The 1972 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary was held on March 7, 1972, in New Hampshire as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1972 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Richard Nixon faced his first major test in New Hampshire against two minor challengers: liberal anti-Vietnam war candidate Pete McCloskey of California and conservative John Ashbrook of Ohio, who opposed Nixon's détente policies towards China and the Soviet Union. Nixon won the Granite State in a landslide, resulting in the withdrawal of McCloskey from the primaries (he promised to do so if he failed to reach >20% of the vote) and a clear path for the incumbent President to receive the Republican nomination.[1][2][3]
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  Margin by county Winner by municipality | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Results
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard M. Nixon (incumbent) | 79,239 | 67.6 | |
| Paul N. McCloskey | 23,190 | 19.8 | |
| John M. Ashbrook | 11,362 | 9.7 | |
| Others | 3,417 | 2.9 | |
| Total votes | 117,208 | 100.0 | |