The 1972 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 7, 1972. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1972 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

South Carolina overwhelmingly voted for the Republican nominees, incumbent President Richard Nixon of California and his running mate Vice President Spiro Agnew of Maryland. Nixon and Agnew defeated the Democratic nominees, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and his running mate U.S. Ambassador Sargent Shriver of Maryland.

Nixon carried South Carolina with 70.58 percent of the vote to McGovern's 27.92 percent, a victory margin of 42.66 points. This election provided the Republican Party with its best presidential result in South Carolina since 1872 and constitutes the only presidential election where the Republican candidate carried every county in the state. Nixon was also the first Republican since 1872 to carry the state twice.

Campaign Among white voters, 85% supported Nixon while 13% supported McGovern. This is the only time, that Marlboro County has voted for a Republican presidential candidate since that county was founded in 1896, and the last time when Orangeburg County, Williamsburg County, Marion County, Fairfield County, Hampton County, Lee County, and Allendale County have voted for a Republican presidential candidate.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 McCormick County would not vote Republican again until Donald Trump won it in 2016. Meanwhile, Clarendon and Jasper counties would not do so until Trump’s 2020 and 2024 victories in the state, respectively.

Polls SourceRatingAs ofCorvallis Gazette-TimesSeptember 19, 1972The Bradenton HeraldOctober 9, 1972Sun HeraldNovember 5, 1972

Results 1972 United States presidential election in South CarolinaPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican Richard Nixon (incumbent) 478,427 70.58% 8 Democratic/United Citizens George McGovern 189,270 27.92% 0 Independent John G. Schmitz 10,166 1.50% 0 Write-ins Write-ins 17 0.00% 0 Totals 677,880 100.00% 8 Voter turnout –

Results by county County Richard NixonRepublican George McGovernDemocratic John G. SchmitzIndependent Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Abbeville 3,266 68.95% 1,349 28.48% 122 2.58% 1,917 40.47% 4,737 Aiken 21,117 77.05% 5,745 20.96% 545 1.99% 15,372 56.09% 27,407 Allendale 1,741 55.34% 1,386 44.06% 19 0.60% 355 11.28% 3,146 Anderson 17,514 75.19% 5,241 22.50% 537 2.31% 12,273 52.69% 23,292 Bamberg 2,537 59.65% 1,680 39.50% 36 0.85% 857 20.15% 4,253 Barnwell 3,955 71.71% 1,560 28.29% 0 0.00% 2,395 43.42% 5,515 Beaufort 5,929 64.12% 3,237 35.01% 81 0.88% 2,692 29.11% 9,247 Berkeley 9,345 66.66% 4,497 32.08% 177 1.26% 4,848 34.58% 14,019 Calhoun 1,867 60.91% 1,148 37.46% 50 1.63% 719 23.45% 3,065 Charleston 39,863 68.79% 16,855 29.09% 1,229 2.12% 23,008 39.70% 57,947 Cherokee 7,570 77.24% 2,107 21.50% 123 1.26% 5,463 55.74% 9,800 Chester 4,724 66.20% 2,352 32.96% 60 0.84% 2,372 33.24% 7,136 Chesterfield 5,230 63.56% 2,938 35.70% 61 0.74% 2,292 27.86% 8,229 Clarendon 3,958 54.34% 3,276 44.98% 50 0.69% 682 9.36% 7,284 Colleton 5,723 69.51% 2,376 28.86% 134 1.63% 3,347 40.65% 8,233 Darlington 11,756 72.04% 4,414 27.05% 149 0.91% 7,342 44.99% 16,319 Dillon 4,364 72.32% 1,604 26.58% 66 1.09% 2,760 45.74% 6,034 Dorchester 8,095 68.11% 3,606 30.34% 185 1.56% 4,489 37.77% 11,886 Edgefield 2,812 66.67% 1,326 31.44% 80 1.90% 1,486 35.23% 4,218 Fairfield 2,608 50.68% 2,492 48.43% 46 0.89% 116 2.25% 5,146 Florence 18,106 65.30% 9,455 34.10% 165 0.60% 8,651 31.20% 27,726 Georgetown 6,114 57.27% 4,446 41.64% 116 1.09% 1,668 15.63% 10,676 Greenville 46,360 79.62% 10,143 17.42% 1,726 2.96% 36,217 62.20% 58,229 Greenwood 9,370 72.22% 3,400 26.20% 205 1.58% 5,970 46.02% 12,975 Hampton 2,891 57.56% 2,086 41.53% 46 0.92% 805 16.03% 5,023 Horry 15,324 76.84% 4,437 22.25% 183 0.92% 10,887 54.59% 19,944 Jasper 1,650 57.21% 1,203 41.71% 31 1.07% 447 15.50% 2,884 Kershaw 8,035 74.79% 2,531 23.56% 178 1.66% 5,504 51.23% 10,744 Lancaster 9,016 77.86% 2,461 21.25% 103 0.89% 6,555 56.61% 11,580 Laurens 8,141 74.46% 2,650 24.24% 142 1.30% 5,491 50.22% 10,933 Lee 3,076 60.31% 1,996 39.14% 28 0.55% 1,080 21.17% 5,100 Lexington 25,327 84.75% 4,069 13.62% 490 1.64% 21,258 71.13% 29,886 Marion 4,719 64.66% 2,545 34.87% 34 0.47% 2,174 29.79% 7,298 Marlboro 3,838 65.58% 1,999 34.16% 15 0.26% 1,839 31.42% 5,852 McCormick 1,302 60.22% 844 39.04% 16 0.74% 458 21.18% 2,162 Newberry 7,325 76.94% 2,035 21.37% 161 1.69% 5,290 55.57% 9,521 Oconee 6,824 78.19% 1,740 19.94% 164 1.88% 5,084 58.25% 8,728 Orangeburg 11,711 59.31% 7,652 38.75% 382 1.93% 4,059 20.56% 19,745 Pickens 11,776 82.37% 2,255 15.77% 265 1.85% 9,521 66.60% 14,296 Richland 39,746 64.11% 21,462 34.62% 787 1.27% 18,284 29.49% 61,995 Saluda 3,095 73.85% 1,022 24.39% 74 1.77% 2,073 49.46% 4,191 Spartanburg 31,308 75.34% 9,586 23.07% 662 1.59% 21,722 52.27% 41,556 Sumter 10,892 64.83% 5,801 34.53% 107 0.64% 5,091 30.30% 16,800 Union 8,337 75.35% 2,676 24.18% 52 0.47% 5,661 51.17% 11,065 Williamsburg 5,729 52.01% 5,213 47.33% 73 0.66% 516 4.68% 11,015 York 14,441 68.68% 6,374 30.31% 211 1.00% 8,067 38.37% 21,026Totals478,42770.58%189,27027.92%10,1661.50%289,15742.66%677,880

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