Who won Minnesota in the 1972 presidential election?

McGovern (Democratic) carried Minnesota in 1972, winning its 10 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did Minnesota have in 1972?

Minnesota cast 10 electoral votes in the 1972 presidential election.

Did Minnesota vote for the national winner in 1972?

No. Minnesota backed McGovern, while Richard Nixon won the presidency nationally.

Cold War RealignmentMN · 10 EV

1972

Minnesota: McGovern carries 10 EV.

Minnesota cast its 10 electoral votes for McGovern (Democratic). National winner: Richard Nixon (Republican) — Minnesota voted against the national winner this cycle.

What happened in Minnesota, 1972

In 1972, Minnesota awarded its 10 electoral votes to McGovern of the Democratic party. Nationally the result broke the other way — Richard Nixon (Republican) won the presidency, leaving Minnesota among the states he did not carry.

It marked the 5th consecutive election in which Minnesota backed the Democratic party, a streak reaching back to 1956. It stood apart from its neighbors: North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin went the other way that year. Across the 43 presidential elections Minnesota has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (23 times). The vote fell within the Cold War Realignment — Nixon, Reagan, and the Republican South.

In the national count, Richard Nixon took 520 of the 538 electoral votes, against George McGovern's 17. Richard Nixon led the national popular vote with 60.67% of the ballots cast.

The 1972 national map

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