The 1972 United States presidential election in California refers to how California participated in the 1972 United States presidential election. California voted for the Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon, over the Democratic challenger, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Nixon took 55.00% of the vote to McGovern's 41.54%, a margin of 13.46%. Although California was Richard Nixon's home state, his performance in the state was somewhat underwhelming, as California's result was nearly 10 points more Democratic than the nation as a whole.