Washington — 1972 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1972 presidential electionWashington · PresidentNixonR+18.3
How it voted
Share of the 1972 vote
| Richard Nixon ✓Republican | 56.9% | 837,135 |
|---|---|---|
| George McGovernDemocratic | 38.6% | 568,334 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 4.4% | 65,378 |
1972presidential margin
D+60R+60
39 counties, each filled by 1972 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Washington cast 9 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (39 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County, WA | Republican | R+43.7 |
| Asotin County, WA | Republican | R+6.1 |
| Benton County, WA | Republican | R+28.6 |
| Chelan County, WA | Republican | R+26.3 |
| Clallam County, WA | Republican | R+23.3 |
| Clark County, WA | Republican | R+2.7 |
| Columbia County, WA | Republican | R+43.8 |
| Cowlitz County, WA | Republican | R+6.2 |
| Douglas County, WA | Republican | R+28.0 |
| Ferry County, WA | Republican | R+16.7 |
| Franklin County, WA | Republican | R+20.0 |
| Garfield County, WA | Republican | R+34.1 |
| Grant County, WA | Republican | R+24.6 |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | Democratic | D+4.0 |
| Island County, WA | Republican | R+39.5 |
| Jefferson County, WA | Republican | R+13.0 |
| King County, WA | Republican | R+16.3 |
| Kitsap County, WA | Republican | R+19.4 |
| Kittitas County, WA | Republican | R+11.5 |
| Klickitat County, WA | Republican | R+13.6 |
| Lewis County, WA | Republican | R+24.9 |
| Lincoln County, WA | Republican | R+41.6 |
| Mason County, WA | Republican | R+10.5 |
| Okanogan County, WA | Republican | R+19.0 |
| Pacific County, WA | Democratic | D+3.3 |
| Pend Oreille County, WA | Republican | R+23.0 |
| Pierce County, WA | Republican | R+18.5 |
| San Juan County, WA | Republican | R+31.5 |
| Skagit County, WA | Republican | R+20.4 |
| Skamania County, WA | Republican | R+5.1 |
| Snohomish County, WA | Republican | R+19.6 |
| Spokane County, WA | Republican | R+24.0 |
| Stevens County, WA | Republican | R+31.0 |
| Thurston County, WA | Republican | R+19.9 |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | Republican | R+1.3 |
| Walla Walla County, WA | Republican | R+38.9 |
| Whatcom County, WA | Republican | R+19.5 |
| Whitman County, WA | Republican | R+20.3 |
| Yakima County, WA | Republican | R+22.9 |
Washington results by county
39 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+1,973 | 3,08368.2% | 1,11024.6% | 3267.2% | 4,519 |
| Asotin County | Richard Nixon+352 | 2,91150.4% | 2,55944.3% | 3105.4% | 5,780 |
| Benton County | Richard Nixon+8,693 | 18,51761.0% | 9,82432.4% | 2,0056.6% | 30,346 |
| Chelan County | Richard Nixon+4,581 | 10,47060.1% | 5,88933.8% | 1,0546.1% | 17,413 |
| Clallam County | Richard Nixon+3,752 | 9,37258.3% | 5,62034.9% | 1,0976.8% | 16,089 |
| Clark County | Richard Nixon+1,596 | 28,77549.1% | 27,17946.4% | 2,6154.5% | 58,569 |
| Columbia County | Richard Nixon+912 | 1,44569.5% | 53325.6% | 1024.9% | 2,080 |
| Cowlitz County | Richard Nixon+1,749 | 14,43151.2% | 12,68245.0% | 1,0693.8% | 28,182 |
| Douglas County | Richard Nixon+2,092 | 4,51260.3% | 2,42032.3% | 5497.3% | 7,481 |
| Ferry County | Richard Nixon+255 | 81553.4% | 56036.7% | 15210.0% | 1,527 |
| Franklin County | Richard Nixon+2,105 | 5,97256.8% | 3,86736.7% | 6846.5% | 10,523 |
| Garfield County | Richard Nixon+523 | 1,00465.4% | 48131.4% | 493.2% | 1,534 |
| Grant County | Richard Nixon+3,883 | 9,37059.3% | 5,48734.7% | 9576.1% | 15,814 |
| Grays Harbor County | George McGovern+947 | 10,83945.6% | 11,78649.6% | 1,1204.7% | 23,745 |
| Island County | Richard Nixon+4,346 | 7,49568.1% | 3,14928.6% | 3593.3% | 11,003 |
| Jefferson County | Richard Nixon+674 | 2,77053.5% | 2,09640.5% | 3136.0% | 5,179 |
| King County | Richard Nixon+86,198 | 298,70756.4% | 212,50940.1% | 18,4783.5% | 529,694 |
| Kitsap County | Richard Nixon+8,820 | 25,83156.8% | 17,01137.4% | 2,6045.7% | 45,446 |
| Kittitas County | Richard Nixon+1,165 | 5,46454.0% | 4,29942.5% | 3633.6% | 10,126 |
| Klickitat County | Richard Nixon+768 | 3,06154.2% | 2,29340.6% | 2945.2% | 5,648 |
| Lewis County | Richard Nixon+5,125 | 12,07158.6% | 6,94633.7% | 1,5687.6% | 20,585 |
| Lincoln County | Richard Nixon+2,194 | 3,64769.1% | 1,45327.5% | 1753.3% | 5,275 |
| Mason County | Richard Nixon+966 | 4,87353.1% | 3,90742.6% | 3974.3% | 9,177 |
| Okanogan County | Richard Nixon+1,961 | 5,79656.1% | 3,83537.1% | 7036.8% | 10,334 |
| Pacific County | George McGovern+236 | 3,34946.7% | 3,58550.0% | 2323.2% | 7,166 |
| Pend Oreille County | Richard Nixon+675 | 1,74659.6% | 1,07136.5% | 1143.9% | 2,931 |
| Pierce County | Richard Nixon+27,332 | 84,26556.9% | 56,93338.5% | 6,8674.6% | 148,065 |
| San Juan County | Richard Nixon+880 | 1,78663.9% | 90632.4% | 1033.7% | 2,795 |
| Skagit County | Richard Nixon+4,979 | 14,21258.1% | 9,23337.8% | 1,0034.1% | 24,448 |
| Skamania County | Richard Nixon+135 | 1,28848.7% | 1,15343.6% | 2047.7% | 2,645 |
| Snohomish County | Richard Nixon+20,561 | 60,03257.3% | 39,47137.7% | 5,3185.1% | 104,821 |
| Spokane County | Richard Nixon+29,983 | 74,32059.4% | 44,33735.4% | 6,5285.2% | 125,185 |
| Stevens County | Richard Nixon+2,449 | 4,83961.3% | 2,39030.3% | 6708.5% | 7,899 |
| Thurston County | Richard Nixon+7,701 | 22,29757.5% | 14,59637.6% | 1,8994.9% | 38,792 |
| Wahkiakum County | Richard Nixon+22 | 81847.4% | 79646.1% | 1126.5% | 1,726 |
| Walla Walla County | Richard Nixon+7,215 | 12,57967.9% | 5,36428.9% | 5903.2% | 18,533 |
| Whatcom County | Richard Nixon+7,558 | 22,58558.2% | 15,02738.7% | 1,1893.1% | 38,801 |
| Whitman County | Richard Nixon+3,300 | 9,54858.7% | 6,24838.4% | 4702.9% | 16,266 |
| Yakima County | Richard Nixon+12,511 | 32,24058.9% | 19,72936.1% | 2,7365.0% | 54,705 |
Nominees: George McGovern (D) · Richard Nixon (R)
Washington's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1972 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −7.6% |
| 1896 | +15.1% |
| 1900 | −11.7% |
| 1904 | −50.6% |
| 1908 | −25.8% |
| 1912 | +5.1% |
| 1916 | +4.2% |
| 1920 | −34.8% |
| 1924 | −42.1% |
| 1928 | −35.8% |
| 1932 | +23.5% |
| 1936 | +36.5% |
| 1940 | +17.6% |
| 1944 | +14.6% |
| 1948 | +9.8% |
| 1952 | −9.6% |
| 1956 | −8.5% |
| 1960 | −2.4% |
| 1964 | +24.6% |
| 1968 | +2.1% |
| 1972 | −18.3% |
| 1976 | −3.9% |
| 1980 | −12.3% |
| 1984 | −13.0% |
| 1988 | +1.6% |
| 1992 | +11.4% |
| 1996 | +12.5% |
| 2000 | +5.6% |
| 2004 | +7.2% |
| 2008 | +17.2% |
| 2012 | +14.8% |
| 2016 | +15.7% |
| 2020 | +19.2% |
| 2024 | +18.2% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1972 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.