United States Presidential Election, 1972 (PJW)

The United States Presidential Election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. Marked by the recent resignations of Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon, both Republicans, and the controversial ascension of Democrat Speaker of the House Wilbur Mills to the presidency, the popularity of both parties were at an all time low, allowing many factions and politicians to gain popularity, far more than the two parties previously featured in previous elections.

The "Young Representatives" faction, headed by Frank Carlucci (R-PA) and Donald Rumsfeld (formerly R-IL and White House Chief of Staff) lead the Republican Party. Promising a "changing of the guard" they won over many moderates. Despite their moderate stance, the ugly shadow of the scandals during the Nixon administration remained.

On the Democrat side, Wilbur Mills decided to embrace his role as president and ran for re-election. Seen as a weak candidate, the Democrat electorate was split so heavily that compromise was seen as nearly impossible. This resulted in the older segregationists and conservatives leaving, led by Senator James D. Johnson (D-AR) to form a fusion ticket with the Citizens' Party, with their leader, JB Stoner, becoming Johnson's running mate. Upon the nomination of Mills, progressives would leave the party to join the banner of Senator George McGovern (D-SD) and the People's Party. Many progressive Republicans would join the Peace Party.

With each party split and unpopular, third parties saw their chance. In addition to the Citizens' Party and the People's Party, smaller third parties included the newly formed Libertarian party and their candidate John Hospers, along with the Socialist Workers Party and the National Revolutionary Party, ran candidates but focused more on local state elections.