sage out to the American electorate, and a divide within the Democratic Party are all possible explanations for the Nixon landslide win. With the country at war, and high inflation rates plaguing the economy, the presidential election of 1972 would play a major role in the what direction the American government would move in. The movement started in the presidential primaries of 1972. The democrats were seen to have many possible contenders to go up against the incumbent President Richard Nixon. Going into the New Hampshire Primary in early March, Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine was seen as the likely contender to face President Nixon in the general election. Muskie also had some strong opponents for the democratic nomination for president. Hubert Humphrey who lost to Nixon in 1968 was seen as a possible contender, along with Alabama Governor George Wallace, and Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. Muskie’s campaign was crippled when he only won the New Hampshire primary with 47 percent of the vote compared to the 65 percent he was predicted to receive. Followed by bad publicity and his fourth place finish in Florida Muskie began to finish poorly in the remaining primaries. When McGovern won Massachusetts Muskie halted his campaign. Wallace was still considered a possible contender until an attempt to assassinate him left Wallace paralyzed and he thus withdrew from the campaign. Humphrey and McGovern were the remaining contenders. The California primary was one that left the Democratic Party divided. In debates between Humphrey and McGovern, Humphrey accused McGovern of being too liberal. Although McGovern won California, he won by a narrower margin than expected, which seemed to show that Humphrey’s attacks had taken their toll. McGovern won most of the remaining primaries and received the democratic nomination for president. Although McGovern received the nomination, a divided Democratic Party may have hurt his campaign early on. The policy issues of the 1972 presidential election were some of the most highly publicized issues of any modern day election. The war in Vietnam was a hotbed of conflicting viewpoints among Americans. The role government should play in social assistance to the needy was another issue that seemed to capture the attention of many Americans. Not only did these issues weigh on the minds of many Americans, the economic state of the U.S was in a down period. Inflation was extremely high and many Americans were worried about job security. The country was divided about all of these issues and many others. Although it may seem clear to some the positions the two candidates took on these issues, there is evidence that shows that many Americans were not convinced as to which candidate held a issue position closer to their own view. McGovern was clearly in favor of immediate withdraw from Vietnam. “I’m fed up with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in,?McGovern said in his print advertising. “The war in Indochina is the greatest military, political, economic, and moral blunder in our nation’s history…” However, one poll indicates that there were a large number of Americans who believed that Nixon was closer to their position of favoring withdraw from Vietnam. 22 percent of Americans surveyed saw Nixon as closer to their own position of favoring withdraw. Compared to 62 percent of those surveyed saw McGovern as closer to their own position of favoring withdraw. On the other end of the spectrum there seems to be more clarity amongst Americans on who favored a military victory in Vietnam. 90 percent of those surveyed who favored a milit

Some topics in this essay:
Democratic Party, Northeast South, President Nixon, Hall Jamieson, American Electorate, Americans Nixon, McGovern Nixon’s, South Dakota, Nixon President, Columbia Nixon, american electorate, percent surveyed, democratic party, split tickets, national democratic vote, leadership capabilities, ticket splitting, president nixon, democratic vote, national democratic, presidential election, democratic national democratic, voted democratic national, percent country split, position favoring withdraw,