1972 Presidential Election

The 1972 Presidential election was held on November 7, 1972 between democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, and Republican President Richard Nixon. Nixon was already in office and was running for his second term at the time. Nixon beat McGovern by a landslide even though Nixon was at that time taking heat over the firing of Vice Presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton a medicare scandal going on around that time. Nixon centered his campaign on the economy and emphasized his success in international affairs, after successfully beginning negotiations with China, and their ruler Mao Zedong. Nixon also played a major role in the completion of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union, which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. McGovern's campaign put emphasis on an immediate ending of the ongoing Vietnam War, which America was involved with for the past 12 years until the time of the election. Nixon won 60.7% of the popular vote and the margin of votes between him and McGovern was the fourth biggest blowout in presidential election history. However, five men were caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. This led to a series of investigations and cover ups for the next two years, which was soon to be known as the Watergate Scandal.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=17&hid=119&sid=6fb289b3-32bb-493b-b99e-df859930ab95%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ofm&AN=504241438