Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 33 › Conversation 033-050
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on 1972 election and Election returns
Tuesday, November 7, 1972 · 9:14 PM–9:24 PM ET · White House Telephone · 9 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman reviewed early election returns and television network projections on the night of the 1972 presidential election. The discussion focused on the President's strong performance across various states, the status of key Senate races, and concerns regarding voter turnout. Nixon instructed his staff to gather further intelligence on outstanding contests in states like Wisconsin and New Hampshire, as well as specific Senate results, to better gauge the night's final outcome.
- 1972 election
- Election returns
- Senate races
- H.R. Haldeman
- Television news coverage
- Voter turnout
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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Hello.
Well, I'll have to postpone until 4.30 tomorrow to leave.
Okay, what's the present situation now?
Well, you want to run down?
Yeah.
Just going through it, they've...
Everybody's conceded Alabama, obviously.
Oh, I'm not interested in the states.
I meant the percentages.
Well, they haven't—they're still— Oh, they're not getting those.
I saw on the television the rundown of the states.
Okay.
Their percentages are running high.
Yeah.
What about Connecticut?
Has it come in?
Yeah, Connecticut, CBS is projecting at sixty percent.
That's good, yeah.
What's the margin?
Like Arkansas, they're projecting at 65.
Delaware at 58, which is a little low.
Well, it's a tougher state.
Florida, one of them's got it at 75 and the other at 69.
Georgia at 77.
Illinois, they've given to you CBS.
Just a second.
Yeah, Illinois.
Yeah, CBS at 62 percent, ABC much earlier at 55, so there's a variation.
Yeah, it's more close to 60 in my opinion.
Indiana, 1 at 65, 164, and 167, so it's in that range.
Yeah.
Kansas, 63 and 69.
Ohio?
Ohio is...
58 on NBC and 60 on CBS.
The interesting one is Pennsylvania.
Yeah.
61% on NBC and 62% on CBS.
That's great.
New York.
What's New York?
That.
No projection on New York yet.
I thought they projected it.
Somebody said that they, Trisha said they'd conceded it.
They have, but they haven't run a projection.
At least they don't have one.
Yeah.
But Pennsylvania is 60.
Great.
Yeah.
And New Jersey was 60, wasn't it?
New Jersey, one of them is 62, and the other is 56.
Well, that's too far apart, but it still is.
Well, they run these early projections.
You see, they're running it on 10, 15% of the .
Right, just trying to each meet the other.
Sure.
Tennessee is running 66, 68, 71.
Yeah, yeah.
Texas, 73% on NBC.
Yeah, yeah.
Vermont is 70% on .
Oklahoma has no projection except that CBS gives it to you, but no figure yet.
Yeah, now on the Senate things, the Senate, they're giving it to Sparklin at 60% in Alabama.
McClellan, of course, at 62%.
Eastland.
Oh, yeah, Eastland, 67%.
He's not that huge.
Yeah, that's still pretty huge.
They're giving Griffin, Michigan at 54.
They give Michigan to us then, don't they?
Yeah, let me see what we've got now.
Well, if he's got 54, what the hell have we got up to?
58 they show for us.
They do?
On Michigan.
Yep.
That's something.
And he says New Jersey with 68.
Yeah.
What about Scott?
Scott and Virginia, they haven't projected yet.
Well, what I'd seen earlier indicated he looked pretty good.
He does look good.
What about course one?
Baker won with 62%.
Thurmond with 68%.
Yeah.
What is the situation?
Is Nunn gone?
Yes.
Definitely?
There's no way that Kentucky's... And he says he's going to lose by 25,000.
Wow.
I'm glad we tried it anyway.
Of course, they'll say the coattails didn't work, but we gave it everything we had, didn't we?
Yep.
Right.
Brooks won by 68%.
Right.
Pearson by 71%.
What about West Palm?
60%.
Powell's running ahead at the moment.
They haven't run a projection, though.
Yeah, no, that might be a sleeper.
He might win it.
Fletcher Thompson's lost.
I knew that.
Even up race, though, 50%.
So it was damn close.
Is he dead lost, though, for sure?
NBC projects him lost, and one of the others projected him lost at 60%, but NBC says 50%, but it's an even race with him.
Yeah.
Well, let's pray you might have something there.
You ought to make somebody, I assume, dental call down there and see what the situation is.
Yep.
West Powell, or only hope for West Powell and Scott.
Anything on Bartlett?
Yeah, he's running ahead.
But again, no projection yet.
Good, good.
And well, all in all, there's nothing on Wisconsin yet.
No.
Well, you can't do it.
You can't win Ohio and Illinois and not win Wisconsin.
Well, it's Virginia.
They've given one at 60 and the other at 58.
Yeah, I know.
That's good.
And Virginia at 70.
Boy.
And Maryland 50, 62.
You know, with these percentages, I think they may go over 60%.
I think so.
Nationally.
They could.
Of course, national.
Of course, California will pull it down some, but not...
While CBS has changed their national prediction now, they predict 66%.
That's based... That's their projection for the result, and that's based on...
But they don't include any in California yet.
No, but they're, you know, they go on the basis of that.
That's 16%.
NBC was projecting 2 to 1, which is the same.
No, NBC was 60 when I heard them, Chancellor.
Well, that was at 830, but at 910, they projected a 2 to 1.
We may be going over them, the amount, yeah.
What about the size of the boat?
Brinkley came on and said it's much lower than was anticipated.
He said they projected 80 and it's only going to be 76.
No, our last thing was that it would be about 87.
Good, I hope that proves him wrong.
Screw Brinkley again, I hope.
Massachusetts.
Massachusetts, one of them's giving to him.
They've given it to him already?
Yeah.
NBC.
Yeah, no figure.
Just a projection that he's won it.
Yeah.
Well, it's been anticipated.
And in a hurry, they give us at 59.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, with these figures, the only thing really left now to ask about is California and Oregon.
We have outstanding.
And Wisconsin.
Wisconsin, California, and Oregon.
Right.
But we should have Wisconsin at this time.
It's curious.
We don't have anything on that.
We haven't run anything on Wisconsin.
Washington, we won't get for a while.
Of course, none of those.
And New York.
And New York, well, they'll project that a little later.
both the way New Jersey and Connecticut are going.
Connecticut 60-40?
Connecticut is, you're right, 60 on CBS.
So it's... That's fine.
I would just hope that some of the, hope that maybe Domenici and Bartlett can pull through.
That'll, we're losing none.
What about Chafee?
Have you heard about that?
Nope.
Haven't heard about Rhode Island yet.
Nope.
I would think that some of our boys, the Dent types, could check Rhode Island and make a final check on Georgia, don't you think?
Right.
And if any of these things, do they have any dope on any of the Senate races in New Jersey?
Things like that.
Come in.
Come in.
Come on in.
Yeah, the Senate in New Jersey, they've given the case.
I knew about that.
I met the congressional races in New Jersey and Connecticut.
I don't have a congressional rundown.
They picked up a couple.
I know they picked up two or three districts here and there, but I don't know that.
Yeah.
Right.
All right.
Good.
Well, why don't you make a check on, have somebody there, one of the teeter types, check with, on Wisconsin.
Wisconsin.
And then check the Senate race in New Jersey.
in New Hampshire in the Senate race.
And Colson can do that.
He ought to check New Hampshire and he also ought to check Massachusetts and see what the hell the vote is there.
OK. And we ought to know about New Hampshire, Powell and Chavey, right?
Right.
And Dewey Bartlett, right?
That's about all the rest there is to know, isn't there?
Texas is holding up.
The network's playing it straight.
Yep.
Pretty much so, yeah.
I haven't picked up on it.
Right, right.
Yeah, I would say they are.
They're running a lot of interview stuff.
They've got Finch and McGregor, you know, all of our crew.
Right, right.
Good.
Okay.
We'll check some.
NARA Description
On November 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 9:14 pm to 9:24 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 033-050 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 33-50
Date: November 7, 1972
Time: 9:14 pm - 9:24 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
President's schedule
-Trip [to Florida]
-Postponement
*****************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift during
chronological review 2007-2013]
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/09/2019.
Segment will remain closed.]
[Personal Returnable]
- 52 -
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)
[033-050-w001]
[Duration: 34s]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************
1972 election
-Alabama
-Percentages
-States
-The President’s viewing on television [TV]
-Percentages for the President
-Connecticut
-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
-Arkansas
-Delaware
-Florida
-Georgia
-Illinois
-CBS
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 9:14 pm.
*****************************************************************
[Previous Deed of Gift Privacy (D) rereviewed on 08/09/2019. Segment cleared for release.]
[Deed of Gift–Privacy]
[033-050-w002]
[Duration: 2s]
Request
-Salad [?]
*****************************************************************
- 53 -
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)
An unknown person entered at an unknown time before 9:24 pm.
1972 election
-Projections
-Illinois
-CBS
-American Broadcasting Company [ABC]
-Indiana
-Kansas
-Ohio
-National Broadcasting Company [NBC]
-CBS
-Pennsylvania
-NBC
-CBS
-New York
-Tricia Nixon Cox
-Pennsylvania
-New Jersey
-Tennessee
-Texas
-NBC
-Vermont
-Oklahoma
-CBS
-Senate races
-John J. Sparkman
-Alabama
-John L. McClellan
-James O. Eastland
-Michigan
-Robert P. Griffin
-The President
-New Jersey
-Clifford P. Case
-Virginia
-William L. Scott
-Tennessee
-Howard H. Baker, Jr.
-J. Strom Thurmond
- 54 -
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)
-Kentucky
-Louie B. Nunn
-Defeat
-Massachusetts
-Edward W. Brooke
-John B. Pearson
-Wesley Powell
-S. Fletcher Thompson
-Defeat
-NBC
-Harry S. Dent
-Powell
-Dewey F. Bartlett
-Lead
-Wisconsin
-Ohio
-Illinois
-West Virginia
-The President’s lead
-Virginia
-Maryland
-National percentages
-The President’s view
-California
-CBS
-NBC
-Voter turnout
-David Brinkley
-Massachusetts
-George S. McGovern
-NBC
-Missouri
-California
-Oregon
-Wisconsin
-Washington state
-New York
-New Jersey
-Connecticut
-CBS
- 55 -
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)
-Pete V. Domenici
-Bartlett
-Nunn
-John H. Chafee
-Rhode Island
-Dent
-Georgia
-Senate
-New Jersey
Unknown persons were present at an unknown time after 9:14 pm
Greetings
1972 election
-New Jersey
-Clifford P. Chase
-Congressional Races
-Connecticut
-Wisconsin
-Robert Teeter
-Senate races
-New Hampshire and Massachusetts
-Charles W. Colson
-Powell
-Chafee
-Bartlett
-Texas
-Network coverage
-Haldeman’s view
-Interviews
-Robert H. Finch
-Clark MacGregor
***************************************************************Also recorded on November 8, 1972
- 033-044 8:01 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 8:01 pm to 8:02 pm.
- 033-045 8:04 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:04 pm and 8:06 pm.
- 033-046 8:04 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:04 pm and 8:06 pm.
- 033-047 8:06 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:06 pm to 8:20 pm.
- 033-048 8:21 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 8:21 pm to 8:24 pm.
- 033-049 9:13 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:13 pm and 9:14 pm.
- 033-051 9:24 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:24 pm and 9:29 pm.
- 033-052 9:29 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 9:29 pm to 9:40 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 033-050, November 8, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/033-050 (accessed October 12, 2026).