For Peace McGovern

Illustration of George McGovern with outstretched arms holding a dove with an olive branch in its beak.  Blue text on a white background.

George McGovern was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Presidency in 1972. Running against the republican incumbent Richard Nixon, McGovern ultimately lost in a landslide defeat in which he carried only Washington D.C. and Massachusetts. 

McGovern entered the race as an underdog compared to fellow democrat Edmund Muskie, who most assumed would be the candidate. However, McGovern's progressive policies and promise to withdraw from the Vietnam War if elected made him a popular candidate with young people and those active in the women's and civil rights movements. McGovern suffered from a divided party, with many democrats publicly siding with Nixon. In the end the McGovern campaign took 17 electoral votes to Nixon's 520.