Richard Nixon carried Tennessee R+38.0.

George McGovern (D) vs Richard Nixon (R) in Tennessee, 1972. Tennessee held 10 electoral votes this cycle. The state ran 14.8 points more Republican than the nation (R+23.2 nationally).

Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)

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Tennessee result

1,201,182 votes counted

Electoral votes

10

McGovern (D)

357,293

29.7%

Nixon (R)

813,147

67.7%

All others

30,742

2.6%

Margin

R+38.0

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1972 presidential election

Tennessee, 1972

NixonR+38.0

How it voted

Share of the 1972 vote

Richard Nixon ✓Republican	67.7%	813,147
George McGovernDemocratic	29.7%	357,293
OtherAll other candidates	2.6%	30,742

D+60

R+60

95 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.

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Tennessee's presidential margins

1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context

Tennessee's presidential margins

Year	Margin (D minus R)
1892	+13.5%
1896	+6.0%
1900	+8.1%
1904	+10.8%
1908	+6.9%
1912	+28.9%
1916	+13.6%
1920	−2.8%
1924	+9.3%
1928	−11.1%
1932	+34.0%
1936	+37.9%
1940	+34.9%
1944	+21.2%
1948	+12.3%
1952	−0.3%
1956	−0.6%
1960	−7.1%
1964	+11.0%
1968	−9.7%
1972	−38.0%
1976	+13.0%
1980	−0.3%
1984	−16.3%
1988	−16.3%
1992	+4.7%
1996	+2.4%
2000	−3.9%
2004	−14.3%
2008	−15.0%
2012	−20.4%
2016	−26.0%
2020	−23.2%
2024	−29.6%

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County results — 1972

95 counties; every row links to the county's full page.

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County	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
Anderson County	R	−34.1%	6,713	13,865	20,999
Bedford County	R	−23.8%	2,565	4,262	7,135
Benton County	R	−26.8%	1,479	2,614	4,228
Bledsoe County	R	−35.6%	899	1,952	2,962
Blount County	R	−49.5%	5,303	16,078	21,771
Bradley County	R	−56.5%	2,804	10,440	13,513
Campbell County	R	−49.1%	1,629	4,909	6,687
Cannon County	R	−27.2%	911	1,615	2,589
Carroll County	R	−41.8%	2,290	5,784	8,349
Carter County	R	−65.9%	2,191	11,102	13,514
Cheatham County	R	−24.6%	1,321	2,235	3,719
Chester County	R	−47.0%	961	2,787	3,887
Claiborne County	R	−48.9%	1,230	3,632	4,912
Clay County	R	−20.1%	648	982	1,664
Cocke County	R	−72.5%	805	5,268	6,153
Coffee County	R	−35.5%	2,973	6,416	9,695
Crockett County	R	−54.4%	735	2,642	3,504
Cumberland County	R	−50.0%	1,482	4,593	6,225
Davidson County	R	−25.1%	48,869	82,636	134,797
Decatur County	R	−32.3%	1,187	2,368	3,655
DeKalb County	R	−23.2%	1,243	2,014	3,320
Dickson County	R	−15.9%	2,619	3,645	6,446
Dyer County	R	−55.9%	1,600	6,066	7,988
Fayette County	R	−21.9%	2,067	3,264	5,463
Fentress County	R	−52.2%	665	2,154	2,853
Franklin County	R	−17.2%	2,896	4,136	7,192
Gibson County	R	−45.0%	3,625	9,900	13,934
Giles County	R	−20.6%	1,875	2,914	5,051
Grainger County	R	−54.2%	828	2,842	3,713
Greene County	R	−55.1%	2,764	9,772	12,709
Grundy County	R	−14.3%	1,005	1,364	2,503
Hamblen County	R	−54.3%	2,563	8,879	11,624
Hamilton County	R	−45.7%	20,657	58,469	82,794
Hancock County	R	−63.9%	393	1,813	2,222
Hardeman County	R	−36.7%	1,550	3,494	5,294
Hardin County	R	−55.5%	1,202	4,401	5,769
Hawkins County	R	−48.1%	2,608	7,791	10,775
Haywood County	R	−22.0%	1,966	3,123	5,253
Henderson County	R	−57.7%	1,313	5,122	6,597
Henry County	R	−25.2%	2,694	4,613	7,611
Hickman County	R	−15.9%	1,393	1,943	3,466
Houston County	D	+4.1%	870	800	1,725
Humphreys County	R	−6.7%	1,973	2,263	4,338
Jackson County	D	+6.2%	1,085	956	2,079
Jefferson County	R	−61.9%	1,357	5,925	7,382
Johnson County	R	−75.4%	450	3,362	3,861
Knox County	R	−44.9%	24,076	64,747	90,484
Lake County	R	−35.0%	536	1,147	1,746
Lauderdale County	R	−32.7%	1,771	3,597	5,585
Lawrence County	R	−38.1%	2,824	6,438	9,482
Lewis County	D	+3.6%	1,138	1,056	2,248
Lincoln County	R	−26.5%	1,867	3,266	5,281
Loudon County	R	−52.6%	1,604	5,357	7,131
Macon County	R	−54.1%	653	2,295	3,033
Madison County	R	−48.0%	5,203	15,481	21,409
Marion County	R	−30.5%	1,929	3,711	5,839
Marshall County	R	−24.4%	1,526	2,593	4,378
Maury County	R	−36.9%	3,262	7,371	11,121
McMinn County	R	−43.6%	2,838	7,423	10,520
McNairy County	R	−48.5%	1,610	4,774	6,519
Meigs County	R	−31.4%	539	1,052	1,635
Monroe County	R	−32.3%	2,870	5,657	8,634
Montgomery County	R	−15.5%	5,691	7,839	13,899
Moore County	R	−25.3%	356	608	996
Morgan County	R	−39.1%	1,084	2,531	3,703
Obion County	R	−43.2%	2,243	5,800	8,243
Overton County	R	−10.4%	1,573	1,947	3,594
Perry County	D	+2.0%	937	900	1,871
Pickett County	R	−45.3%	357	957	1,325
Polk County	R	−22.6%	1,431	2,285	3,772
Putnam County	R	−23.0%	3,738	6,038	9,999
Rhea County	R	−47.7%	1,312	3,842	5,299
Roane County	R	−42.6%	3,433	8,742	12,470
Robertson County	R	−16.1%	2,985	4,175	7,399
Rutherford County	R	−31.0%	5,811	11,256	17,554
Scott County	R	−59.9%	679	2,775	3,502
Sequatchie County	R	−33.3%	629	1,298	2,010
Sevier County	R	−74.6%	1,128	8,273	9,578
Shelby County	R	−32.6%	81,089	161,922	247,882
Smith County	R	−17.3%	1,260	1,812	3,188
Stewart County	D	+15.9%	1,098	790	1,935
Sullivan County	R	−45.7%	10,007	27,593	38,517
Sumner County	R	−35.8%	4,596	10,020	15,157
Tipton County	R	−47.6%	1,853	5,542	7,749
Trousdale County	R	−10.1%	539	663	1,230
Unicoi County	R	−64.1%	822	3,877	4,766
Union County	R	−53.7%	570	1,927	2,527
Van Buren County	R	−26.0%	364	629	1,021
Warren County	R	−24.6%	2,118	3,565	5,894
Washington County	R	−52.0%	5,284	17,343	23,188
Wayne County	R	−61.3%	673	2,898	3,632
Weakley County	R	−46.7%	2,027	5,836	8,165
White County	R	−23.1%	1,392	2,252	3,727
Williamson County	R	−46.8%	2,616	7,556	10,564
Wilson County	R	−34.4%	3,096	6,486	9,861