1972 United States Senate election in Arkansas

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.

1972 United States Senate election in Arkansas

November 7, 1972
 
Nominee John L. McClellan Wayne Babbitt
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 386,398 248,238
Percentage 60.89% 39.12%

County results
McClellan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Babbitt:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

John L. McClellan
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

John L. McClellan
Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1972 Democratic U.S. Senate primary results[1]
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.

1972 Democratic U.S. Senate run-off results[2]
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

General election results[3][4]
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

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