Michigan — 1972 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1972 presidential electionMichigan · PresidentNixonR+14.4
How it voted
Share of the 1972 vote
| Richard Nixon ✓Republican | 56.2% | 1,961,721 |
|---|---|---|
| George McGovernDemocratic | 41.8% | 1,459,435 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.0% | 69,169 |
1972presidential margin
D+60R+60
83 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Michigan cast 21 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (83 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Alcona County, MI | Republican | R+33.5 |
| Alger County, MI | Republican | R+6.0 |
| Allegan County, MI | Republican | R+39.1 |
| Alpena County, MI | Republican | R+11.9 |
| Antrim County, MI | Republican | R+32.9 |
| Arenac County, MI | Republican | R+16.8 |
| Baraga County, MI | Republican | R+11.2 |
| Barry County, MI | Republican | R+30.2 |
| Bay County, MI | Republican | R+3.0 |
| Benzie County, MI | Republican | R+33.9 |
| Berrien County, MI | Republican | R+38.8 |
| Branch County, MI | Republican | R+25.9 |
| Calhoun County, MI | Republican | R+18.6 |
| Cass County, MI | Republican | R+34.5 |
| Charlevoix County, MI | Republican | R+22.1 |
| Cheboygan County, MI | Republican | R+20.2 |
| Chippewa County, MI | Republican | R+19.2 |
| Clare County, MI | Republican | R+28.2 |
| Clinton County, MI | Republican | R+38.5 |
| Crawford County, MI | Republican | R+25.7 |
| Delta County, MI | Democratic | D+2.2 |
| Dickinson County, MI | Republican | R+5.5 |
| Eaton County, MI | Republican | R+38.3 |
| Emmet County, MI | Republican | R+25.8 |
| Genesee County, MI | Republican | R+7.3 |
| Gladwin County, MI | Republican | R+26.1 |
| Gogebic County, MI | Republican | R+6.0 |
| Grand Traverse County, MI | Republican | R+31.8 |
| Gratiot County, MI | Republican | R+38.2 |
| Hillsdale County, MI | Republican | R+39.4 |
| Houghton County, MI | Republican | R+17.0 |
| Huron County, MI | Republican | R+36.8 |
| Ingham County, MI | Republican | R+8.4 |
| Ionia County, MI | Republican | R+26.7 |
| Iosco County, MI | Republican | R+29.9 |
| Iron County, MI | Republican | R+1.6 |
| Isabella County, MI | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Jackson County, MI | Republican | R+27.1 |
| Kalamazoo County, MI | Republican | R+19.9 |
| Kalkaska County, MI | Republican | R+32.3 |
| Kent County, MI | Republican | R+20.8 |
| Keweenaw County, MI | Republican | R+21.9 |
| Lake County, MI | Democratic | D+0.5 |
| Lapeer County, MI | Republican | R+34.6 |
| Leelanau County, MI | Republican | R+33.8 |
| Lenawee County, MI | Republican | R+26.4 |
| Livingston County, MI | Republican | R+36.6 |
| Luce County, MI | Republican | R+28.8 |
| Mackinac County, MI | Republican | R+22.7 |
| Macomb County, MI | Republican | R+27.7 |
| Manistee County, MI | Republican | R+16.3 |
| Marquette County, MI | Republican | R+6.7 |
| Mason County, MI | Republican | R+29.1 |
| Mecosta County, MI | Republican | R+30.2 |
| Menominee County, MI | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Midland County, MI | Republican | R+26.0 |
| Missaukee County, MI | Republican | R+46.7 |
| Monroe County, MI | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Montcalm County, MI | Republican | R+25.8 |
| Montmorency County, MI | Republican | R+31.7 |
| Muskegon County, MI | Republican | R+22.3 |
| Newaygo County, MI | Republican | R+34.0 |
| Oakland County, MI | Republican | R+29.6 |
| Oceana County, MI | Republican | R+31.7 |
| Ogemaw County, MI | Republican | R+23.7 |
| Ontonagon County, MI | Republican | R+17.0 |
| Osceola County, MI | Republican | R+43.1 |
| Oscoda County, MI | Republican | R+38.2 |
| Otsego County, MI | Republican | R+19.5 |
| Ottawa County, MI | Republican | R+46.2 |
| Presque Isle County, MI | Republican | R+15.5 |
| Roscommon County, MI | Republican | R+30.2 |
| Saginaw County, MI | Republican | R+23.6 |
| Sanilac County, MI | Republican | R+47.9 |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | Republican | R+13.4 |
| Shiawassee County, MI | Republican | R+26.1 |
| St. Clair County, MI | Republican | R+28.3 |
| St. Joseph County, MI | Republican | R+40.7 |
| Tuscola County, MI | Republican | R+37.6 |
| Van Buren County, MI | Republican | R+31.3 |
| Washtenaw County, MI | Democratic | D+4.5 |
| Wayne County, MI | Democratic | D+8.2 |
| Wexford County, MI | Republican | R+25.6 |
Michigan results by county
83 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcona County | Richard Nixon+1,239 | 2,43465.9% | 1,19532.4% | 641.7% | 3,693 |
| Alger County | Richard Nixon+232 | 2,03552.5% | 1,80346.5% | 401.0% | 3,878 |
| Allegan County | Richard Nixon+10,524 | 18,40768.5% | 7,88329.3% | 5942.2% | 26,884 |
| Alpena County | Richard Nixon+1,409 | 6,51355.1% | 5,10443.1% | 2141.8% | 11,831 |
| Antrim County | Richard Nixon+2,068 | 4,06864.8% | 2,00031.8% | 2133.4% | 6,281 |
| Arenac County | Richard Nixon+759 | 2,58857.4% | 1,82940.6% | 892.0% | 4,506 |
| Baraga County | Richard Nixon+388 | 1,90554.9% | 1,51743.7% | 461.3% | 3,468 |
| Barry County | Richard Nixon+4,909 | 10,39364.0% | 5,48433.8% | 3562.2% | 16,233 |
| Bay County | Richard Nixon+1,382 | 23,09450.1% | 21,71247.1% | 1,3122.8% | 46,118 |
| Benzie County | Richard Nixon+1,376 | 2,68666.3% | 1,31032.3% | 581.4% | 4,054 |
| Berrien County | Richard Nixon+24,450 | 43,04768.3% | 18,59729.5% | 1,4162.2% | 63,060 |
| Branch County | Richard Nixon+3,501 | 8,38862.0% | 4,88736.1% | 2511.9% | 13,526 |
| Calhoun County | Richard Nixon+10,377 | 32,53158.3% | 22,15439.7% | 1,1432.0% | 55,828 |
| Cass County | Richard Nixon+5,416 | 10,39866.3% | 4,98231.8% | 3011.9% | 15,681 |
| Charlevoix County | Richard Nixon+1,691 | 4,52259.0% | 2,83137.0% | 3064.0% | 7,659 |
| Cheboygan County | Richard Nixon+1,544 | 4,52959.1% | 2,98539.0% | 1481.9% | 7,662 |
| Chippewa County | Richard Nixon+2,284 | 7,02859.0% | 4,74439.8% | 1341.1% | 11,906 |
| Clare County | Richard Nixon+1,968 | 4,40263.0% | 2,43434.8% | 1522.2% | 6,988 |
| Clinton County | Richard Nixon+7,568 | 13,43868.4% | 5,87029.9% | 3451.8% | 19,653 |
| Crawford County | Richard Nixon+810 | 1,95362.0% | 1,14336.3% | 551.7% | 3,151 |
| Delta County | George McGovern+356 | 7,64748.1% | 8,00350.4% | 2361.5% | 15,886 |
| Dickinson County | Richard Nixon+650 | 5,98951.1% | 5,33945.6% | 3873.3% | 11,715 |
| Eaton County | Richard Nixon+11,427 | 20,41368.5% | 8,98630.1% | 4121.4% | 29,811 |
| Emmet County | Richard Nixon+2,207 | 5,28861.9% | 3,08136.1% | 1722.0% | 8,541 |
| Genesee County | Richard Nixon+11,851 | 85,74752.8% | 73,89645.5% | 2,8061.7% | 162,449 |
| Gladwin County | Richard Nixon+1,468 | 3,48461.9% | 2,01635.8% | 1252.2% | 5,625 |
| Gogebic County | Richard Nixon+647 | 5,63152.3% | 4,98446.3% | 1611.5% | 10,776 |
| Grand Traverse County | Richard Nixon+5,611 | 11,42164.8% | 5,81033.0% | 3902.2% | 17,621 |
| Gratiot County | Richard Nixon+5,534 | 9,90468.4% | 4,37030.2% | 2041.4% | 14,478 |
| Hillsdale County | Richard Nixon+5,319 | 9,26168.6% | 3,94229.2% | 2892.1% | 13,492 |
| Houghton County | Richard Nixon+2,651 | 9,05358.1% | 6,40241.1% | 1350.9% | 15,590 |
| Huron County | Richard Nixon+5,376 | 9,83267.4% | 4,45630.5% | 3082.1% | 14,596 |
| Ingham County | Richard Nixon+9,918 | 63,37653.6% | 53,45845.2% | 1,4091.2% | 118,243 |
| Ionia County | Richard Nixon+4,658 | 10,89862.6% | 6,24035.8% | 2781.6% | 17,416 |
| Iosco County | Richard Nixon+2,685 | 5,75064.1% | 3,06534.2% | 1561.7% | 8,971 |
| Iron County | Richard Nixon+118 | 3,63049.2% | 3,51247.6% | 2343.2% | 7,376 |
| Isabella County | Richard Nixon+2,236 | 9,68255.5% | 7,44642.7% | 3261.9% | 17,454 |
| Jackson County | Richard Nixon+14,870 | 34,22062.3% | 19,35035.2% | 1,3332.4% | 54,903 |
| Kalamazoo County | Richard Nixon+17,081 | 50,40558.8% | 33,32438.9% | 2,0412.4% | 85,770 |
| Kalkaska County | Richard Nixon+931 | 1,85564.4% | 92432.1% | 1023.5% | 2,881 |
| Kent County | Richard Nixon+36,454 | 104,04159.3% | 67,58738.5% | 3,8332.2% | 175,461 |
| Keweenaw County | Richard Nixon+259 | 71560.5% | 45638.6% | 110.9% | 1,182 |
| Lake County | George McGovern+16 | 1,53248.9% | 1,54849.4% | 511.6% | 3,131 |
| Lapeer County | Richard Nixon+6,084 | 11,61566.0% | 5,53131.4% | 4462.5% | 17,592 |
| Leelanau County | Richard Nixon+1,954 | 3,80965.8% | 1,85532.1% | 1232.1% | 5,787 |
| Lenawee County | Richard Nixon+8,107 | 19,12562.4% | 11,01835.9% | 5111.7% | 30,654 |
| Livingston County | Richard Nixon+9,222 | 16,85666.8% | 7,63430.3% | 7252.9% | 25,215 |
| Luce County | Richard Nixon+717 | 1,57963.5% | 86234.7% | 461.8% | 2,487 |
| Mackinac County | Richard Nixon+1,159 | 3,09660.7% | 1,93738.0% | 711.4% | 5,104 |
| Macomb County | Richard Nixon+65,431 | 147,77762.7% | 82,34634.9% | 5,6702.4% | 235,793 |
| Manistee County | Richard Nixon+1,445 | 5,07057.2% | 3,62540.9% | 1681.9% | 8,863 |
| Marquette County | Richard Nixon+1,694 | 13,24952.7% | 11,55545.9% | 3531.4% | 25,157 |
| Mason County | Richard Nixon+3,114 | 6,81163.6% | 3,69734.5% | 2071.9% | 10,715 |
| Mecosta County | Richard Nixon+3,359 | 7,15864.3% | 3,79934.1% | 1771.6% | 11,134 |
| Menominee County | Richard Nixon+1,403 | 6,06055.2% | 4,65742.4% | 2642.4% | 10,981 |
| Midland County | Richard Nixon+6,969 | 16,47361.4% | 9,50435.4% | 8593.2% | 26,836 |
| Missaukee County | Richard Nixon+1,723 | 2,64771.8% | 92425.1% | 1163.1% | 3,687 |
| Monroe County | Richard Nixon+5,537 | 23,26354.8% | 17,72641.7% | 1,4903.5% | 42,479 |
| Montcalm County | Richard Nixon+3,989 | 9,59162.0% | 5,60236.2% | 2851.8% | 15,478 |
| Montmorency County | Richard Nixon+884 | 1,79864.5% | 91432.8% | 762.7% | 2,788 |
| Muskegon County | Richard Nixon+13,624 | 36,42859.6% | 22,80437.3% | 1,8933.1% | 61,125 |
| Newaygo County | Richard Nixon+4,267 | 8,24565.6% | 3,97831.7% | 3422.7% | 12,565 |
| Oakland County | Richard Nixon+112,213 | 241,61363.8% | 129,40034.2% | 7,8382.1% | 378,851 |
| Oceana County | Richard Nixon+2,467 | 4,99264.2% | 2,52532.5% | 2593.3% | 7,776 |
| Ogemaw County | Richard Nixon+1,311 | 3,36760.8% | 2,05637.1% | 1182.1% | 5,541 |
| Ontonagon County | Richard Nixon+900 | 3,04057.5% | 2,14040.5% | 1062.0% | 5,286 |
| Osceola County | Richard Nixon+2,735 | 4,44169.9% | 1,70626.9% | 2023.2% | 6,349 |
| Oscoda County | Richard Nixon+883 | 1,56167.6% | 67829.4% | 703.0% | 2,309 |
| Otsego County | Richard Nixon+942 | 2,85458.9% | 1,91239.5% | 771.6% | 4,843 |
| Ottawa County | Richard Nixon+27,050 | 42,16972.0% | 15,11925.8% | 1,2882.2% | 58,576 |
| Presque Isle County | Richard Nixon+932 | 3,37256.2% | 2,44040.7% | 1853.1% | 5,997 |
| Roscommon County | Richard Nixon+1,949 | 4,13664.2% | 2,18733.9% | 1221.9% | 6,445 |
| Saginaw County | Richard Nixon+18,496 | 47,92061.0% | 29,42437.5% | 1,1771.5% | 78,521 |
| Sanilac County | Richard Nixon+7,251 | 11,03172.9% | 3,78025.0% | 3142.1% | 15,125 |
| Schoolcraft County | Richard Nixon+551 | 2,31056.0% | 1,75942.7% | 551.3% | 4,124 |
| Shiawassee County | Richard Nixon+6,557 | 15,48961.6% | 8,93235.5% | 7152.8% | 25,136 |
| St. Clair County | Richard Nixon+12,759 | 28,47163.0% | 15,71234.8% | 9762.2% | 45,159 |
| St. Joseph County | Richard Nixon+7,319 | 12,43869.1% | 5,11928.5% | 4312.4% | 17,988 |
| Tuscola County | Richard Nixon+6,749 | 12,19868.0% | 5,44930.4% | 3021.7% | 17,949 |
| Van Buren County | Richard Nixon+6,744 | 13,90364.6% | 7,15933.2% | 4692.2% | 21,531 |
| Washtenaw County | George McGovern+4,815 | 50,53547.0% | 55,35051.5% | 1,6901.6% | 107,575 |
| Wayne County | George McGovern+79,036 | 435,87745.1% | 514,91353.3% | 16,0871.7% | 966,877 |
| Wexford County | Richard Nixon+2,173 | 5,22161.4% | 3,04835.9% | 2302.7% | 8,499 |
Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)
Michigan's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −4.5% |
| 1896 | −10.3% |
| 1900 | −19.2% |
| 1904 | −43.8% |
| 1908 | −29.5% |
| 1912 | −0.2% |
| 1916 | −8.3% |
| 1920 | −50.6% |
| 1924 | −62.2% |
| 1928 | −41.4% |
| 1932 | +7.9% |
| 1936 | +17.6% |
| 1940 | −0.3% |
| 1944 | +1.0% |
| 1948 | −1.7% |
| 1952 | −11.5% |
| 1956 | −11.5% |
| 1960 | +2.0% |
| 1964 | +33.6% |
| 1968 | +6.7% |
| 1972 | −14.4% |
| 1976 | −5.4% |
| 1980 | −6.5% |
| 1984 | −19.0% |
| 1988 | −7.9% |
| 1992 | +7.4% |
| 1996 | +13.2% |
| 2000 | +5.1% |
| 2004 | +3.4% |
| 2008 | +16.5% |
| 2012 | +9.5% |
| 2016 | −0.2% |
| 2020 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | −1.4% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1972 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.