# 1972 United States presidential election in California

Elections in California :
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State propositions1910–1919
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7
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vte :
The 1972 United States presidential election in California took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose 45 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
California voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Nixon took 55.00% of the vote to McGovern's 41.54%, a margin of 13.46%. Though Nixon won a commanding victory in his home state over McGovern, this result nevertheless meant California voted almost ten points to the left of the nation at large and was one of McGovern's strongest states in the 1972 election.
Nixon had previously won California against John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then against Hubert Humphrey in 1968. This was the first presidential election in which California had the most electoral college votes as a result of the 1970 census, a status it has maintained ever since.

## Primaries
### Democratic

George McGovern would defeat previous Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey, by just under 200,000 votes.
Democratic Primary – June 6, 1972 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George McGovern | 1,550,652 | 43.50% |
| | Democratic | Hubert Humphrey | 1,375,064 | 38.58% |
| | Democratic | George Wallace | 268,551 | 7.53% |
| | Democratic | Shirley Chisholm | 157,435 | 4.42% |
| | Democratic | Edmund Muskie | 72,701 | 2.04% |
| | Democratic | Sam Yorty | 50,745 | 1.42% |
| | Democratic | Eugene McCarthy | 34,203 | 0.96% |
| | Democratic | Henry M. Jackson | 28,901 | 0.81% |
| | Democratic | John Lindsay | 26,246 | 0.74% |
| | Democratic | Others | 20 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,564,518 | 100 |

### Republican

Richard Nixon would easily win the California Republican Primary by a wide margin over his only state challenger.
Republican Primary – June 6, 1972 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 2,058,825 | 90.14% |
| | Republican | John M. Ashbrook | 224,922 | 9.85% |
| | Republican | Others | 175 | 0.01% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,283,922 | 100 |

## Results

1972 United States presidential election in California :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes |
| | Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 4,602,096 | 55.00% | 45 |
| | Democratic | George McGovern | 3,475,847 | 41.54% | 0 |
| | American Independent | John G. Schmitz | 232,554 | 2.78% | 0 |
| | Peace and Freedom | Benjamin Spock | 55,167 | 0.66% | 0 |
| | Libertarian | John Hospers (write-in) | 980 | 0.01% | 0 |
| | Socialist Workers | Linda Jenness (write-in) | 574 | 0.01% | 0 |
| | Communist | Gus Hall (write-in) | 373 | 0.00% | 0 |
| | Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher (write-in) | 197 | 0.00% | 0 |
| | Prohibition Party | E. Harold Munn (write-in) | 53 | 0.00% | 0 |
| | Universal Party | Gabriel Green (write-in) | 21 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | | | — |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 8,367,862 | 100.00% | 45 |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | | | — |

### Results by county

| County | Richard Nixon Republican | Richard Nixon Republican | George McGovern Democratic | George McGovern Democratic | John G. Schmitz American Independent | John G. Schmitz American Independent | Various candidates Other parties | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Alameda | 201,862 | 42.84% | 259,254 | 55.02% | 6,930 | 1.47% | 3,149 | 0.67% | -57,392 | -12.18% | 471,195 |
| Alpine | 366 | 63.54% | 195 | 33.85% | 7 | 1.22% | 8 | 1.39% | 171 | 29.69% | 576 |
| Amador | 3,533 | 53.40% | 2,705 | 40.89% | 340 | 5.14% | 38 | 0.57% | 828 | 12.51% | 6,616 |
| Butte | 28,819 | 57.61% | 18,401 | 36.78% | 2,468 | 4.93% | 340 | 0.68% | 10,418 | 20.83% | 50,028 |
| Calaveras | 4,119 | 60.76% | 2,268 | 33.46% | 304 | 4.48% | 88 | 1.30% | 1,851 | 27.30% | 6,779 |
| Colusa | 2,715 | 57.56% | 1,810 | 38.37% | 167 | 3.54% | 25 | 0.53% | 905 | 19.19% | 4,717 |
| Contra Costa | 139,044 | 54.13% | 111,718 | 43.49% | 4,701 | 1.83% | 1,421 | 0.55% | 27,326 | 10.64% | 256,884 |
| Del Norte | 2,927 | 51.82% | 2,156 | 38.17% | 515 | 9.12% | 50 | 0.89% | 771 | 13.65% | 5,648 |
| El Dorado | 11,330 | 54.20% | 8,654 | 41.40% | 794 | 3.80% | 127 | 0.61% | 2,676 | 12.80% | 20,905 |
| Fresno | 79,051 | 50.44% | 72,682 | 46.38% | 3,927 | 2.51% | 1,059 | 0.68% | 6,369 | 4.06% | 156,719 |
| Glenn | 4,569 | 59.01% | 2,681 | 34.62% | 458 | 5.92% | 35 | 0.45% | 1,888 | 24.39% | 7,743 |
| Humboldt | 22,345 | 48.83% | 21,132 | 46.18% | 1,896 | 4.14% | 390 | 0.85% | 1,213 | 2.65% | 45,763 |
| Imperial | 14,178 | 62.05% | 7,982 | 34.93% | 607 | 2.66% | 82 | 0.36% | 6,196 | 27.12% | 22,849 |
| Inyo | 4,873 | 68.07% | 2,006 | 28.02% | 240 | 3.35% | 40 | 0.56% | 2,867 | 40.05% | 7,159 |
| Kern | 71,686 | 60.14% | 41,937 | 35.18% | 5,112 | 4.29% | 458 | 0.38% | 29,479 | 24.96% | 119,193 |
| Kings | 10,509 | 56.52% | 7,274 | 39.12% | 742 | 3.99% | 70 | 0.38% | 3,235 | 17.40% | 18,595 |
| Lake | 6,477 | 55.12% | 4,715 | 40.13% | 509 | 4.33% | 49 | 0.42% | 1,762 | 14.99% | 11,750 |
| Lassen | 3,618 | 50.80% | 3,134 | 44.00% | 320 | 4.49% | 50 | 0.70% | 484 | 6.80% | 7,122 |
| Los Angeles | 1,549,717 | 54.75% | 1,189,977 | 42.04% | 71,978 | 2.54% | 18,698 | 0.66% | 359,740 | 12.71% | 2,830,370 |
| Madera | 7,835 | 52.61% | 6,580 | 44.18% | 428 | 2.87% | 49 | 0.33% | 1,255 | 8.43% | 14,892 |
| Marin | 54,123 | 52.10% | 47,414 | 45.64% | 1,326 | 1.28% | 1,020 | 0.98% | 6,709 | 6.46% | 103,883 |
| Mariposa | 2,122 | 56.15% | 1,487 | 39.35% | 141 | 3.73% | 29 | 0.77% | 635 | 16.80% | 3,779 |
| Mendocino | 11,128 | 51.01% | 9,435 | 43.25% | 1,050 | 4.81% | 201 | 0.92% | 1,693 | 7.76% | 21,814 |
| Merced | 17,737 | 54.33% | 13,914 | 42.62% | 836 | 2.56% | 161 | 0.49% | 3,823 | 11.71% | 32,648 |
| Modoc | 2,085 | 58.49% | 1,271 | 35.65% | 188 | 5.27% | 21 | 0.59% | 814 | 22.84% | 3,565 |
| Mono | 1,872 | 66.88% | 828 | 29.58% | 78 | 2.79% | 21 | 0.75% | 1,044 | 37.30% | 2,799 |
| Monterey | 47,004 | 57.04% | 32,545 | 39.49% | 2,274 | 2.76% | 585 | 0.71% | 14,459 | 17.55% | 82,408 |
| Napa | 23,403 | 59.61% | 14,529 | 37.01% | 1,141 | 2.91% | 188 | 0.48% | 8,874 | 22.60% | 39,261 |
| Nevada | 8,004 | 54.68% | 5,693 | 38.89% | 868 | 5.93% | 73 | 0.50% | 2,311 | 15.79% | 14,638 |
| Orange | 448,291 | 68.27% | 176,847 | 26.93% | 28,634 | 4.36% | 2,881 | 0.44% | 271,444 | 41.34% | 656,653 |
| Placer | 18,597 | 50.34% | 16,911 | 45.77% | 1,251 | 3.39% | 186 | 0.50% | 1,686 | 4.57% | 36,945 |
| Plumas | 2,952 | 46.42% | 3,057 | 48.07% | 318 | 5.00% | 33 | 0.52% | -105 | -1.65% | 6,360 |
| Riverside | 108,120 | 58.00% | 71,591 | 38.41% | 5,843 | 3.13% | 850 | 0.46% | 36,529 | 19.59% | 186,404 |
| Sacramento | 141,218 | 49.00% | 137,287 | 47.63% | 7,841 | 2.72% | 1,875 | 0.65% | 3,931 | 1.37% | 288,221 |
| San Benito | 3,961 | 57.56% | 2,582 | 37.52% | 308 | 4.48% | 30 | 0.44% | 1,379 | 20.04% | 6,881 |
| San Bernardino | 144,689 | 59.73% | 85,986 | 35.49% | 10,342 | 4.27% | 1,239 | 0.51% | 58,703 | 24.24% | 242,256 |
| San Diego | 371,627 | 61.82% | 206,455 | 34.34% | 20,188 | 3.36% | 2,867 | 0.48% | 165,172 | 27.48% | 601,137 |
| San Francisco | 127,461 | 41.82% | 170,882 | 56.07% | 3,702 | 1.21% | 2,725 | 0.89% | -43,421 | -14.25% | 304,770 |
| San Joaquin | 61,646 | 55.30% | 44,062 | 39.53% | 5,027 | 4.51% | 734 | 0.66% | 17,584 | 15.77% | 111,469 |
| San Luis Obispo | 28,566 | 55.98% | 20,779 | 40.72% | 1,156 | 2.27% | 532 | 1.04% | 7,787 | 15.26% | 51,033 |
| San Mateo | 135,377 | 52.82% | 109,745 | 42.82% | 4,079 | 1.59% | 7,096 | 2.77% | 25,632 | 10.00% | 256,297 |
| Santa Barbara | 67,075 | 55.19% | 50,609 | 41.64% | 3,103 | 2.55% | 754 | 0.62% | 16,466 | 13.55% | 121,541 |
| Santa Clara | 237,334 | 51.90% | 208,506 | 45.60% | 8,236 | 1.80% | 3,217 | 0.70% | 28,828 | 6.30% | 457,293 |
| Santa Cruz | 34,799 | 49.88% | 32,336 | 46.35% | 1,931 | 2.77% | 693 | 0.99% | 2,463 | 3.53% | 69,759 |
| Shasta | 16,618 | 46.68% | 17,214 | 48.35% | 1,595 | 4.48% | 176 | 0.49% | -596 | -1.67% | 35,603 |
| Sierra | 629 | 47.51% | 658 | 49.70% | 27 | 2.04% | 10 | 0.76% | -29 | -2.19% | 1,324 |
| Siskiyou | 7,563 | 51.46% | 6,434 | 43.78% | 621 | 4.23% | 78 | 0.53% | 1,129 | 7.68% | 14,696 |
| Solano | 31,314 | 54.02% | 24,766 | 42.73% | 1,616 | 2.79% | 269 | 0.46% | 6,548 | 11.29% | 57,965 |
| Sonoma | 57,697 | 54.72% | 43,746 | 41.49% | 3,192 | 3.03% | 799 | 0.76% | 13,951 | 13.23% | 105,434 |
| Stanislaus | 39,521 | 51.41% | 35,005 | 45.54% | 1,943 | 2.53% | 398 | 0.52% | 4,516 | 5.87% | 76,867 |
| Sutter | 10,224 | 62.45% | 5,409 | 33.04% | 647 | 3.95% | 92 | 0.56% | 4,815 | 29.41% | 16,372 |
| Tehama | 6,054 | 48.73% | 5,175 | 41.65% | 1,161 | 9.34% | 34 | 0.27% | 879 | 7.08% | 12,424 |
| Trinity | 1,868 | 50.75% | 1,621 | 44.04% | 169 | 4.59% | 23 | 0.62% | 247 | 6.71% | 3,681 |
| Tulare | 36,048 | 59.93% | 21,775 | 36.20% | 2,076 | 3.45% | 251 | 0.42% | 14,273 | 23.73% | 60,150 |
| Tuolumne | 5,894 | 54.29% | 4,596 | 42.34% | 299 | 2.75% | 67 | 0.62% | 1,298 | 11.95% | 10,856 |
| Ventura | 95,310 | 63.20% | 49,307 | 32.70% | 5,586 | 3.70% | 602 | 0.40% | 46,003 | 30.50% | 150,805 |
| Yolo | 17,969 | 42.04% | 23,694 | 55.44% | 800 | 1.87% | 275 | 0.64% | -5,725 | -13.40% | 42,738 |
| Yuba | 6,623 | 56.95% | 4,435 | 38.13% | 518 | 4.45% | 54 | 0.46% | 2,188 | 18.82% | 11,630 |
| Total | 4,602,096 | 55.00% | 3,475,847 | 41.54% | 232,554 | 2.78% | 57,365 | 0.69% | 1,126,249 | 13.46% | 8,367,862 |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Amador
* Contra Costa
* Fresno
* Kings
* Lassen
* Madera
* Merced
* Placer
* San Mateo
* Santa Clara
* Stanislaus
* Solano
* Sacramento
* Napa
* Trinity