Richard Nixon won a second term in office.
Richard Milhous Nixon ( January 9 , 1913 -- April 22 , 1994 ) was an American politician who served as the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974 , when he became the only U.S. president to resign from office . He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 , when he defeated George McGovern . The United States presidential election of 1972 , the 47th quadrennial presidential election was held on Tuesday , November 7 , 1972 . The Democratic Party 's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern of South Dakota , who ran an anti-war campaign against Republican incumbent President Richard Nixon , but was handicapped by his outsider status , limited support from his own party , the perception of many voters that he was a left-wing extremist and the scandal that resulted from the stepping down of vice-presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton .