1972 United States presidential election Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Democratic nomination== {{Main|1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries}} Overall, fifteen people declared their candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination. They were:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal72-1249975 |title=CQ Almanac Online Edition |publisher=Library.cqpress.com |access-date=2016-08-17 |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608024554/http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/searchform.php?alert=The+document+you+requested+could+not+be+located.+Use+this+search+screen+to+locate+the+document+based+on+its+title+or+other+pertinent+details.%2F |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Sep/29/ln/ln04a.html |title=Hawai'i, nation lose "a powerful voice" | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper |newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser |access-date=2016-08-17 |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219165527/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Sep/29/ln/ln04a.html |url-status=live }}</ref> *[[George McGovern]], [[United States Senate|senator]] from [[South Dakota]] *[[Hubert Humphrey]], senator from [[Minnesota]], former [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], and presidential nominee in 1968 *[[George Wallace]], Governor of Alabama *[[Edmund Muskie]], senator from Maine, vice presidential nominee in 1968 *[[Eugene J. McCarthy]], former senator from Minnesota *[[Henry M. Jackson]], senator from [[Washington (state)|Washington]] *[[Shirley Chisholm]], Representative of [[New York's 12th congressional district]] *[[Terry Sanford]], former governor of North Carolina *[[John Lindsay]], Mayor of New York City *[[Wilbur Mills]], representative of [[Arkansas's 2nd congressional district]] *[[Vance Hartke]], senator from Indiana *[[Fred R. Harris|Fred Harris]], senator from Oklahoma *[[Sam Yorty]], Mayor of Los Angeles *[[Patsy Mink]], representative of [[Hawaii's 2nd congressional district]] *[[Walter Fauntroy]], Delegate from Washington, D. C. {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;" |- | style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)]]<big> '''1972 Democratic Party ticket'''</big> |- ! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[George McGovern|{{color|white|George McGovern}}]] ! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[Sargent Shriver|{{color|white|Sargent Shriver}}]] |- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#c8ebff;" | style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President''''' | style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President''''' |- | [[File:George McGovern (D-SD) (3x4-1).jpg|center|201x201px]] | [[File:Sargent Shriver 1961.jpg|center|200x200px]] |- | [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]<br />from [[South Dakota]]<br /><small>(1963–1981)</small> | [[United States Ambassador to France#United States Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France|21st]]<br />[[United States Ambassador to France|U.S. Ambassador to France]]<br /><small>(1968–1970)</small> |- | colspan=2 |[[George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign|'''Campaign''']] |- | colspan=2 |[[File:McGovern Shriver 1972 campaign logo.svg|200x200px]] |- |} ===Primaries=== [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Whip]] [[Ted Kennedy]], the youngest brother of late [[President of the United States|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]] and late [[United States Senator]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], was the favorite to win the 1972 nomination, but he announced he would not be a candidate.<ref name="Kennedy">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ON9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=5489,4273487&dq=ted+kennedy+presidential+campaign&hl=en|title=Don't count out Ted Kennedy|newspaper=[[The Free Lance–Star]]|date=June 4, 1971|author=Jack Anderson|access-date=March 16, 2012|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205083438/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ON9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=5489%2C4273487&dq=ted+kennedy+presidential+campaign&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The favorite for the Democratic nomination then became Maine Senator [[Ed Muskie]],<ref name="'70s 298">{{cite book |title=How We Got Here: The '70s |last=Frum |first=David |author-link=David Frum |year=2000 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York, New York |isbn= 0-465-04195-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/298 298] |url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/298}}</ref> the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]] vice-presidential nominee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001121 |title=Muskie, Edmund Sixtus, (1914–1996) |publisher=[[United States Congress]] |access-date=March 16, 2012 |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205113140/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001121 |url-status=live }}</ref> Muskie's momentum collapsed just prior to the New Hampshire primary, when the so-called "[[Canuck letter]]" was published in the ''[[Manchester Union-Leader]]''. The letter, actually a forgery from Nixon's "dirty tricks" unit, claimed that Muskie had made disparaging remarks about [[French Canadian|French-Canadians]] – a remark likely to injure Muskie's support among the French-American population in northern [[New England]].<ref name="WP 2020">{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Robert |title=The Democrat who cried (maybe) in New Hampshire and lost the presidential nomination |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/02/09/new-hampshire-ed-muskie-tears-primary/ |access-date=March 3, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 9, 2020 |archive-date=March 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329235846/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/02/09/new-hampshire-ed-muskie-tears-primary/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Subsequently, the paper published an attack on the character of Muskie's wife [[Jane Muskie|Jane]], reporting that she drank and used [[Off-color humor|off-color]] language during the campaign. Muskie made an emotional defense of his wife in a speech outside the newspaper's offices during a snowstorm. Though Muskie later stated that what had appeared to the press as tears were actually melted snowflakes, the press reported that Muskie broke down and cried, shattering the candidate's image as calm and reasoned.<ref name="WP 2020"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=1996-03-26 |title=REMEMBERING ED MUSKIE |url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/muskie_3-26.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990427124548/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/muskie_3-26.html |archive-date=1999-04-27}}</ref> Nearly two years before the election, South Dakota Senator [[George McGovern]] entered the race as an anti-war, progressive candidate.<ref name="nyt011971">{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F30C11F7345C107B93CBA8178AD85F458785F9 |title=McGovern Enters '72 Race, Pledging Troop Withdrawal |author=[[R. W. Apple, Jr.]] |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 18, 1971 |page=1 |format=fee required |access-date=March 16, 2012 |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608024557/https://query.nytimes.com/mem/page.html?res=F30C11F7345C107B93CBA8178AD85F458785F9&legacy=true&status=nf%2F |url-status=live }}</ref> McGovern was able to pull together support from the anti-war movement and other grassroots support to win the nomination in a primary system he had played a significant part in designing. On January 25, 1972, New York Representative Shirley Chisholm announced she would run, and became the first African-American woman to run for a major-party presidential nomination. Hawaii Representative Patsy Mink also announced she would run, and became the first Asian American person to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.<ref name="uic">{{cite web |title=Shirley Chisholm's 1972 Presidential Campaign |author=Jo Freeman |publisher=University of Illinois at Chicago Women's History Project |date=February 2005 |url=http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/jofreeman/polhistory/chisholm.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126085532/http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/jofreeman/polhistory/chisholm.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> On April 25, George McGovern won the Massachusetts primary. Two days later, journalist [[Robert Novak]] quoted a "Democratic senator", later revealed to be Thomas Eagleton, as saying: "The people don't know McGovern is for amnesty, abortion, and legalization of pot. Once middle America – Catholic middle America, in particular – finds this out, he's dead." The label stuck, and McGovern became known as the candidate of "amnesty, abortion, and acid". It became Humphrey's battle cry to stop McGovern—especially in the Nebraska primary.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert D. Novak|title=The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Cq-v7M6N74C&pg=PA225|year=2008|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|page=225|isbn=9781400052004|access-date=November 20, 2015|archive-date=April 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418145321/https://books.google.com/books?id=7Cq-v7M6N74C&pg=PA225|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Nancy L. Cohen|title=Delirium: The Politics of Sex in America|url=https://archive.org/details/deliriumpolitics0000cohe|url-access=registration|year= 2012|publisher=Counterpoint Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/deliriumpolitics0000cohe/page/37 37]–38|isbn=9781619020689}}</ref> [[Governor of Alabama|Alabama Governor]] [[George Wallace]], an infamous segregationist who ran on a third-party ticket in [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]], did well in the [[Southern United States|South]] (winning nearly every county in the Florida primary) and among alienated and dissatisfied voters in the [[Northern United States|North]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=((The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica)) |title=United States presidential election of 1972 |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1972 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=3 December 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605084714/https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1972 |url-status=live }}</ref> What might have become a forceful campaign was cut short when [[George Wallace#1972 Democratic presidential primaries and assassination attempt|Wallace was shot]] in an assassination attempt by [[Arthur Bremer]] on May 15. Wallace was struck by five bullets and left [[paralysis|paralyzed]] from the waist down. The day after the assassination attempt, Wallace won the Michigan and Maryland primaries, but the shooting effectively ended his campaign, and he pulled out in July. In the end, McGovern won the nomination by winning primaries through grassroots support, in spite of establishment opposition. McGovern had led a commission to re-design the Democratic nomination system after the divisive nomination struggle and convention of [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]]. However, the new rules angered many prominent Democrats whose influence was marginalized, and those politicians refused to support McGovern's campaign (some even supporting Nixon instead), leaving the McGovern campaign at a significant disadvantage in funding, compared to Nixon. Some of the principles of the McGovern Commission have lasted throughout every subsequent nomination contest, but the Hunt Commission instituted the selection of [[superdelegates]] a decade later, in order to reduce the nomination chances of outsiders such as McGovern and [[Jimmy Carter]]. ===Primary results=== [[File:1972DemocraticPresidentialPrimaries.svg|thumb|400px|Statewide contest by winner<br>{{legend|#c1c1c1|No primary held}} {{legend|#a59400|[[Shirley Chisholm]]}} {{legend|#73638c|[[Hubert Humphrey]]}} {{legend|#668c63|[[Henry M. Jackson]]}} {{legend|#5d73e5|[[George McGovern]]}} {{legend|#c67742|[[Wilbur Mills]]}} {{legend|#423121|[[Edmund Muskie]]}} {{legend|#d77da7|[[George Wallace]]}}]] {{Election box begin no party no change|title=1972 [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] presidential primaries<ref name="Kalb"/>}} {{Election box winning candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Hubert Humphrey|Hubert H. Humphrey]]|votes=4,121,372|percentage=25.8}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[George McGovern|George S. McGovern]]|votes=4,053,451|percentage=25.3}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[George Wallace|George C. Wallace]]|votes=3,755,424|percentage=23.5}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Edmund Muskie|Edmund S. Muskie]]|votes=1,840,217|percentage=11.5}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Eugene McCarthy|Eugene J. McCarthy]]|votes=553,955|percentage=3.5}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Henry M. Jackson]]|votes=505,198|percentage=3.2}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Shirley Chisholm|Shirley A. Chisholm]]|votes=430,703|percentage=2.7}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Terry Sanford|James T. Sanford]]|votes=331,415|percentage=2.1}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[John Lindsay|John V. Lindsay]]|votes=196,406|percentage=1.2}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Sam Yorty|Sam W. Yorty]]|votes=79,446|percentage=0.5}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Wilbur Mills|Wilbur D. Mills]]|votes=37,401|percentage=0.2}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Walter Fauntroy|Walter E. Fauntroy]]|votes=21,217|percentage=0.1}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=Unpledged delegates|votes=19,533|percentage=0.1}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Edward Kennedy|Edward M. Kennedy]]|votes=16,693|percentage=0.1}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Vance Hartke|Rupert V. Hartke]]|votes=11,798|percentage=0.1}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Patsy Mink|Patsy M. Mink]]|votes=8,286|percentage=0.1}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate="None of the names shown"|votes=6,269|percentage=0}} {{Election box candidate no party no change|candidate=[[Write-in candidate|Others]]|votes=5,181|percentage=0}} {{Election box total no party no change|votes=15,993,965|percentage=100}} {{End}} ===Notable endorsements=== {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| '''Edmund Muskie''' * Former [[Governor of New York|Governor]] of and [[U.S. Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]] [[W. Averell Harriman]] from [[New York (state)|New York]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Byrd |first=Lee |date=April 28, 1972 |title=Bland, Crybaby Roles Cost Muskie His Lead |pages=1 |work=Lansing State Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/206039697/?terms=%22Averell%20Harriman%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |quote=But of likely greater impediment was the sheer number of those involved, the many "senior advisors" like Clark Clifford and W. Averell Harriman and Luther B. Hodges, and the 19 senators, 34 congressmen and nine governors who had publicly enorsed Muskie. |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200131/https://www.newspapers.com/image/206039697/?terms=%22Averell%20Harriman%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Senator [[Harold Hughes]] from [[Iowa]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Risser |first=James |date=June 9, 1972 |title=Hughes Stands By Muskie |pages=5 |work=[[The Des Moines Register]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/338798077/?terms=%22Harold%20Hughes%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |quote=Hughes has spent much of this week helping Muskie, whom Hughes endorsed early this year as the candidate most likely to unify the party and defeat President Nixon in November. |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200135/https://www.newspapers.com/image/338798077/?terms=%22Harold%20Hughes%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Senator [[Birch Bayh]] from [[Indiana]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 17, 1972 |title=Bayh Endorses Sen. Muskie |pages=7 |work=The Logansport Press |agency=UPI |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/3773466/?terms=%22Birch%20Bayh%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200133/https://www.newspapers.com/image/3773466/?terms=%22Birch%20Bayh%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Senator [[Adlai Stevenson III]] from [[Illinois]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 11, 1972 |title=Adlai Stevenson III Endorses Sen. Muskie |pages=17 |work=Tampa Bay Times |agency=UPI |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/317681727/?terms=%22adlai%20stevenson%22%20%22edmund%20muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200136/https://www.newspapers.com/image/317681727/?terms=%22adlai%20stevenson%22%20%22edmund%20muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Senator [[Mike Gravel]] of [[Alaska]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F00D16F83C591A7493C7A8178AD85F468785F9|title=More Muskie Support|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2008 | date=January 15, 1972}}</ref> * Former Senator [[Stephen M. Young]] from [[Ohio]]<ref name="StickingMuskie">{{Cite news |date=April 27, 1972 |title=Sticking by Muskie, Gilligan declares |pages=24 |work=[[The Cincinnati Post]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/764017935/?terms=%22stephen%20m.%20young%22%20%22edmund%20muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200132/https://www.newspapers.com/image/764017935/?terms=%22stephen%20m.%20young%22%20%22edmund%20muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * [[Governor of Pennsylvania|Governor]] [[Milton Shapp]] of [[Pennsylvania]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 26, 1972 |title=News Capsule: In the nation |pages=2 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/377394769/?terms=%22Milton%20Shapp%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |quote=Gov. Milton Shapp of Pennsylvania endorsed Senator Edmund S. Muskie, dealing a sharp blow to Senator Hubert H. Humphrey's presidential ambitions. |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200129/https://www.newspapers.com/image/377394769/?terms=%22Milton%20Shapp%22%20%22Edmund%20Muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Former [[Governor of Ohio|Governor]] [[Michael DiSalle]] of [[Ohio]]<ref name="StickingMuskie"/> * Ohio State Treasurer [[Gertrude W. Donahey]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 12, 1972 |title=Muskie, HHH calling in Ohio |pages=12 |work=The Journal Herald |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/395118889/?terms=%22gertrude%20donahey%22%20%22edmund%20muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200136/https://www.newspapers.com/image/395118889/?terms=%22gertrude%20donahey%22%20%22edmund%20muskie%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Astronaut [[John Glenn]] from [[Ohio]]<ref name="StickingMuskie"/> '''George McGovern''' * Senator [[Frank Church]] from [[Idaho]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 3, 1972 |title=McGovern Picking Second V.P. Candidate Same Way He Picked First |pages=11 |work=Ironwood Daily Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/55239132/?terms=%22Frank%20Church%22%20%22George%20McGovern%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200133/https://www.newspapers.com/image/55239132/?terms=%22Frank%20Church%22%20%22George%20McGovern%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> '''George Wallace''' * Former Governor [[Lester Maddox]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 14, 1972 |title=Maddox Against Demo Nominees |pages=10 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/774056058/?terms=%22Lester%20Maddox%22%20%22George%20Wallace%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |quote=Maddox, a booster of fellow Democrat Alabama Gov. George Wallace, said Thursday it may be best to turn the present party "over to the promoters of anarchy, Socialism and Communism" and form what he called a New Democratic Party of the People. |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200130/https://www.newspapers.com/image/774056058/?terms=%22Lester%20Maddox%22%20%22George%20Wallace%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> '''Shirley Chisholm''' * Representative [[Ron Dellums]] from California<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2020 |title="Catalyst for Change": The 1972 Presidential Campaign of Representative Shirley Chisholm |url=https://history.house.gov/Blog/2020/September/9-14-Chisholm-1972/ |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=History, Art & Archives of the United States House of Representatives |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200129/https://history.house.gov/Blog/2020/September/9-14-Chisholm-1972/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * [[Feminist Movement in the United States|Feminist leader]] and author [[Betty Friedan]]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb1kkyv9e5wC&q=Friedan+chisholm&pg=PA250 |title=Life So Far: A Memoir – Google Books |date=August 1, 2006 |access-date=May 28, 2010 |isbn=978-0-7432-9986-2 |last1=Friedan |first1=Betty |publisher=Simon and Schuster |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418145327/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb1kkyv9e5wC&q=Friedan+chisholm&pg=PA250 |url-status=live }}</ref> * [[Feminist Movement in the United States|Feminist leader]], journalist, and DNC official [[Gloria Steinem]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/pov/chisholm/special_ticket_02.php |title=POV – Chisholm '72 . Video: Gloria Steinem reflects on Chisholm's legacy |publisher=PBS |access-date=May 28, 2010 |archive-date=June 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616020557/http://www.pbs.org/pov/chisholm/special_ticket_02.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> '''Terry Sanford''' * Former President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] from [[Texas]]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QN93ENX3_3sC&q=ranch&pg=PP4 |title=Terry Sanford: politics, progress ... – Google Books |access-date=May 28, 2010 |isbn=978-0-8223-2356-3 |year=1999 |last1=Covington |first1=Howard E. |last2=Ellis |first2=Marion A. |publisher=Duke University Press |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418145359/https://books.google.com/books?id=QN93ENX3_3sC&q=ranch&pg=PP4 |url-status=live }}</ref> '''Henry M. Jackson''' * Governor [[Jimmy Carter]] of Georgia<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 12, 1972 |title=Convention Briefs: Endorses Jackson |pages=40 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/401255613/?terms=%22jimmy%20carter%22%20%22henry%20jackson%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |quote=Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter endorsed Sen. Henry Jackson of Washington for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday and said he would nominate Jackson at the convention tonight. |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513200134/https://www.newspapers.com/image/401255613/?terms=%22jimmy%20carter%22%20%22henry%20jackson%22%20%22endorses%22%20%22endorsed%22&match=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> }} ===1972 Democratic National Convention=== [[File:Democrats and Republicans in Convention--2 (3525637530).ogv|thumb|right|thumbtime=3.549|300px|Video from the Florida conventions]] {{main|1972 Democratic National Convention}} Results: {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *[[George McGovern]] – 1864.95 *[[Henry M. Jackson]] – 525 *[[George Wallace]] – 381.7 *[[Shirley Chisholm]] – 151.95 *[[Terry Sanford]] – 77.5 *[[Hubert Humphrey]] – 66.7 *[[Wilbur Mills]] – 33.8 *[[Edmund Muskie]] – 24.3 *[[Ted Kennedy]] – 12.7 *[[Sam Yorty]] – 10 *[[Wayne Hays]] – 5 *[[John Lindsay]] – 5 *[[Fred R. Harris|Fred Harris]] – 2 *[[Eugene McCarthy]] – 2 *[[Walter Mondale]] – 2 *[[Ramsey Clark]] – 1 *[[Walter Fauntroy]] – 1 *[[Vance Hartke]] – 1 *[[Harold Hughes]] – 1 *[[Patsy Mink]] – 1 {{div col end}} ===Vice presidential vote=== Most polls showed McGovern running well behind incumbent President [[Richard Nixon]], except when McGovern was paired with [[Massachusetts]] Senator [[Ted Kennedy]]. McGovern and his campaign brain trust lobbied Kennedy heavily to accept the bid to be McGovern's [[running mate]], but he continually refused their advances, and instead suggested [[U.S. Representative]] (and [[House Ways and Means Committee]] chairman) [[Wilbur Mills]] from [[Arkansas]] and [[Mayor of Boston|Boston Mayor]] [[Kevin White (mayor)|Kevin White]].<ref name="time">{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906135,00.html|title=Introducing... the McGovern Machine|date=July 24, 1972|work=Time Magazine|access-date=September 7, 2008|archive-date=August 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809165609/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906135,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Offers were then made to [[Hubert Humphrey]], Connecticut Senator [[Abraham Ribicoff]], and Minnesota Senator [[Walter Mondale]], all of whom turned it down. Finally, the vice presidential slot was offered to Senator [[Thomas Eagleton]] from Missouri, who accepted the offer.<ref name="time" /> With hundreds of [[Delegate (American politics)|delegate]]s displeased with McGovern, the vote to ratify Eagleton's candidacy was chaotic, with at least three other candidates having their names put into nomination and votes scattered over 70 candidates.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/chicago/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml |work=All Politics |title=All The Votes...Really |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 28, 2010 |archive-date=April 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424044429/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/chicago/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> A grassroots attempt to displace Eagleton in favor of Texas state representative [[Frances Farenthold]] gained significant traction, though was ultimately unable to change the outcome of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00291/cah-00291.html |title=A Guide to the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Papers, 1913–2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231190207/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00291/cah-00291.html/ |archive-date=December 31, 2016 |publisher=Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin |website=Texas Archival Resources Online}}</ref> The vice-presidential balloting went on so long that McGovern and Eagleton were forced to begin making their acceptance speeches at around 2 am, local time. After the convention ended, it was discovered that Eagleton had undergone psychiatric [[electroshock therapy]] for [[clinical depression|depression]] and had concealed this information from McGovern. A ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine poll taken at the time found that 77 percent of the respondents said, "Eagleton's medical record would not affect their vote." Nonetheless, the press made frequent references to his "shock therapy", and McGovern feared that this would detract from his campaign platform.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/26/MN9NVQGO2.DTL |title=Obama bounces back – speech seemed to help |publisher=SFGATE |date=March 26, 2008 |access-date=May 28, 2010 |first=Joe |last=Garofoli |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525170532/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/26/MN9NVQGO2.DTL |url-status=live }}</ref> McGovern subsequently consulted confidentially with pre-eminent psychiatrists, including Eagleton's own doctors, who advised him that a recurrence of Eagleton's depression was possible and could endanger the country, should Eagleton become president.<ref>McGovern, George S., ''Grassroots: The Autobiography of George McGovern'', New York: Random House, 1977, pp. 214–215</ref><ref>McGovern, George S., ''Terry: My Daughter's Life-and-Death Struggle with Alcoholism'', New York: Random House, 1996, pp. 97</ref><ref>Marano, Richard Michael, ''Vote Your Conscience: The Last Campaign of George McGovern'', Praeger Publishers, 2003, pp. 7</ref><ref>''The Washington Post'', "George McGovern & the Coldest Plunge", [[Paul Hendrickson]], September 28, 1983</ref><ref>''The New York Times'', "'Trashing' Candidates" (op-ed), George McGovern, May 11, 1983</ref> McGovern had initially claimed that he would back Eagleton "1000 percent",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://observer.com/2016/07/im-behind-him-1000/|title='I'm Behind Him 1000%'|website=Observer.com|date=July 21, 2016}}</ref> only to ask Eagleton to withdraw three days later. This perceived lack of conviction in sticking with his running mate was disastrous for the McGovern campaign. McGovern later approached six prominent Democrats to run for vice president: Ted Kennedy, [[Edmund Muskie]], Hubert Humphrey, [[Abraham Ribicoff]], [[Larry O'Brien]], and [[Reubin Askew]]. All six declined. [[Sargent Shriver]], brother-in-law to John, Robert, and Ted Kennedy, former [[United States Ambassador to France|Ambassador to France]], and former [[Peace Corps#Directors|Director]] of the [[Peace Corps]], later accepted.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Liebovich|first1=Louis|title=Richard Nixon, Watergate, and the Press: A Historical Retrospective|date=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275979157|page=[https://archive.org/details/richardnixonwate00lieb/page/53 53]|url=https://archive.org/details/richardnixonwate00lieb/page/53}}</ref> He was officially nominated by a special session of the [[Democratic National Committee]]. By this time, McGovern's poll ratings had plunged from 41 to 24 percent. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page