The 1972 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent President Richard Nixon won Alabama, winning 72.43% of the vote to George McGovern's 25.54%. As of the 2020 presidential election[update], this is the last election in which Dallas County, Hale County, Russell County, and Perry County in the Black Belt voted for the Republican candidate,[2] and stands as the strongest ever performance by a Republican presidential candidate in the state.
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All 9 Alabama electoral votes to the Electoral College | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County Results
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83% of white voters supported Nixon while 14% supported McGovern.[3][4] Nixon would also be the first presidential candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 to win Alabama and go on to win the general election[5]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Richard Nixon (inc.) | 728,701 | 72.43% | +58.44% | |
Democratic | George McGovern | 219,108 | 21.73% | +21.73% | |
National Democratic (Ala.) | George McGovern | 36,560 | 3.62% | -15.10% | |
American Independent | John G. Schmitz | 11,355 | 1.13% | -65.87% | |
Prohibition | E. Harold Munn | 7,872 | 0.79% | +0.43% | |
Total votes | 1,006,093 | 100% |
County | Richard Milhous Nixon Republican |
George Stanley McGovern[a] Democratic/ National Democratic |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Autauga | 5,367 | 75.17% | 1,593 | 22.31% | 180 | 2.52% | 3,774 | 52.86% | 7,140 |
Baldwin | 15,104 | 82.20% | 2,923 | 15.91% | 348 | 1.89% | 12,181 | 66.29% | 18,375 |
Barbour | 4,985 | 70.92% | 1,846 | 26.26% | 198 | 2.82% | 3,139 | 44.66% | 7,029 |
Bibb | 3,332 | 78.44% | 837 | 19.70% | 79 | 1.86% | 2,495 | 58.73% | 4,248 |
Blount | 6,486 | 79.36% | 1,582 | 19.36% | 105 | 1.28% | 4,904 | 60.00% | 8,173 |
Bullock | 2,178 | 47.44% | 2,321 | 50.56% | 92 | 2.00% | -143 | -3.11% | 4,591 |
Butler | 4,685 | 76.45% | 1,401 | 22.86% | 42 | 0.69% | 3,284 | 53.59% | 6,128 |
Calhoun | 20,364 | 76.93% | 5,832 | 22.03% | 275 | 1.04% | 14,532 | 54.90% | 26,471 |
Chambers | 8,716 | 79.21% | 2,076 | 18.87% | 211 | 1.92% | 6,640 | 60.35% | 11,003 |
Cherokee | 3,179 | 71.89% | 1,182 | 26.73% | 61 | 1.38% | 1,997 | 45.16% | 4,422 |
Chilton | 7,349 | 82.88% | 1,356 | 15.29% | 162 | 1.83% | 5,993 | 67.59% | 8,867 |
Choctaw | 3,055 | 60.74% | 1,934 | 38.45% | 41 | 0.82% | 1,121 | 22.29% | 5,030 |
Clarke | 5,256 | 70.89% | 2,031 | 27.39% | 127 | 1.71% | 3,225 | 43.50% | 7,414 |
Clay | 3,948 | 88.24% | 507 | 11.33% | 19 | 0.42% | 3,441 | 76.91% | 4,474 |
Cleburne | 3,420 | 85.20% | 581 | 14.47% | 13 | 0.32% | 2,839 | 70.73% | 4,014 |
Coffee | 9,076 | 80.06% | 2,160 | 19.05% | 100 | 0.88% | 6,916 | 61.01% | 11,336 |
Colbert | 11,215 | 67.71% | 4,811 | 29.04% | 538 | 3.25% | 6,404 | 38.66% | 16,564 |
Conecuh | 3,214 | 74.81% | 1,042 | 24.26% | 40 | 0.93% | 2,172 | 50.56% | 4,296 |
Coosa | 2,672 | 77.20% | 773 | 22.33% | 16 | 0.46% | 1,899 | 54.87% | 3,461 |
Covington | 9,278 | 85.27% | 1,547 | 14.22% | 56 | 0.51% | 7,731 | 71.05% | 10,881 |
Crenshaw | 3,129 | 72.87% | 1,085 | 25.27% | 80 | 1.86% | 2,044 | 47.60% | 4,294 |
Cullman | 14,390 | 79.54% | 3,571 | 19.74% | 130 | 0.72% | 10,819 | 59.80% | 18,091 |
Dale | 8,346 | 83.14% | 1,594 | 15.88% | 98 | 0.98% | 6,752 | 67.26% | 10,038 |
Dallas | 8,644 | 60.53% | 5,427 | 38.00% | 209 | 1.46% | 3,217 | 22.53% | 14,280 |
DeKalb | 9,434 | 71.27% | 3,759 | 28.40% | 44 | 0.33% | 5,675 | 42.87% | 13,237 |
Elmore | 8,461 | 79.90% | 1,891 | 17.86% | 238 | 2.25% | 6,570 | 62.04% | 10,590 |
Escambia | 7,883 | 82.19% | 1,598 | 16.66% | 110 | 1.15% | 6,285 | 65.53% | 9,591 |
Etowah | 20,851 | 72.95% | 7,372 | 25.79% | 358 | 1.25% | 13,479 | 47.16% | 28,581 |
Fayette | 4,240 | 83.53% | 836 | 16.47% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,404 | 67.06% | 5,076 |
Franklin | 5,877 | 75.23% | 1,840 | 23.55% | 95 | 1.22% | 4,037 | 51.68% | 7,812 |
Geneva | 5,851 | 84.33% | 1,049 | 15.12% | 38 | 0.55% | 4,802 | 69.21% | 6,938 |
Greene | 1,404 | 29.65% | 3,235 | 68.32% | 96 | 2.03% | -1,831 | -38.67% | 4,735 |
Hale | 2,859 | 59.22% | 1,779 | 36.85% | 190 | 3.94% | 1,080 | 22.37% | 4,828 |
Henry | 3,414 | 79.56% | 853 | 19.88% | 24 | 0.56% | 2,561 | 59.68% | 4,291 |
Houston | 12,622 | 83.46% | 2,358 | 15.59% | 144 | 0.95% | 10,264 | 67.87% | 15,124 |
Jackson | 6,202 | 65.91% | 2,985 | 31.72% | 223 | 2.37% | 3,217 | 34.19% | 9,410 |
Jefferson | 135,095 | 68.05% | 57,288 | 28.86% | 6,145 | 3.10% | 77,807 | 39.19% | 198,528 |
Lamar | 3,283 | 80.56% | 766 | 18.80% | 26 | 0.64% | 2,517 | 61.77% | 4,075 |
Lauderdale | 14,410 | 71.66% | 5,112 | 25.42% | 586 | 2.91% | 9,298 | 46.24% | 20,108 |
Lawrence | 4,433 | 75.61% | 1,416 | 24.15% | 14 | 0.24% | 3,017 | 51.46% | 5,863 |
Lee | 11,571 | 74.94% | 3,622 | 23.46% | 248 | 1.61% | 7,949 | 51.48% | 15,441 |
Limestone | 6,188 | 73.21% | 2,079 | 24.60% | 185 | 2.19% | 4,109 | 48.62% | 8,452 |
Lowndes | 1,990 | 42.69% | 2,559 | 54.90% | 112 | 2.40% | -569 | -12.21% | 4,661 |
Macon | 1,931 | 33.04% | 3,636 | 62.21% | 278 | 4.76% | -1,705 | -29.17% | 5,845 |
Madison | 38,899 | 73.42% | 13,108 | 24.74% | 977 | 1.84% | 25,791 | 48.68% | 52,984 |
Marengo | 5,156 | 65.05% | 2,645 | 33.37% | 125 | 1.58% | 2,511 | 31.68% | 7,926 |
Marion | 5,927 | 85.38% | 986 | 14.20% | 29 | 0.42% | 4,941 | 71.18% | 6,942 |
Marshall | 12,090 | 74.45% | 3,894 | 23.98% | 254 | 1.56% | 8,196 | 50.47% | 16,238 |
Mobile | 62,639 | 73.15% | 20,694 | 24.17% | 2,301 | 2.69% | 41,945 | 48.98% | 85,634 |
Monroe | 5,155 | 74.82% | 1,636 | 23.74% | 99 | 1.44% | 3,519 | 51.07% | 6,890 |
Montgomery | 35,353 | 71.86% | 12,723 | 25.86% | 1,121 | 2.28% | 22,630 | 46.00% | 49,197 |
Morgan | 18,100 | 76.85% | 5,004 | 21.25% | 449 | 1.91% | 13,096 | 55.60% | 23,553 |
Perry | 2,800 | 49.13% | 2,718 | 47.69% | 181 | 3.18% | 82 | 1.44% | 5,699 |
Pickens | 4,071 | 67.33% | 1,933 | 31.97% | 42 | 0.69% | 2,138 | 35.36% | 6,046 |
Pike | 5,690 | 76.66% | 1,624 | 21.88% | 108 | 1.46% | 4,066 | 54.78% | 7,422 |
Randolph | 4,427 | 75.14% | 1,330 | 22.57% | 135 | 2.29% | 3,097 | 52.56% | 5,892 |
Russell | 6,034 | 66.73% | 2,644 | 29.24% | 365 | 4.04% | 3,390 | 37.49% | 9,043 |
St. Clair | 6,952 | 79.82% | 1,538 | 17.66% | 220 | 2.53% | 5,414 | 62.16% | 8,710 |
Shelby | 9,390 | 81.24% | 1,859 | 16.08% | 309 | 2.67% | 7,531 | 65.16% | 11,558 |
Sumter | 2,686 | 49.19% | 2,737 | 50.12% | 38 | 0.70% | -51 | -0.93% | 5,461 |
Talladega | 12,763 | 73.12% | 4,567 | 26.16% | 125 | 0.72% | 8,196 | 46.96% | 17,455 |
Tallapoosa | 8,535 | 78.71% | 2,113 | 19.49% | 195 | 1.80% | 6,422 | 59.23% | 10,843 |
Tuscaloosa | 21,172 | 70.15% | 8,272 | 27.41% | 735 | 2.44% | 12,900 | 42.74% | 30,179 |
Walker | 14,581 | 78.79% | 3,724 | 20.12% | 202 | 1.09% | 10,857 | 58.66% | 18,507 |
Washington | 3,282 | 74.73% | 1,096 | 24.95% | 14 | 0.32% | 2,186 | 49.77% | 4,392 |
Wilcox | 2,641 | 44.42% | 3,254 | 54.74% | 50 | 0.84% | -613 | -10.31% | 5,945 |
Winston | 4,971 | 86.14% | 779 | 13.50% | 21 | 0.36% | 4,192 | 72.64% | 5,771 |
Totals | 728,701 | 72.43% | 256,923 | 25.54% | 20,469 | 2.03% | 471,778 | 46.89% | 1,006,093 |