1972 US Presidential Election (Nixon Assassinated)

The 1972 United States Presidential Election was a realigning election that led to the start of the present 4-party system. In a year when the election was overshadowed by the assassination of the President, the main issue in the election was the Vietnam War. The Democratic Party nominated George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign (along with his running mate Mike Gravel who had became famous for his 1-man filibusterhttp://althistory.wikia.com/index.php?title=1972_US_Presidential_Election_%28Nixon_Assassinated%29&action=edit Editing 1972 US Presidential Election (Nixon Assassinated) - Alternative History - a Wikia wiki to attempt to end the Draft immediately and for publishing the Pentagon Papers) to victory despite alienating blue-collar Democrats. The Republican Party narrowly nominated New York governor Nelson Rockefeller following a very close campaign between Rockefeller and California governor Ronald Reagan.

Democratic Primaries

 * Democratic Candidates
 * Shirley Chisholm, U.S. representative from New York
 * Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General from Ohio
 * Walter E. Fauntroy, U.S. delegate from District of Colombia
 * Fred R. Harris, U.S. senator from Oklahoma
 * Vance Hartke, U.S. senator from Indiana
 * Wayne Hays, U.S. representative from Ohio
 * Harold Hughes, U.S. Senator and former Governor from Iowa
 * Hubert Humphrey, U.S. senator from Minnesota, former vice president, and 1968 presidential nominee
 * Henry “Scoop” Jackson, U.S. senator from Washington
 * John Lindsay, Mayor of New York City
 * Eugene McCarthy, former U.S. senator from Minnesota and candidate for the 1968 presidential nomination
 * George McGovern, U.S. senator from South Dakota
 * Wilbur Mills, U.S. representative from Arkansas
 * Patsy T. Mink U.S. representative from Hawaii
 * Walter Mondale, U.S. senator from Minnesota
 * Edmund Muskie, U.S. senator from Maine and 1968 vice presidential nominee
 * Terry Sanford, former Governor of North Carolina
 * George Wallace, governor of Alabama (Nixon Assassinated) Alabama and 1968 American Independent Party presidential candidate
 * Sam Yorty, Mayor of Los Angeles

Ted Kennedy was the early favorite to win the nomination until the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969.