1972 Presidential Election (So Help Us God)

1972 United States presidential election
538 members of the Electoral College; 270 electoral votes needed to win
	Opinion polls
Turnout	56g.2% ▼ 6.3 pp
	Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Kennedy/Symington, and red denotes those won by Nixon/Agnew. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state.
President before election; Bob Kennedy; Democratic	Elected President ; Bob Kennedy; Democratic

The 1972 United States presidential election was the 47th quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 7, 1972. Incumbent Democratic president Bob Kennedy defeated former Republican vice president Dick Nixon for the second time, winning re-election.

Nixon swept aside challenges from two Republican representatives in the Republican primaries to win renomination. Kennedy, who had played a significant role in changing the Democratic nomination system after the 1968 presidential election, mobilized his progressive supporters to win his party's nomination once again.

Nixon emphasized the strong economy and his experience in foreign affairs, while Kennedy ran on a platform calling for the same policies as his first term. Nixon had a slight lead in early polls, up until Kennedy and the Democrats began to clap back. Separately, Nixon's election committee tried several sorts of tricks to gain the lead, something which would all be brought to light during the second Kennedy Administration. Kennedy's general election campaign was slightly damaged early on by the perception that his platform was radical according to Nixon's support base, though Kennedy came back on the offensive, defending his platform successfully.

Nominations[]

Republican Primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee[]

Candidate	Born	Home state	Most recent position	States won
Dick Nixon	January 9, 1913 (age 59) Yorba Linda, California, U.S.	California	Vice President of the United States	HI, CA, NV, ID, WY, UT, AZ, NE, KS, OK, TX, AR, IL, IN, GA, SC, FL, DE, NJ, CT, RI, VT, NH

Withdrew or Lost during the Primaries[]

Candidate	Born	Home state	Most recent position	States won
John Ashbrook	September 21, 1928 (age 44) Johnstown, Ohio, U.S.	Ohio	Representative from Ohio	None
Pete McCloskey	September 29, 1927 (age 45) Loma Linda, California, U.S.	California	Representative from California	None

Democratic Primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee[]

Candidate	Born	Home state	Most recent position	States won
Bob Kennedy	November 20, 1925 (age 46) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.	New York	40th President of the United States	AK, WA, OR, MT, CO, NM, ND, SD, MN, IA, MO, LA, WI, MI, OH, KY, TN, MS, AL, WV, VA, MD, NC, PA, NY, MA, ME, DC

Withdrew or Lost during the Primaries[]

Candidate	Born	Home state	Most recent position	States won
Hubert Humphrey	May 27, 1911 (age 61) Wallace, South Dakota, U.S.	Minnesota	Senator of Minnesota	MN, IN, OH, WV, PA
Edmund Muskie	March 28, 1914 (age 58) Rumford, Maine, U.S.	Maine	Senator of Maine	AZ, IA, IL, NH, ME
Scoop Jackson	May 31, 1912 (age 60) Everett, Washington, U.S.	Washington	Senator of Washington	WA
Wilbur Mills	May 24, 1909 (age 63) Kensett, Arkansas, U.S.	Arkansas	Representative from Arkansas	AR
Shirley Chisholm	November 30, 1924 (age 47) New York City, New York, U.S.	New York	Representative from New York	NJ
Terry Sanford	August 20, 1917 (age 55) Laurinburg, North Carolina, U.S.	North Carolina	President of Duke University	None
Vance Hartke	May 31, 1919 (age 63) Stendal, Indiana, U.S.	Indiana	Senator of Indiana	None
Patsy Mink	December 6, 1927 (age 44) Paia, Hawaii, U.S.	Hawaii	Representative from Hawaii	None
Fred Harris	November 13, 1930 (age 41) Walters, Oklahoma, U.S.	Oklahoma	Senator of Oklahoma	None