| Elections in Oklahoma |
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 Government |
The 1972 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 7, 1972. The incumbent Democratic Senator, Fred R. Harris, had retired to run for president.[1] The open seat was won by Republican Dewey F. Bartlett, who defeated Democratic nominee Ed Edmondson. However, his victory underperformed that of President Richard Nixon in the concurrent presidential election, which saw Nixon defeat George McGovern by 49.7% in the state.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Ed Edmondson, U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 2nd district
- Jed Johnson Jr., former U.S. Representative for Oklahoma's 6th district
- Clara Luper, Civil Rights activist
- Charles R. Nesbitt, Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner[2]
- Al Terrill, State Senator for the 32nd district[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed Edmondson | 249,729 | 56.35% | |
| Democratic | Charles R. Nesbitt | 92,101 | 20.78% | |
| Democratic | Al Terrill | 33,520 | 7.56% | |
| Democratic | Jed Johnson Jr. | 28,795 | 6.50% | |
| Democratic | John Rogers | 15,280 | 3.45% | |
| Democratic | Clara Luper | 10,457 | 2.36% | |
| Democratic | Bill Tiffany | 4,184 | 0.94% | |
| Democratic | Albert Anderson | 2,870 | 0.65% | |
| Democratic | Billy Brown | 2,638 | 0.60% | |
| Democratic | Henry Howell | 2,230 | 0.50% | |
| Democratic | Jesse D. Knipp | 1,386 | 0.31% | |
| Total votes | 443,190 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dewey F. Bartlett | 94,935 | 93.11% | |
| Republican | C. W. Wood | 7,029 | 6.89% | |
| Total votes | 101,964 | 100.00% | ||
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dewey F. Bartlett | 516,934 | 51.43% | +5.15% | |
| Democratic | Ed Edmondson | 478,212 | 47.58% | -6.14% | |
| American | William G. Roach | 5,769 | 0.57% | N/A | |
| Independent | Joe C. Phillips | 2,264 | 0.23% | N/A | |
| Independent | Paul E. Trent | 1,969 | 0.20% | N/A | |
| Majority | 38,722 | 3.85% | -3.6% | ||
| Turnout | 1,005,148 | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
References
- ^ Hayden, Tom (May 8, 1975). "Fred Harris: A Populist With a Prayer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Charles Nesbitt Obituary (2007) Oklahoman". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Al Terrill". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ a b c "1968-1974 Election Results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Elections Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.