The 1972 United States Senate election was an election for the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 coinciding with the landslide re-election

United States presidential election, 1972

The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...

 of Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

. However, Nixon's victory did not help his allies in the Senate, and the Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 increased their majority by two seats. The result was a Democratic Senate, with 56 seats, to the Republicans'

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 42, with one independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 and one Conservative

Conservative Party of New York

The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party active in the state of New York. It is not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the American Conservative Party, which it predates by over 40 years....

 senator.

Democratic pickups included open seats in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 and South Dakota

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

, and defeats of Senators Gordon L. Allott

Gordon L. Allott

Gordon Llewellyn Allott was a Republican American politician.Born in Pueblo, Colorado, Allott graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1927 and from its law school in 1929. He was admitted to the bar in 1929 and commenced practice in Pueblo...

 of Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, J. Caleb Boggs

J. Caleb Boggs

James Caleb "Cale" Boggs was an American lawyer and politician from Claymont, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II, and a member of the Republican Party, who served three terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware, two terms as Governor of Delaware, and two terms as...

 of Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

, Jack Miller of Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, and Margaret Chase Smith

Margaret Chase Smith

Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in Maine history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either. She was also the first woman to have her name...

 of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. Republican pickups included open seats in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, and Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, and the defeat of incumbent William B. Spong, Jr.

William B. Spong, Jr.

William Belser Spong, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician and a United States Senator who represented the state of Virginia from 1966 to 1973....

 of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

In 1974, William B. Saxbe

William B. Saxbe

William Bart "Bill" Saxbe was an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, as U.S. Attorney General under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, and as United States Ambassador to India.At the time of his death, Saxbe was the...

 of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 resigned to become Attorney General

United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...

, and Democrat Howard Metzenbaum

Howard Metzenbaum

Howard Morton Metzenbaum was an American politician who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio . He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate from 1943 to 1951.-Early life:Metzenbaum was born in Cleveland, to a poor Jewish family, the son...

 was appointed to replace him. This is not included in the party balances.

Notable freshmen included future two-time presidential candidate and current Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

, who staged an upset in the Delaware election

United States Senate election in Delaware, 1972

The United States Senate election in Delaware, 1972 was a part of the United States Senate elections, 1972.-History:Longtime Delaware political figure and Republican incumbent Senator J. Caleb Boggs was considering retirement, which would likely have left U.S. Representative Pete du Pont and...

, and future conservative icon Jesse Helms

Jesse Helms

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...

.

Results summary

> > > >

Parties		Total Seats									Popular Vote
		Incumbents	Not up	This election					Result	+/-	Vote	%
				Up	Re-elected	Held	Gained	Lost
Democratic Party	54	40	14	8	2	6	4	56	2	17,199,567	45.49%
Republican Party	44	24	20	13	1	4	6	42	2	19,821,203	52.42%
	Conservative (N.Y.)	1	1	0	0	0			1		n/a
Independent	1	1	0	0	0			1		318,238	0.84%
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%

Source: Election Statistics - U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk

Complete list of races

State	Incumbent	Party	Results	Opposing candidates
Alabama	John Sparkman John Sparkman John Jackson Sparkman was an American politician from the state of Alabama. A conservative Southern Democrat, Sparkman served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate from 1937 until 1979. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President as Adlai Stevenson's running mate in...	Democratic	Re-elected, 62.3%	Winton M. Blount Winton M. Blount Winton Malcolm "Red" Blount, Jr. was the United States Postmaster General from 1969-1972. He is also known as the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the large construction company Blount International....  (Republican) 33.1% John L. LeFlore John L. LeFlore John L. LeFlore was a civil rights leader and politician in Mobile, Alabama. He was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1974 as a Democrat. He served in that position until his death in 1976.-External links:...  (Nat'l Democratic) 3.0% Jerome Couch (AL Prohibition) 1.0% Herbert Stone (AL Conservative) 0.6%
Alaska	Ted Stevens Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...	Republican	Re-elected, 77.3%	Gene Guess (Democratic) 22.7%
Arkansas	John Little McClellan John Little McClellan John Little McClellan was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas. He represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1943 until 1977. He also earlier represented Arkansas in the United States House of Representatives.-Early life:McClellan was born in Sheridan, Grant County, Arkansas...	Democratic	Re-elected, 60.8%	Wayne H. Babbitt Wayne H. Babbitt Wayne H. Babbitt was a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Arkansas, who in 1972 became the only member of his party ever to oppose the reelection of entrenched Democratic U.S. Senator John L. McClellan.-Family:...  (Republican) 39.1%
Colorado	Gordon L. Allott Gordon L. Allott Gordon Llewellyn Allott was a Republican American politician.Born in Pueblo, Colorado, Allott graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1927 and from its law school in 1929. He was admitted to the bar in 1929 and commenced practice in Pueblo...	Republican	Lost re-election, 48.4% Democratic gain	Floyd K. Haskell Floyd K. Haskell Floyd Kirk Haskell was a United States Senator from Colorado, and a member of the Democratic Party. He graduated from Harvard University 1937; graduated from Harvard Law School 1941; admitted to the New York and Colorado bars in 1946 and commenced practice in Denver, Colorado.; served in the...  (Democratic) 49.4% Secundion Salazar (Raza Unida Raza Unida Party Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida is an American political party centered on Chicano interests. The party was termed La Raza in reference to the Mestizo people. During the 1970s the Party campaigned for better housing, work, and educational opportunities for Mexican-Americans... ) 1.4% Henry Olshaw (American) 0.8%
Delaware United States Senate election in Delaware, 1972 The United States Senate election in Delaware, 1972 was a part of the United States Senate elections, 1972.-History:Longtime Delaware political figure and Republican incumbent Senator J. Caleb Boggs was considering retirement, which would likely have left U.S. Representative Pete du Pont and...	J. Caleb Boggs J. Caleb Boggs James Caleb "Cale" Boggs was an American lawyer and politician from Claymont, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II, and a member of the Republican Party, who served three terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware, two terms as Governor of Delaware, and two terms as...	Republican	Lost re-election, 49.1% Democratic gain	Joe Biden Joe Biden Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...  (Democratic) 50.5%
Georgia	David H. Gambrell David H. Gambrell David Henry Gambrell is a Georgia attorney who represented his state in the United States Senate from 1971 through 1972.-Education and legal career:Gambrell was born in Atlanta, GA, on December 20, 1929....	Democratic	Lost renomination Democratic hold	Sam Nunn Sam Nunn Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...  (Democratic) 54.0% Fletcher Thompson Fletcher Thompson Standish Fletcher Thompson is an American lawyer and politician who served as a representative in Congress for the 5th Congressional District of Georgia.-Early life:...  (Republican) 46.0%
Idaho	Leonard B. Jordan Leonard B. Jordan Leonard Beck "Len" Jordan was the 23rd Governor of Idaho and United States Senator from Idaho.Jordan served in World War I as an Army officer. He was a sheep rancher in Hell's Canyon during the Great Depression...	Republican	Retired Republican hold	James A. McClure James A. McClure James Albertus "Jim" McClure was an American politician from the state of Idaho, most notably serving as a Republican in the U.S. Senate....  (Republican) 52.3% William E. Davis William E. Davis - Glory Colorado! :While working on his doctoral degree and coaching the football team Davis was writing his thesis. He received special permission from the doctoral thesis committee to bypass the standard format and write the historical narrative book about the history of the University of...  (Democratic) 45.5%
Illinois United States Senate election in Illinois, 1972 -General election:-References:* ...	Charles H. Percy Charles H. Percy Charles Harting "Chuck" Percy was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964. He was elected United States Senator from Illinois in 1966, re-elected through his term ending in 1985; he concentrated on business and foreign relations...	Republican	Re-elected, 62.2%	Roman Pucinski Roman Pucinski Roman Conrad Pucinski was an American Democratic politician from Chicago, Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from 1959 to 1973, and alderman from the 41st Ward of Chicago from 1973 to 1991...  (Democratic) 37.4%
Iowa	Jack Miller	Republican	Lost re-election, 44.1% Democratic gain	Dick Clark Dick Clark (senator) Richard Clarence "Dick" Clark represented the state of Iowa in the United States Senate from 1973 to 1979.Clark, a Democrat, was only successful in his first election for the Senate when he defeated Republican incumbent, Jack R. Miller in 1972. Clark received 662,637 votes to Miller's 530,525...  (Democratic) 55.1%
Kansas	James B. Pearson James B. Pearson James Blackwood Pearson was a United States Senator from Kansas from 1962 to 1979.-Biography:Pearson was born in 1920 in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of a Methodist minister. With his parents, he moved to Virginia in 1934 and attended public school. He went on to attend college at Duke University...	Republican	Re-elected, 71.4%	Arch Tetzlaff (Democratic) 23.0%
Kentucky	John Sherman Cooper	Republican	Retired Democratic gain	Walter D. Huddleston (Democratic) 50.9% Louie B. Nunn Louie B. Nunn Louie Broady Nunn was the 52nd governor of Kentucky. Elected in 1967, he was the first Republican elected to that office since Simeon Willis in 1943 and the last to hold it until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 2003....  (Republican) 47.6%
Louisiana	Elaine S. Edwards Elaine S. Edwards Elaine Schwartzenburg Edwards is a former interim member of the United States Senate and the first wife of Edwin Washington Edwards, making her a former First Lady of Louisiana....	Democratic	Retired Democratic hold	J. Bennett Johnston (Democratic) 55.2% John McKeithen John McKeithen John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...  (Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... ) 23.1% Ben C. Toledano (Republican) 16.1%
Maine	Margaret Chase Smith Margaret Chase Smith Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in Maine history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either. She was also the first woman to have her name...	Republican	Lost re-election, 46.8% Democratic gain	William Hathaway William Hathaway William Dodd Hathaway is an American Democratic Party politician from Maine.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served in World War II in the Army Air Corps, where he was shot down while bombing the Ploesti, Romania...  (Democratic) 53.2%
Massachusetts United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1972 The United States Senate election of 1972 in Massachusetts was held on November 7, 1972 with the incumbent Republican Senator Edward Brooke defeating his challengers.-Democratic:...	Edward Brooke Edward Brooke Edward William Brooke, III is an American politician and was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 60.7%–38.7%...	Republican	Re-elected, 63.5%	John J. Droney (Democratic) 34.7% Donald Gurewitz (Socialist Workers Socialist Workers Party (United States) The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba... ) 1.7%
Michigan	Robert P. Griffin Robert P. Griffin Robert Paul Griffin was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court....	Republican	Re-elected, 52.3%	Frank J. Kelley Frank J. Kelley Frank J. Kelley , was the 50th Attorney General of the U.S. state of Michigan. His 37-year term of office, from 1961 to 1998, made him both the youngest and oldest Attorney General in the state's history, and led to his nickname as the "Eternal General". He is the longest serving state attorney...  (Democratic) 46.3%
Minnesota	Walter Mondale Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...	Democratic	Re-elected, 56.7%	Phil Hansen (Republican) 42.9%
Mississippi	James Eastland James Eastland James Oliver Eastland was an American politician from Mississippi who briefly served in the United States Senate as a Democrat in 1941; and again from 1943 until his resignation December 27, 1978. From 1947 to 1978, he served alongside John Stennis, also a Democrat...	Democratic	Re-elected, 58.1%	Gil Carmichael (Republican) 38.7%
Montana	Lee Metcalf Lee Metcalf Lee Warren Metcalf was an American politician of the Democratic Party and was a United States Representative, and a United States Senator from Montana....	Democratic	Re-elected, 52.0%	Henry S. Hibbard (Republican) 48.1%
Nebraska United States Senate election in Nebraska, 1972 The 1972 Nebraska United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1972 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Nebraska. Republican U.S. Senator Charles Curtis won election-Results:...	Carl Curtis Carl Curtis Carl Thomas Curtis was an American politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. He served as a Republican in the House of Representatives and later the Senate ....	Republican	Re-elected, 53.1%	Terry Carpenter Terry Carpenter Terry McGovern Carpenter was a Nebraska politician. Though he changed his party five times, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives and later served 22 years in the Nebraska Legislature. He also unsuccessfully ran for the Senate, Governor and Lieutenant...  (Democratic) 46.8%
New Hampshire	Thomas J. McIntyre Thomas J. McIntyre Thomas James McIntyre was a U.S. senator from New Hampshire, and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Laconia, New Hampshire, he attended the public and parochial schools of Laconia; he graduated from Manlius Military School in Manlius, New York, in 1933, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New...	Democratic	Re-elected, 56.9%	Wesley Powell Wesley Powell Wesley Powell was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.Powell was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He attended schools in Portsmouth before graduating from the University of New Hampshire. He received his law degree from the Southern Methodist College...  (Republican) 43.1%
New Jersey	Clifford P. Case Clifford P. Case Clifford Philip Case was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives and the State of New Jersey in the United States Senate .-Biography:Clifford P. Case was born in Franklin Park in Somerset County, New Jersey...	Republican	Re-elected, 62.5%	Paul J. Krebs Paul J. Krebs Paul Joseph Krebs , born in New York City, was an American Democratic Party politician and U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district....  (Democratic) 34.5%
New Mexico	Clinton Presba Anderson Clinton Presba Anderson Clinton Presba Anderson was an American Democratic Party politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from New Mexico , as the United States Secretary of Agriculture , and as a U.S. Senator from New Mexico .-Early life and career:Anderson was born in Centerville, South Dakota, on October 23, 1895...	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Pete Dominici (Republican) 54.0% Jack Daniels Jack Daniels (politician) Jack Daniels was a Democratic New Mexico state representative. He ran unsuccessfully for the governorship in 1970, and for the United States Senate in 1972....  (Democratic) 46.0%
North Carolina United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1972 The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1972 was held on 7 November 1972 as part of the nation-wide elections to the Senate, and coinciding with the 1972 presidential election. The general election was fought between the Republican nominee Jesse Helms and the Democrat nominee Rep. Nick...	B. Everett Jordan B. Everett Jordan Benjamin Everett Jordan was a Democratic U.S. Senator from the state of North Carolina from 1958 until 1973. He lived most of his life in Alamance County, North Carolina....	Democratic	Lost renomination Republican gain	Jesse Helms Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...  (Republican) 54.0% Nick Galifianakis Nick Galifianakis Nick Galifianakis was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1967 and 1973.-Life and career:Galifianakis was born in Durham, North Carolina, the son of Greek immigrants Sophia and Mike Galifianakis. Galifianakis attended local public schools and then Duke University, earning a...  (Democratic) 46.0%
Oklahoma	Fred R. Harris Fred R. Harris Fred Roy Harris is a former Democratic United States Senator from the state of Oklahoma. He served from 1964 until 1973.-Biography:...	Democratic	Retired Republican gain	Dewey F. Bartlett Dewey F. Bartlett Dewey Follett Bartlett, Sr. , a U.S. politician, served as the 19th Governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his same-party Republican predecessor, Henry Bellmon. State law at that time did not allow consecutive terms for governor. In 1966, he was elected governor after defeating the...  (Republican) 51.4% Ed Edmondson Ed Edmondson (U.S. politician) Edmond "Ed" Augustus Edmondson was a U.S. politician from Oklahoma.-Early life:He was born and raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he attended public school before going on to attend Muskogee Junior College. Upon graduation from the University of Oklahoma in 1940, he joined the Federal Bureau of...  (Democratic) 47.6%
Oregon	Mark Hatfield Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States Senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee...	Republican	Re-elected, 53.7%	Wayne Morse Wayne Morse Wayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....  (Democratic) 46.2%
Rhode Island	Claiborne Pell Claiborne Pell Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...	Democratic	Re-elected, 53.7%	John Chafee John Chafee John Lester Hubbard Chafee was an American politician. He served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, as the 66th Governor of Rhode Island, as the Secretary of the Navy, and as a United States Senator.-Early life and family:...  (Republican) 45.7%
South Carolina United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1972 The 1972 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1972 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond easily defeated Democratic challenger Eugene N. Zeigler....	Strom Thurmond Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...	Republican	Re-elected, 63.3%	Eugene N. Zeigler (Democratic) 36.7%
South Dakota	Karl Earl Mundt Karl Earl Mundt Karl Earl Mundt was an American educator and a Republican member of the United States Congress, representing South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives from 1938 to 1948 and in the United States Senate from 1948 to 1973.-Biography:Born in Humboldt, South Dakota, Mundt attended...	Republican	Retired Democratic gain	James Abourezk James Abourezk James George Abourezk is a former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator, and was the first Arab-American to serve in the United States Senate. He represented South Dakota in the U.S...  (Democratic) 57.0% Robert W. Hirsch (Republican) 42.9%
Tennessee	Howard Baker Howard Baker Howard Henry Baker, Jr. is a former Senate Majority Leader, Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee, White House Chief of Staff, and a former United States Ambassador to Japan.Known in Washington, D.C...	Republican	Re-elected, 61.6%	Ray Blanton Ray Blanton Leonard Ray Blanton was the 44th Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1979. Blanton's administration was rife with corruption.-Early life and Congress:...  (Democratic) 37.9%
Texas	John Tower John Tower John Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...	Republican	Re-elected, 53.4%	Barefoot Sanders (Democratic) 44.3%
Vermont (Class 1: Special)	Robert Stafford Robert Stafford Robert Theodore Stafford was an American politician from Vermont. In his lengthy career, he served as the 71st Governor of Vermont, a United States Representative, and a U.S. Senator...	Republican	Elected to finish term, 64.3%	Randolph T. Major (Democratic) 33.4%
Virginia	William B. Spong, Jr. William B. Spong, Jr. William Belser Spong, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician and a United States Senator who represented the state of Virginia from 1966 to 1973....	Democratic	Lost re-election, 46.1% Republican gain	William L. Scott William L. Scott William Lloyd Scott was a Republican politician from Virginia.Scott was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. He received a law degree from George Washington University, and was employed by the federal government 1934–1961, principally as trial attorney with Department of Justice...  (Republican) 51.5%
West Virginia	Jennings Randolph Jennings Randolph Jennings Randolph was an American politician from West Virginia. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was the last surviving member of the United States Congress to have served during the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.-Early life and career:Randolph was born in...	Democratic	Re-elected, 66.5%	Louise Leonard (Republican) 33.6%
Wyoming	Clifford Hansen Clifford Hansen Clifford Peter Hansen was a Republican politician from the American state of Wyoming. He served as both the 26th Governor and U.S. senator...	Republican	Re-elected, 71.3%	Mike Vinich (Democratic) 28.7%

Senate composition before and after elections

Senate composition before the elections I D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R C

Senate composition in the next Congress 93rd United States Congress The Ninety-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1973 to January 3, 1975, during the end of Richard... I D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R C

Key:	C=Conservative	D=Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	I=Independent	R=Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
	Majority
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