Liberal stalwart and former Democratic presidential contender George McGovern has died at the age of 90.

While he may be remembered for many things, one will certainly be his disastrous 1972 presidential bid, when he was crushed by Richard Nixon. That loss has local significance, though—D.C. and Massachusetts were the only states in the union that gave McGovern their electoral votes.

Within D.C., which at the time was 71 percent black, only Ward 3 went for Nixon. But despite his loss in the city—his campaign officials had written off D.C. in July of that year—Nixon attracted more votes than any Republican had since D.C. residents were given the right to vote for president in 1964.

Former D.C. delegate Walter Fauntroy told the Post at the time that McGovern won more because residents were voting against a Republican than them knowing who McGovern was: “In this city, people will vote more against Nixon than for McGovern.”

Neither of the two candidates campaigned in D.C.