From the Encyclopedia Americana,  "1972, Election of"

    Democratic- Humphrey/Muskie- 271 Electoral Votes.  50.73% of the Popular Vote
    Republican- Reagan/Ford-  267 Electoral Votes.  47.51% of the Popular Vote.

    Running on a platform radically different from Nixon only four years earlier, Governor Reagan was unable to take victory away from President Humphrey.  Moving even farther to the right of Nixon on many issues, Reagan won every state that went to Wallace in 1968, with the popular vote in that section of the country being similar to that for a Democratic candidate before the Civil Rights Movement.  In gaining the south, however, Reagan lost many states, including Wisconsin and Iowa, that Nixon had won.  Although sweeping the Rocky Mountain and Plains states, except for the Dakotas and Montana, the margins of victory for Reagan there were very slim.  The state of Michigan would come down to the wire, with the vote count in that state lasting until 1 in the morning before President Humphrey was declared the winner.

From the Encyclopedia Americana,  "South Dakota"

    In 1972, it was thought that Governor Reagan's opposition to the sale of American wheat and other agricultural products would cost him the Western states.  It is true that his popular vote from North Dakota to Oklahoma was less than previous Republican candidates, but he managed to win in all except for the Dakotas.

From the Encyclopedia Americana, "New Hampshire"
    The political life of New Hampshire since World War II has been shaped by several powerful figures and trends.  One of the major influences on public opinion in the state was William Loeb, an eccentric, right-wing publisher.  From 1946 until his death in 1981, Loeb owned the Manchester Union-Leader, the only newspaper to circulate statewide, and used it to editorialize against any sales or income tax.  He was also known for his attacks on people and issues he considered liberal.  In 1972, New Hampshire was the only New England state to vote for Republican Governor Reagan and his supply-sided economics platform.

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