Right On Republicans

Illustration of the head of a pink elephant with orange and black text on a green background.

Candidates for the 1972 U.S. presidential election included the popular Republican incumbent Richard M. Nixon and his Democratic challenger George McGovern. Throughout his campaign, Nixon campaigned on his success in foreign affairs and championed the strong economy. McGovern, on the other hand, promised an immediate end to the Vietnam War and guaranteed a minimum income.

In the end, Nixon won in a landslide and secured 520 electoral votes compared to McGovern’s modest tally of 17. To put it another way, Nixon won the hearts and votes of 46 million Americans, which was a staggering 18 million more than what was under the Democratic nominee’s belt. So sound was Nixon’s victory that it came to represent the widest popular vote margin in a post-World War II presidential election. In spite of early polls accurately predicting this resounding win, Nixon could not help but cheat to ensure his victory. In the summer of 1972, Nixon’s reelection committee infamously wiretapped the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate complex. This “Watergate scandal” eventually landed the president in hot water and prompted him to resign from office in August 1974.