1972 United States presidential election in Illinois
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 County Results
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| Elections in Illinois |
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The 1972 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on November 7, 1972 as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon won the state of Illinois with 59.03 percent of the vote, carrying the state's 26 electoral votes.[1] He defeated his main opponent, Democratic candidate George McGovern in Illinois by a large margin of 18.52%, which still left Illinois 4.63% more Democratic than the nation.
Nixon won all but one of Illinois’ 102 counties. The solitary exception was Jackson County, home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which notably had voted for Nixon in the previous election and was one of only five counties outside McGovern’s home state to switch from Republican to Democratic at this election.[a][2] Nixon thus became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying this county since Benjamin Harrison in 1888.
This election is the most recent in which Cook County voted Republican, the only Republican victory in St. Clair County since Calvin Coolidge in 1924,[3] and the last until 2016 when Alexander County supported a Republican nominee.[4]
Primaries
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (Senate and House) and those for state offices.[5]
Turnout
Turnout in the primaries was 22.54%, with a total of 1,258,713 votes cast.[5]
Turnout in the general election was 75.99%, with a total of 4,723,236 votes cast.[5] State-run primaries were held for the Democratic and Republican parties on March 21.[5]
Democratic
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The 1972 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 21, 1972 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 presidential election.
The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.[5]
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund S. Muskie | 766,914 | 62.60 | 59 |
| Eugene J. McCarthy | 444,260 | 36.26 | 0 |
| George Wallace (write-in) | 7,017 | 0.57 | 0 |
| George S. McGovern (write-in) | 3,687 | 0.30 | 3 |
| Hubert H. Humphrey (write-in) | 1,476 | 0.12 | 0 |
| Shirley Chisholm (write-in) | 777 | 0.06 | 0 |
| Henry Jackson (write-in) | 442 | 0.04 | 0 |
| Edward M. Kennedy (write-in) | 242 | 0.02 | 0 |
| John V. Lindsay (write-in) | 118 | 0.01 | 0 |
| Other write-ins | 211 | 0.02 | 0 |
| Uncommitted | — | — | 88 |
| Totals | 1,225,144 | 100 | 153 |
Republican
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The 1972 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 21, 1972 in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 presidential election.
In this election, all candidates were write-ins.[5]
The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.[5]
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Nixon (write-in) | 32,550 | 96.97 | |
| George Wallace (write-in) | 516 | 1.54 | |
| John Ashbrook (write-in) | 170 | 0.51 | |
| Pete McCloskey (write-in) | 47 | 0.14 | |
| Spiro Agnew (write-in) | 35 | 0.10 | |
| Other write-ins | 251 | 0.75 | |
| Totals | 33,569 | 100 |
General election
Results
| 1972 United States presidential election in Illinois | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidates | Votes[5] | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Richard M. Nixon/Spiro T. Agnew | 2,788,179 | 59.03% | 26 | |
| Democratic | George McGovern/R. Sargent Shriver | 1,913,472 | 40.51% | 0 | |
| Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher/Genevieve Gunderson | 12,344 | 0.26% | 0 | |
| Communist | Gus Hall/Jarvis Tyner | 4,541 | 0.10% | 0 | |
| Write-in | John Schmitz | 2,471 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Other write-ins | — | 2,229 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Totals | 4,723,236 | 100.0% | 26 | ||
Results by county
| County | Richard Milhous Nixon Republican |
George Stanley McGovern Democratic |
Louis Fisher Socialist Labor |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast[8] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 20,731 | 69.46% | 9,055 | 30.34% | 57 | 0.19% | 3 | 0.01% | 11,676 | 39.12% | 29,846 |
| Alexander | 2,669 | 51.24% | 2,482 | 47.65% | 49 | 0.94% | 9 | 0.17% | 187 | 3.59% | 5,209 |
| Bond | 4,475 | 62.30% | 2,704 | 37.64% | 4 | 0.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,771 | 24.66% | 7,183 |
| Boone | 7,003 | 68.89% | 3,131 | 30.80% | 29 | 0.29% | 2 | 0.02% | 3,872 | 38.09% | 10,165 |
| Brown | 1,780 | 58.90% | 1,203 | 39.81% | 36 | 1.19% | 3 | 0.10% | 577 | 19.09% | 3,022 |
| Bureau | 12,786 | 67.47% | 6,133 | 32.36% | 22 | 0.12% | 11 | 0.06% | 6,653 | 35.10% | 18,952 |
| Calhoun | 1,705 | 56.51% | 1,299 | 43.06% | 13 | 0.43% | 0 | 0.00% | 406 | 13.46% | 3,017 |
| Carroll | 6,041 | 69.99% | 2,571 | 29.79% | 18 | 0.21% | 1 | 0.01% | 3,470 | 40.20% | 8,631 |
| Cass | 4,414 | 61.14% | 2,803 | 38.83% | 1 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.01% | 1,611 | 22.32% | 7,219 |
| Champaign | 33,700 | 57.43% | 24,743 | 42.17% | 97 | 0.17% | 139 | 0.24% | 8,957 | 15.26% | 58,679 |
| Christian | 10,072 | 56.98% | 7,556 | 42.75% | 44 | 0.25% | 3 | 0.02% | 2,516 | 14.23% | 17,675 |
| Clark | 5,706 | 65.74% | 2,965 | 34.16% | 8 | 0.09% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,741 | 31.58% | 8,680 |
| Clay | 5,283 | 64.92% | 2,844 | 34.95% | 8 | 0.10% | 3 | 0.04% | 2,439 | 29.97% | 8,138 |
| Clinton | 7,931 | 62.39% | 4,756 | 37.41% | 15 | 0.12% | 10 | 0.08% | 3,175 | 24.98% | 12,712 |
| Coles | 13,681 | 62.90% | 7,988 | 36.72% | 15 | 0.07% | 67 | 0.31% | 5,693 | 26.17% | 21,751 |
| Cook | 1,234,307 | 53.41% | 1,063,268 | 46.01% | 7,328 | 0.32% | 6,134 | 0.27% | 171,039 | 7.40% | 2,311,037 |
| Crawford | 6,568 | 65.32% | 3,477 | 34.58% | 9 | 0.09% | 1 | 0.01% | 3,091 | 30.74% | 10,055 |
| Cumberland | 3,257 | 60.79% | 2,083 | 38.88% | 9 | 0.17% | 9 | 0.17% | 1,174 | 21.91% | 5,358 |
| DeKalb | 18,910 | 60.25% | 12,375 | 39.43% | 41 | 0.13% | 58 | 0.18% | 6,535 | 20.82% | 31,384 |
| DeWitt | 5,025 | 65.22% | 2,672 | 34.68% | 7 | 0.09% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,353 | 30.54% | 7,705 |
| Douglas | 5,840 | 68.66% | 2,656 | 31.23% | 8 | 0.09% | 2 | 0.02% | 3,184 | 37.43% | 8,506 |
| DuPage | 172,341 | 75.02% | 57,043 | 24.83% | 297 | 0.13% | 58 | 0.03% | 115,298 | 50.19% | 229,739 |
| Edgar | 7,195 | 64.73% | 3,889 | 34.99% | 29 | 0.26% | 3 | 0.03% | 3,306 | 29.74% | 11,116 |
| Edwards | 3,017 | 73.93% | 1,055 | 25.85% | 9 | 0.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,962 | 48.08% | 4,081 |
| Effingham | 8,752 | 66.34% | 4,431 | 33.59% | 7 | 0.05% | 3 | 0.02% | 4,321 | 32.75% | 13,193 |
| Fayette | 6,574 | 61.05% | 4,192 | 38.93% | 1 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,382 | 22.12% | 10,768 |
| Ford | 5,656 | 74.51% | 1,934 | 25.48% | 1 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,722 | 49.03% | 7,591 |
| Franklin | 10,121 | 54.04% | 8,545 | 45.62% | 32 | 0.17% | 31 | 0.17% | 1,576 | 8.41% | 18,729 |
| Fulton | 12,328 | 61.80% | 7,529 | 37.74% | 77 | 0.39% | 15 | 0.08% | 4,799 | 24.06% | 19,949 |
| Gallatin | 2,148 | 53.69% | 1,844 | 46.09% | 6 | 0.15% | 3 | 0.07% | 304 | 7.60% | 4,001 |
| Greene | 4,673 | 62.13% | 2,824 | 37.55% | 23 | 0.31% | 1 | 0.01% | 1,849 | 24.58% | 7,521 |
| Grundy | 8,725 | 70.70% | 3,584 | 29.04% | 20 | 0.16% | 12 | 0.10% | 5,141 | 41.66% | 12,341 |
| Hamilton | 3,282 | 61.94% | 2,006 | 37.86% | 9 | 0.17% | 2 | 0.04% | 1,276 | 24.08% | 5,299 |
| Hancock | 7,519 | 67.56% | 3,592 | 32.28% | 16 | 0.14% | 2 | 0.02% | 3,927 | 35.29% | 11,129 |
| Hardin | 1,915 | 62.54% | 1,140 | 37.23% | 6 | 0.20% | 1 | 0.03% | 775 | 25.31% | 3,062 |
| Henderson | 2,689 | 60.62% | 1,744 | 39.31% | 2 | 0.05% | 1 | 0.02% | 945 | 21.30% | 4,436 |
| Henry | 14,796 | 63.82% | 8,368 | 36.09% | 17 | 0.07% | 4 | 0.02% | 6,428 | 27.72% | 23,185 |
| Iroquois | 11,995 | 76.00% | 3,723 | 23.59% | 12 | 0.08% | 52 | 0.33% | 8,272 | 52.41% | 15,782 |
| Jackson | 12,393 | 48.42% | 13,146 | 51.37% | 48 | 0.19% | 6 | 0.02% | -753 | -2.94% | 25,593 |
| Jasper | 3,461 | 61.18% | 2,114 | 37.37% | 8 | 0.14% | 74 | 1.31% | 1,347 | 23.81% | 5,657 |
| Jefferson | 9,448 | 71.55% | 3,696 | 27.99% | 50 | 0.38% | 11 | 0.08% | 5,752 | 43.56% | 13,205 |
| Jersey | 5,164 | 60.70% | 3,317 | 38.99% | 8 | 0.09% | 18 | 0.21% | 1,847 | 21.71% | 8,507 |
| Jo Daviess | 5,763 | 63.34% | 3,318 | 36.47% | 13 | 0.14% | 5 | 0.05% | 2,445 | 26.87% | 9,099 |
| Johnson | 2,826 | 68.54% | 1,293 | 31.36% | 4 | 0.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,533 | 37.18% | 4,123 |
| Kane | 64,546 | 69.87% | 27,525 | 29.80% | 163 | 0.18% | 143 | 0.15% | 37,021 | 40.08% | 92,377 |
| Kankakee | 26,866 | 66.54% | 13,434 | 33.27% | 54 | 0.13% | 19 | 0.05% | 13,432 | 33.27% | 40,373 |
| Kendall | 9,373 | 78.65% | 2,525 | 21.19% | 19 | 0.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,848 | 57.46% | 11,917 |
| Knox | 17,315 | 64.69% | 9,333 | 34.87% | 60 | 0.22% | 58 | 0.22% | 7,982 | 29.82% | 26,766 |
| Lake | 92,052 | 65.84% | 47,416 | 33.91% | 278 | 0.20% | 66 | 0.05% | 44,636 | 31.93% | 139,812 |
| LaSalle | 31,190 | 59.20% | 21,405 | 40.63% | 82 | 0.16% | 10 | 0.02% | 9,785 | 18.57% | 52,687 |
| Lawrence | 5,347 | 65.36% | 2,818 | 34.45% | 15 | 0.18% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,529 | 30.91% | 8,181 |
| Lee | 10,636 | 68.67% | 4,788 | 30.91% | 12 | 0.08% | 53 | 0.34% | 5,848 | 37.76% | 15,489 |
| Livingston | 13,217 | 72.07% | 5,110 | 27.86% | 9 | 0.05% | 3 | 0.02% | 8,107 | 44.21% | 18,339 |
| Logan | 10,277 | 69.95% | 4,395 | 29.91% | 18 | 0.12% | 2 | 0.01% | 5,882 | 40.04% | 14,692 |
| Macon | 29,596 | 59.16% | 20,296 | 40.57% | 114 | 0.23% | 23 | 0.05% | 9,300 | 18.59% | 50,029 |
| Macoupin | 13,583 | 58.03% | 9,662 | 41.28% | 147 | 0.63% | 15 | 0.06% | 3,921 | 16.75% | 23,407 |
| Madison | 55,385 | 55.88% | 43,289 | 43.68% | 137 | 0.14% | 305 | 0.31% | 12,096 | 12.20% | 99,116 |
| Marion | 10,755 | 60.58% | 6,968 | 39.25% | 21 | 0.12% | 10 | 0.06% | 3,787 | 21.33% | 17,754 |
| Marshall | 4,452 | 67.43% | 2,141 | 32.43% | 8 | 0.12% | 1 | 0.02% | 2,311 | 35.00% | 6,602 |
| Mason | 4,897 | 62.70% | 2,901 | 37.14% | 8 | 0.10% | 4 | 0.05% | 1,996 | 25.56% | 7,810 |
| Massac | 4,313 | 69.99% | 1,831 | 29.71% | 14 | 0.23% | 4 | 0.06% | 2,482 | 40.28% | 6,162 |
| McDonough | 10,573 | 67.18% | 5,143 | 32.68% | 17 | 0.11% | 5 | 0.03% | 5,430 | 34.50% | 15,738 |
| McHenry | 36,114 | 74.75% | 12,090 | 25.02% | 88 | 0.18% | 20 | 0.04% | 24,024 | 49.73% | 48,312 |
| McLean | 31,060 | 67.59% | 14,824 | 32.26% | 57 | 0.12% | 14 | 0.03% | 16,236 | 35.33% | 45,955 |
| Menard | 3,657 | 69.49% | 1,587 | 30.15% | 8 | 0.15% | 11 | 0.21% | 2,070 | 39.33% | 5,263 |
| Mercer | 5,452 | 60.98% | 3,477 | 38.89% | 8 | 0.09% | 3 | 0.03% | 1,975 | 22.09% | 8,940 |
| Monroe | 6,479 | 68.44% | 2,958 | 31.25% | 24 | 0.25% | 5 | 0.05% | 3,521 | 37.20% | 9,466 |
| Montgomery | 9,025 | 56.71% | 6,858 | 43.10% | 27 | 0.17% | 3 | 0.02% | 2,167 | 13.62% | 15,913 |
| Morgan | 11,103 | 66.13% | 5,674 | 33.80% | 11 | 0.07% | 1 | 0.01% | 5,429 | 32.34% | 16,789 |
| Moultrie | 3,143 | 57.07% | 2,350 | 42.67% | 9 | 0.16% | 5 | 0.09% | 793 | 14.40% | 5,507 |
| Ogle | 13,512 | 73.88% | 4,743 | 25.93% | 32 | 0.17% | 3 | 0.02% | 8,769 | 47.94% | 18,290 |
| Peoria | 50,324 | 64.49% | 27,264 | 34.94% | 112 | 0.14% | 337 | 0.43% | 23,060 | 29.55% | 78,037 |
| Perry | 6,968 | 62.98% | 4,084 | 36.91% | 9 | 0.08% | 3 | 0.03% | 2,884 | 26.07% | 11,064 |
| Piatt | 5,057 | 67.72% | 2,394 | 32.06% | 16 | 0.21% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,663 | 35.66% | 7,468 |
| Pike | 5,940 | 60.23% | 3,883 | 39.37% | 38 | 0.39% | 2 | 0.02% | 2,057 | 20.86% | 9,863 |
| Pope | 1,440 | 64.92% | 773 | 34.85% | 4 | 0.18% | 1 | 0.05% | 667 | 30.07% | 2,218 |
| Pulaski | 2,485 | 59.27% | 1,683 | 40.14% | 21 | 0.50% | 4 | 0.10% | 802 | 19.13% | 4,193 |
| Putnam | 1,556 | 58.10% | 1,112 | 41.52% | 4 | 0.15% | 6 | 0.22% | 444 | 16.58% | 2,678 |
| Randolph | 9,761 | 60.20% | 6,440 | 39.72% | 14 | 0.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,321 | 20.48% | 16,215 |
| Richland | 5,558 | 68.41% | 2,553 | 31.42% | 12 | 0.15% | 2 | 0.02% | 3,005 | 36.98% | 8,125 |
| Rock Island | 37,548 | 53.39% | 32,529 | 46.25% | 227 | 0.32% | 26 | 0.04% | 5,019 | 7.14% | 70,330 |
| Saline | 7,660 | 59.30% | 5,226 | 40.46% | 26 | 0.20% | 6 | 0.05% | 2,434 | 18.84% | 12,918 |
| Sangamon | 50,458 | 65.46% | 25,720 | 33.37% | 284 | 0.37% | 617 | 0.80% | 24,738 | 32.09% | 77,079 |
| Schuyler | 2,994 | 66.03% | 1,534 | 33.83% | 2 | 0.04% | 4 | 0.09% | 1,460 | 32.20% | 4,534 |
| Scott | 2,228 | 66.00% | 1,145 | 33.92% | 2 | 0.06% | 1 | 0.03% | 1,083 | 32.08% | 3,376 |
| Shelby | 7,217 | 62.08% | 4,389 | 37.75% | 17 | 0.15% | 3 | 0.03% | 2,828 | 24.32% | 11,626 |
| St. Clair | 50,519 | 51.50% | 46,636 | 47.54% | 876 | 0.89% | 66 | 0.07% | 3,883 | 3.96% | 98,097 |
| Stark | 2,529 | 71.44% | 993 | 28.05% | 8 | 0.23% | 10 | 0.28% | 1,536 | 43.39% | 3,540 |
| Stephenson | 13,584 | 67.86% | 6,404 | 31.99% | 24 | 0.12% | 7 | 0.03% | 7,180 | 35.87% | 20,019 |
| Tazewell | 31,937 | 67.08% | 15,576 | 32.71% | 83 | 0.17% | 17 | 0.04% | 16,361 | 34.36% | 47,613 |
| Union | 5,034 | 59.36% | 3,428 | 40.42% | 16 | 0.19% | 2 | 0.02% | 1,606 | 18.94% | 8,480 |
| Vermilion | 24,863 | 63.06% | 14,413 | 36.56% | 70 | 0.18% | 79 | 0.20% | 10,450 | 26.51% | 39,425 |
| Wabash | 4,310 | 68.35% | 1,985 | 31.48% | 5 | 0.08% | 6 | 0.10% | 2,325 | 36.87% | 6,306 |
| Warren | 7,021 | 70.15% | 2,969 | 29.67% | 15 | 0.15% | 3 | 0.03% | 4,052 | 40.49% | 10,008 |
| Washington | 5,179 | 68.85% | 2,327 | 30.94% | 12 | 0.16% | 4 | 0.05% | 2,852 | 37.92% | 7,522 |
| Wayne | 6,400 | 69.75% | 2,763 | 30.11% | 10 | 0.11% | 2 | 0.02% | 3,637 | 39.64% | 9,175 |
| White | 6,052 | 62.10% | 3,678 | 37.74% | 11 | 0.11% | 5 | 0.05% | 2,374 | 24.36% | 9,746 |
| Whiteside | 17,305 | 68.40% | 7,909 | 31.26% | 80 | 0.32% | 7 | 0.03% | 9,396 | 37.14% | 25,301 |
| Will | 65,155 | 65.67% | 33,633 | 33.90% | 185 | 0.19% | 245 | 0.25% | 31,522 | 31.77% | 99,218 |
| Williamson | 14,101 | 60.02% | 9,202 | 39.17% | 12 | 0.05% | 177 | 0.75% | 4,899 | 20.85% | 23,492 |
| Winnebago | 57,682 | 61.46% | 35,937 | 38.29% | 179 | 0.19% | 52 | 0.06% | 21,745 | 23.17% | 93,850 |
| Woodford | 9,622 | 72.85% | 3,558 | 26.94% | 18 | 0.14% | 10 | 0.08% | 6,064 | 45.91% | 13,208 |
| Totals | 2,788,179 | 59.03% | 1,913,472 | 40.51% | 12,344 | 0.26% | 9,241 | 0.20% | 874,707 | 18.52% | 4,723,236 |
Analysis
Nixon's 2,788,179 votes is the most received by a Republican presidential candidate in the state's history. Nixon was the first Republican to win strongly Democratic Macoupin County since 1924 and the first ever to receive a majority there, which thus meant that every antebellum free state county had, as of 1972, given a majority to a Republican presidential candidate at least once. Madison County voted Republican for the first time since 1928.
This was the closest anyone has come to sweeping every Illinois county, making the state along with Kentucky and North Carolina, the only states where no one candidate has ever swept every county in the state's history.
See also
Notes
- ^ The others were Pitkin County, Colorado, Stevens County, Minnesota, Washtenaw County, Michigan and Athens County, Ohio.
References
- ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results – Illinois". Retrieved May 13, 2016.
- ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 98 ISBN 0786422173
- ^ The Political Graveyard; St. Clair County, Illinois
- ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 7, 1972 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH, 21, 1972" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 26, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Late Vote Totals In Illinois Races". The New York Times. March 18, 1976. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "Ford and Carter Amass Delegates in Illinois Races – Georgian Shows Surprising Strength in the Tabulation, Though Stevenson Leads – New Momentum Seen – Reagan, Resisting, Pressed Again to Quit as Gesture Toward Party Unity Ford and Carter Amassing Delegates". The New York Times. March 18, 1976. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ Our Campaigns; IL US President 1972
