Election 1972 Results
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1972 presidential election in Massachusetts
George McGovern (Democrat) beat Richard Nixon (Republican) in Massachusetts in 1972, 54.2% to 45.2%, a margin of 9.0 points and 220,462 votes.
Massachusetts voted 32.1 points more Democratic than the country as a whole, where the margin was R+23.1.
The Democratic hold continued from 1968, when Hubert Humphrey won.
Democrats led in 9 of the 14 counties as they stood then and Republicans in 5. The largest, Middlesex, cast 617,651 votes and went to the Democrat by 12.3 points. The closest was Dukes, where 311 votes separated the two parties.
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.
Result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| George McGovern won | Democratic | 1,332,540 | 54.2% |
| Richard Nixon | Republican | 1,112,078 | 45.2% |
| All other candidates | 14,138 | 0.6% | |
| Total | 2,458,756 |
Every county
| County | Democrat | Republican | Others | Total | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex | 345,343 55.9% | 269,064 43.6% | 3,244 | 617,651 | D+12.3 |
| Essex | 157,324 53.0% | 138,040 46.5% | 1,720 | 297,084 | D+6.5 |
| Norfolk | 150,732 52.6% | 134,459 46.9% | 1,558 | 286,749 | D+5.7 |
| Worcester | 144,139 52.8% | 127,560 46.7% | 1,428 | 273,127 | D+6.1 |
| Suffolk | 166,250 65.8% | 85,272 33.7% | 1,299 | 252,821 | D+32.0 |
| Bristol | 103,163 54.7% | 84,390 44.7% | 1,215 | 188,768 | D+9.9 |
| Hampden | 94,945 52.1% | 86,164 47.3% | 1,024 | 182,133 | D+4.8 |
| Plymouth | 69,124 47.3% | 76,062 52.1% | 878 | 146,064 | R+4.7 |
| Berkshire | 35,391 53.4% | 30,380 45.8% | 513 | 66,284 | D+7.6 |
| Barnstable | 22,636 38.1% | 36,340 61.1% | 466 | 59,442 | R+23.1 |
| Hampshire | 28,572 53.3% | 24,529 45.7% | 553 | 53,654 | D+7.5 |
| Franklin | 11,968 42.3% | 16,088 56.9% | 207 | 28,263 | R+14.6 |
| Dukes | 2,001 46.1% | 2,312 53.3% | 23 | 4,336 | R+7.2 |
| Nantucket | 952 40.0% | 1,418 59.6% | 10 | 2,380 | R+19.6 |
Counties as they stood in 1972; some have since been split, merged or renamed. Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Sources and how the results were checked.
Massachusetts in every presidential election we hold
| Year | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kamala Harris (D) | D+25.2 |
| 2020 | Joe Biden (D) | D+33.5 |
| 2016 | Hillary Clinton (D) | D+27.2 |
| 2012 | Barack Obama (D) | D+23.1 |
| 2008 | Barack Obama (D) | D+25.8 |
| 2004 | John Kerry (D) | D+25.2 |
| 2000 | Al Gore (D) | D+27.3 |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton (D) | D+33.4 |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton (D) | D+18.5 |
| 1988 | Michael Dukakis (D) | D+7.9 |
| 1984 | Ronald Reagan (R) | R+2.8 |
| 1980 | Ronald Reagan (R) | R+0.2 |
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter (D) | D+15.7 |
| 1972 | George McGovern (D) | D+9.0 |
| 1968 | Hubert Humphrey (D) | D+30.1 |
| 1964 | Lyndon B. Johnson (D) | D+52.7 |
| 1960 | John F. Kennedy (D) | D+20.7 |
| 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) | R+18.9 |
| 1952 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) | R+8.8 |
| 1948 | Harry S. Truman (D) | D+11.5 |
| 1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) | D+5.8 |
| 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) | D+6.7 |
| 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) | D+9.5 |
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) | D+4.0 |
| 1928 | Al Smith (D) | D+1.1 |
| 1924 | Calvin Coolidge (R) | R+37.4 |
| 1920 | Warren G. Harding (R) | R+40.7 |
| 1916 | Charles Evans Hughes (R) | R+3.9 |
| 1912 | Woodrow Wilson (D) | D+3.6 |
| 1908 | William Howard Taft (R) | R+24.2 |
| 1904 | Theodore Roosevelt (R) | R+20.7 |
| 1900 | William McKinley (R) | R+19.7 |
| 1896 | William McKinley (R) | R+43.1 |
| 1892 | Benjamin Harrison (R) | R+6.6 |
| 1888 | Benjamin Harrison (R) | R+9.4 |
| 1884 | James G. Blaine (R) | R+8.0 |
| 1880 | James A. Garfield (R) | R+18.8 |
| 1876 | Rutherford B. Hayes (R) | R+16.0 |
| 1872 | Ulysses S. Grant (R) | R+38.5 |
| 1868 | Ulysses S. Grant (R) | R+39.5 |