The 1972 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on November 7, 1972, as part of the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon won the state of Illinois with 59.03 percent of the vote, carrying the state's 26 electoral votes. He defeated his main opponent, Democratic candidate George McGovern, in Illinois by a large margin of 18.52%, though due to the magnitude of his overall victory, this still left Illinois 4.63% more Democratic than the nation.
Nixon won 101 of Illinois' 102 counties. McGovern's only victory came in Jackson County, home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which notably had voted for Nixon in the previous election and was one of six counties outside McGovern's home state of South Dakota to switch from Republican to Democratic at this election. Nixon thus became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying this county since Benjamin Harrison in 1888.
As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time in which Cook County, which hosts Chicago, and St. Clair County voted Republican, and the last until 2016 when Alexander County supported a Republican nominee.
Primaries
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for other federal offices (Senate and House) and those for state offices.
Turnout
Turnout in the primaries was 22.54%, with a total of 1,258,713 votes cast.
Turnout in the general election was 75.99%, with a total of 4,723,236 votes cast. State-run primaries were held for the Democratic and Republican parties on March 21.
Democratic
The 1972 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 21, 1972, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 presidential election.
The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional districts on delegate candidates, who had either pledged to support a candidate or been uncommitted.
Republican
The 1972 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 21, 1972, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 presidential election.
In this election, all candidates were write-ins.
The popular vote was a "beauty contest". Delegates were instead selected by direct-vote in each congressional district on delegate candidates, who had either pledged their support to a candidate or indicated their intent to enter the convention uncommitted to any candidate.
Results
Results by county
Analysis
Nixon's 2,788,179 votes were the most received by a Republican presidential candidate in the state's history.
This was the closest anyone has come to sweeping every Illinois county, making the state along with Kentucky and North Carolina, the only states where no one candidate has ever swept every county in the state's history.