November 7, 1972 1976 → 2,788,179 1,913,472 Date 7 November 1972 | 26 0 59.0% 40.5% Location Illinois, United States | |
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The 1972 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent President Nixon won the state of Illinois with 59% of the vote, carrying the state's 26 electoral votes. He defeated his main opponent, Democratic candidate George McGovern in Illinois by an overwhelming margin of 18.52 points.
Nixon won all but one of Illinois’ 102 counties. The solitary exception was college-based Jackson County, which notably had voted for Nixon in the previous election and was one of only five counties outside McGovern’s home state to switch from Republican to Democratic at this election. This election is the most recent in which Cook County voted Republican, the only Republican victory in St. Clair County since Calvin Coolidge in 1924, and the last until 2016 when Alexander County supported a Republican nominee.