1972 Republican Party presidential primaries

Republican Party presidential primaries, 1972

March 7 to June 6, 1972

Nominee Richard Nixon John M. Ashbrook Pete McCloskey Home state California Ohio California Contests won 50 0 0 Popular vote 5,378,704 317,048 132,731 Percentage 86.92% 5.12% 2.15%

Previous Republican nominee Richard Nixon Republican nominee Richard Nixon

The 1972 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1972 U.S. presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1972 Republican National Convention held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 in Miami, Florida.

Primary race

Nixon was a popular incumbent president in 1972, as he seemed to have reached détente with China and USSR. He shrugged off the first glimmers of what, after the election, became the massive Watergate scandal.

Polls showed that Nixon had a strong lead. He was challenged by two minor candidates, liberal Pete McCloskey of California and conservative John Ashbrook of Ohio. McCloskey ran as an anti-war and anti-Nixon candidate, while Ashbrook opposed Nixon's détente policies towards China and the Soviet Union. In the New Hampshire primary McCloskey's platform of peace garnered 19% of the vote to Nixon's 67%, with Ashbrook receiving 10%. Having previously stated that he would withdraw from the race had he not achieved 20% of the vote, McCloskey did so.

Nixon won 1,347 of the 1,348 delegates to the GOP convention, with McCloskey receiving the vote of one delegate from New Mexico.

Candidates

• 
  Representative John Ashbrook of Ohio
• 
  Representative Pete McCloskey of California
• 
  President Nixon

Statewide contests by winner

		Richard Nixon	John Ashbrook	Pete McCloskey
March 7	New Hampshire	67.61%	9.69%	19.79%
March 14	Florida	86.98%	8.84%	4.18%
March 21	Illinois	96.96%	0.51%	0.14%
April 4	Wisconsin	96.91%	0.91%	1.28%
April 25	Massachusetts	81.18%	3.98%	13.46%
April 25	Pennsylvania	82.88%	-	-
May 2	Indiana	100%	-	-
May 2	Ohio	100%	-	-
May 4	Tennessee	95.81%	2.11%	2.07%
May 6	North Carolina	94.80%	-	5.20%
May 9	Nebraska	92.38%	2.57%	4.64%
May 16	Maryland	86.17%	5.83%	8.00%
May 16	Michigan	95.52%	-	2.88%
May 23	Oregon	81.97%	5.92%	10.41%
May 23	Rhode Island	88.27%	3.12%	6.01%
June 6	California	90.14%	9.85%	-
June 6	New Mexico	88.46%	-	6.07%
June 6	South Dakota	100%	-	-

• Italics - Write-In Votes

See also

• Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1972