1972 United States presidential election in Michigan

1972 United States presidential election in Michigan

← 1968 November 7, 1972[1] 1976 →
All 21 Michigan votes to the Electoral College
Turnout	59.4% [2]
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Home state California South Dakota Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver Electoral vote 21 0 Popular vote 1,961,721 1,459,435 Percentage 56.20% 41.81%
County results Nixon   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% McGovern   40–50%   50–60%
President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

Elections in Michigan
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Detroit Mayoral elections 1969 1973 1997 2001 2005 2009 (sp) 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
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v t e

The 1972 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21^[3] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Michigan was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon (R–California), with 56.20% of the popular vote, against George McGovern (D–South Dakota), with 41.81% of the popular vote—a victory margin of 14.4%.^[4][5] John G. Schmitz was the only other candidate on the ballot, and, as the candidate for the American Independent Party, he received over 63,000 votes. Despite voting for a Republican presidential candidate for the first time since 1956, this result nonetheless made Michigan 8.8% more Democratic than the nation at large.

Nixon's victory was the first of five consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Michigan would not vote for a Democratic candidate again until Bill Clinton in 1992, when it became a Democratic-leaning state before evolving into a true swing state beginning in 2016.

Delta, Lake, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties were the only four of Michigan's 83 counties to vote for McGovern. Washtenaw was one of only six counties outside South Dakota (McGovern's home state) to vote for McGovern after voting for Richard Nixon in 1968. Nixon became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Washtenaw since Benjamin Harrison in 1888.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time Wayne County was decided by a single-digit margin. It is also the last election in which Michigan voted to the left of New York.