Primary campaign 1972 George McGovern presidential campaign, 1972

in initial event of campaign season, mcgovern placed strong third in iowa caucuses. how attention , momentum generated campaign still debated.

prior new hampshire primary, canuck letter published in manchester union-leader. letter, authenticity later brought question, claimed muskie had made disparaging remarks french-canadians. subsequently, paper published attack on character of muskie s wife jane, reporting drank , used off-color language. muskie made emotional defense of wife in speech outside newspaper s offices during snowstorm. though muskie later stated had appeared press tears melted snowflakes, press reported muskie broke down , cried. muskie did worse expected in primary, while mcgovern came in surprisingly close second. while muskie s campaign funding , support dried up, mcgovern picked valuable momentum in following months.

mcgovern did attract celebrity supporters, mcgovern recalled carole king helped me; lauren bacall; james taylor; paul newman; goldie hawn; linda ronstadt; burt lancaster; jack nicholson; peter, paul , mary. shirley maclaine appeared me. warren beatty came out, too, , did lot of fundraising me. helen gahagan douglas, former california congresswoman first victim of nixon s dirty tricks in 1950 senate race came out of retirement fight hard me. me beginning end. on april 15, 1972, barbra streisand held fundraising concert mcgovern @ forum in los angeles in front of audience of 18,000 people. seat prices ranged $5.50 $100, , event grossed $300,000, after expenses of producing show, mcgovern s campaign given $18,000. on june 24, 1972, neil young , graham nash backed stray gators released single war song single in support of mcgovern s campaign, failed make impression on charts or in airplay.

after mcgovern had won massachusetts primary on april 25, 1972, journalist robert novak phoned democratic politicians around country, agreed assessment blue-collar workers voting mcgovern did not understand stood for. on april 27, novak reported in column unnamed democratic senator had talked him mcgovern , said: people don’t know mcgovern amnesty, abortion , legalization of pot. once middle america - catholic middle america, in particular - finds out, he’s dead. although mcgovern supported decriminalization of marijuana , maintained legalized abortion fell under purview of states rights, became known candidate of amnesty, abortion , acid.

mcgovern speaking during campaign. june 30, 1972

feminist leader gloria steinem reluctant join mcgovern campaign. though had brought in mcgovern s single largest campaign contributor in 1968, still had been treated frivolous pariah of mcgovern s campaign staff. , in april 1972, steinem remarked still doesn t understand women s movement.

contender henry m. jackson failed gain traction against mcgovern, , made real news later in campaign part of mcgovern coalition, raised known acid, amnesty , abortion questions mcgovern.

a lighter incident occurred regarding accusation during nebraska primary campaign. state s former governor, frank morrison, actively campaigning mcgovern, sought counter jackson , humphrey campaigns effective use of accusation. during campaign speech, morrison declared, george mcgovern legalization of marijuana, -- @ point there thunderous applause younger people in audience, left morrison puzzled, when died down, finished, tell george mcgovern not advocate legalization of marijuana. produced cries of disappointment in audience. continued, george mcgovern abortion on demand, tell you-- again there deafening applause, followed sighs of regret when finished sentence: george mcgovern against tampering our state laws on abortion. afterwards, morrison confessed mcgovern, maybe m old understand new generation. ll oldsters you, , take care of young ones think best. mcgovern won nebraska primary.

mcgovern lost several primaries, including florida george wallace. due wallace s outsider image, did in south (he won every single county in florida primary) , among alienated , dissatisfied voters. might have become forceful campaign cut short when wallace shot , left paralyzed in assassination attempt while campaigning. wallace did win maryland primary, near assassination ended campaign.

but in end, mcgovern succeeded in winning nomination winning primaries through grassroots support in spite of establishment opposition.