1972 United States presidential election in South Dakota

1972 United States presidential election in South Dakota

← 1968 November 7, 1972 1976 →

Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Home state California South Dakota Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver Electoral vote 4 0 Popular vote 166,476 139,945 Percentage 54.15% 45.52%

County Results Nixon   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% McGovern   40-50%   50-60%   70-80%

President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 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 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2016 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1894 1897 1901 1903 1903 sp 1907 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1889 1890 1891 AL sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 AL sp 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 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 AL sp 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 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 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C 2008 Measure 9 Measure 10 2020 Amendment A Measure 26 2024 Amendment E Amendment G Amendment H
Sioux Falls City elections 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Mayoral elections 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Rapid City City elections 2020 2022 2024 2026 Mayoral elections 2022
Pierre City elections 2020 2022 2024 2026 Mayoral elections 2022
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The 1972 United States presidential election in South Dakota took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

South Dakota was the home state of George McGovern, the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 United States presidential election.

Although McGovern, a member of the liberal wing of his party in a relatively conservative state, was at the time of the election a popular two-term Senator, having won re-election in 1968 with 56.8% of the vote, he lost the presidential vote here to incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon. McGovern's loss was heavily influenced by voter opposition to his perceived far-left ideology. Despite his loss in South Dakota, it was the only state that voted more Democratic in 1972 than it had in 1968. South Dakota was McGovern's fourth strongest state after Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Minnesota.^[1]

McGovern's loss of South Dakota made him the second candidate in four years to lose his state of birth (in 1968 Hubert Humphrey also lost South Dakota, where he was born) and residence (also in 1968 Richard Nixon lost New York, where he then lived). McGovern remained the last candidate to lose his state of residence until 2000, when Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee. Mitt Romney would also lose his then-home state of Massachusetts in 2012 to Barack Obama, and Donald Trump would lose his then-home state of New York in 2016, to Hillary Clinton (who also lived in New York).

Bon Homme, Deuel, Davison, Clay, Edmunds, Hanson, McCook, Moody, Sanborn, and Union counties all flipped to McGovern, twice the amount he flipped elsewhere nationwide. South Dakota voted in this election as nearly 15 points more Democratic than the nation at-large, a significant historical anomaly considering that the state normally leans very heavily Republican. In fact, this election marked one of only four times since statehood that South Dakota voted to the left of the nation, and the state is tied for the longest ongoing Republican streak in presidential elections.