Colonel William A. Phillips

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The 1978 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent U.S. Senator John L. McClellan had died the previous December, leaving the seat vacant. Interim appointee Kaneaster Hodges Jr. did not run to the full seat, and was succeeded by Governor of Arkansas David Pryor.

Pryor won a highly-competitive three-way primary against U.S. Representatives Jim Guy Tucker and Ray Thornton, then defeated Tucker in a run-off election. Having secured the Democratic nomination, which was often tantamount to election in the American South prior to the 1980s, Pryor easily defeated Republican nominee Thomas Kelly and independent candidate John Black.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David Pryor 198,041 34.27%
Democratic Jim Guy Tucker 187,568 32.46%
Democratic Ray Thornton 184,095 31.86%
Democratic A.C. Grigson 8,166 1.41%
Total votes 577,870 100.00%

Run-off results

Democratic run-off results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David Pryor 265,525 54.91%
Democratic Jim Guy Tucker 218,026 45.09%
Total votes 483,551 100.00%

General election

Results

General election results[3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic David H. Pryor 399,916 76.58% Increase15.69
Republican Thomas Kelly Jr. 84,722 16.22% Decrease22.90
Independent John G. Black 37,488 7.18% N/A
Write-in William Rock 113 0.02% N/A
Total votes 522,239 0.02%
Democratic hold Swing

See also

References