Question: Who were the presidential candidates in the first election where 18-year-olds could vote?
Answer: Incumbent President Richard Nixon ran against Democratic Party candidate George McGovern in 1972, the first presidential election after the 26th Amendment gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. The assumption was that the new “youth vote” would go overwhelmingly for McGovern, but in the end, Nixon nearly swept the electoral college map, with McGovern winning only one state and Washington, D.C.
