How did Nixon do so well in West Virginia in 1972?

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

He won by 27 points and McGovern only carried a single county. Shouldn't Democrats have had a much higher floor in WV in that era?

[Sir Mohamed]

I think McGovern was just a horrible fit for WV?

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

I think McGovern was just a horrible fit for WV?

He definitely was but I thought WV had enough reliable D support that even a horrible fit would get at least 45%.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

I mean look at how badly McGovern did in the South (not arguing WV is southern) in general despite the fact that it was still largely Democratic below the presidential level back then. Look at how badly Goldwater did in ancestrally Republican areas. There weren't floors like there are now.

[Schiff for Senate]

I mean look at how badly McGovern did in the South (not arguing WV is southern) in general despite the fact that it was still largely Democratic below the presidential level back then. Look at how badly Goldwater did in ancestrally Republican areas. There weren't floors like there are now.

This - it also had to do with Nixon making inroads with union workers and organised labour (IIRC a major union - the AFL-CIO, I believe - refused to endorse McGovern like it had with previous Democrats, and unlike for Goldwater or for Nixon in 1960 or 1968, many unionised workers - turned off by McGovern's progressivism - went for Nixon in 1972). Also want to point out how Southeast OK, which was also 'ancestrally blue' and quite Democratic in the 1960s/1970s, voted overwhelmingly for Nixon (by a bigger margin than Southern WV - every county in OK gave Nixon north of 60%, whereas McGovern still won a county in southern WV, and broke 40% in the other Southern WV counties).

[UWS]

I think McGovern was just a horrible fit for WV?

A horrible fit for even South Dakota.

[morgieb]

It's worth noting that the 1972 and 1984 elections look pretty dissimilar despite both elections having the incumbent Republican president keep their Democratic opponent to just one state. McGovern's (small) coalition was kind of upmarket, being pretty college friendly and basically all his House seat wins outside of Massachusetts being in urban areas. Nixon was moderate enough on key issues to make allies with unions to outwedge McGovern with more "traditional" Democrats. One could say there was parallels between that election and the Corbyn/Johnson one in the UK.

1984 however Reagan was the candidate of Cadillac driving Sunbelt suburbanites but his relationship with working-class voters was lukewarm at best. He was a fairly rubbish fit for unionised voters and while plenty still went for him because he won by so much, the kinds of voters that didn't jump on the Reagan bandwagon skewed a lot more working-class than anti-Nixon voters.

[Property Representative of the Harold Holt Swimming Centre]

The Democratic nominee 'should' have gotten around 45% based on both Humphrey and Carter did relative to the national result in 1968 and 1976 respectively. McGovern was rather toxic to a lot of blue collar Democrats.

[Fancyarcher]

It's worth noting that the 1972 and 1984 elections look pretty dissimilar despite both elections having the incumbent Republican president keep their Democratic opponent to just one state. McGovern's (small) coalition was kind of upmarket, being pretty college friendly and basically all his House seat wins outside of Massachusetts being in urban areas. Nixon was moderate enough on key issues to make allies with unions to outwedge McGovern with more "traditional" Democrats. One could say there was parallels between that election and the Corbyn/Johnson one in the UK.

1984 however Reagan was the candidate of Cadillac driving Sunbelt suburbanites but his relationship with working-class voters was lukewarm at best. He was a fairly rubbish fit for unionised voters and while plenty still went for him because he won by so much, the kinds of voters that didn't jump on the Reagan bandwagon skewed a lot more working-class than anti-Nixon voters.

Probably speaks to more how different the popular vote was, likely a result of the country overall being a bit more polarized compared to 1972.

Despite Reagan's electoral college sweep, Mondale still broke 40%, and there were a lot more closer states in 1984 as a result.

[UWS]

McGovern also called the government "to put an end to the strip mining". That has certainly hurt McGovern among coal mining voters.