Search results
The only major third party candidate in the 1972 election was conservative Republican Representative John G. Schmitz, who ran on the American Independent Party ticket (the party on whose ballot George Wallace ran in 1968). He was on the ballot in 32 states and received 1,099,482 votes.
- California
- Republican
- Richard Nixon
- Spiro Agnew
- Overview
- The Democratic campaign
United States presidential election of 1972, American presidential election held on November 7, 1972, in which Republican Pres. Richard Nixon was elected to a second term, defeating Democrat George McGovern in one of the largest landslides in U.S. history.
In January 1971 McGovern announced his candidacy for the 1972 presidential election. Initially, most political observers assumed that the party’s nominee would be Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine. But McGovern’s team hoped to mount a serious challenge in New Hampshire, which on March 7, 1972, would hold the first primary. A victory there, they hoped, would provide the momentum necessary to capture the nomination.
Early on, Muskie lined up leading Democratic politicians to endorse him, including Gov. John Gilligan of Ohio; Leonard Woodcock, president of the United Auto Workers; Iowa Sen. Harold Hughes; and Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp. Muskie ran an exhausting campaign that stretched his energies and resources thin. Through January and February 1972, he shuttled between New Hampshire, Florida, Wisconsin and all the other necessary stops. On February 26, in New Hampshire, the pressure began to tell. Mounting the bed of a truck parked outside the offices of the conservative Manchester Union Leader, the state’s largest newspaper, Muskie launched an attack on the paper’s publisher, William Loeb. As he spoke of Loeb’s unflattering remarks about Mrs. Muskie, the senator’s voice cracked, and the crowd saw tears form in his eyes. The spectacle badly dented the image Muskie had tried all year to present—that of a calm, trustworthy, serene candidate. When New Hampshire voted on March 7, Muskie won the hollowest of victories, 46 percent of the vote, far below the predicted 65 percent. McGovern, reaping the benefit of his early start and vigorous organization, was close behind with 37 percent.
In Florida the Democratic battle turned over the issue of busing. In January 1972 a U.S. District Court judge merged school districts in Richmond, Va., and ordered that students be bused to achieve racial balance. Gov. George Wallace of Alabama, an opponent of federally ordered integration, entered the Florida primary and focused squarely on the issue. Florida Gov. Reubin Askew campaigned statewide against having an antibusing referendum placed on the presidential primary ballot by the Florida legislature. Lacking the votes in the legislature to keep the antibusing question off the ballot, Askew managed to have another question added: “Do you favor providing an equal opportunity for quality education for all children regardless of race, creed, color or place of residence, and oppose a return to a dual system of public schools?”
Britannica Quiz
U.S. Presidential History Quiz
Askew’s campaign focused the rage of many of his constituents on him, and the Democratic presidential candidates, of which there were 11, found themselves discussing busing much more often than they might otherwise have wished. Mayor John Lindsay of New York City, Rep. Shirley Chisholm of New York, former senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and Senator McGovern, all liberal candidates, spoke in favour of busing when asked. Sen. Vance Hartke of Indiana, Rep. Wilbur D. Mills of Arkansas, and Mayor Sam Yorty of Los Angeles, although on the ballot, were not campaigning actively. Senator Muskie and Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota bobbed and weaved on the issue. Only Wallace and Sen. Henry M. Jackson of Washington spoke out squarely against busing.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 1892: James Weaver, People’s Party (Populists) Weaver began his political career as a Republican in Iowa, opposed, in the years just before the Civil War, to the spread of slavery.
- 1896: William Jennings Bryan, Democratic Party and Populist Party. Bryan was the candidate for two significant political parties in the 1896 presidential election: the Democrats and the Populists.
- 1912: Eugene V. Debs, American Socialist Party. A five-time presidential candidate, Debs was a founding member of the International Workers of the World, a creator of countless unions, and a fierce labor activist whose work brought socialism to mainstream U.S. politics at the turn of the century.
- 1912: Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive Party. Born in New York City to a wealthy family, “Teddy” Roosevelt was first elected as a Republican to the New York Assembly in 1882.
May 31, 2018 · Since 1920, in fact, only four third-party candidates—Robert La Follette in 1924, Strom Thurmond in 1948, George Wallace in 1968 and John Hospers in 1972—have been able to win even a single ...
National results for third-party or independent presidential candidates that won between 1% and 5% of the popular vote (1788–present) State results where a third-party or independent presidential candidate won above 5% of the popular vote (1832–present) State results where a major-party candidate received above 1% of the state popular vote ...
The 1972 United States elections were held on November 7, and elected the members of the 93rd United States Congress. The election took place during the later stages of the Vietnam War. The Republican Party won a landslide victory in the presidential election, and picked up seats in the House, but the Democratic Party easily retained control of ...
Richard M. Nixon. Change History! The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon, but ...
People also ask
How did Nixon win the 1972 presidential election?
Who was the last third party presidential candidate to win an electoral vote?
How many third-party candidates have been able to win a vote?
Who has the highest share of votes ever earned by a third-party candidate?
