News stories from Wednesday November 8, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- With 98% of the vote counted, President Nixon won 45,861,690 votes, or 61%. Senator George McGovern won 28,402,465 votes, or 38%. John Schmitz of the American Party got 1,047,030 votes, or 1%. Dr. Benjamin Spock got 73,678 votes, less than 1%.
President Nixon's victory rivals the record-setting Lyndon Johnson win over Barry Goldwater in 1964. Nixon got 521 electoral votes; McGovern 17 (from Massachusetts and Washington, DC), figures which compare to Franklin Roosevelt's landslide over Alf Landon in 1936. Just ten years ago Richard Nixon lost the race for governor in California and told the press they wouldn't have him to kick around anymore.
Nixon plans a top-level shakeup for his second administration. He left for Florida to ponder a series of changes in the cabinet and White House staff. Press secretary Ron Ziegler stated that the President feels the government can be run more efficiently and effectively. All presidential appointees have been asked to submit their resignations -- some of which will be accepted. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and HUD Secretary George Romney will leave. Attorney General Richard Kleindienst and Secretary of State William Rogers may go too (Rogers may be the next Supreme Court nominee). New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, John Connally and Henry Kissinger are possible replacements for Rogers at the State Department.
[CBS] - George McGovern accepted his defeat, bidding farewell to staff members and reporters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as the campaign family broke up. McGovern then headed back to Washington, where Sargent Shriver, staffers and supporters greeted him. McGovern said that his cause is just as bright and hopeful as ever, and he thanked the voters of Washington, DC and Massachusetts for their support. [CBS]
- Returns confirmed the accuracy of the opinion polls and the bellwether counties which maintained their records: Crook County (Oregon), Laramie County (Wyoming) and Palo Alto County (Iowa) all went for Nixon, continuing their lengthy streaks of correctly picking presidential winners. [CBS]
- The smallest percentage of eligible voters since 1948 went to the polls this year. The total vote was 77 million, or 55% of the voting-age population. [CBS]
- Senator Robert Dole, the Republican party chairman, interprets the outcome of the election as a referendum on the future of America and as a personal victory for President Nixon. But he acknowledged the lack of victory for the Republican party in congressional and gubernatorial races.
Ticket-splitting has resulted in a 93rd Congress that will be similar to the 92nd. Republicans had a net loss of four Senate seats. Margaret Chase Smith was ousted by Rep. William Hathaway in Maine. In Delaware, incumbent Caleb Boggs was beaten by Joseph Biden. But In North Carolina, Republican Jesse Helms defeated Rep. Nick Galifianakis, and in Oklahoma, Dewey Bartlett won over Democratic Rep. Edward Edmondson. In Virginia, William Lloyd Scott beat incumbent Democrat William Spong. In Iowa, Republican Senator Jack Miller was unseated by Dick Clark, and Democrats also won in South Dakota and Colorado, where Senator Gordon Allott was beaten by Floyd Haskell. In New Mexico, Republican Pete Domenici defeated Jack Daniels.
In the House of Representatives, Republicans gained 12 seats, women gained two and the number of blacks increased by three -- Georgia's Andrew Young, Texas's Barbara Jordan and California's Yvonne Burke. Pete McCloskey was re-elected in California. Missing representatives Hale Boggs of Louisiana and Nick Begich of Alaska were both re-elected.
[CBS] - In the Texas race, Democrat Dolph Briscoe edged past Republican Henry Grover, giving Democrats 11 of the 18 gubernatorial seats that were up for election. There are now 31 Democrat governors, 19 Republicans. [CBS]
- The scramble for control of the Democratic party has begun. Party leaders are calling for the resignation of McGovern-appointed chairman Jean Westwood. Senators McGovern, Humphrey and Muskie have taken themselves out of consideration for 1976. Edward Kennedy has emerged as the most important Democratic Senator.
Senator Edward Brooke, who is black, said that he will vie for the 1976 Republican presidential nomination, and declared that Vice President Agnew is not the heir apparent.
[CBS] - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's Cook County political machine, rebuffed by McGovern Democrats, was battered at the polls; ticket-splitting damaged Daley's strength. Maverick Democrat Daniel Walker won the governor's race, and state's attorney Edward Hanrahan was defeated by a former FBI agent, Republican Bernard Carey. Daley said that he does not feel threatened by the election results. [CBS]
- The Viet Cong charged that America has returned to office a man who is prolonging and intensifying the Vietnam war, but South Vietnam is happy with President Nixon's re-election. President Thieu would have felt better if Republicans had won control of the Senate, but Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam said the election shows that the majority of the American people approve Nixon's policy of peace with honor. [CBS]
- General Alexander Haig, an aide to Henry Kissinger, has returned to Saigon for more talks with President Thieu. President Nixon intends to get tough with Thieu. Haig will try to win Thieu's endorsement of the peace agreement before Kissinger's climactic meeting with the North Vietnamese. Serious complications remain. [CBS]
- Senator William Proxmire called on the Air Force to either prove that the three missing F-111's were shot down over North Vietnam (as opposed to crashing) or ground the controversial fighter. [CBS]
- Five people were killed when the freighter African Neptune crashed into a crowded drawbridge at Brunswick, Georgia; six people are missing. One survivor described the crash, with cars plunging into the water and people screaming. A steering malfunction or pilot error is being blamed. Boats and divers are searching for more bodies and cars. [CBS]
- The U.S. Navy's carrier Constellation remains anchored in San Diego. Racial trouble involving 130 crewmen interrupted maneuvers. Captain J. D. Ward is accused of punishing blacks more severely than whites and provoking violent racial incidents. [CBS]
- The leaders of the American Indian protest have agreed to give up their occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Washington, DC. Protest leader Dennis Banks said he was told that the government will not prosecute the Indians for seizing the building. Amnesty for their theft of bureau records and destruction of other property has not been determined, however. [CBS]
- Five Mexicans have hijacked an airliner and are demanding $320,000 and the release of six bank robbers. The hijacked plane left Monterrey for Cuba. [CBS]
- Results of some of the referenda on state ballots yesterday: California voted to restore the death penalty, rejected a crackdown on pornography and refused to legalize marijuana. Maryland refused tuition grants to pupils in private and parochial schools. New York and Florida approved environmental protection.
Colorado rejected hosting and funding the 1976 Winter Olympics; Colorado voters were determined to keep their ski country unspoiled. An Olympics advocate said that Colorado has tarnished its image by rejecting the games.
[CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 983.74 (-1.06, -0.11%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| November 6, 1972 | 984.80 | 113.98 | 21.33 |
| November 3, 1972 | 984.12 | 114.22 | 22.51 |
| November 2, 1972 | 973.06 | 113.23 | 20.69 |
| November 1, 1972 | 968.54 | 112.67 | 21.36 |
| October 31, 1972 | 955.52 | 111.58 | 15.45 |
| October 30, 1972 | 946.42 | 110.59 | 11.82 |
| October 27, 1972 | 946.42 | 110.62 | 15.47 |
| October 26, 1972 | 950.56 | 110.99 | 20.79 |
| October 25, 1972 | 951.38 | 110.72 | 17.43 |
| October 24, 1972 | 952.51 | 110.81 | 15.24 |