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United States · Election results history · 1972 president · South Dakota
Election 1972 Results

Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.

1972 presidential election in South Dakota

Richard Nixon (Republican) beat George McGovern (Democrat) in South Dakota in 1972, 54.2% to 45.5%, a margin of 8.6 points and 26,531 votes.

South Dakota voted 14.5 points more Democratic than the country as a whole, where the margin was R+23.1.

The Republican hold continued from 1968, when Richard Nixon also won.

Republicans led in 46 of the 67 counties as they stood then and Democrats in 21. The largest, Minnehaha, cast 44,988 votes and went to the Republican by 0.1 points. The closest was Sanborn, where 10 votes separated the two parties.

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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

CandidatePartyVotesShare
Richard Nixon won Republican 166,476 54.2%
George McGovern Democratic 139,945 45.5%
All other candidates 994 0.3%
Total307,415

Every county

CountyDemocratRepublicanOthersTotalMargin
Minnehaha 22,386 49.8% 22,447 49.9% 155 44,988 R+0.1
Pennington 8,592 38.5% 13,654 61.2% 80 22,326 R+22.7
Brown 8,216 49.9% 8,134 49.4% 101 16,451 D+0.5
Beadle 4,297 41.9% 5,922 57.8% 25 10,244 R+15.9
Brookings 4,701 47.4% 5,182 52.3% 33 9,916 R+4.9
Codington 4,601 48.1% 4,936 51.6% 27 9,564 R+3.5
Davison 4,710 55.2% 3,796 44.5% 25 8,531 D+10.7
Yankton 3,835 46.6% 4,366 53.1% 24 8,225 R+6.5
Lawrence 2,533 34.5% 4,795 65.2% 24 7,352 R+30.8
Hughes 2,037 32.4% 4,231 67.4% 14 6,282 R+34.9
Lincoln 2,617 44.9% 3,201 54.9% 10 5,828 R+10.0
Lake 2,886 49.6% 2,919 50.1% 17 5,822 R+0.6
Clay 2,821 52.7% 2,518 47.0% 13 5,352 D+5.7
Hutchinson 2,248 42.0% 3,092 57.8% 8 5,348 R+15.8
Roberts 2,976 57.5% 2,187 42.3% 9 5,172 D+15.3
Meade 1,633 32.1% 3,416 67.2% 31 5,080 R+35.1
Turner 1,993 39.8% 3,007 60.0% 10 5,010 R+20.2
Spink 2,321 47.6% 2,547 52.2% 12 4,880 R+4.6
Union 2,554 52.7% 2,271 46.9% 17 4,842 D+5.8
Charles Mix 2,691 57.0% 2,020 42.8% 10 4,721 D+14.2
Day 2,719 57.9% 1,971 41.9% 9 4,699 D+15.9
Bon Homme 2,368 52.7% 2,116 47.1% 9 4,493 D+5.6
Grant 2,231 49.7% 2,247 50.0% 12 4,490 R+0.4
Tripp 1,538 37.2% 2,592 62.7% 2 4,132 R+25.5
McCook 1,993 50.3% 1,963 49.5% 7 3,963 D+0.8
Kingsbury 1,632 41.2% 2,320 58.6% 6 3,958 R+17.4
Walworth 1,287 34.7% 2,416 65.1% 8 3,711 R+30.4
Butte 1,085 30.5% 2,452 68.8% 26 3,563 R+38.4
Moody 1,895 53.3% 1,648 46.4% 11 3,554 D+6.9
Fall River 1,107 31.7% 2,374 67.9% 16 3,497 R+36.2
Gregory 1,555 48.0% 1,670 51.6% 12 3,237 R+3.6
Edmunds 1,646 51.2% 1,567 48.7% 3 3,216 D+2.5
Marshall 1,646 52.3% 1,500 47.7% 1 3,147 D+4.6
Hand 1,307 41.9% 1,806 57.9% 6 3,119 R+16.0
Brule 1,665 53.8% 1,421 45.9% 11 3,097 D+7.9
Hamlin 1,276 42.8% 1,693 56.9% 9 2,978 R+14.0
Clark 1,336 45.1% 1,617 54.6% 9 2,962 R+9.5
Deuel 1,370 50.1% 1,357 49.6% 9 2,736 D+0.5
Perkins 900 34.6% 1,691 65.1% 7 2,598 R+30.4
McPherson 579 22.8% 1,950 76.9% 6 2,535 R+54.1
Miner 1,337 55.6% 1,059 44.0% 9 2,405 D+11.6
Aurora 1,257 53.7% 1,075 46.0% 7 2,339 D+7.8
Douglas 887 38.2% 1,434 61.7% 4 2,325 R+23.5
Custer 798 34.9% 1,476 64.5% 15 2,289 R+29.6
Potter 858 38.1% 1,389 61.7% 6 2,253 R+23.6
Sanborn 1,074 50.1% 1,064 49.6% 7 2,145 D+0.5
Faulk 986 49.2% 1,004 50.1% 15 2,005 R+0.9
Lyman 774 39.8% 1,166 60.0% 4 1,944 R+20.2
Hanson 1,022 53.6% 876 46.0% 8 1,906 D+7.7
Jerauld 829 45.5% 988 54.3% 3 1,820 R+8.7
Todd 907 52.6% 806 46.8% 10 1,723 D+5.9
Dewey 699 40.8% 1,008 58.9% 5 1,712 R+18.0
Corson 689 41.2% 975 58.3% 9 1,673 R+17.1
Shannon 1,246 77.3% 356 22.1% 9 1,611 D+55.2
Campbell 361 23.5% 1,169 76.1% 7 1,537 R+52.6
Haakon 366 26.2% 1,021 73.1% 9 1,396 R+46.9
Hyde 533 40.2% 789 59.5% 4 1,326 R+19.3
Bennett 476 37.0% 808 62.8% 2 1,286 R+25.8
Stanley 492 38.5% 779 61.0% 7 1,278 R+22.5
Sully 414 34.8% 773 64.9% 4 1,191 R+30.1
Mellette 433 40.2% 637 59.2% 6 1,076 R+19.0
Jones 346 34.7% 642 64.4% 9 997 R+29.7
Harding 253 28.4% 637 71.6% 890 R+43.1
Ziebach 378 43.4% 486 55.9% 6 870 R+12.4
Jackson 261 30.9% 581 68.7% 4 846 R+37.8
Buffalo 275 55.3% 221 44.5% 1 497 D+10.9
Washabaugh (Ext) 211 44.2% 245 51.4% 21 477 R+7.1

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.

South Dakota in every presidential election we hold

YearWinnerMargin
2024 Donald Trump (R) R+29.2
2020 Donald Trump (R) R+26.2
2016 Donald Trump (R) R+29.8
2012 Mitt Romney (R) R+18.0
2008 John McCain (R) R+8.4
2004 George W. Bush (R) R+21.5
2000 George W. Bush (R) R+22.7
1996 Bob Dole (R) R+3.5
1992 George H. W. Bush (R) R+3.5
1988 George H. W. Bush (R) R+6.3
1984 Ronald Reagan (R) R+26.5
1980 Ronald Reagan (R) R+28.8
1976 Gerald Ford (R) R+1.5
1972 Richard Nixon (R) R+8.6
1968 Richard Nixon (R) R+11.3
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson (D) D+11.2
1960 Richard Nixon (R) R+16.4
1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) R+16.8
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) R+38.5
1948 Thomas E. Dewey (R) R+4.8
1944 Thomas E. Dewey (R) R+16.7
1940 Wendell Willkie (R) R+14.8
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) D+11.5
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) D+29.2
1928 Herbert Hoover (R) R+21.0
1924 Calvin Coolidge (R) R+36.3
1920 Warren G. Harding (R) R+41.0
1916 Charles Evans Hughes (R) R+3.9
1912 Theodore Roosevelt (other)
1908 William Howard Taft (R) R+23.8
1904 Theodore Roosevelt (R) R+49.4
1900 William McKinley (R) R+15.6
1896 William Jennings Bryan (D) D+0.2
1892 Benjamin Harrison (R) R+36.6