United States Presidential Election of 1972

Nixon swept 49 states, 520 to 17, then resigned within two years.

Overview

Nixon's re-election against George McGovern was a Republican high-water mark: 520 to 17 with 60.7 percent and every state but Massachusetts and DC, winning on peace with Vietnam honor, prosperity, and a Democratic opponent whose campaign collapsed through the Eagleton affair. Yet Watergate break-in arrests had occurred five months before the vote, and the cover-up destroyed the presidency within two years. The gap between the largest modern mandate and the only resignation made 1972 a study in victory's fragility.