1972 Republican Party presidential primaries
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From March 7 to June 6, 1972, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1972 Republican National Convention held from August 21 to August 23, 1972, in Miami, Florida.
Candidates[]
Nominee[]
Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign
Withdrawal date |
Popular vote | Contest won | Running mate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richard Nixon | ![]() |
37th President of the United States (1969–1974) Incumbent |
![]() California |
![]() (Campaign) Secured nomination: August 23, 1972 |
5,378,704 (96.9%) |
18 | Spiro Agnew |
Withdrew during primaries[]
Representative John Ashbrook of Ohio
Representative Pete McCloskey of California
Polling[]
National polling[]
Poll source | Publication | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Gallup[1] | Feb. 1972 | 5% | 6% | 83% |
Primary race[]
Nixon was a popular incumbent president in 1972, as he seemed to have reached détente with China and the USSR. He shrugged off the first glimmers of what, after the election, became the massive Watergate scandal.
Polls showed that Nixon had a strong lead. He was challenged by two minor candidates, liberal Pete McCloskey of California and conservative John Ashbrook of Ohio. McCloskey ran as an anti-Vietnam war candidate dedicated to a much more clearer liberal position compared to Nixon's ambiguity approach within the party, while Ashbrook was dedicated to a much more clearer conservative position than Nixon and opposed Nixon's détente policies towards China and the Soviet Union. In the New Hampshire primary McCloskey's platform of peace garnered 19.7% of the vote to Nixon's 67.9%, with Ashbrook receiving 10.9% and comedian Pat Paulsen receiving 1.1%.[2] Having previously stated that he would withdraw from the race had he not achieved 20% of the vote, McCloskey did so.
Nixon won 1,347 of the 1,348 delegates to the GOP convention, with McCloskey receiving the vote of one delegate from New Mexico.[3]
Results[]
Richard Nixon | John Ashbrook | Pete McCloskey | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
March 7 | New Hampshire | 67.61% | 9.69% | 19.79% |
March 14 | Florida | 86.98% | 8.84% | 4.18% |
March 21 | Illinois | 96.96% | 0.51% | 0.14% |
April 4 | Wisconsin | 96.91% | 0.91% | 1.28% |
April 25 | Massachusetts | 81.18% | 3.98% | 13.46% |
April 25 | Pennsylvania | 82.88% | - | - |
May 2 | Indiana | 100% | - | - |
May 2 | Ohio | 100% | - | - |
May 4 | Tennessee | 95.81% | 2.11% | 2.07% |
May 6 | North Carolina | 94.80% | - | 5.20% |
May 9 | Nebraska | 92.38% | 2.57% | 4.64% |
May 16 | Maryland | 86.17% | 5.83% | 8.00% |
May 16 | Michigan | 95.52% | - | 2.88% |
May 23 | Oregon | 81.97% | 5.92% | 10.41% |
May 23 | Rhode Island | 88.27% | 3.12% | 6.01% |
June 6 | California | 90.14% | 9.85% | - |
June 6 | New Mexico | 88.46% | - | 6.07% |
June 6 | South Dakota | 100% | - | - |
- Italics - Write-In Votes
See also[]
- 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries
References[]
- ^ "US President - R Primaries". OurCampaigns.com. 16 Nov 2004. Retrieved 29 Oct 2020.
- ^ "New Hampshire Finals". The Miami Herald. UPI. March 15, 1972. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
- ^ "Nixon Renominated". Partners.nytimes.com. 1972-08-23. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
- 1972 United States Republican presidential primaries