1972 United States Senate election in Arkansas
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 County results McClellan: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Babbitt: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Arkansas |
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The 1972 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent U.S. Senator John L. McClellan was re-elected to a sixth term in office, defeating U.S. Representative David Pryor in a hotly contested primary. In the general election, McClellan easily defeated Republican physician Wayne Babbitt. This would be McClellan's final campaign; he died in his sleep in 1977. Pryor would go on to be elected Governor of Arkansas in 1974 and win the race to succeed McClellan in 1978.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Ted Boswell
- Foster Johnson
- David Pryor, U.S. Representative from Camden
- John L. McClellan, incumbent Senator
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John L. McClellan (inc.) | 220,588 | 44.70% | |
| Democratic | David Pryor | 204,058 | 41.35% | |
| Democratic | Ted Boswell | 62,496 | 12.66% | |
| Democratic | Foster Johnson | 6,358 | 1.29% | |
| Total votes | 493,500 | 100.00% | ||
Run-off results
Since no candidate received a majority in the initial primary, a run-off election was held on June 13 between McClellan and Pryor.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John L. McClellan (inc.) | 242,983 | 52.00% | |
| Democratic | David Pryor | 224,262 | 48.00% | |
| Total votes | 467,245 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John L. McClellan | 386,398 | 60.89% |  39.11
| |
| Republican | Wayne H. Babbitt | 248,238 | 39.12% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 634,636 | 0.02% | |||
See also
1972 United States Senate elections
References
- ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=208779
- ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=208780
- ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6496
- ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1973). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.