The 1972 United States presidential election in Maryland was held on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Both the Democratic and Republican (Sargent Shriver and Spiro Agnew, respectively) Vice Presidential nominees were from Maryland.
Maryland was won by incumbent President Richard Nixon of California and Vice President Spiro Agnew (a Maryland native), winning 61.26% of the vote to George McGovern and Shriver's 37.36%. Nixon won every county in the state, only losing independent Baltimore City. He won over 77% of the vote in Carroll County, and over 70% in another eight counties. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time Prince George's County has voted Republican in a presidential election, the strongest performance by a Republican in Maryland, and the last time the Democratic candidate was held to under 60% of the vote in Baltimore City.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 This was also the last of only 7 occasions since the emergence of the Republican Party that Maryland has voted more Republican than the nation as a whole.Counting the Votes; Maryland
A voting machine in the town of Saint Michaels malfunctioned on election day, causing only 14 of the 435 ballots cast on it to be properly recorded. Circuit Judge Harry Clark barred the Talbot County Board of Election Supervisors from certifying the county's results until a revote was held at the affected polling location, which occurred on November 15.
Of his three presidential campaigns, this was the only time Nixon carried the home state of his running mate. Nixon had lost Maryland in 1968 and had also failed to win Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.'s home state of Massachusetts in 1960.
Results 1972 United States presidential election in MarylandPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Richard Nixon (incumbent) Spiro Agnew (incumbent) 829,305 61.26% 10 Democratic George McGovern Sargent Shriver 505,781 37.36% 0 American Independent John G. Schmitz Thomas J. Anderson 18,726 1.38% 0
Results by county County Richard NixonRepublican George McGovernDemocratic John G. SchmitzAmerican Independent Margin Total votes castMaryland State Board of Elections, ‘For President of the United States’ Maryland General Election Returns – November 7, 1972 (Annapolis, 1972) # % # % # % # %Allegany20,68764.55%10,80833.72%5531.73%9,87930.83%32,048Anne Arundel71,70772.26%26,08226.28%1,4501.46%45,62545.98%99,239Baltimore175,89770.30%70,30928.10%4,0181.61%105,58842.20%250,224Baltimore City119,48645.15%141,32353.40%3,8431.45%-21,837-8.25%264,652Calvert4,02463.43%2,23235.18%881.39%1,79228.25%6,344Caroline4,32572.71%1,56726.34%560.94%2,75846.37%5,948Carroll16,84777.25%4,40820.21%5532.54%12,43957.04%21,808Cecil10,75970.82%4,11327.08%3192.10%6,64643.74%15,191Charles9,66567.34%4,50231.37%1861.30%5,16335.97%14,353Dorchester6,85974.97%2,13623.35%1541.68%4,72351.62%9,149Frederick19,90769.48%8,23528.74%5091.78%11,67240.74%28,651Garrett5,48076.60%1,51021.11%1642.29%3,97055.49%7,154Harford25,14173.16%8,73725.42%4881.42%16,40447.74%34,366Howard19,26563.55%10,66835.19%3831.26%8,59728.36%30,316Kent4,03664.36%2,16834.57%671.07%1,86829.79%6,271Montgomery133,09056.50%100,22842.55%2,2390.95%32,86213.95%235,557Prince George's116,16658.55%79,91440.28%2,3301.17%36,25218.27%198,410Queen Anne's4,38070.45%1,71227.54%1252.01%2,66842.91%6,217Somerset4,34267.33%2,03631.57%711.10%2,30635.76%6,449St. Mary's7,68967.55%3,57131.37%1221.07%4,11836.18%11,382Talbot6,62074.73%2,18124.62%580.65%4,43950.11%8,859Washington24,23469.27%10,03928.70%7122.04%14,19540.57%34,985Wicomico13,11569.71%5,51029.29%1901.01%7,60540.42%18,815Worcester5,58475.22%1,79224.14%480.65%3,79251.08%7,424Totals829,30561.26%505,78137.36%18,7261.38%323,52423.90%1,353,812
See also United States presidential elections in Maryland 1972 United States presidential election 1972 United States elections
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