McGovern Shriver

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George McGovern was the Democratic nominee for the US Presidency in 1972, running against Nixon in his second term and ultimately losing in a landslide defeat in which he carried only Washington D.C. and Massachusetts. He entered the race as an underdog compared to Edmund Muskie, who most assumed would be the candidate. However, McGovern's progressive policies and promise to withdraw from Vietnam if elected made him a popular candidate with the youth vote and the women's and civil rights movements. McGovern suffered from a divided party, with many more modern Democrats publicly siding with Nixon. In the end, the McGovern campaign took 17 electoral votes to Nixon's 520. However, the Washington Post later broke the news that Nixon had conspired in a break-in to the DNC headquarters and a subsequent coverup that resulted in his resignation just two years later.