| Elections in Colorado |
|---|
 |
The 1972 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. State voters chose seven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Colorado voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Nixon took 62.61% of the vote to McGovern's 34.59%, a margin of 28.01 points.
Like most of the rest of the Mountain West, Colorado voted powerfully Republican in 1972, giving Nixon a margin in excess of his national margin by 4.8%. Nevertheless, Pitkin County, home to Aspen, shifted powerfully against the national trend, switching from supporting Nixon in 1968 to supporting McGovern in 1972, one of six counties outside of McGovern's home state of South Dakota to do so. Nixon thus became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Pitkin County since William Howard Taft in 1908.
Results
| 1972 United States presidential election in Colorado[1][2] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | 597,189 | 62.61% | 7 | |
| Democratic | George McGovern | 329,980 | 34.59% | 0 | |
| American Independent | John G. Schmitz | 17,269 | 1.81% | 0 | |
| Socialist Labor | Louis Fisher | 4,361 | 0.46% | 0 | |
| People's | Benjamin Spock | 2,403 | 0.25% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | John Hospers | 1,111 | 0.12% | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | Linda Jenness | 666 | 0.07% | 0 | |
| Prohibition | E. Harold Munn | 467 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Communist | Gus Hall | 432 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Write-ins | Scattered (write-ins) | 6 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Totals | 953,884 | 100.00% | 7 | ||
| Voter turnout | — | ||||
Results by county
| County[3] | Richard Nixon Republican |
George McGovern Democratic |
John G. Schmitz American Independent |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 40,372 | 60.79% | 24,170 | 36.39% | 1,133 | 1.71% | 737 | 1.11% | 16,202 | 24.40% | 66,412 |
| Alamosa | 2,916 | 62.51% | 1,540 | 33.01% | 191 | 4.09% | 18 | 0.39% | 1,376 | 29.50% | 4,665 |
| Arapahoe | 52,283 | 72.24% | 18,631 | 25.74% | 816 | 1.13% | 646 | 0.89% | 33,652 | 46.50% | 72,376 |
| Archuleta | 606 | 64.47% | 300 | 31.91% | 30 | 3.19% | 4 | 0.43% | 306 | 32.56% | 940 |
| Baca | 1,645 | 73.93% | 527 | 23.69% | 50 | 2.25% | 3 | 0.13% | 1,118 | 50.24% | 2,225 |
| Bent | 1,525 | 64.29% | 787 | 33.18% | 52 | 2.19% | 8 | 0.34% | 738 | 31.11% | 2,372 |
| Boulder | 40,766 | 56.80% | 29,484 | 41.08% | 837 | 1.17% | 683 | 0.95% | 11,282 | 15.72% | 71,770 |
| Chaffee | 2,859 | 66.63% | 1,354 | 31.55% | 45 | 1.05% | 33 | 0.77% | 1,505 | 35.08% | 4,291 |
| Cheyenne | 815 | 63.37% | 400 | 31.10% | 68 | 5.29% | 3 | 0.24% | 415 | 32.27% | 1,286 |
| Clear Creek | 1,557 | 62.23% | 815 | 32.57% | 94 | 3.76% | 36 | 1.44% | 742 | 29.66% | 2,502 |
| Conejos | 1,658 | 55.51% | 1,140 | 38.17% | 184 | 6.16% | 5 | 0.15% | 518 | 17.34% | 2,987 |
| Costilla | 602 | 42.16% | 744 | 52.10% | 18 | 1.26% | 64 | 4.48% | -142 | -9.94% | 1,428 |
| Crowley | 1,094 | 70.67% | 414 | 26.74% | 35 | 2.26% | 5 | 0.32% | 680 | 43.93% | 1,548 |
| Custer | 495 | 71.43% | 154 | 22.22% | 43 | 6.20% | 1 | 0.14% | 341 | 49.21% | 693 |
| Delta | 4,890 | 67.73% | 1,903 | 26.36% | 396 | 5.48% | 31 | 0.43% | 2,987 | 41.37% | 7,220 |
| Denver | 121,995 | 54.14% | 98,062 | 43.52% | 2,306 | 1.02% | 2,972 | 1.32% | 23,933 | 10.62% | 225,335 |
| Dolores | 498 | 71.76% | 166 | 23.92% | 28 | 4.03% | 2 | 0.28% | 332 | 47.84% | 694 |
| Douglas | 3,625 | 75.52% | 1,048 | 21.83% | 100 | 2.08% | 27 | 0.28% | 2,577 | 53.69% | 4,800 |
| Eagle | 1,920 | 58.16% | 1,306 | 39.56% | 50 | 1.51% | 25 | 0.77% | 614 | 18.60% | 3,301 |
| El Paso | 53,892 | 69.11% | 21,234 | 27.23% | 2,262 | 2.90% | 597 | 0.76% | 32,658 | 41.88% | 77,985 |
| Elbert | 1,416 | 73.29% | 451 | 23.34% | 56 | 2.90% | 9 | 0.47% | 965 | 49.95% | 1,932 |
| Fremont | 6,701 | 68.41% | 2,813 | 28.72% | 248 | 2.53% | 33 | 0.34% | 3,888 | 39.69% | 9,795 |
| Garfield | 4,452 | 66.27% | 2,088 | 31.08% | 143 | 2.13% | 35 | 0.51% | 2,364 | 35.19% | 6,718 |
| Gilpin | 516 | 57.02% | 362 | 40.00% | 19 | 2.10% | 8 | 0.88% | 154 | 17.02% | 905 |
| Grand | 1,721 | 69.93% | 685 | 27.83% | 40 | 1.63% | 15 | 0.61% | 1,036 | 42.10% | 2,461 |
| Gunnison | 2,231 | 63.60% | 1,187 | 33.84% | 58 | 1.65% | 32 | 0.91% | 1,044 | 29.76% | 3,508 |
| Hinsdale | 172 | 77.48% | 44 | 19.82% | 5 | 2.25% | 1 | 0.45% | 128 | 57.66% | 222 |
| Huerfano | 1,620 | 53.52% | 1,341 | 44.30% | 48 | 1.59% | 18 | 0.59% | 279 | 9.22% | 3,027 |
| Jackson | 623 | 76.72% | 178 | 21.92% | 7 | 0.86% | 4 | 0.50% | 445 | 54.80% | 812 |
| Jefferson | 80,082 | 69.88% | 31,555 | 27.54% | 1,813 | 1.58% | 1,147 | 0.32% | 48,527 | 42.34% | 114,597 |
| Kiowa | 849 | 67.92% | 372 | 29.76% | 27 | 2.16% | 2 | 0.16% | 477 | 38.16% | 1,250 |
| Kit Carson | 2,316 | 70.89% | 824 | 25.22% | 124 | 3.80% | 3 | 0.09% | 1,492 | 45.67% | 3,267 |
| La Plata | 5,691 | 62.24% | 2,830 | 30.95% | 575 | 6.29% | 48 | 0.52% | 2,861 | 31.29% | 9,144 |
| Lake | 1,556 | 53.67% | 1,263 | 43.57% | 28 | 0.97% | 52 | 1.79% | 293 | 10.10% | 2,899 |
| Larimer | 27,462 | 65.02% | 13,731 | 32.51% | 658 | 1.56% | 383 | 0.91% | 13,731 | 32.51% | 42,234 |
| Las Animas | 3,659 | 52.59% | 3,222 | 46.31% | 59 | 0.85% | 17 | 0.25% | 437 | 6.28% | 6,957 |
| Lincoln | 1,678 | 70.03% | 685 | 28.59% | 28 | 1.17% | 5 | 0.20% | 993 | 41.44% | 2,396 |
| Logan | 5,352 | 67.27% | 2,426 | 30.49% | 150 | 1.89% | 28 | 0.36% | 2,926 | 36.78% | 7,956 |
| Mesa | 15,527 | 68.66% | 6,358 | 28.12% | 628 | 2.78% | 100 | 0.44% | 9,169 | 40.54% | 22,613 |
| Mineral | 247 | 70.98% | 96 | 27.59% | 4 | 1.15% | 1 | 0.29% | 151 | 43.39% | 348 |
| Moffat | 1,928 | 67.70% | 591 | 20.75% | 329 | 11.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,337 | 46.95% | 2,848 |
| Montezuma | 3,391 | 73.49% | 1,223 | 26.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,168 | 46.98% | 4,614 |
| Montrose | 4,571 | 64.75% | 1,870 | 26.49% | 585 | 8.29% | 33 | 0.47% | 2,701 | 38.26% | 7,059 |
| Morgan | 5,365 | 70.40% | 2,081 | 27.31% | 138 | 1.81% | 37 | 0.48% | 3,284 | 43.09% | 7,621 |
| Otero | 6,016 | 65.75% | 2,929 | 32.01% | 70 | 0.77% | 135 | 1.47% | 3,087 | 33.74% | 9,060 |
| Ouray | 669 | 74.58% | 186 | 20.74% | 33 | 3.68% | 9 | 1.00% | 483 | 53.84% | 897 |
| Park | 1,001 | 70.29% | 386 | 27.11% | 23 | 1.62% | 14 | 0.98% | 615 | 43.18% | 1,424 |
| Phillips | 1,480 | 65.31% | 687 | 30.32% | 94 | 4.15% | 5 | 0.21% | 793 | 34.99% | 2,266 |
| Pitkin | 2,064 | 44.16% | 2,531 | 54.15% | 33 | 0.71% | 46 | 0.98% | -467 | -9.99% | 4,674 |
| Prowers | 3,272 | 61.58% | 1,860 | 35.01% | 159 | 2.99% | 22 | 0.42% | 1,412 | 26.57% | 5,313 |
| Pueblo | 25,607 | 54.43% | 19,620 | 41.70% | 1,113 | 2.37% | 705 | 1.50% | 5,987 | 12.73% | 47,045 |
| Rio Blanco | 1,586 | 77.25% | 414 | 20.17% | 46 | 2.24% | 7 | 0.34% | 1,172 | 57.08% | 2,053 |
| Rio Grande | 2,787 | 69.69% | 1,029 | 25.73% | 171 | 4.28% | 12 | 0.30% | 1,758 | 43.96% | 3,999 |
| Routt | 2,629 | 59.33% | 1,613 | 36.40% | 159 | 3.59% | 30 | 0.68% | 1,016 | 22.93% | 4,431 |
| Saguache | 1,062 | 63.18% | 578 | 34.38% | 38 | 2.26% | 3 | 0.18% | 484 | 28.80% | 1,681 |
| San Juan | 238 | 58.33% | 140 | 34.31% | 28 | 6.86% | 2 | 0.50% | 98 | 24.02% | 408 |
| San Miguel | 583 | 54.95% | 426 | 40.15% | 42 | 3.96% | 10 | 0.94% | 157 | 14.80% | 1,061 |
| Sedgwick | 1,129 | 67.85% | 485 | 29.15% | 43 | 2.58% | 7 | 0.42% | 644 | 38.70% | 1,664 |
| Summit | 1,082 | 59.03% | 707 | 38.57% | 14 | 0.76% | 30 | 1.64% | 375 | 20.46% | 1,833 |
| Teller | 1,440 | 70.45% | 535 | 26.17% | 50 | 2.45% | 19 | 0.93% | 905 | 44.28% | 2,044 |
| Washington | 1,837 | 69.87% | 643 | 24.46% | 135 | 5.14% | 14 | 0.53% | 1,194 | 45.41% | 2,629 |
| Weld | 24,695 | 66.29% | 11,690 | 31.38% | 416 | 1.12% | 454 | 1.21% | 13,005 | 34.91% | 37,255 |
| Yuma | 2,873 | 71.03% | 1,066 | 26.35% | 94 | 2.32% | 12 | 0.30% | 1,807 | 44.68% | 4,045 |
| Total | 597,189 | 62.61% | 329,980 | 34.59% | 17,269 | 1.81% | 9,446 | 0.99% | 267,209 | 28.02% | 953,884 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
References
- ^ "Guide to U.S. Elections (p. 848)". CQ Press (12 January 2016). Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ^ "1972 Presidential General Election Results - Colorado". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ^ Our Campaigns; CO US President, November 07, 1972
