1972 United States Senate elections

Illinois election
	← 1966 1978 →
U.S. senator before election; Charles H. Percy; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator; Charles H. Percy; Republican

Delaware election
	← 1966 1978 →
	100px County results
U.S. senator before election; J. Caleb Boggs; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator; Joe Biden; Democratic

1972 United States Senate elections
34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate; 51 seats needed for a majority
	Results, with special elections; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold
Majority Leader before election; Mike Mansfield; Democratic	Elected Majority Leader; Mike Mansfield; Democratic

The 1972 United States Senate elections coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. After the elections, Democrats held 56 seats and Republicans held 42 seats, with 1 Conservative and 1 independent Senator. These were the first elections in which all citizens at least 18 years of age (instead of 21 and older) could vote due to the 1971 passage of the 26th Amendment.

Results summary

#3333FF #E81B23 #DDDDBB #FF8C00 white

Parties		Total seats									Popular vote
		Incum- bents	Not up	This election					Result	+/-	Vote	%
		Incum- bents	Not up	Up	Re- elected	Held	Gained	Lost	Result	+/-	Vote	%
Democratic	54	40	14	8	2	6	4	56	2	17,199,567	45.49%
Republican	44	24	20	13	1	4	6	42	2	19,821,203	52.42%
Independent	1	1	0	0	0			1		318,238	0.84%
Conservative (N.Y.)	1	1	0	0	0			1		42,348	0.11%
Others	0	0	0	0	0			0		470,090	1.24%
Total		100	66	34	21	3	10	10	100		37,809,098	100.0%

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Gains and losses

Democratic pickups included open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeats of Senators Gordon L. Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine.

Republican pickups included open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and the defeat of incumbent William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the January 7, 1972 Vermont special election.

D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀
D₄₀	D₃₉	D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
D₄₁ Ran	D₄₂ Ran	D₄₃ Ran	D₄₄ Ran	D₄₅ Ran	D₄₆ Ran	D₄₇ Ran	D₄₈ Ran	D₄₉ Ran	D₅₀ Ran
Majority →									D₅₁ Ran
R₄₁ Ran	R₄₂ Retired	R₄₃ Retired	R₄₄ Retired	C₁	I₁	D₅₄ Retired	D₅₃ Retired	D₅₂ Retired	D₅₁ Ran
R₄₀ Ran	R₃₉ Ran	R₃₈ Ran	R₃₇ Ran	R₃₆ Ran	R₃₅ Ran	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₁ Ran
R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆ Ran	R₂₇ Ran	R₂₈ Ran	R₂₉ Ran	R₃₀ Ran
R₂₀	R₁₉	R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁
R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈	R₉	R₁₀

After the general elections

D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀
D₄₀	D₃₉	D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
D₄₁ Re-elected	D₄₂ Re-elected	D₄₃ Re-elected	D₄₄ Re-elected	D₄₅ Re-elected	D₄₆ Re-elected	D₄₇ Re-elected	D₄₈ Re-elected	D₄₉ Hold	D₅₀ Hold
Majority →									D₅₁ Gain
R₄₁ Gain	R₄₂ Gain	C₁	I₁	D₅₆ Gain	D₅₅ Gain	D₅₄ Gain	D₅₃ Gain	D₅₂ Gain	D₅₁ Gain
R₄₀ Gain	R₃₉ Gain	R₃₈ Hold	R₃₇ Re-elected	R₃₆ Re-elected	R₃₅ Re-elected	R₃₄ Re-elected	R₃₃ Re-elected	R₃₂ Re-elected	R₃₁ Re-elected
R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆ Re-elected	R₂₇ Re-elected	R₂₈ Re-elected	R₂₉ Re-elected	R₃₀ Re-elected
R₂₀	R₁₉	R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁
R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈	R₉	R₁₀

After the November special elections

D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀
D₄₀	D₃₉	D₃₈	D₃₇	D₃₆	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁
D₄₁	D₄₂	D₄₃	D₄₄	D₄₅	D₄₆	D₄₇	D₄₈	D₄₉	D₅₀
Majority →									D₅₁
R₄₁	R₄₂	C₁	I₁	D₅₆ Hold	D₅₅	D₅₄	D₅₃	D₅₂	D₅₁
R₄₀	R₃₉	R₃₈	R₃₇	R₃₆	R₃₅	R₃₄	R₃₃	R₃₂	R₃₁
R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆	R₂₇	R₂₈	R₂₉	R₃₀
R₂₀	R₁₉	R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁
R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈	R₉	R₁₀

Key:

C_#	Conservative (N.Y.)
D_#	Democratic
R_#	Republican
I_#	Independent

Race summaries

Special elections during the 92nd Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1972 or before January 3, 1973; ordered by election date, then state.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State (linked to summaries below)	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Vermont (Class 1)	Robert Stafford	Republican	1971 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected.	√ Robert Stafford (Republican) 64.4% Randolph T. Major (Democratic) 33.4% Bernie Sanders (Liberty Union) 2.2%^[2]
Georgia (Class 2)	David H. Gambrell	Democratic	1971 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost nomination. New senator elected November 7, 1972. Democratic hold. Winner also elected to the next term, see below.	√ Sam Nunn (Democratic) 52.0% Fletcher Thompson (Republican) 46.5% Alice Conner (Independent) 1.0% George Schmidt (Independent) 0.5%^[3]

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1973; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State (linked to summaries below)	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State (linked to summaries below)	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	John Sparkman	Democratic	1946 (Special) 1948 1954 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John Sparkman (Democratic) 62.3% Winton M. Blount (Republican) 33.1% John L. LeFlore (Nat'l Democratic) 3.0% Jerome Couch (AL Prohibition) 1.0% Herbert Stone (AL Conservative) 0.6%
Alaska	Ted Stevens	Republican	1968 (Appointed) 1970 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ted Stevens (Republican) 77.3% Gene Guess (Democratic) 22.7%
Arkansas	John McClellan	Democratic	1942 1948 1954 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John McClellan (Democratic) 60.8% Wayne H. Babbitt (Republican) 39.1%
Colorado	Gordon L. Allott	Republican	1954 1960 1966	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Floyd K. Haskell (Democratic) 49.4% Gordon L. Allott (Republican) 48.4% Secundion Salazar (Raza Unida) 1.4% Henry Olshaw (American) 0.8%
Delaware	J. Caleb Boggs	Republican	1960 1966	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Joe Biden (Democratic) 50.5% J. Caleb Boggs (Republican) 49.1%
Georgia	David H. Gambrell	Democratic	1971 (Appointed)	Incumbent lost nomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Winner also elected to finish the term, see above.	√ Sam Nunn (Democratic) 54.0% Fletcher Thompson (Republican) 46.0%^[3]
Idaho	Leonard B. Jordan	Republican	1962 (Appointed) 1962 (Special) 1966	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold.	√ James A. McClure (Republican) 52.3% William E. Davis (Democratic) 45.5%
Illinois	Charles H. Percy	Republican	1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Charles H. Percy (Republican) 62.2% Roman Pucinski (Democratic) 37.4%
Iowa	Jack Miller	Republican	1960 1966	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Dick Clark (Democratic) 55.1% Jack Miller (Republican) 44.1%
Kansas	James B. Pearson	Republican	1962 (Appointed) 1962 (Special) 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ James B. Pearson (Republican) 71.4% Arch Tetzlaff (Democratic) 23.0%
Kentucky	John Sherman Cooper	Republican	1946 (Special) 1948 (Lost) 1952 (Special) 1954 (Lost) 1956 (Special) 1960 1966	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ Walter D. Huddleston (Democratic) 50.9% Louie B. Nunn (Republican) 47.6%
Louisiana	Elaine Edwards	Democratic	1972 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Interim appointee resigned November 13, 1972 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed November 14, 1972.	√ Bennett Johnston (Democratic) 55.2% John McKeithen (Independent) 23.1% Ben Toledano (Republican) 16.1% Hall M. Lyons (American Party), 2.7%
Maine	Margaret Chase Smith	Republican	1948 1954 1960 1966	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ William Hathaway (Democratic) 53.2% Margaret Chase Smith (Republican) 46.8%
Massachusetts	Edward Brooke	Republican	1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Edward Brooke (Republican) 63.5% John J. Droney (Democratic) 34.7% Donald Gurewitz (Socialist Workers) 1.7%
Michigan	Robert P. Griffin	Republican	1966 (Appointed) 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert P. Griffin (Republican) 52.3% Frank J. Kelley (Democratic) 46.3%
Minnesota	Walter Mondale	Democratic	1964 (Appointed) 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Walter Mondale (Democratic) 56.7% Phil Hansen (Republican) 42.9%
Mississippi	James Eastland	Democratic	1942 1948 1954 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ James Eastland (Democratic) 58.1% Gil Carmichael (Republican) 38.7%
Montana	Lee Metcalf	Democratic	1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Lee Metcalf (Democratic) 52.0% Henry S. Hibbard (Republican) 48.1%
Nebraska	Carl Curtis	Republican	1954 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Carl Curtis (Republican) 53.1% Terry Carpenter (Democratic) 46.8%
New Hampshire	Thomas J. McIntyre	Democratic	1962 (Special) 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Thomas J. McIntyre (Democratic) 56.9% Wesley Powell (Republican) 43.1%
New Jersey	Clifford P. Case	Republican	1954 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Clifford P. Case (Republican) 62.5% Paul J. Krebs (Democratic) 34.5%
New Mexico	Clinton P. Anderson	Democratic	1948 1954 1960 1966	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Pete Domenici (Republican) 54.0% Jack Daniels (Democratic) 46.0%
North Carolina	B. Everett Jordan	Democratic	1958 (Appointed) 1958 (Special) 1960 1966	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Jesse Helms (Republican) 54.0% Nick Galifianakis (Democratic) 46.0%
Oklahoma	Fred R. Harris	Democratic	1964 (Special) 1966	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Dewey F. Bartlett (Republican) 51.4% Ed Edmondson (Democratic) 47.6%
Oregon	Mark Hatfield	Republican	1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Mark Hatfield (Republican) 53.7% Wayne Morse (Democratic) 46.2%
Rhode Island	Claiborne Pell	Democratic	1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Claiborne Pell (Democratic) 53.7% John Chafee (Republican) 45.7%
South Carolina	Strom Thurmond	Republican	1954 1954 (Appointed) 1956 (Resigned) 1956 (Special) 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Strom Thurmond (Republican) 63.3% Eugene N. Zeigler (Democratic) 36.7%
South Dakota	Karl Earl Mundt	Republican	1948 1948 (Appointed) 1954 1960 1966	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic gain.	√ James Abourezk (Democratic) 57.0% Robert W. Hirsch (Republican) 42.9%
Tennessee	Howard Baker	Republican	1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Howard Baker (Republican) 61.6% Ray Blanton (Democratic) 37.9%
Texas	John Tower	Republican	1961 (Special) 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John Tower (Republican) 53.4% Barefoot Sanders (Democratic) 44.3%
Virginia	William B. Spong Jr.	Democratic	1966	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ William L. Scott (Republican) 51.5% William B. Spong Jr. (Democratic) 46.1%
West Virginia	Jennings Randolph	Democratic	1958 (Special) 1960 1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Jennings Randolph (Democratic) 66.5% Louise Leonard (Republican) 33.6%
Wyoming	Clifford Hansen	Republican	1966	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Clifford Hansen (Republican) 71.3% Mike Vinich (Democratic) 28.7%

Alabama

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Alabama^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Sparkman (Incumbent)	654,491	62.27%
	Republican	Winton M. Blount	347,523	33.06%
style="background-color: Template:National Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color; width: 2px;" \|	[[National Democratic Party (United States)\|Template:National Democratic Party (United States)/meta/shortname]]	John L. LeFlore	31,421	2.99%
	Prohibition	Jerome B. Couch	10,826	1.03%
	[[Conservative Party (United States)\|Template:Conservative Party (United States)/meta/shortname]]	Herbert W. Stone	6,838	0.65%
Majority			306,968	29.21%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Alaska

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Alaska^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (Incumbent)	74,216	77.30%
	Democratic	Gene Guess	21,791	22.70%
Majority			52,425	54.60%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Arkansas

John Little McClellan

Incumbent Democrat John Little McClellan was re-elected.

1972 U.S. Senate election in Arkansas^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Little McClellan (Incumbent)	386,398	60.88%
	Republican	Wayne H. Babbitt	248,238	39.12%
Majority			138,160	21.76%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Colorado

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Colorado^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Floyd K. Haskell	457,545	49.41%
	Republican	Gordon L. Allott (Incumbent)	447,957	48.37%
	Raza Unida	Secundion 'Sal' Salazar	13,228	1.43%
	American	Henry Olshaw	7,353	0.79%
Majority			9,588	1.04%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Delaware

Incumbent Republican J. Caleb Boggs, running for a third term, faced off against future Vice President Joe Biden, then a New Castle County Councilman. Though Boggs was expected to easily win a third term over the then-unknown Biden, it ended up being the closest Senate election in 1972, and Biden narrowly beat out Boggs by a little over three thousand votes, winning what would be his first of seven terms.

Boggs, a longtime Delaware political figure, was considering retirement which would likely have led to a primary campaign between two Republicans, U.S. Representative Pete du Pont and Wilmington Mayor Harry G. Haskell Jr.. To avoid the anticipated divisive primary fight, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon helped convince Boggs to run again with full party support.

No other Democrat wanted to run against Boggs besides Biden.^[5] Biden's campaign had virtually no money and was given no chance of winning.^[6] It was managed by his sister Valerie Biden Owens (who would go on to manage his future campaigns as well) and staffed by other members of his family, and relied upon handed-out newsprint position papers.^[7] Biden did receive some assistance from the AFL-CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell.^[5] Biden's campaign issues focused on withdrawal from Vietnam, the environment, civil rights, mass transit, more equitable taxation, health care, the public's dissatisfaction with politics-as-usual, and "change".^[5]^[7]

During the summer Biden trailed by almost 30 percentage points,^[5] but his energetic campaign, his attractive young family, and his ability to connect with voters' emotions gave the surging Biden an advantage over the ready-to-retire Boggs.^[8] Biden won the November 7, 1972 election in an upset by a margin of 3,162 votes.^[7]

At the time of the election Biden was a little less than 30 years old; age 30 is a constitutional requirement for the U.S. Senate, and he reached that on November 20, in time for the Senate term beginning January 3. After his election he became the sixth-youngest Senator in history.^[9]

1972 U.S. Senate election in Delaware^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Biden	116,006	50.48%	+9.59%
	Republican	J. Caleb Boggs (Incumbent)	112,844	49.10%	-10.02%
	American	Henry Majka	803	0.35%
	Prohibition	Herbert B. Wood	175	0.07%
Majority			3,162	1.38%	-16.86%
Turnout			229,828
	Democratic gain from Republican

Georgia

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Georgia (Special)

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Georgia^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Nunn	635,970	53.95%
	Republican	Fletcher Thompson	542,331	46.01%
	None	Write-Ins	407	0.03%
Majority			93,639	7.94%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Idaho

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Idaho^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James A. McClure	161,804	52.26%
	Democratic	William E. Davis	140,913	45.51%
	American	Jean L. Stoddard	6,885	2.22%
Majority			20,891	6.75%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Illinois

Incumbent Republican Charles H. Percy sought re-election. Percy was opposed by: Democratic nominee Roman Pucinski, a Congressman from Illinois's 11th congressional district, Edward C. Gross (SL) and Arnold Becchetti (C). Percy handily won a second term.

1972 U.S. Senate election in Illinois^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Charles H. Percy (Incumbent)	2,867,078	61.21%	+7.27%
	Democratic	Roman Pucinski	1,721,031	37.35%	-6.55%
	Socialist Labor	Edward C. Gross	13,384	0.29%
	Communist	Arnold Becchetti	6,103	0.13%
	Write-ins		784	0.02%
Majority			1,146,047	24.87%	+13.82%
Turnout			3,822,724
	Republican hold

Iowa

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Iowa^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dick Clark	662,637	55.07%
	Republican	Jack Miller (Incumbent)	530,525	44.09%
	American	William A. Rocap Jr.	8,954	0.74%
	By Petition	Fred Richard Benton	1,203	0.10%
	None	Scattering	14	0.00%
Majority			132,112	10.98%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Kansas

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Kansas^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James B. Pearson (Incumbent)	622,591	71.42%
	Democratic	Arch Tetzlaff	200,764	23.03%
	[[Conservative Party (United States)\|Template:Conservative Party (United States)/meta/shortname]]	Gene F. Miller	35,510	4.07%
	Prohibition	Howard Hadin	12,857	1.47%
Majority			421,827	48.39%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Kentucky

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Kentucky^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Walter D. Huddleston	528,550	50.93%
	Republican	Louie B. Nunn	494,337	47.63%
	American	Helen Breeden	8,707	0.84%
	People's	William E. Bartley Jr.	6,267	0.60%
Majority			34,223	3.30%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Louisiana

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Louisiana^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	J. Bennett Johnston	598,987	55.21%
	Independent	John McKeithen	250,161	23.06%
	Republican	Ben C. Toledano	206,846	19.07%
	American	Hall M. Lyons	28,910	2.66%
Majority			348,826	32.15%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Maine

Maine election

← 1966

1978 →

		125x136px
Nominee	William Hathaway	Margaret Chase Smith
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	224,270	197,040
Percentage	53.2%	46.8%

U.S. senator before election

Margaret Chase Smith
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

William Hathaway
Democratic

Incumbent Republican Margaret Chase Smith ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was defeated by Democrat William Hathaway, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd congressional district.

General election results^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Hathaway	224,270	53.23%
	Republican	Margaret Chase Smith (Incumbent)	197,040	46.77%
Majority			27,230	6.46%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Massachusetts

Massachusetts election

← 1966

1978 →

		125x135px
Nominee	Edward Brooke	John J. Droney
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,505,932	823,278
Percentage	63.53%	34.73%

300px

Results by town. Red indicates towns carried by Edward Brooke, blue indicates towns carried by John J. Droney.

U.S. senator before election

Edward Brooke
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Edward Brooke
Republican

Incumbent Republican Edward Brooke, first elected in 1966 as the first African-American elected to the Senate by popular vote,^[11] defeated his challengers, among them: John J. Droney, the Middlesex County District Attorney.^[12]

Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John J. Droney	215,523	45.05%
	Democratic	Gerald O'Leary	169,876	35.51%
	Democratic	John P. Lynch	92,979	19.43%

General election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward Brooke (Incumbent)	1,505,932	63.53%
	Democratic	John J. Droney	823,278	34.73%
	Socialist Workers	Donald Gurewitz	41,369	1.75%
	None	Scattering	97	0.00%
Majority			782,654	28.80%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Michigan

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Michigan^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert P. Griffin (Incumbent)	1,781,065	52.28%
	Democratic	Frank J. Kelley	1,577,178	46.29%
	American Independent	Patrick Dillinger	23,121	0.68%
	Human Rights	Barbara Halpert	19,118	0.56%
	Socialist Workers	Linda Nordquist	2,389	0.07%
	Socialist Labor	James Sim	2,217	0.06%
	Communist	Thomas D. Dennis Jr.	1,908	0.06%
Majority			203,887	5.99%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Minnesota

Minnesota election

← 1966

1978 →


Nominee	Walter F. Mondale	Phil Hansen
Party	DFL	Republican
Popular vote	981,320	742,121
Percentage	56.67%	42.86%

U.S. senator before election

Walter F. Mondale
DFL

Elected U.S. Senator

Walter F. Mondale
DFL

Incumbent Democrat Walter Mondale, who was originally appointed in 1964 (to fill the vacancy create when Hubert Humphrey was elected to the office of Vice President) and elected to a full term in 1966, defeated Republican challenger Phil Hansen.

Democratic primary election results^[14]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	DFL	Walter F. Mondale (Incumbent)	230,679	89.88%
	DFL	Tom Griffin	11,266	4.39%
	DFL	Richard "Dick" Leaf	7,750	3.02%
	DFL	Ralph E. Franklin	6,946	2.71%

Republican primary election results^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Hansen	165,093	100.00%

General election results^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	DFL	Walter F. Mondale (Incumbent)	981,320	56.67%
	Republican	Phil Hansen	742,121	42.86%
	Industrial Government Party (United States)	Karl H. Heck	8,192	0.47%
Majority			239,199	13.81%
Voter turnout			%
	DFL hold

Mississippi

Mississippi election

← 1966

1978 →


Nominee	James Eastland	Gil Carmichael
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	375,102	249,779
Percentage	58.1%	38.7%

U.S. senator before election

James Eastland
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Thad Cochran
Republican

General election results^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Eastland (Incumbent)	375,102	58.09%
	Republican	Gil Carmichael	249,779	38.68%
	Independent	Prentiss Walker	14,662	2.27%
	Independent	C. L. McKinley	6,203	0.96%
Majority			126,323	19.41%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Montana

Montana election

← 1966

1978 →


Nominee	Lee Metcalf	Hank Hibbard
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	163,609	151,316
Percentage	51.95%	48.05%

U.S. senator before election

Lee Metcalf
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Lee Metcalf
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Lee Metcalf, who was first elected to the Senate in 1960 and was re-elected in 1966, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he moved on to the general election, where he faced Hank Hibbard, a State Senator and the Republican nominee. Following a close campaign, Metcalf managed to narrowly win re-election to his third term in the Senate over Hibbard.

Democratic Party primary results^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee Metcalf (Incumbent)	106,491	86.42%
	Democratic	Jerome Peters	16,729	13.58%
Total votes			123,220	100.00%

Republican Primary results^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hank Hibbard State Senator	43,028	49.70%
	Republican	Harold E. Wallace	26,463	30.57%
	Republican	Norman C. Wheeler	13,826	15.97%
	Republican	Merrill K. Riddick	3,259	3.76%
Total votes			86,576	100.00%

1972 U.S. Senate election in Montana^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Lee Metcalf (Incumbent)	163,609	51.95%	-1.22%
	Republican	Hank Hibbard	151,316	48.05%	+1.22%
Majority			12,293	3.90%	-2.43%
Turnout			314,925
	Democratic hold

Nebraska

Nebraska election

← 1966

1978 →

	125x136px
Nominee	Carl Curtis	Terry Carpenter
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	301,841	265,922
Percentage	53.16%	46.84%

U.S. senator before election

Carl Curtis
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Carl Curtis
Republican

Incumbent Republican Carl Curtis won re-election over former congressman Terry Carpenter.

1972 U.S. Senate election in Nebraska^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Carl Curtis (Incumbent)	301,841	53.16%	-7.88%
	Democratic	Terry Carpenter	265,922	46.84%	+8.09%
Majority			35,919	6.33%	-15.97%
Turnout			567,763
	Republican hold

New Hampshire

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1972 U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas J. McIntyre (Incumbent)	184,495	56.88%
	Republican	Wesley Powell	139,852	43.12%
	None	Scattering	7	0.00%
Majority			44,643	13.76%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

New Jersey

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1972 U.S. Senate election in New Jersey^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clifford P. Case (Incumbent)	1,743,854	62.46%
	Democratic	Paul J. Krebs	963,753	34.52%
	American	A. Howard Freund	40,980	1.47%
	Concerned Voter's Voice	Charles W. Wiley	33,442	1.20%
	Socialist Labor	Julius Levin	10,058	0.36%
Majority			780,101	27.94%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

New Mexico

1972 U.S. Senate election in New Mexico^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Domenici	204,253	54.03%
	Democratic	Jack Daniels	173,815	45.97%
Majority			30,438	8.06%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

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North Carolina

North Carolina election

← 1966

1978 →


Nominee	Jesse Helms	Nick Galifianakis
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	795,247	677,293
Percentage	54.0%	46.0%

U.S. senator before election

B. Everett Jordan
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Jesse Helms
Republican

1972 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jesse Helms	795,248	54.01%
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	677,293	45.99%
Majority			117,955	8.02%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Oklahoma

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Oklahoma^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dewey F. Bartlett	516,934	51.43%
	Democratic	Ed Edmondson	478,212	47.58%
	American	William G. Roach	5,769	0.57%
	Independent	Joe C. Phillips	2,264	0.23%
	Independent	Paul E. Trent	1,969	0.20%
Majority			38,722	3.85%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Oregon

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Oregon^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Hatfield (Incumbent)	494,671	53.72%
	Democratic	Wayne Morse	425,036	41.16%
	None	Write-Ins	1,126	0.12%
Majority			69,635	7.56%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Rhode Island

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Rhode Island^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Claiborne Pell (Incumbent)	221,942	53.68%
	Republican	John Chafee	188,990	45.71%
	Independent	John Quattrocchi Jr.	2,041	0.49%
	Socialist Workers	Patrick M. DeTemple	458	0.11%
Majority			32,952	7.97%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

South Carolina

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1972 U.S. Senate election in South Carolina^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Strom Thurmond (Incumbent)	415,806	63.29%
	Democratic	Eugene N. Zeigler	241,056	36.69%
	None	Write-Ins	172	0.03%
Majority			174,750	27.60%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

South Carolina (Special)

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South Dakota

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1972 U.S. Senate election in South Dakota^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Abourezk	174,773	57.04%
	Republican	Robert W. Hirsch	131,613	42.96%
Majority			43,160	14.08%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Tennessee

Tennessee election

← 1966

November 7, 1972

1978 →

	125x136px
Nominee	Howard Baker	Ray Blanton
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	716,539	440,599
Percentage	61.5%	37.8%

U.S. senator before election

Howard Baker
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Howard Baker
Republican

One-term Republican Senator Howard Baker was re-elected. He defeated Democrat Ray Blanton.

1972 U.S. Senate election in Tennessee^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Howard Baker (Incumbent)	716,539	61.55%	+5.85%
	Democratic	Ray Blanton	440,599	37.85%	+6.46%
	Independent	Dan East	7,026	0.60%	n/a
	None	Write-Ins	31	0.00%
Majority			275,940	23.70%	+12.30%
Turnout			1,164,195
	Republican hold

Texas

Texas election

← 1966

November 7, 1972

1978 →

	125x136px	125x136px
Nominee	John Tower	Barefoot Sanders
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,822,877	1,511,985
Percentage	53.4%	44.3%

U.S. senator before election

John Tower
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

John Tower
Republican

Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Tower was re-elected.

1972 U.S. Senate election in Texas^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Tower (Incumbent)	1,822,877	53.40%
	Democratic	Barefoot Sanders	1,511,985	44.29%
	Raza Unida	Flores N. Amaya	63,543	1.86%
	Socialist Workers	Tom Leonard	14,464	0.42%
	None	Write-Ins	1,034	0.03%
Majority			310,892	9.11%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Vermont (Special)

Vermont election

← 1970

January 7, 1972 (1972-01-07)

1976 →


Nominee	Robert Stafford	Randolph T. Major
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	45,888	23,842
Percentage	64.4%	33.4%

U.S. senator before election

Robert Stafford
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Robert Stafford
Republican

Lua error in Module:Format_link at line 170: too many expensive function calls. Lua error in Module:Format_link at line 170: too many expensive function calls. The special election was held January 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Robert Stafford, appointed in September 1971 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Winston L. Prouty, successfully ran for re-election to the remainder of Prouty's term in the United States Senate. Stafford defeated Democratic candidate Randolph T. Major. Bernie Sanders, the Liberty Union candidate,^[20] was later elected to this seat in 2006, serving as an Independent.

1972 U.S. Senate special election in Vermont^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Stafford (Incumbent)	45,888	64.36%
	Democratic	Randolph T. Major	23,842	33.44%
	Liberty Union	Bernie Sanders	1,571	2.20%
Majority			22,046
Voter turnout			30.92%%
	Republican hold

Virginia

Virginia election

← 1966

1978 →

Turnout

44.7%^[21]

		125x136px
Nominee	William L. Scott	William Spong Jr.
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	718,337	643,963
Percentage	51.5%	46.1%

300px

U.S. Senate election results map. Red denotes counties/districts won by Scott. Blue denotes those won by Spong.

U.S. senator before election

William B. Spong Jr.
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

William Lloyd Scott
Republican

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Virginia^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William L. Scott	718,337	51.45%
	Democratic	William B. Spong Jr. (Incumbent)	643,963	46.12%
	Independent	Horace E. Henderson	33,912	2.43%
	None	Scattering	56	0.00%
Majority			74,374	5.33%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

West Virginia

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1972 U.S. Senate election in West Virginia^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jennings Randolph (Incumbent)	486,310	66.45%
	Republican	Louise Leonard	245,531	33.55%
Majority			240,779	32.90%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Wyoming

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1972 U.S. Senate election in Wyoming^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clifford Hansen (Incumbent)	101,314	71.31%
	Democratic	Mike Vinch	40,753	28.69%
Majority			60,561	42.62%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

References

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Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

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Template:1972 United States elections

↑ Harry F. Byrd Jr. (VA) was an Independent who caucused with the Democrats. In some circles he is called an "Independent Democrat," but his actual registration was listed as "Independent." See, e.g., Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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↑ ^4.00 ^4.01 ^4.02 ^4.03 ^4.04 ^4.05 ^4.06 ^4.07 ^4.08 ^4.09 ^4.10 ^4.11 ^4.12 ^4.13 ^4.14 ^4.15 ^4.16 ^4.17 ^4.18 ^4.19 ^4.20 ^4.21 ^4.22 ^4.23 ^4.24 ^4.25 ^4.26 ^4.27 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., p. 43.
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↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6513
↑ Edward Brooke at ourcampaigns.com
↑ John Droney at ourcampaigns.com
↑ Massachusetts race details at ourcampaigns.com
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 https://www.leg.state.mn.us/archive/sessions/electionresults/1972-09-12-p-man.pdf
↑ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=344518
↑ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6535
↑ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6502
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[ByrdDem-1] Harry F. Byrd Jr. (VA) was an Independent who caucused with the Democrats. In some circles he is called an "Independent Democrat," but his actual registration was listed as "Independent." See, e.g., Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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[10] ttp://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6513

[11] Edward Brooke at ourcampaigns.com

[12] John Droney at ourcampaigns.com

[13] Massachusetts race details at ourcampaigns.com

[mnprimaryresults-14] 14.0 ^14.1 https://www.leg.state.mn.us/archive/sessions/electionresults/1972-09-12-p-man.pdf

[mndflprimaryresults-15] ttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=344518

[16] ttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6535

[17] ttps://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6502

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1972 United States Senate elections

Contents

Results summary

Gains and losses

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the general elections

After the November special elections

Race summaries

Special elections during the 92nd Congress

Elections leading to the next Congress

Alabama

Alaska

Arkansas

Colorado

Delaware

Georgia

Georgia (Special)

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Montana

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Carolina (Special)

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont (Special)

Virginia

West Virginia

Wyoming

See also

References

External links

Navigation menu

Search