United States presidential election in California, 1972

United States presidential election in California, 1972

1968 ← November 7, 1972 → 1976

Nominee Richard Nixon George McGovern Party Republican Democratic Home state California South Dakota Running mate Spiro Agnew Sargent Shriver Electoral vote 45 0 Popular vote 4,602,096 3,475,847 Percentage 55.00% 41.54%

County Results   McGovern—50-60%   McGovern—<50%   Nixon—<50%   Nixon—50-60%   Nixon—60-70%

President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

Richard Nixon
Republican

Richard Nixon
Republican

The 1972 United States presidential election in California refers to how California participated in the 1972 United States presidential election.

California voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Nixon took 55.00% of the vote to McGovern's 41.54%, a margin of 13.46%. Although California was Richard Nixon's home state, his performance in the state was somewhat underwhelming, as California's result was about 5.7% more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

This was the first presidential election in which California had the most electoral college votes as a result of the 1970 census, a status it has maintained ever since.