Pennsylvania — 1972 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1972 presidential electionPennsylvania · PresidentNixonR+20.0
How it voted
Share of the 1972 vote
| Richard Nixon ✓Republican | 59.1% | 2,714,521 |
|---|---|---|
| George McGovernDemocratic | 39.1% | 1,796,951 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.8% | 80,634 |
1972presidential margin
D+60R+60
67 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Pennsylvania cast 27 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (67 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County, PA | Republican | R+41.6 |
| Allegheny County, PA | Republican | R+13.3 |
| Armstrong County, PA | Republican | R+24.8 |
| Beaver County, PA | Republican | R+15.6 |
| Bedford County, PA | Republican | R+48.3 |
| Berks County, PA | Republican | R+27.9 |
| Blair County, PA | Republican | R+52.4 |
| Bradford County, PA | Republican | R+48.1 |
| Bucks County, PA | Republican | R+26.8 |
| Butler County, PA | Republican | R+32.8 |
| Cambria County, PA | Republican | R+21.8 |
| Cameron County, PA | Republican | R+39.2 |
| Carbon County, PA | Republican | R+19.6 |
| Centre County, PA | Republican | R+21.9 |
| Chester County, PA | Republican | R+39.2 |
| Clarion County, PA | Republican | R+37.5 |
| Clearfield County, PA | Republican | R+28.5 |
| Clinton County, PA | Republican | R+26.2 |
| Columbia County, PA | Republican | R+31.2 |
| Crawford County, PA | Republican | R+31.6 |
| Cumberland County, PA | Republican | R+47.7 |
| Dauphin County, PA | Republican | R+40.5 |
| Delaware County, PA | Republican | R+29.6 |
| Elk County, PA | Republican | R+24.7 |
| Erie County, PA | Republican | R+18.5 |
| Fayette County, PA | Republican | R+9.5 |
| Forest County, PA | Republican | R+45.2 |
| Franklin County, PA | Republican | R+42.5 |
| Fulton County, PA | Republican | R+34.8 |
| Greene County, PA | Republican | R+16.5 |
| Huntingdon County, PA | Republican | R+47.0 |
| Indiana County, PA | Republican | R+24.9 |
| Jefferson County, PA | Republican | R+39.2 |
| Juniata County, PA | Republican | R+33.9 |
| Lackawanna County, PA | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Lancaster County, PA | Republican | R+53.0 |
| Lawrence County, PA | Republican | R+14.5 |
| Lebanon County, PA | Republican | R+56.7 |
| Lehigh County, PA | Republican | R+26.6 |
| Luzerne County, PA | Republican | R+22.6 |
| Lycoming County, PA | Republican | R+40.2 |
| McKean County, PA | Republican | R+44.7 |
| Mercer County, PA | Republican | R+21.0 |
| Mifflin County, PA | Republican | R+45.6 |
| Monroe County, PA | Republican | R+37.6 |
| Montgomery County, PA | Republican | R+30.3 |
| Montour County, PA | Republican | R+41.8 |
| Northampton County, PA | Republican | R+12.8 |
| Northumberland County, PA | Republican | R+29.8 |
| Perry County, PA | Republican | R+48.5 |
| Philadelphia County, PA | Democratic | D+11.2 |
| Pike County, PA | Republican | R+52.1 |
| Potter County, PA | Republican | R+43.5 |
| Schuylkill County, PA | Republican | R+25.1 |
| Snyder County, PA | Republican | R+58.6 |
| Somerset County, PA | Republican | R+38.1 |
| Sullivan County, PA | Republican | R+35.6 |
| Susquehanna County, PA | Republican | R+38.1 |
| Tioga County, PA | Republican | R+45.2 |
| Union County, PA | Republican | R+49.3 |
| Venango County, PA | Republican | R+37.0 |
| Warren County, PA | Republican | R+33.9 |
| Washington County, PA | Republican | R+9.9 |
| Wayne County, PA | Republican | R+51.8 |
| Westmoreland County, PA | Republican | R+11.5 |
| Wyoming County, PA | Republican | R+49.9 |
| York County, PA | Republican | R+38.7 |
Pennsylvania results by county
67 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | Richard Nixon+8,064 | 13,59370.2% | 5,52928.6% | 2431.3% | 19,365 |
| Allegheny County | Richard Nixon+89,241 | 371,73755.6% | 282,49642.3% | 14,3022.1% | 668,535 |
| Armstrong County | Richard Nixon+7,067 | 17,55761.6% | 10,49036.8% | 4511.6% | 28,498 |
| Beaver County | Richard Nixon+12,067 | 43,63756.4% | 31,57040.8% | 2,1302.8% | 77,337 |
| Bedford County | Richard Nixon+7,407 | 11,24373.3% | 3,83625.0% | 2591.7% | 15,338 |
| Berks County | Richard Nixon+29,609 | 66,17262.4% | 36,56334.5% | 3,3923.2% | 106,127 |
| Blair County | Richard Nixon+23,103 | 33,12675.1% | 10,02322.7% | 9612.2% | 44,110 |
| Bradford County | Richard Nixon+9,846 | 15,05073.6% | 5,20425.4% | 2041.0% | 20,458 |
| Bucks County | Richard Nixon+42,900 | 99,68462.3% | 56,78435.5% | 3,5912.2% | 160,059 |
| Butler County | Richard Nixon+14,970 | 29,66565.1% | 14,69532.2% | 1,2142.7% | 45,574 |
| Cambria County | Richard Nixon+15,875 | 43,82560.1% | 27,95038.3% | 1,2001.6% | 72,975 |
| Cameron County | Richard Nixon+1,107 | 1,93568.4% | 82829.3% | 642.3% | 2,827 |
| Carbon County | Richard Nixon+3,865 | 11,63959.0% | 7,77439.4% | 2991.5% | 19,712 |
| Centre County | Richard Nixon+7,489 | 20,68360.5% | 13,19438.6% | 3200.9% | 34,197 |
| Chester County | Richard Nixon+41,608 | 72,72668.4% | 31,11829.3% | 2,4152.3% | 106,259 |
| Clarion County | Richard Nixon+5,564 | 10,07368.0% | 4,50930.4% | 2391.6% | 14,821 |
| Clearfield County | Richard Nixon+7,534 | 16,78063.5% | 9,24635.0% | 3831.5% | 26,409 |
| Clinton County | Richard Nixon+3,433 | 8,20562.5% | 4,77236.4% | 1421.1% | 13,119 |
| Columbia County | Richard Nixon+6,965 | 14,18763.6% | 7,22232.4% | 9004.0% | 22,309 |
| Crawford County | Richard Nixon+9,022 | 18,39364.4% | 9,37132.8% | 8052.8% | 28,569 |
| Cumberland County | Richard Nixon+27,537 | 42,09972.9% | 14,56225.2% | 1,1141.9% | 57,775 |
| Dauphin County | Richard Nixon+31,720 | 54,30769.4% | 22,58728.9% | 1,3761.8% | 78,270 |
| Delaware County | Richard Nixon+81,270 | 175,41463.9% | 94,14434.3% | 4,8931.8% | 274,451 |
| Elk County | Richard Nixon+3,190 | 7,90061.2% | 4,71036.5% | 2982.3% | 12,908 |
| Erie County | Richard Nixon+19,520 | 61,54258.2% | 42,02239.8% | 2,1492.0% | 105,713 |
| Fayette County | Richard Nixon+4,813 | 27,28854.1% | 22,47544.5% | 7161.4% | 50,479 |
| Forest County | Richard Nixon+865 | 1,37471.7% | 50926.6% | 321.7% | 1,915 |
| Franklin County | Richard Nixon+14,637 | 24,09370.0% | 9,45627.5% | 8662.5% | 34,415 |
| Fulton County | Richard Nixon+1,323 | 2,51566.2% | 1,19231.4% | 902.4% | 3,797 |
| Greene County | Richard Nixon+2,228 | 7,79057.5% | 5,56241.1% | 1911.4% | 13,543 |
| Huntingdon County | Richard Nixon+6,212 | 9,60672.7% | 3,39425.7% | 2161.6% | 13,216 |
| Indiana County | Richard Nixon+7,289 | 18,12261.9% | 10,83337.0% | 3191.1% | 29,274 |
| Jefferson County | Richard Nixon+6,607 | 11,63168.9% | 5,02429.8% | 2211.3% | 16,876 |
| Juniata County | Richard Nixon+2,256 | 4,41266.3% | 2,15632.4% | 851.3% | 6,653 |
| Lackawanna County | Richard Nixon+13,373 | 58,83856.1% | 45,46543.4% | 5660.5% | 104,869 |
| Lancaster County | Richard Nixon+56,813 | 81,03675.6% | 24,22322.6% | 1,8791.8% | 107,138 |
| Lawrence County | Richard Nixon+6,117 | 23,71256.1% | 17,59541.6% | 9902.3% | 42,297 |
| Lebanon County | Richard Nixon+18,325 | 25,00877.4% | 6,68320.7% | 6291.9% | 32,320 |
| Lehigh County | Richard Nixon+24,698 | 58,02362.4% | 33,32535.8% | 1,6541.8% | 93,002 |
| Luzerne County | Richard Nixon+30,230 | 81,35860.9% | 51,12838.3% | 1,1200.8% | 133,606 |
| Lycoming County | Richard Nixon+16,914 | 28,91368.7% | 11,99928.5% | 1,1752.8% | 42,087 |
| McKean County | Richard Nixon+7,445 | 11,95871.7% | 4,51327.1% | 2021.2% | 16,673 |
| Mercer County | Richard Nixon+9,874 | 27,96159.4% | 18,08738.4% | 1,0522.2% | 47,100 |
| Mifflin County | Richard Nixon+6,322 | 9,98972.1% | 3,66726.5% | 1991.4% | 13,855 |
| Monroe County | Richard Nixon+7,082 | 12,70167.5% | 5,61929.9% | 4942.6% | 18,814 |
| Montgomery County | Richard Nixon+81,703 | 173,66264.3% | 91,95934.1% | 4,3971.6% | 270,018 |
| Montour County | Richard Nixon+2,631 | 4,38669.6% | 1,75527.9% | 1572.5% | 6,298 |
| Northampton County | Richard Nixon+9,487 | 41,82256.3% | 32,33543.5% | 1240.2% | 74,281 |
| Northumberland County | Richard Nixon+12,027 | 25,91264.2% | 13,88534.4% | 5881.5% | 40,385 |
| Perry County | Richard Nixon+5,351 | 8,08273.3% | 2,73124.8% | 2121.9% | 11,025 |
| Philadelphia County | George McGovern+87,640 | 344,09643.9% | 431,73655.1% | 8,1381.0% | 783,970 |
| Pike County | Richard Nixon+3,183 | 4,56874.8% | 1,38522.7% | 1552.5% | 6,108 |
| Potter County | Richard Nixon+2,712 | 4,42270.9% | 1,71027.4% | 1041.7% | 6,236 |
| Schuylkill County | Richard Nixon+17,994 | 44,07161.6% | 26,07736.4% | 1,4472.0% | 71,595 |
| Snyder County | Richard Nixon+5,474 | 7,30878.2% | 1,83419.6% | 2032.2% | 9,345 |
| Somerset County | Richard Nixon+10,996 | 19,73968.4% | 8,74330.3% | 3591.2% | 28,841 |
| Sullivan County | Richard Nixon+1,001 | 1,88667.2% | 88531.5% | 371.3% | 2,808 |
| Susquehanna County | Richard Nixon+5,322 | 9,47667.8% | 4,15429.7% | 3492.5% | 13,979 |
| Tioga County | Richard Nixon+6,295 | 10,02872.1% | 3,73326.8% | 1571.1% | 13,918 |
| Union County | Richard Nixon+4,627 | 6,90573.6% | 2,27824.3% | 2022.2% | 9,385 |
| Venango County | Richard Nixon+7,689 | 13,99167.3% | 6,30230.3% | 5012.4% | 20,794 |
| Warren County | Richard Nixon+5,141 | 10,01866.1% | 4,87732.2% | 2721.8% | 15,167 |
| Washington County | Richard Nixon+7,806 | 42,58754.0% | 34,78144.1% | 1,4941.9% | 78,862 |
| Wayne County | Richard Nixon+6,215 | 8,94874.5% | 2,73322.8% | 3282.7% | 12,009 |
| Westmoreland County | Richard Nixon+15,763 | 75,08554.6% | 59,32243.1% | 3,1202.3% | 137,527 |
| Wyoming County | Richard Nixon+4,311 | 6,42374.4% | 2,11224.5% | 961.1% | 8,631 |
| York County | Richard Nixon+36,086 | 63,60668.2% | 27,52029.5% | 2,1542.3% | 93,280 |
Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)
Pennsylvania's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −6.4% |
| 1896 | −24.7% |
| 1900 | −24.6% |
| 1904 | −40.7% |
| 1908 | −23.4% |
| 1912 | +10.0% |
| 1916 | −14.0% |
| 1920 | −38.6% |
| 1924 | −46.3% |
| 1928 | −31.4% |
| 1932 | −5.5% |
| 1936 | +16.0% |
| 1940 | +6.9% |
| 1944 | +2.8% |
| 1948 | −4.0% |
| 1952 | −5.9% |
| 1956 | −13.2% |
| 1960 | +2.3% |
| 1964 | +30.2% |
| 1968 | +3.6% |
| 1972 | −20.0% |
| 1976 | +2.7% |
| 1980 | −7.1% |
| 1984 | −7.4% |
| 1988 | −2.3% |
| 1992 | +9.0% |
| 1996 | +9.2% |
| 2000 | +4.2% |
| 2004 | +2.5% |
| 2008 | +10.3% |
| 2012 | +5.4% |
| 2016 | −0.7% |
| 2020 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | −1.7% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1972 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.