1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island

← 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 4 0 Popular vote 220,383 194,645 Percentage 53.00% 46.81%

County Results Municipality Results Nixon   40–50%   50–60%   60–70% McGovern   50–60%

President before election Richard Nixon Republican Elected President Richard Nixon Republican

Elections in Rhode Island
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Ballot measures 2020 Question 1
Providence Mayoral elections 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
v t e

The 1972 United States presidential election in Rhode Island took place on November 7, 1972 as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Rhode Island voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern.  Nixon took 53.00% of the vote to McGovern's 46.81%, a margin of 6.19%. However, this result made Rhode Island about 17% more Democratic than the nation as a whole. This was the second of three elections in which Rhode Island did not vote for the same candidate as neighboring Massachusetts, which recurred only in 1852 and 1980.

As of the 2020 presidential election^[update], this is the last election in which Providence County voted for the Republican candidate, and Nixon won the county by only 186 votes. This is the most recent presidential election where a Republican presidential candidate was able to win every county in the state of Rhode Island. Nixon was also the most recent Republican presidential candidate to win East Providence and North Providence.

Rhode Island would go on to vote Republican only once more since this election; in 1984, when Ronald Reagan narrowly won the state.