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

• Ted Boswell
• Foster Johnson
• David Pryor, U.S. Representative from Camden
• John L. McClellan, incumbent Senator

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

1. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=208779
2. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=208780
3. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=6496
4. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1973). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.