programs for the next eight hours so that ABC News can bring you full coverage of the 1972 elections.
ABC News presents complete nationwide coverage of tonight's election 72. Brought to you by JC
Penney. Tomorrow morning our 1700 stores and our catalog will be waiting to help you find what
you're looking for. Now from election headquarters in New York the anchorman of the ABC Evening News
Harry Reisner and Howard K. Smith. Good evening. Well at last the long wait is over tonight we find
out whether the pollsters were right and there's going to be a Nixon landslide. Partly right he'll
win a modest victory or whether they were wrong and McGovern's going to win. As you can see we
already have some popular votes up on our board with 1 percent of the nation's precincts having
reported in. Nixon has 66 percent of the votes counted so far. These come mainly from three
states Indiana Kentucky and Tennessee and McGovern 33 percent. We also have a state result a result
in the presidential election in the presidential election in the state of Indiana. Nixon is the
winner of Indiana's 13 electoral votes by projection from the result in key precincts. To repeat Nixon
carries Indiana no surprise. And another no surprise so far in the state of Kentucky in the presidential
race. President ABC News pre projects that Nixon will win that state. The 48 percent of the precincts
reported actually has 65 percent of the vote. He carried it in 1968 but by a much smaller margin and
of course that's because there was George Wallace there. One of the things we'll be doing in
tonight's coverage of the elections is to keep a kind of running total of electoral votes. And
since Mr. Nixon has won Indiana and Kentucky according to ABC News projection he has won 22
of the magic figure of 270. Mr. McGovern has won none and would not be expected to in these
early reports which come from Nixon states. I suppose we should explain what we're talking
about when we say projection. I think we're better because we're going to be projecting fast and a
lot in many states in the next hour and a half to two hours throughout the evening. We'll use that
word projections and we'll use it in respect to Senate and governor races as well as projections
on how the states vote for the presidency. These determinations are made by political experts at
our decision desk. Their goal is speed and accuracy but with a heavy emphasis on accuracy. As in past
elections our policy tonight will be to wait until the polls are closed in a state before we make any
projected results for that state. We'll project the presidential winner whenever the total number of
projected electoral votes passes 270 whether all the polls are closed or not. That will happen
after eight o'clock here in the east when many of the polls will be closed. There's no evidence
whatever that projections have any effect on people who've not yet voted but by waiting until
the polls close we can be absolutely sure we're reporting the results and not influencing them.
We will not make projections for the House of Representatives. Those apparent winners will be
determined by the raw vote. Now I would like to call your attention to the presidential race the
raw vote not the projection. We have projected that Indiana has been won by President Nixon but
here's the way the raw vote looks in the presidential race in Indiana. The presidential race in Indiana
President Nixon leads as you can see by the the figures there only 12 percent of the precincts
are in but they include our key precincts which tell us that Nixon's going to win. Now for one
close race in the Senate in the state of Kentucky. In the state of Kentucky it's been a ding-dong
race all of this short evening so far between Democrat Walter Huddleston and Republican Louie
Nunn. Each has 50 percent and that's the way it's gone and it may go that way all the way through
the evening. That's one of those Kentucky senator races that you get used to over the year. They
seem to whatever they feel nationally they always make it close on senator. As might be expected
with ABC News projecting President Nixon taking Indiana's presidential votes the Republican Otis
Bowen a candidate for governor is also the apparent winner over Democrat Matthew Wells the former
governor in Indiana. He's running ahead by a healthy 18 percent. ABC News now does predict
that Otis Bowen who was speaker of the State House of Representatives not as well known as the man
he run against but has supported President Nixon's policies and it's apparently doing him a substantial
amount of good. ABC News predicts that's the first governor. We're talking tonight about 18 races for
governor with 20 Democratic holdovers and 12 Republicans who don't have to run for anything.
The former governor in Indiana Edgar Whitcomb was also a Republican so so far in the net gain area
there is no net gain. One Republican has held one Republican seat. One of the things we're going to
be doing tonight is to look around the country at where the people are who are critically affected
by this election or who will be coming out with victory or concession statements. We will for
instance maintain cameras and reporters and correspondents in Sioux Falls South Dakota. This
is the first time in history that anybody has maintained cameras in Sioux Falls South Dakota to
see what a presidential candidate would say. This is where George McGovern is spending the evening.
He voted earlier today in Mitchell which is his nominal home but Sioux Falls is the biggest town
in South Dakota and this is the place where the victory celebrations or the concession statement
will come. Sooner or later we'll also be at the Shoreham Hotel in New York where President Nixon
who is watching television after a family dinner in the White House will go to make his victory or
concession statement and we will also go to some of the places that are not national but which are
very fascinating. In West Virginia where J. John D. Rockefeller the fourth is running for governor
on the Democratic ticket. This is where he'll be and he's not far from the governor's mansion
where Governor Archie Moore a Republican governor and who's an unusual situation for West Virginia
is trying to hold off his challenge. Then we will also go from time to time to Columbus Ohio during
the last two or three months has been the ABC city where correspondent Jim Kincaid has been trying
to follow what a typical typical American city thinks and is doing about this election. Tonight
he's assembled a number of people with varying attitudes and we just hope that through the evening
as we go to them there are no serious disagreements. Well thank you very much Harry for that tour which
we're going to take most of the night tonight. By the way we're going to have many slips of the tongue.
Harry said the Shoreham Hotel in New York I'm sure he meant Washington DC where the president
may appear. Anyhow we'll have more on election 72 in just a moment.
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This has been a peculiar election campaign. The prediction was for apathy. In fact they say more
people are turning out than ever before. There's been a heavy turnout in many places in spite of
bad weather. It's been a peculiar election because all the pollsters have agreed that Richard Nixon
is going to win a remarkable landslide. Harry from what you've seen do you believe the pollsters
are going to prove right. Well we've certainly seen nothing in the in what Mr. McGovern called
the only poll accounts and what President Nixon called the only poll accounts. We've certainly
seen nothing so far to indicate that they're wrong. We have not seen the cases that are
regarded as close. Kentucky Indiana were expected to go heavily for Nixon they already have and
this year with George Wallace not there they assumed they would go heavier. They have I think
all you can say so far is something negative which is no evidence of a major upset. I hate to be
conventional but I think I think the pollster just can't be that wrong. Their methods are so
sophisticated now unlike 1948 they pulled up right up to the end and I expect that they will prove
right in the end. Now I don't expect they'll prove his right as a friend of mine in the White House
said to me the other night he said McGovern will carry the District of Columbia and Massachusetts
and nothing else. Well some people say he won't even carry Massachusetts. The polls were about
five or six percent wrong in 1948. They allow that kind of a percentage of error now and they would
have to be the major polls would have to be somewhere from 20 to 30 percent wrong this year
to have that same kind of thing. One initial bit of evidence that they probably are right is that
our early indications from our key precincts in Ohio which is one of the states that George McGovern
would have hoped to pull an upset in is it so far. Nixon is running very well cutting across all
boundaries in the state including some areas that are historically Democratic. I think perhaps it's
time that we got a reading from the two correspondents who are following the two candidates and I
suggest that we go first in view of what has happened to Frank Reynolds who is out in Sioux
Falls South Dakota Frank. Yes well Harry we're making history tonight by having television
cameras here in Sioux Falls South Dakota. We're making it right at this moment because there are
two network correspondents about five yards apart both reporting to the nation on the situation in
Senator McGovern's hotel headquarters. The last time I saw the senator just a couple of hours ago
he seemed remarkably serene not at all like a man who believes in the polls. He mentioned last night
that he kind of hoped that when people got into the privacy of the polling place that they would
be afflicted with a sort of spiritual seizure and would think things over and then of course go his
way. But he's not at least from what I could tell terribly disturbed about reading all the pollsters
of course it's been an article of faith with him that the pollsters are going to be proved wrong.
He agrees with the president that the only poll that counts is the one that is taken on election
day. I think the bottom line on Senator McGovern and his attitude tonight is that he is at peace
with himself. He has worked very very hard yesterday for example he traveled more than four thousand
miles in quest of votes trying to get his message across. I think he's satisfied that he's done all
that he could do and now he just waits for the American people to tell him what the result will
be. That's the story here at the McGovern headquarters or McGovern hotel in Sioux Falls,
South Dakota. Now to Tom Jarrell at the White House. Even though the Nixon's obviously a very
confident of election the president is still taking a very cautious measured approach. He
had virtually nothing to say to reporters today both as he voted as he left El Toro
Marine Station in California and also on board his plane flying here from California. Reporters
asked his spokesman Ron Ziegler about the latest on Vietnam and Ziegler didn't want to be drawn
into any controversy there. About the most information he could get was that the president
had cottage cheese as a standard lunch on board flying here. The Nixon's with their family are
having dinner tonight here at the White House. Spokesmen don't expect them to go over to the
victory celebration probably until the polls close in California and that would be about three hours
from now at about 11 o'clock. Until then there's a very quiet attitude here. A number of the aides
are sitting around their offices mostly watching television and so far there's no attitude of great
victory or great expectation just sort of a standard working night here at the White House.
This is Tom Gerrard ABC News at the White House. We have as you know ABC News has projected the
president though President Nixon the winner of the electoral votes in Kentucky and Indiana. We are
also beginning to get some meaningful popular votes plus some meaningful analysis on some rather
major states for instance the presidential race in the state of Ohio. There are only 1% of the
precincts so far reporting but Mr. Nixon's lead is 67 to 32 which is a little bit more than 2 to 1
a little bit more than double and our indications from ABC's key precincts is that he is running
strongly all through the state that this is not just some particular area where Republicans have
always won well. The same thing in the state of Tennessee which is 10 electoral votes and with
17 percent of the precincts in Mr. Nixon is holding an almost unbelievable lead of 70 percent in
1968. He took the state but with only 37 percent he almost split it with with Governor Wallace with
Senator Humphrey the third runner. I suppose nobody has ever taken the state of Tennessee by 70% vote.
It would be a big surprise but Nixon that's Tennessee is one of the two southern states
where Nixon carried the South in spite of Wallace and Humphrey the Democrat in the last election
1968 four years ago. I expect he will carry it quite easily. I suspect that would would indicate
also something for Howard Baker's success this year too that Tennessee which went Republican in
1970 is maybe swinging that way. But the more important of the two states you mentioned Ohio
is another one Nixon has always won and Republicans say they expect to double the majority they got in
1968 in Ohio. Nixon beat Kennedy in Ohio in 1960 he beat Humphrey and Wallace in Ohio in 68.
No matter what no matter what they say in Virginia Ohio is really the mother of presidents there's
been an awful lot to come from there and mostly Republicans. George McGovern has paid 11 campaign
visits to Ohio he thinks it's that important and as we see now he is not yet leaving.
Well that is one of the mega states 25 electoral votes that used to have 26. We'll have more on
election 72 in just a moment.
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Well with a long way to go in elections 1972 ABC News at this early hour has projected that
President Nixon will win the states of Kentucky and Indiana and is leading in electoral votes 22
to nothing so far so far we have seen nothing to disturb the way the polls indicated things
were going to happen either in the popular vote or in our key precincts. Key precincts is
something you'll hear us mention from time to time during the night they're not something we invented
they are merely precincts carefully and scientifically selected within a state
which by early attention to them you get a very good idea what the state is going to do in
comparison with what it's done before. ABC News is greatly assisted in this endeavor by the League
of Women Voters who actually put the people out of these key precincts to find out what the figures
are and call us and from then on we are able to make our projections. That's how we're so smart.
In the House of Representatives which we haven't mentioned at all the House of Representatives so
far the Republicans have 32 seats 435 to be filled the Republicans have 32 the Democrats have 57.
So far that is a net gain of one seat by the Republicans and as we've as we've noted before
it's just changed again the Republicans have 34 the Democrats 60 it'll go right on changing
while we're on the air if we stay on it. It's the most changeable of all of the two houses
is about 55 members are not coming back. They've either lost primaries or retired and it's going
to be a big turnover this year but probably not big enough in the Republican column to give them
control of the House. We want to go to ABC's Election City a city we chose in the heartland
of America as being fairly typical where we could sound out the feelings of voters throughout the
campaign. That's Columbus Ohio and here is Jim Kincaid. The past three months have been quite
an experience for me because it's been my pleasure and privilege to cover the ABC city and to actually
get to be a native in some sort of way. During those three months we've talked to hundreds of
people and we invited a lot of those people to come here to the Royal Inn in Columbus tonight
and join us for an election party. There are Democrats here there are Republicans there are
independents there might possibly be some people from the American Independent Party although I
can't speak certainly to that and there are voters who as recently as a week ago identified
themselves as uncommitted or perhaps a better word is undecided. We'd like to find out just how they
feel about how the election returns are coming in how it affects their minds according to the
way they voted and we'll be talking to them on during the evening. We have several of them with
us here in our Royal Inn studio tonight and it's going to be interesting to see that there will be
some glum faces I'm sure and there will probably be some happy faces and there may be some people
who are still undecided and therefore unemotional about the whole thing. I'd like for you to hear
now from three of the people who did vote during the past week during the past 24 hours. My name
is Ron Rosen I'm an eye doctor here in Columbus Ohio and I voted for Richard Nixon and the best
reason I could give I guess is that I'm basically a conservative law and order man if you wish
and I feel that we've got problems here at home that are far more serious than the
Vietnam War be that sacrilegious if it sounds that way and I'm just afraid to put a liberal in the
White House and maybe it's because of my advanced years but I'm just a conservative. My name is Tony
King and I'm a student and part-time secretary and I voted for Senator George McGovern because
I believe of the two candidates he offers the best policies for the American people. Very quickly.
My name is Lawrence Gill I'm an optometrist in Columbus Ohio here and I voted for George McGovern
I think I may have had better defense if I voted for Richard Nixon but when I went into the voting
booth I voted my conscience. Those are three voters at least two of them were undecided
as recently as just a few days ago when I talked to them perhaps later in the evening we'll find
out just why. That's it from ABC's Election City. Harry I think this is the time to remind people
there are about 13 presidential candidates I think you can see four of them on this board we have
here President Nixon George McGovern John Schmitz the A.I.P. candidate and Dr. Spock from the left of
center. Neither of the other two nor any of the other seven or whatever would be seem to be at the
moment any real threat I guess as opposed to 1968 this is not a third party thing. We do have an
additional projection ABC News projects that President Nixon will take Mississippi and seven
and seven electoral votes which will give him a total now of 29 electoral votes to none for
Senator McGovern. This again is nothing that was a surprise. Mississippi this year is very definitely
Nixon country and that's the national election story at 22 minutes after the hour.
And now here is a report from Sam Donaldson. Well Harry if there is no surprise in the presidency
then the contest this evening that we're going to watch very closely is control of the United States
Congress. As Howard mentioned a few minutes ago few experts if any consider that the Republicans
have a chance to control the House. It would require a shift of 39 seats. The House has
been in the process of getting the House to vote on the matter. The House has been in the process
of getting the House to vote on the matter. It would require a shift of 39 seats in that body.
Most people think the Republicans will pick up seats say on the order of 12 to 15. Much however
depends on the coattail theory. If President Nixon does have toe coattails in some of these states
of course that would change and we're going to watch it closely. The real battleground then may
be in the Senate. The Republicans have to pick up five seats to control the Senate. There are 33
seats and the Republicans have a chance according to some to pick up those five seats which would
mean that the Vice President Agnew assuming that he is reelected would break the tie and would enable
the Republicans to organize the Senate. Let's take a look at some of the Senate races that are
according to the pollsters were just really too close to call going into this election. They were
just toss ups and the first one is in Rhode Island. Rhode Island where Claiborne Pell the Democratic
Democrat is under a heavy challenge from John Chafee a former governor. Pell was the man that
everyone said several months ago was most likely to lose his seat but the gap has been closed to
the point where now the last polls showed Pell just slightly ahead of Chafee. In Texas another
incumbent John Tower a Republican was at first thought to be in no real trouble but then the
barefoot Sanders began to close ground and at last report Tower was in danger of being knocked off.
Incidentally in Texas it's very interesting that John Connolly the man who heads President Nixon's
Democrats for Nixon program and who supports the president is supporting Democrats for the
rest of the slate and in Texas that means his organization the old Lyndon B Johnson organization
is supporting barefoot Sanders. Interesting because should Connolly decide to become a Republican
someday should John Tower still be around Mr. Tower is not going to take kindly to Mr. Connolly's
effort to to achieve a high Republican office let's say the presidential nomination. ABC's coverage
of election 72 will continue right after this message. His favorite nurses and his best inter
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A young mother attempts suicide after learning she has cancer next Tuesday on ABC.
Let's go on now and take a look at some of the other Senate races which the experts thought
were too close to call going in today. The real battleground for Republican control of the Senate.
First in Kentucky where a former governor Louis Nunn a Republican is facing Walter D. Huddleston
and that is the Kentucky breakdown right now with 64 percent of the precincts are coming in and as
you see it is very close with Huddleston slightly in the lead. In North Carolina the race is between
Jesse Helms a conservative the Republican and Nick Galifianakis. Galifianakis is the Democrat who
knocked off B. Everett Jordan the longtime holder of that Senate seat from North Carolina. We have
no returns yet of course from North Carolina. In Oklahoma it's another tight one according to the
experts with no returns in. Ed Edmondson the Democrat a member of the House of Representatives
versus Dewey Bartlett a former Republican governor. When Edmondson said he was going to run for the
Senate that was enough to cause Fred Harris the man who now holds the seat to announce that he
was going to retire on the theory that that he couldn't beat Edmondson in the primary. But now
Edmondson is in trouble of being challenged by Bartlett. In South Dakota the race is between
James Aberesque a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Robert Hirsch his
Republican challenger. Nothing of course yet from Senator McGovern's home state the polls have not
closed there. In Idaho another close one according to the pollsters James McClure a Republican
member of the House of Representatives U.S. House versus William Davis and those percentages that
you see now obviously are wrong since we have no precincts reporting yet from Idaho. In New Mexico
another tight race was forecast Pete Domenici a Republican from Albuquerque who used to be the
city manager there versus Jack Daniels an insurance salesman from Hobbs New Mexico. Daniels is a very
wealthy man apparently over a million dollars by his own estimate his net worth and he's running
against Domenici and what once was thought to be a seat the Republicans could pick up. Clinton
Anderson is retiring he's served for four terms as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from New
Mexico but he's ailing and he's retiring. We have a projection now ABC's decision desk projects that
in the state of Georgia President Nixon will win the 12 electoral votes from Georgia which means
that at the moment the president is getting 80 percent of the vote there as you see which is no
surprise. At the moment the president has 41 electoral votes total as far as our ABC projections
go here in New York tonight. Our projections helped out of course by the League of Women Voters and
their members who have fanned out across the country in the key precincts to help us bring you
accurate and vast information on these states. Going back to Georgia there is a Senate race there
the size of the president's margin is interesting we're going to have to look for a coattail effect
and see if it helps in Georgia helps Fletcher Thompson the Republican running against a man
named Sam Nunn not to be confused with Louis Nunn from Kentucky. Maybe Thompson could be pulled in
as a Republican from Georgia if the president's coattails are large enough. We'll be back with
more of ABC's election 72 coverage following station identification.
Robert Goulet and Joel Grey guest star on the Julie Andrews hour tomorrow.
ABC News election 72 continues with Howard K. Smith and Harry Reisner. Brought to you by J.C.
Penney. Tomorrow morning our 1700 stores and our catalog will be waiting to help you find what
you're looking for. Well in the east just at 730 something like 2 percent of America's precincts
have reported in the presidential race. Richard Nixon is leading with 67 percent against 32 percent
for George McGovern. A vote of over a may about a million one hundred thousand and Mr. McGovern's
five hundred and thirty three thousand. A small three percent of the precincts now. A small amount
but nothing so far to indicate anything different from what was expected by pre-election surveys.
ABC News has just added a fourth state to the states we project will be in President Nixon's
column when all the votes are in Georgia with 12 electoral votes bringing his total up a little bit.
Howard if the president's total is now 41 electoral votes it may be worthwhile looking at the board
showing which states he has. President Nixon now has 41 electoral votes. McGovern so far has won
none of those four states. I also have two more projected results in the Senate races. We have a
state projection in the contest for control of the U.S. Senate. The state of Kentucky John Sherman
Cooper's seat we project Democrat Walter Huddleston the winner of election to the United States Senate
from Kentucky over former Governor Louis B. Nunn the Republican. Huddleston defeats Nunn in Kentucky
and this one comes as no surprise a projection in the contest for control of the Senate from
Mississippi. In the Senate race in the state of Mississippi we project Democrat James O. Eastland
elected to Mississippi's Senate seat which he holds already. The state so far that President
Nixon has been credited with by ABC News has projected victories are not surprises but they
are interesting because in each case he's been running at least as close as the polls said he
would at least as far ahead and probably a good deal higher. Indiana a traditional Republican state
when it comes to voting for the president. Kentucky which has been turning Republican.
Mississippi with seven electoral votes and Georgia which are Nixon country this year just as they were
Wallace country in 1968 and in each case because of the absence of George Wallace the Nixon vote
is a good deal higher. In Kentucky with 48 percent of the precincts reported he's getting 65 percent
of the votes in 1968. He took it but with only 43 percent Mr. Humphrey behind him with 37 and George
Wallace taking the 18 percent that apparently went almost entirely to him this time. We also
have one gubernatorial projection in Indiana which went Republican in the presidential race. It has
also elected a Republican governor Otis Bowen. Governor Edgar Whitcomb there could not succeed
himself also a Republican so so far no change in the national lineup of governors. Some of the
states that we have no results on definitive enough to project are still being very interesting in
Ohio according to the early reports from ABC's key precincts the precincts that should show how
a while is going through the evening. Mr. Nixon is running very well and he's running very well
generally with no particular pad in the areas which are traditionally Republican and in Florida.
Mr. Nixon is far ahead statewide even leading substantially in Dade County the area around
Miami where Senator McGovern would be believed to have his major strength. Harry we have a projected
result in the contest for control of the U.S. Senate this time from Georgia and the Senate race
in the state of Georgia. We project Democrats Sam Nunn the victor for Georgia's seat in the United
States Senate over Republican Congressman Fletcher Thompson. Oh only one percent of the votes are in.
We that is our projection that none has won. The Democrats have now won three Senate seats. The
Republicans have so far won none. And we'll have more on election 72 in just a moment.
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At 736 in the east three percent of the precincts in the United States. President Nixon holding a 67 to 32 percent lead.
President Nixon has won four states Indiana Kentucky Mississippi and Georgia. The Senate and the
race for the governor is going about so far as expected. Would you say Howard.
Yes Harry a while ago we were talking about polls. I've looked up the 1948 results of the polls.
I'm sure he won't like my reminding the world of it but Elmo Roper's organization was 19 percent off
in 1948 and Gallup George Gallup was off 9 percent in 1948. Mr. Gallup and his current releases makes
it look like it was about five or six percent. Well it's five or six percent but then from
from Truman victory but then Truman won by the additional percent.
Nine percent so it was pretty bad but they have improved their methods. I wonder how much effect
they have on the voters. Well the old question is whether they start a stampede.
Or whether they really catch on the tails of a stampede. We have a Tully Plesser standing by in Providence Rhode Island.
The ABC news correspondent Lem Tucker. Tully is an experienced pollster and like most
like most pollsters I think they probably make their living finding out things about how people
think between elections. So they are not real politicians. Would that be a fair statement?
I'd say that's partly fair. Mr. Plesser a few moments ago you were talking about the reverse
coattail effect. I got it. The president. You want to go into that some more? Well one of the things
that seems to be happening in states all across the country is that where large numbers of voters
find themselves voting for the Republican presidential candidate for the first time
they are really boomeranging and getting behind the Democratic candidates in the Senate races and
in the gubernatorial races. It's almost as if they feel that there's some some penance do.
They have to make up for the fact that they're voting Republican and so they're getting back
into their regular organizational voting and voting Democrat in the other races.
We see it already in the Georgia contest and in the Kentucky contest where the president is running
far ahead of Senator McGovern and yet the opposite is the outcome in the Senate races.
That is above average vote for the Democratic candidates. So what you're saying is some of
those people below the line of president would might do better if George McGovern did better in
their states. We've heard that comment from several candidates that as Republicans who said they
wish that Senator McGovern would do a little better so that there'd be fewer people having to
reverse and vote Democratic after voting for for President Nixon. In the interviewing that we've
done for quite a while now it's become a very painful process for for a lot of people to
for a lot of voters all across the country who find that while they would prefer to favor
Democratic candidates and they consider themselves Democrats they have to vote for Nixon in this
election and then find themselves getting back into line in those other races. You've been on
the phone to the White House earlier this evening. What did you find out there? Well with a certain
amount of guarded comment I would say that that the above average turnout seems to be favorable to
the president in this race. That is that in many states including Alabama larger numbers of voters
turning out at the polls than most people had expected and this seems to be benefiting the
president in those races. Is the White House surprised at this reverse coattail effect?
I would doubt it. I think that the professional polling people all over the country have been
measuring this particular idea for several months now. That is seeing contests that should have been
really in favor of Republican Senate candidates and gubernatorial candidates running neck and neck
right to the wire and the reason for it the only explanation for it we see so far is it's this
boomerang effect with a lack of the Nixon coattail. Mr. Plesser are you still sticking by your earlier
polls about what's going to happen in the presidential race tonight? I am still sticking to my earlier
comments about what's going to happen. That's right. A Nixon landslide? If we call 60-40 a landslide
yes we have not pulled away from that number. Thank you. Tully Plesser here in Rhode Island.
This is Lem Tucker and now back to Harry Reesner. Thank you Lem. A pollster sticking by his
predictions and with nothing to indicate so far that he shouldn't. We'll have more in election 72
in just a moment. Our coverage of election 72 will continue after this message from Ford.
This is Dr. E.L. Gibson, Enterprise, Alabama, 83 years old, still practicing medicine. He drives
a Ford Pinto, but that's not surprising. Don Gibson started out in a rugged reliable Ford car
over half a century ago. First car I owned was a Ford Model T like that one there.
Used it to make my house calls. That car took some licking, but it got me where I had to get.
It's that same kind of car we had in mind when we built today's Ford Pinto to stand up to rough
roads, to take the worry out of the mud. We built Ford Pinto to be a rugged reliable basic car,
just like the one Doc Gibson started out with 60 years ago. When you get back to basics you get
back to Ford Pinto for 73 at your Ford dealers. Well to sum up there have been three projected
Senate results so far in the 33 Senate contest tonight. In Georgia, Sam Nunn, the Democrat,
won a seat already held by the Democrats from Georgia. In Mississippi, James Eastland, the
Democrat, won a seat already held by him, a Democrat in Mississippi. But in Kentucky there's
been a turnaround. Walter Huddleston, a Democrat, has won a seat that was held by the Republican,
John Sherman Cooper. He has defeated Cooper's successor, Louis B. Nunn. So so far it's a net
gain of one for the Democrats in the Senate races and the Republicans are rather far from that net
gain of five seats they were hoping for to control the Senate. One of the things that you have to do
at about this time of the evening is to look ahead. The votes that we've had so far are going up
absolutely according to the polls or even weeding a little heavier on the side of the polls. But
the big states, the states that will make the decision through the night,
if you look at the presidential race in the state of Massachusetts, so far absolutely nothing in
Massachusetts and there won't be for a while because their polls have not closed. If you look
at the presidential race in the state of Michigan, which is one of the industrial states where George
McGovern's people believe that he has a serious chance of taking it, in the presidential race in
the state of Michigan there are a total of 102 votes in and even though they are running almost
four to one for Mr. Nixon, I don't suppose that even Tully Plusser would make a prediction on
that basis. If you look at Ohio, you have a little more information. In the presidential race in Ohio
it had been conceded to Mr. Nixon in the last two years. The other thing that we've seen is that
he was not running ahead of the polls, but there was enough concern so that he made one of his
rare visits to a state to go out there. He's now running ahead with four percent of the precincts
in about two to one and furthermore on the basis of ABC's key precincts in Ohio he's doing very
well all the way across. Harry, we have Frank Mankiewicz in the McGovern headquarters in
Washington D.C. and correspondent Herb Capelot with him. Herb, come in. We also have Pierre
Mankiewicz, head of the Citizens for McGovern Shriver and Frank Mankiewicz is the national political director.
Now we have four projections that have shown Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia
going to President Nixon. What do you make of that Mr. Mankiewicz? Well those are no surprise. Those are
four states we assumed that Mr. Nixon would win. I think as a matter of fact the polls have yet to
close in any of the states that we thought Senator McGovern would run strongly in or would win,
except possibly Ohio and I think there are probably too few votes there to do much with it.
We have some indications from what seem to be key precincts that President Nixon is doing well in
those key Ohio precincts. Well I would imagine he is doing well in key Ohio precincts but I think
it's far too early to put that state in either column but we'll wait and see. The polls are
are going to remain open an extra couple of hours in a few of the Ohio counties by court order earlier
today and as far as the other states are concerned as I say I think the polls are not even closed yet.
Mr. Salinger which states are you looking for now waiting to see some real ideas to what may be
happening tonight? Well I think it's absolutely crucial for us to win New York, Illinois,
California and I think we'll be looking very hard at the New York results, the Massachusetts results
and Michigan results which will be results that you'll be getting in the next hour. I think if we
fail to carry New York we obviously have a serious problem tonight but I agree with Frank that among
the states that have so far indicated they're going for Senator McGovern there are no states
in there that we really thought we had a real chance and that the results from Ohio are too
fragmentary to make a real decision. One of the early indications again on the basis of relatively
little turnout so far is that President Nixon seems to be holding up perhaps a little bit
stronger than even the polls have indicated. Do you have any information on that nationally?
I don't think we have any national trend to make any judgment on that Herb. I'd be very surprised
that anyone's daring at attempting that. You've got a couple of hours still to vote in California
or I understand we've got a bit of a hassle going on over whether you can vote if your
affidavit isn't on file. The law seems pretty clear that you can but I suppose that'll be ironed out
out there. Can you in any way transfer what happened what seems to have happened in the
Kentucky Senate race where a Democrat won Senator Cooper a Republican seat? Does that carry over at
all? Well I was in Kentucky about a week ago and the Democrats were quite confident that
uh Mr. Hudson would win the Senate race down there even though they thought that George McGovern would
lose the state by a substantial margin. I think you're going to find the Democrats holding their
own across the country uh maybe even doing a little better in the Senate races. We haven't got any real
House totals yet but I would think would do well in the House total as well. A lot of the Democratic
congressional and gubernatorial nominees steered clear of any identification with Senator McGovern
in this and certainly those in the south and border states by and large did. Well you say you
are now waiting for the person? Real stand-up guys are involved. It seems to have delighted you.
What do you feel were the issues that were most uh had most impact? Are you able to say?
You have any feel this early in the evening? I think it's very hard to uh to assess that until
you see what uh so you see how people are voting. I think a couple of days we might be able to sort
that out a little better. You know you never really know what is animating voters particularly
until the votes are counted. Let me just ask you one quick question hopefully for a quick answer.
You have the the big seven or eight states if you count Texas in there. Can you very quickly tell me
what whether you know anything about them yet? We have nothing on any of those states yet and
we're just waiting to see what happens in those states. Mr. Mackiewicz you are now flying out to
Sioux Falls? I'll be leaving very soon yeah. What would you why are you making such a hurried flight?
Nobody's chasing you I trust. All flights in a jet are hurried. Well I mean why is this
your own jet leaving right now? Well because uh polls are either closed or nearly closed and
most of the states we're concerned about the problems are resolved one way or the other. We've
made a decision to file lawsuits not to file. It's a question of counting now and have you made any
decisions about lawsuits? Well there have been a number and we've been successful in a number of
them keeping the polls open. I just heard for example the polls in Detroit will be open an
extra two hours tonight because uh. Is there any widespread irregularity? There is uh uh scattered
irregularity that seems to be assuming a pattern yeah but uh we've been fairly successful I think
in overcoming it. Well thank you I think we've given an unintended aura of mystery to your trip
to Sioux Falls. Frank Mackiewicz and Pierre Salinger both officials of McGovern Shriver attempt to win
the presidency and vice presidency. That's the story from the McGovern Shriver headquarters.
We have a projected result that Capelo's two guests will not like. We have a state projection
in the presidential election in the presidential election in the state of Illinois. President
Nixon is projected winner of Illinois's 26 electoral votes the biggest individual prize
of the night so far. To repeat Nixon carries Illinois. In the senate race in Illinois we also
have a projected result. In the senate race in Illinois we project Republican Charles Percy will
retain his seat in his contest against congressman Roman Puchinsky Democrat. Percy beats Puchinsky.
Along with the result in Illinois which is a surprise and is one or not a surprise but is one
of the major states that McGovern had hoped for a reversal of the polls and we have a one of the
certain states South Carolina has now projected to be in the Nixon column with its eight electoral
votes giving President Nixon so far now 75 electoral votes on his way to the 270 and with none so far
for Senator McGovern. Harry let's take a look at the recap board for the electoral vote which is
the one that counts popular vote is popular but electoral vote counts. President Nixon now has 75
electoral votes so far. Senator McGovern has nothing. President Nixon needs in other words 195
more electoral votes to win. I have another projection in a contest for control of the U.S.
Senate. Senate race in the state of South Carolina. Strom Thurmond wins election to South Carolina's
seat in the U.S. Senate reelection to it over Eugene Nick Ziegler the Democratic candidate.
How startled are you by that Howard? A little a little you know Ziegler was picking up black
votes and he got a George Wallace endorsement so I thought he might do better than that. I
don't think however we would outlive Strom Thurmond in the U.S. Senate. We have a projection in the
presidential election. Nixon is projected winner of Virginia's 12 electoral votes.
Nixon carries Virginia as he did in 60 as he did in 1968. That is no surprise but that adds to his
total and we'll have more on election 72 in just a moment.
Rin says I've come to grant you a wish. One measly wish? Okay Bigs Fender the J.C.
Penny catalog and I want these flowered sheets. Now you have your pretty J.C. Penny no iron
decorator sheets. Goodbye. Not so fast. Now I want a uh it's all in the J.C. Penny catalog.
We know what you're looking for. This is my husband doesn't look like much does he but wait
see what he's got there one of his J.C. Penny knit dress shirts for only eight dollars.
Well he's always wanted comfortable and what I've always wanted no ironing. Watch every morning a
different pattern but every morning the same thing. It's coming it's what I look for every morning.
It's Mr. Dynamite. It's the J.C. Penny knit dress shirt only eight dollars only a J.C. Penny.
We know what you're looking for. Getting on toward eight o'clock in the east and with the
states whose polls have closed so far ABC News has been able to project that Richard Nixon is
the winner in seven states in popular vote in the presidency four percent of the precincts in this
country have now reported and Mr. Nixon is holding a steady 67 percent to 32 percent for George
McGovern about one million seven hundred thousand to eight hundred and twenty thousand. Only one of
the states so far a real surprise would you say Howard not a surprise real really significant.
Matters. Yes. Illinois with 26 electoral votes and all the other states of Indiana Kentucky
Mississippi Illinois South Carolina Virginia were expected. Mr. Nixon with one million seven hundred
and five seven hundred and fifty seven thousand votes at the moment. Senator McGovern with eight
hundred and twenty eight thousand seven hundred and seventy three. Those of us that's the national
popular vote in a good many areas where there's very little popular vote yet reported because of
ABC's key precincts. ABC News has been able to project the winner which is why we are now able
to say that Richard Nixon has 87 electoral votes to none for George McGovern. It's so far.
Not a surprising night and not a good night for Frank Mankiewicz and Peter
Salinger we just saw on TV and that or on election 72 in just a moment.
And now here's a report from Sam Donaldson.
Howard I couldn't help thinking when I was watching PR Salinger and Frank Mankiewicz that the nation
was first introduced to those two gentlemen when they were both press secretaries for someone else
Salinger of course for President John F. Kennedy. I remember that the press court challenged
Salinger to a 50 mile hike a fitness test. I thought that was a great idea. Salinger backed out.
Now 10 years later I know why. I think it's a silly idea. Mankiewicz first burst on the
nation I suppose in a very very awful way not awful from the standpoint of any of his doing.
But he was the man who had the sad task of announcing in Los Angeles that Senator Robert
Kennedy was dead assassinated out there. He did it with great dignity. He held his
composure although inside he was torn apart as was every other member of the Kennedy camp and
most of us across the nation. Mankiewicz and Salinger still two old political pros still
working for Democratic candidates. Let's look at the presidential board now and take a look at the
latest figures of President Nixon of course leading Senator McGovern with four percent of
the precincts in. We should warn that those figures as far as percentage are misleading
as far as the 67 versus 32. They are from rural areas and small states. New York's polls have not
closed. Senator McGovern may do better in New York. Massachusetts Senator McGovern may take
that state's polls are not closed. The big cities Philadelphia Chicago they have yet to report.
You see another couple of people on that list. John Schmitz the American party and
the buck of the People's Party. John Schmitz is the man who is running in place of George Wallace.
He's running on the party that George Wallace founded four years ago. Wallace got 13 and a half
percent of the votes. Schmitz probably will not get that. He's not on enough ballots in enough
states and he hasn't of course waged the campaign that Wallace was able to wage. Schmitz's slogan
incidentally he says can be summed up this way that we ought not to get into a war that we do not
intend to win and that people who work ought to live better than people who don't. There are other
parts of the platform though of the American Independent Party that Schmitz heads. Benjamin
Spock the pediatrician the baby doctor a kindly man 69 years of age. I believe he's the oldest
presidential candidate in the race this year and I'm counting all of the 20 or 22 different people
that are on ballots in one or more states. Spock turned against the war and became he said such a
disillusioning experience because Lyndon Johnson had promised him that he would not get into Vietnam
and then when President Johnson did Spock turned against the president in the war and was one of
the activists in the peace movement and of course heads the people's party now and runs for the
presidency. ABC's coverage of election 72 will continue right after this message.
Rosalind Russell Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Ross Martin. I understand you are interested in finding
companionship. A con woman a con man each the other's next victim. Five women have disappeared
all lonely hearts cases and one of them has just been found floating in the pacific. I have been
taken advantage of. I've been had. The crooked hearts. Tomorrow night at 8 30 7 30 central time
here on ABC. Arthur Hill. You can't know what might be important in this. A tiny detail a casual
reference. Lee majors. I get the feeling we're trying to save the girls life by facing cannons
with a baseball bat. At least we can swing hard. We happen to be talking about a murder case.
Objection. Leading question your honor. Arthur Hill and Lee majors starring Owen Marshall counselor
at law. Arthur Hill and Lee majors starring Owen Marshall counselor at law. Arthur Hill and Lee
majors starring Owen Marshall counselor at law. I'll try everything I can practicing every week on
ABC. How do you do guest stars as an unwed mother Thursday night here on ABC.
We have another projection from the ABC decision desk for the state of Vermont. ABC news projects
that President Nixon will be the winner in the state of Vermont over Senator McGovern with 4%
vote. That's now recorded. Let's take a look in a recap fashion now of the other states that
Mr. Nixon has already carried according to our ABC projection. He's carried Indiana over Senator
McGovern 13 electoral votes. He's carried Kentucky. That's nine electoral votes. He's carried
Mississippi. That's seven electoral votes in Mississippi over Senator McGovern. The president
has also in the south carried Georgia 12 electoral votes. He has carried Illinois according to our
key precincts and our ABC projection desk. 26 electoral votes. South Carolina the president
has carried for reelection by a very large margin and Strom Thurmond the incumbent senator
republican there should have no trouble. We've already projected that he's the winner. In Virginia
the president has carried Virginia with 12 electoral votes and in Vermont the one that we
have just given you a few moments ago the president has carried that with three electoral votes. We
say that President Nixon has now won according to our projections 90 electoral votes. Remember it
takes 270. A moment ago you saw a picture. I should tell you who that was. That was Linda Genis who is
running for the presidency and Linda is Mrs. Genis is the social workers candidate. She's 31
years of age and constitutionally ineligible to be president but she says should she win which is an
impossibility she's only on eight or nine state ballots then they could change the constitution.
Her running mate Andrew Cooley is 21 years of age. He's running for the vice presidency. The
socialist workers party has fielded a number of candidates though in various states for the
Senate and House seats and in the Senate there are four on the ballot. Three of them are not yet 30
the constitutional age for taking a seat in the United States Senate. Youth will be served but
unless the constitution is changed should they win it won't be served this time for the socialist
workers party. We'll be back with more of ABC's election 72 coverage following station identification.
Paul has more daughter trouble when Sally runs away on the Paul Lin show tomorrow.