Election 1972 Results
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1972 governor election results by state and county
Despite Nixon's landslide, Democrats won 12 governor races to seven in 1972, gaining Illinois, Delaware and Vermont, while Republicans took Missouri and North Carolina.
19 governor races were held in 1972. Democrats won 12 and Republicans 7.
The closest were Illinois (D+1.7), North Dakota (D+2.1) and New Hampshire (R+2.4). 5 governorships changed party: Delaware to the Democrats, Illinois to the Democrats, Missouri to the Republicans, North Carolina to the Republicans and Vermont to the Democrats.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1972 governor elections
Richard Nixon won a second term in 1972 by a huge margin over George McGovern, carrying 49 states. The governor races did not follow, and Democrats won 12 to the Republicans' seven. Democrats gained Illinois, where Daniel Walker beat Governor Richard B. Ogilvie by under two points, Delaware, where Sherman W. Tribbitt unseated Russell W. Peterson, and Vermont. Dolph Briscoe held Texas against Henry C. Grover by about three points, Arthur A. Link won North Dakota and Thomas L. Judge took Montana. Philip W. Noel kept Rhode Island Democratic. Republicans gained two states. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond won Missouri, and James E. Holshouser Jr. beat Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles in North Carolina by 2.5 points to become the state's first Republican governor of the 20th century. In West Virginia, Arch A. Moore Jr. was re-elected over John D. Rockefeller IV, and Daniel J. Evans won a third term in Washington. Meldrim Thomson Jr. won New Hampshire.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Dale Bumpers | 488,892 (75.4%) | Len E. Blaylock | 159,177 (24.6%) | D+50.9 | |
| Delaware flip | Sherman W. Tribbitt | 117,274 (51.3%) | Russell W. Peterson | 109,583 (47.9%) | 1,865 | D+3.4 |
| Illinois flip | Daniel Walker | 2,371,301 (50.7%) | Richard B. Ogilvie | 2,293,809 (49.0%) | 13,692 | D+1.7 |
| Indiana | Matthew E. Welsh | 900,489 (42.5%) | Otis R. Bowen | 1,203,903 (56.8%) | 16,455 | R+14.3 |
| Iowa | Paul Franzenburg | 487,282 (40.3%) | Robert E. Ray | 707,177 (58.4%) | 15,763 | R+18.2 |
| Kansas | Robert Docking | 571,256 (62.0%) | Morris Kay | 341,438 (37.1%) | 8,856 | D+24.9 |
| Louisiana | Edwin W. Edwards | 641,146 (57.2%) | David Conner Treen | 480,424 (42.8%) | D+14.3 | |
| Missouri flip | Edward L. Dowd | 832,751 (44.6%) | Kit Bond | 1,029,451 (55.2%) | 3,481 | R+10.5 |
| Montana | Thomas L. Judge | 172,523 (54.1%) | Ed Smith | 146,231 (45.9%) | D+8.3 | |
| New Hampshire | Robert J. Crowley | 126,107 (39.0%) | Meldrim Thomson Jr. | 133,702 (41.4%) | Malcolm McLane (Independent) 63,199 (19.6%) |
R+2.4 |
| North Carolina flip | Skipper Bowles | 729,104 (48.5%) | James Holshouser | 767,470 (51.0%) | 8,211 | R+2.6 |
| North Dakota | Arthur A. Link | 143,899 (51.0%) | Richard F. Larsen | 138,032 (49.0%) | D+2.1 | |
| Rhode Island | Philip W. Noel | 216,953 (52.5%) | Herbert F. DeSimone | 194,315 (47.1%) | 1,598 | D+5.5 |
| South Dakota | Richard F. Kneip | 185,012 (60.0%) | Carveth Thompson | 123,165 (40.0%) | D+20.1 | |
| Texas | Dolph Briscoe | 1,633,493 (47.9%) | Henry Grover | 1,533,986 (45.0%) | Ramsey Muniz (Raza Unida) 214,118 (6.3%) |
D+2.9 |
| Utah | Calvin L. Rampton | 331,998 (69.7%) | Nicholas L. Strike | 144,449 (30.3%) | D+39.4 | |
| Vermont flip | Thomas P. Salmon | 104,533 (55.2%) | Luther F. Hackett | 82,491 (43.6%) | 2,213 | D+11.7 |
| Washington | Albert D. Rosellini | 630,613 (42.8%) | Daniel J. Evans | 747,825 (50.8%) | Vick Gould (Taxpayers) 86,843 (5.9%) |
R+8.0 |
| West Virginia | Jay Rockefeller | 350,462 (45.3%) | Arch A. Moore Jr. | 423,817 (54.7%) | R+9.5 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.