| Elections in Mississippi |
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The 1972 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James Eastland won re-election to his sixth term. To date, this was the last time that the Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat in Mississippi. Mississippi was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia that were won by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- James Eastland, incumbent Senator
- Louis Fondren, State Representative[1]
- Taylor Webb, president of the Mississippi Economic Council[1]
Withdrew
- C. L. McKinley, pipefitter[1] (to run as an independent candidate)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Eastland (inc.) | 203,847 | 70.23% | |
| Democratic | Taylor Webb | 67,656 | 23.21% | |
| Democratic | Louis Fondren | 18,753 | 6.46% | |
| Total votes | 290,256 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Gil Carmichael, businessman
- James Meredith, Civil Rights Movement icon
Campaign
Meredith ran as an anti-Nixon candidate, while Carmichael supported President Nixon's re-election.[1]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Gil Carmichael | 18,369 | 79.08% | |
| Republican | James Meredith | 4,859 | 20.92% | |
| Total votes | 23,228 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Gil Carmichael, businessman (Republican)
- James Eastland, incumbent Senator since 1943 (Democratic)
- C.L. McKinley, pipefitter[1] (Independent)
- Prentiss Walker, former Congressman and Republican nominee for Senate in 1966 (Independent)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | James Eastland (inc.) | 375,102 | 58.09% |  7.47
| |
| Republican | Gil Carmichael | 249,779 | 38.68% |  11.98
| |
| Independent | Prentiss Walker | 14,662 | 2.27% | N/A | |
| Independent | C.L.McKinley | 6,203 | 0.96% | N/A | |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Eastland to Face 3 Rivals in Primary". The New York Times. April 9, 1972. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ^ "MS US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ "MS US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MS US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1972".