.23%
34
0.29%
3,668
30.90%
11,868
Stevens
2,830
48.70%
2,870
49.39%
92
1.58%
19
0.33%
-40
-0.69%
5,811
Swift
2,673
40.40%
3,823
57.78%
116
1.75%
5
0.08%
-1,150
-17.38%
6,617
Todd
5,387
53.14%
4,270
42.12%
447
4.41%
33
0.33%
1,117
11.02%
10,137
Traverse
1,276
41.77%
1,744
57.09%
30
0.98%
5
0.16%
-468
-15.32%
3,055
Wabasha
5,158
61.31%
3,017
35.86%
214
2.54%
24
0.29%
2,141
25.45%
8,413
Wadena
3,408
57.05%
2,430
40.68%
124
2.08%
12
0.20%
978
16.37%
5,974
Waseca
5,064
63.89%
2,767
34.91%
69
0.87%
26
0.33%
2,297
28.98%
7,926
Washington
19,142
53.03%
16,102
44.61%
615
1.70%
239
0.66%
3,040
8.42%
36,098
Watonwan
3,960
63.35%
2,229
35.66%
49
0.78%
13
0.21%
1,731
27.69%
6,251
Wilkin
2,292
56.00%
1,739
42.49%
47
1.15%
15
0.37%
553
13.51%
4,093
Winona
10,910
56.45%
8,080
41.81%
237
1.23%
100
0.52%
2,830
14.64%
19,327
Wright
9,996
51.56%
8,695
44.85%
615
3.17%
80
0.41%
1,301
6.71%
19,386
Yellow Medicine
3,683
50.32%
3,462
47.30%
128
1.75%
46
0.63%
221
3.02%
7,319
Totals
898,269
51.58%
802,346
46.07%
31,407
1.80%
9,630
0.55%
95,923
5.51%
1,741,652
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
References