1972 United States presidential election in Idaho

The 1972 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Idaho voters chose four[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1972 United States presidential election in Idaho

← 1968 November 7, 1972[1] 1976 →
 
Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern John G. Schmitz
Party Republican Democratic American Independent
Home state California South Dakota California
Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver Thomas J. Anderson
Electoral vote 4 0 0
Popular vote 199,384 80,826 28,869
Percentage 64.24% 26.04% 9.30%

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


President before election

Richard Nixon
Republican

Elected President

Richard Nixon
Republican

Idaho was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon (RCalifornia), with 64.2 percent of the popular vote, against George McGovern (DSouth Dakota), with 26.0% of the popular vote.[3][4]

In a state that would reflect McGovern's national results,[5][6] the Democratic nominee did not win a single county in Idaho. In fact, John G. Schmitz, running under the "American Independent" banner as a remnant of George Wallace's 1968 campaign, ran second ahead of McGovern in Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi and Madison Counties.[7] Although due to the salience of the civil rights issue there had occurred numerous cases of unpledged and "Dixiecrat" candidates receiving almost the entire vote of Deep Southern counties, and a smaller number in other antebellum slave states, Schmitz' performances in Jefferson County was at the time the best by a third-party presidential candidate in any non-Southern county since 1936 when William Lemke reached over twenty-eight percent of the vote in the North Dakota counties of Burke, Sheridan and Hettinger.[8] With 9.30% of the popular vote, Idaho would be Schmitz's strongest state in the 1972 election.[9]

Nixon was the first Republican to sweep all Idaho's counties since Warren G. Harding in 1920, the first to carry Clearwater and Lewis Counties since Herbert Hoover in 1928, whilst the previous occasion the Republicans had won adjacent Nez Perce County was Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952.[10]

Results

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1972 United States presidential election in Idaho
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Nixon (inc.) 199,384 64.24%
Democratic George McGovern 80,826 26.04%
American Independent John G. Schmitz 28,869 9.30%
Peace and Freedom Benjamin Spock 903 0.29%
Socialist Workers Linda Jenness 397 0.13%
Total votes 310,379 100.00%

Results by county

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County[11] Richard Nixon
Republican
George McGovern
Democratic
John G. Schmitz
American Independent
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Ada 36,665 67.51% 12,687 23.36% 4,727 8.70% 232 0.43% 23,978 44.15% 54,311
Adams 963 67.77% 293 20.62% 162 11.40% 3 0.21% 670 47.15% 1,421
Bannock 12,856 57.93% 7,840 35.33% 1,348 6.07% 147 0.66% 5,016 22.60% 22,191
Bear Lake 2,213 69.48% 716 22.48% 251 7.88% 5 0.16% 1,497 47.00% 3,185
Benewah 1,494 55.54% 1,062 39.48% 129 4.80% 5 0.19% 432 16.06% 2,690
Bingham 6,886 64.33% 2,476 23.13% 1,312 12.26% 31 0.29% 4,410 41.20% 10,705
Blaine 2,113 60.98% 1,240 35.79% 97 2.80% 15 0.43% 873 25.19% 3,465
Boise 676 66.27% 256 25.10% 86 8.43% 2 0.20% 420 41.17% 1,020
Bonner 4,405 57.47% 2,599 33.91% 632 8.25% 29 0.38% 1,806 23.56% 7,665
Bonneville 13,134 61.19% 4,199 19.56% 4,073 18.97% 60 0.28% 8,935 41.63% 21,466
Boundary 1,587 59.26% 860 32.11% 218 8.14% 13 0.49% 727 27.15% 2,678
Butte 788 56.45% 387 27.72% 220 15.76% 1 0.07% 401 28.73% 1,396
Camas 344 74.30% 95 20.52% 24 5.18% 0 0.00% 249 53.78% 463
Canyon 18,383 68.45% 5,630 20.96% 2,769 10.31% 75 0.28% 12,753 47.49% 26,857
Caribou 2,069 69.95% 614 20.76% 274 9.26% 1 0.03% 1,455 49.19% 2,958
Cassia 4,576 74.26% 1,080 17.53% 473 7.68% 33 0.54% 3,496 56.73% 6,162
Clark 339 74.34% 64 14.04% 52 11.40% 1 0.22% 275 60.30% 456
Clearwater 1,590 50.67% 1,412 45.00% 112 3.57% 24 0.76% 178 5.67% 3,138
Custer 989 69.06% 274 19.13% 166 11.59% 3 0.21% 715 49.93% 1,432
Elmore 3,078 66.55% 1,153 24.93% 382 8.26% 12 0.26% 1,925 41.62% 4,625
Franklin 2,787 71.59% 611 15.69% 490 12.59% 5 0.13% 2,176 55.90% 3,893
Fremont 2,621 61.38% 819 19.18% 825 19.32% 5 0.12% 1,796[a] 42.06% 4,270
Gem 2,717 61.32% 1,069 24.13% 637 14.38% 8 0.18% 1,648 37.19% 4,431
Gooding 3,124 70.73% 1,030 23.32% 256 5.80% 7 0.16% 2,094 47.41% 4,417
Idaho 3,235 62.20% 1,622 31.19% 330 6.34% 14 0.27% 1,613 31.01% 5,201
Jefferson 2,983 58.38% 715 13.99% 1,406 27.51% 6 0.12% 1,577[a] 30.87% 5,110
Jerome 3,661 75.11% 888 18.22% 316 6.48% 9 0.18% 2,773 56.89% 4,874
Kootenai 9,958 61.33% 5,162 31.79% 1,076 6.63% 42 0.26% 4,796 29.54% 16,238
Latah 6,043 55.35% 4,548 41.66% 268 2.45% 59 0.54% 1,495 13.69% 10,918
Lemhi 1,812 61.99% 526 18.00% 578 19.77% 7 0.24% 1,234[a] 42.22% 2,923
Lewis 961 56.97% 635 37.64% 85 5.04% 6 0.36% 326 19.33% 1,687
Lincoln 1,120 74.37% 313 20.78% 66 4.38% 7 0.46% 807 53.59% 1,506
Madison 3,606 69.13% 710 13.61% 889 17.04% 11 0.21% 2,717[a] 52.09% 5,216
Minidoka 4,097 68.66% 1,423 23.85% 430 7.21% 17 0.28% 2,674 44.81% 5,967
Nez Perce 6,232 52.19% 5,081 42.55% 433 3.63% 195 1.63% 1,151 9.64% 11,941
Oneida 1,204 71.45% 402 23.86% 77 4.57% 2 0.12% 802 47.59% 1,685
Owyhee 1,630 70.14% 463 19.92% 229 9.85% 2 0.09% 1,167 50.22% 2,324
Payette 3,577 67.85% 1,113 21.11% 565 10.72% 17 0.32% 2,464 46.74% 5,272
Power 1,405 64.45% 625 28.67% 142 6.51% 8 0.37% 780 35.78% 2,180
Shoshone 3,868 53.67% 3,020 41.90% 286 3.97% 33 0.46% 848 11.77% 7,207
Teton 932 68.58% 298 21.93% 129 9.49% 0 0.00% 634 46.65% 1,359
Twin Falls 13,075 73.98% 3,344 18.92% 1,127 6.38% 127 0.72% 9,731 55.06% 17,673
Valley 1,324 61.55% 537 24.97% 280 13.02% 10 0.46% 787 36.58% 2,151
Washington 2,264 62.33% 935 25.74% 422 11.62% 11 0.30% 1,329 36.59% 3,632
Totals 199,384 64.24% 80,826 26.04% 28,869 9.30% 1,300 0.42% 118,558 38.20% 310,379

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d In this county where Schmitz ran second ahead of McGovern, margin given is Nixon vote minus Schmitz vote and percentage margin Nixon percent minus Schmitz percent.

References

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  1. ^ "United States Presidential election of 1972 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "1972 Election for the Forty-Seventh Term (1973-77)". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  3. ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results - Idaho". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1972". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "1972 Presidential Election - 270toWin.com". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  6. ^ "1972 Election - Voting America". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  7. ^ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 100 ISBN 0786422173
  8. ^ Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; pp. 339, 343 ISBN 0405077114
  9. ^ "1972 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Menendez; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, pp. 178-179
  11. ^ Our Campaigns; ID US President 1972