1972
Richard Nixon and the 1972 map
Nixon won re-election in a historic landslide, carrying 49 states and losing only Massachusetts and DC. Senator George McGovern ran an anti-war campaign but was damaged by his initially selecting and then dropping Thomas Eagleton (who had received electroshock therapy) as his running mate. The Watergate break-in had occurred in June 1972 but its significance was not yet widely understood. Nixon's opening to China and détente with the Soviet Union were popular. He resigned in August 1974 due to the Watergate scandal.
Vietnam War wind-down; Watergate (emerging); détente with USSR and China
Nixon won 49 states but resigned 2 years later due to Watergate; McGovern carried only Massachusetts and DC
States · 51 reporting
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Curated picksNixonland
Rick Perlstein
How politics polarized 1965–1972.
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H. W. Brands
Single-volume Reagan biography.
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