The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.
After the elections, Democrats held 56 seats, and Republicans held 42 seats, with 1 Conservative and 1 independent senator in the chamber as well. 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.
As of 2024, this is the last time in which a Republican won a Senate election in New Jersey. Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States (2021–present) and 47th vice president (2009–2017), first won election to the United States Senate, defeating J. Caleb Boggs in the election in Delaware.
Interim appointee retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold. Interim appointee resigned November 13, 1972, to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed November 14, 1972.
In 1946, John H. Bankhead II suffered a stroke during a U.S. Senate hearing and died three weeks later. John Sparkman, who had served as U.S. Representative since 1937 and was House Majority Whip, secured the endorsements of party leaders and ran unopposed to win the remainder of Bankhead's term. Sparkman was then re-elected in 1948, 1954, 1960, and 1966 all by wide margins. At the time, the Democratic Party was dominant in Alabama; winning the Democratic primary virtually guaranteed a general election victory. Until 1966, Sparkman never faced an opponent in the general election who garnered more than 30% of the vote. Sparkman also served as the running mate of Adlai Stevenson II in an unsuccessful 1952 presidential campaign.
However, in 1966, the Democratic Party began to feel the backlash of Civil rights legislation in the South, and Sparkman faced his closest political contest to date. He defeated John Grenier with just 60% of the vote. Richard Nixon's election in 1968 also helped Republicans gain recognition in Alabama. In 1972, Sparkman faced Winton M. Blount, who was serving as Postmaster General.[4]
Sparkman ultimately increased his vote share in a lopsided victory over Blount, who won just two counties, Houston county and, fittingly, the phonetically similar Winston county. This would be Sparkman's final term as U.S. senator. He retired in 1979 and was succeeded by Howell Heflin.
Republican Ted Stevens was originally elected to the U.S. Senate in 1970, succeeding Democrat Bob Bartlett. He won election to the remainder of Barlett's term with nearly 60% of the vote.
In 1972, he faced Democrat Gene Guess in the general election. Stevens won re-election in a landslide even as Democrat Mike Gravel served as the state's other senator. On election day, Stevens won re-election to a second term (his first full term) against Guess, 77–23%. Stevens would be re-elected in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002 with at least 66% of the vote before losing re-election in 2008 amid criminal charges.
Incumbent Republican J. Caleb Boggs, running for a third term, faced off against future PresidentJoe 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. RepresentativePete du Pont and Wilmington Mayor Harry G. Haskell Jr. To avoid the anticipated divisive primary fight, U.S. PresidentRichard M. Nixon helped convince Boggs to run again with full party support.
No other Democrat wanted to run against Boggs besides Biden.[6] Biden's campaign had virtually no money and was given no chance of winning.[7] 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.[8] Biden did receive some assistance from the AFL–CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell.[6] 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".[6][8]
During the summer Biden trailed by almost 30 percentage points,[6] 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.[9] Biden won the November 7, 1972, election in an upset by a margin of 3,162 votes.[8]
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.[10]
Sam Nunn, a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives, won both the special and the regular elections. Nunn beat Gambrell in the August 29 special and regular primary run-off elections[11] despite trailing Gambrell initially 31-23% in the first round of voting.
In the special election to fill the remainder of Russell's term, Nunn faced Republican congressman Fletcher Thompson. Nunn's campaign was noted to be more organized than was Thompson's. Nunn had support from numerous prominent Georgia Democrats, including Gambrell and Carter. Thompson's campaign was "almost literally a one-man effort", and he started the race with almost no footprint outside of his own district.[12] Thompson was endorsed by Barry Goldwater, James L. Buckley, and Spiro Agnew.[13]
On the day of the special election, Nunn defeated Thompson 52-47%. Though Thompson performed well in the Atlanta metro area, Nunn swept most rural counties en route to a victory.
In the general election held later that year, Nunn again defeated Thompson this time by almost 8 percentage points. Nonetheless, this marked a turning point in Georgia electoral politics: Nunn became the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Georgia despite losing the white vote.[12] Nunn also proved to be more moderate than his predecessor Russell, voting in favor of abortion rights, gun control, affirmative action, and environmental regulations.
Nunn would be re-elected in 1978, 1984, and 1990 before retiring in 1997. This was the last time he won less than 79% of the vote in a U.S. Senate election. In 1996, he was succeeded by Democrat Max Cleland.
GovernorEdwin Washington Edwards, who defeated Johnston by less than 4,500 votes in the 1971 Democratic runoff, nominated his wife, Elaine Edwards, to fill the remainder of Ellender's term, with the agreement Mrs. Edwards would resign immediately following the general election to allow the winner to gain seniority over other new senators.
On the same day as Edwards' inauguration on Capitol Hill, the Louisiana Democratic Party rejected a challenge by former Governor John McKeithen to reopen qualifying following Ellender's death, ordering the primary to be held August 19 as scheduled, ignoring an opinion to the contrary by Louisiana Attorney General William J. Guste Jr. Ellender's name was not removed from the ballot and he received 10 percent of the primary vote as a tribute. McKeithen, whose eight-year gubernatorial tenure ended May 9, 1972, ran as an independent with support of the Ellender family, incensed by Johnston's primary challenge.
Johnston easily won the Democratic primary, nullifying the need for a September 30 runoff. In the general election, the Shreveport native trounced McKeithen by 32 points to win the first of his four terms. He was sworn in on November 13, 1972.
Incumbent Democrat Walter Mondale, who was originally appointed in 1964 (to fill the vacancy created when Hubert Humphrey was elected to the office of Vice President) and elected to a full term in 1966, defeated Republican challenger Phil Hansen.
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.
The incumbent Democratic senator B. Everett Jordan was defeated in the primary by Nick Galifianakis. Galifianakis went on to lose the election to Jesse Helms, making Helms the first Republican Senator from the state in the 20th century.
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. Stafford defeated Democratic candidate Randolph T. Major. Bernie Sanders, the Liberty Union candidate,[26] was later elected to this seat in 2006, serving as an Independent.
The incumbent Democratic senator William B. Spong Jr. was defeated by Republican William L. Scott, making Scott the first Republican Senator from the state since John F. Lewis in 1870.
^Senator Strom Thurmond was originally elected as a Democrat in 1954, but as a write-in candidate, a special election in 1956 and 1960 before switching to a Republican in 1964. Thurmond won re-election as a Republican in 1966.
^Hathorn, Billy (1994). A Dozen Years in the Political Wilderness: The Alabama Republican Party, 1966–1978. Gulf Coast Historical Review, Vol. 9, No. 2. pp. 33–34.
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