Montana — 1972 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1972 presidential electionMontana · PresidentNixonR+20.1
How it voted
Share of the 1972 vote
| Richard Nixon ✓Republican | 57.9% | 183,976 |
|---|---|---|
| George McGovernDemocratic | 37.8% | 120,197 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 4.2% | 13,430 |
1972presidential margin
D+60R+60
56 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Montana cast 4 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (56 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead County, MT | Republican | R+49.3 |
| Big Horn County, MT | Republican | R+15.6 |
| Blaine County, MT | Republican | R+13.0 |
| Broadwater County, MT | Republican | R+36.7 |
| Carbon County, MT | Republican | R+28.3 |
| Carter County, MT | Republican | R+51.7 |
| Cascade County, MT | Republican | R+10.6 |
| Chouteau County, MT | Republican | R+25.8 |
| Custer County, MT | Republican | R+29.3 |
| Daniels County, MT | Republican | R+25.6 |
| Dawson County, MT | Republican | R+30.4 |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | Democratic | D+24.3 |
| Fallon County, MT | Republican | R+31.4 |
| Fergus County, MT | Republican | R+40.2 |
| Flathead County, MT | Republican | R+29.2 |
| Gallatin County, MT | Republican | R+34.6 |
| Garfield County, MT | Republican | R+58.5 |
| Glacier County, MT | Republican | R+17.6 |
| Golden Valley County, MT | Republican | R+34.2 |
| Granite County, MT | Republican | R+29.6 |
| Hill County, MT | Republican | R+9.9 |
| Jefferson County, MT | Republican | R+16.5 |
| Judith Basin County, MT | Republican | R+25.0 |
| Lake County, MT | Republican | R+28.5 |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | Republican | R+26.8 |
| Liberty County, MT | Republican | R+35.9 |
| Lincoln County, MT | Republican | R+14.1 |
| Madison County, MT | Republican | R+42.9 |
| McCone County, MT | Republican | R+19.9 |
| Meagher County, MT | Republican | R+47.1 |
| Mineral County, MT | Republican | R+3.3 |
| Missoula County, MT | Republican | R+5.9 |
| Musselshell County, MT | Republican | R+26.1 |
| Park County, MT | Republican | R+31.3 |
| Petroleum County, MT | Republican | R+44.6 |
| Phillips County, MT | Republican | R+32.5 |
| Pondera County, MT | Republican | R+20.5 |
| Powder River County, MT | Republican | R+47.4 |
| Powell County, MT | Republican | R+23.2 |
| Prairie County, MT | Republican | R+38.2 |
| Ravalli County, MT | Republican | R+28.6 |
| Richland County, MT | Republican | R+28.1 |
| Roosevelt County, MT | Republican | R+21.5 |
| Rosebud County, MT | Republican | R+30.2 |
| Sanders County, MT | Republican | R+17.9 |
| Sheridan County, MT | Republican | R+10.9 |
| Silver Bow County, MT | Democratic | D+18.3 |
| Stillwater County, MT | Republican | R+39.3 |
| Sweet Grass County, MT | Republican | R+54.9 |
| Teton County, MT | Republican | R+26.2 |
| Toole County, MT | Republican | R+27.8 |
| Treasure County, MT | Republican | R+35.0 |
| Valley County, MT | Republican | R+23.1 |
| Wheatland County, MT | Republican | R+23.8 |
| Wibaux County, MT | Republican | R+15.2 |
| Yellowstone County, MT | Republican | R+28.8 |
Montana results by county
56 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead County | Richard Nixon+1,685 | 2,46072.0% | 77522.7% | 1825.3% | 3,417 |
| Big Horn County | Richard Nixon+596 | 2,14856.2% | 1,55240.6% | 1243.2% | 3,824 |
| Blaine County | Richard Nixon+362 | 1,51354.4% | 1,15141.4% | 1154.1% | 2,779 |
| Broadwater County | Richard Nixon+505 | 91666.6% | 41129.9% | 493.6% | 1,376 |
| Carbon County | Richard Nixon+1,086 | 2,37861.9% | 1,29233.6% | 1714.5% | 3,841 |
| Carter County | Richard Nixon+508 | 72673.9% | 21822.2% | 394.0% | 983 |
| Cascade County | Richard Nixon+3,260 | 16,15952.4% | 12,89941.8% | 1,7785.8% | 30,836 |
| Chouteau County | Richard Nixon+878 | 2,02759.6% | 1,14933.8% | 2236.6% | 3,399 |
| Custer County | Richard Nixon+1,611 | 3,48663.3% | 1,87534.1% | 1452.6% | 5,506 |
| Daniels County | Richard Nixon+403 | 97361.8% | 57036.2% | 312.0% | 1,574 |
| Dawson County | Richard Nixon+1,522 | 3,20764.0% | 1,68533.6% | 1222.4% | 5,014 |
| Deer Lodge County | George McGovern+1,606 | 2,37335.9% | 3,97960.3% | 2523.8% | 6,604 |
| Fallon County | Richard Nixon+503 | 1,03464.5% | 53133.1% | 392.4% | 1,604 |
| Fergus County | Richard Nixon+2,430 | 4,08267.5% | 1,65227.3% | 3155.2% | 6,049 |
| Flathead County | Richard Nixon+5,005 | 10,41760.7% | 5,41231.5% | 1,3277.7% | 17,156 |
| Gallatin County | Richard Nixon+5,567 | 10,66366.3% | 5,09631.7% | 3292.0% | 16,088 |
| Garfield County | Richard Nixon+522 | 69577.8% | 17319.4% | 252.8% | 893 |
| Glacier County | Richard Nixon+674 | 2,14356.1% | 1,46938.5% | 2075.4% | 3,819 |
| Golden Valley County | Richard Nixon+189 | 35964.9% | 17030.7% | 244.3% | 553 |
| Granite County | Richard Nixon+382 | 80462.3% | 42232.7% | 655.0% | 1,291 |
| Hill County | Richard Nixon+698 | 3,75953.1% | 3,06143.2% | 2653.7% | 7,085 |
| Jefferson County | Richard Nixon+377 | 1,28156.1% | 90439.6% | 1004.4% | 2,285 |
| Judith Basin County | Richard Nixon+404 | 96159.5% | 55734.5% | 965.9% | 1,614 |
| Lake County | Richard Nixon+1,912 | 4,17262.1% | 2,26033.6% | 2874.3% | 6,719 |
| Lewis and Clark County | Richard Nixon+4,638 | 10,71961.9% | 6,08135.1% | 5163.0% | 17,316 |
| Liberty County | Richard Nixon+443 | 80865.4% | 36529.6% | 625.0% | 1,235 |
| Lincoln County | Richard Nixon+874 | 3,27652.8% | 2,40238.7% | 5308.5% | 6,208 |
| Madison County | Richard Nixon+1,111 | 1,78068.8% | 66925.9% | 1395.4% | 2,588 |
| McCone County | Richard Nixon+292 | 85458.3% | 56238.4% | 493.3% | 1,465 |
| Meagher County | Richard Nixon+444 | 67471.5% | 23024.4% | 384.0% | 942 |
| Mineral County | Richard Nixon+47 | 70649.8% | 65946.4% | 543.8% | 1,419 |
| Missoula County | Richard Nixon+1,773 | 15,55751.8% | 13,78445.9% | 7082.4% | 30,049 |
| Musselshell County | Richard Nixon+513 | 1,20261.1% | 68935.0% | 763.9% | 1,967 |
| Park County | Richard Nixon+1,848 | 3,77163.9% | 1,92332.6% | 2083.5% | 5,902 |
| Petroleum County | Richard Nixon+145 | 23271.4% | 8726.8% | 61.8% | 325 |
| Phillips County | Richard Nixon+831 | 1,65964.9% | 82832.4% | 702.7% | 2,557 |
| Pondera County | Richard Nixon+675 | 1,89057.4% | 1,21536.9% | 1875.7% | 3,292 |
| Powder River County | Richard Nixon+577 | 84469.4% | 26721.9% | 1068.7% | 1,217 |
| Powell County | Richard Nixon+670 | 1,72059.7% | 1,05036.4% | 1123.9% | 2,882 |
| Prairie County | Richard Nixon+382 | 68568.6% | 30330.3% | 111.1% | 999 |
| Ravalli County | Richard Nixon+2,131 | 4,61161.8% | 2,48033.3% | 3674.9% | 7,458 |
| Richland County | Richard Nixon+1,207 | 2,64561.5% | 1,43833.4% | 2175.0% | 4,300 |
| Roosevelt County | Richard Nixon+840 | 2,30459.0% | 1,46437.5% | 1393.6% | 3,907 |
| Rosebud County | Richard Nixon+709 | 1,48663.2% | 77733.1% | 873.7% | 2,350 |
| Sanders County | Richard Nixon+582 | 1,77954.7% | 1,19736.8% | 2758.5% | 3,251 |
| Sheridan County | Richard Nixon+303 | 1,50054.0% | 1,19743.1% | 833.0% | 2,780 |
| Silver Bow County | George McGovern+3,737 | 7,96739.0% | 11,70457.4% | 7333.6% | 20,404 |
| Stillwater County | Richard Nixon+982 | 1,69867.9% | 71628.7% | 853.4% | 2,499 |
| Sweet Grass County | Richard Nixon+910 | 1,26076.0% | 35021.1% | 482.9% | 1,658 |
| Teton County | Richard Nixon+870 | 1,99160.0% | 1,12133.8% | 2096.3% | 3,321 |
| Toole County | Richard Nixon+782 | 1,67959.6% | 89731.9% | 2398.5% | 2,815 |
| Treasure County | Richard Nixon+201 | 37765.7% | 17630.7% | 213.7% | 574 |
| Valley County | Richard Nixon+1,237 | 3,21060.0% | 1,97336.9% | 1653.1% | 5,348 |
| Wheatland County | Richard Nixon+316 | 76157.4% | 44533.6% | 1209.0% | 1,326 |
| Wibaux County | Richard Nixon+107 | 39055.5% | 28340.3% | 304.3% | 703 |
| Yellowstone County | Richard Nixon+11,603 | 25,20562.6% | 13,60233.8% | 1,4303.6% | 40,237 |
Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)
Montana's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −2.9% |
| 1896 | +60.2% |
| 1900 | +18.5% |
| 1904 | −20.4% |
| 1908 | −4.4% |
| 1912 | +11.8% |
| 1916 | +19.3% |
| 1920 | −29.1% |
| 1924 | −23.1% |
| 1928 | −17.9% |
| 1932 | +22.7% |
| 1936 | +41.7% |
| 1940 | +18.6% |
| 1944 | +9.4% |
| 1948 | +9.9% |
| 1952 | −19.3% |
| 1956 | −14.3% |
| 1960 | −2.5% |
| 1964 | +18.4% |
| 1968 | −9.0% |
| 1972 | −20.1% |
| 1976 | −7.4% |
| 1980 | −24.4% |
| 1984 | −22.3% |
| 1988 | −5.9% |
| 1992 | +2.5% |
| 1996 | −2.9% |
| 2000 | −25.1% |
| 2004 | −20.5% |
| 2008 | −2.4% |
| 2012 | −13.6% |
| 2016 | −20.2% |
| 2020 | −16.4% |
| 2024 | −19.9% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1972 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.