1972 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

1972 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

←  1966 November 7, 1972 1978  →

Nominee Dewey F. Bartlett Ed Edmondson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 516,934 478,212 Percentage 51.43% 47.58%

County results Bartlett:      50–60%     60–70% Edmondson:      50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Fred R. Harris Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Dewey F. Bartlett Republican

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

Democratic primary ^[4]

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

• Dewey F. Bartlett, former Governor of Oklahoma

Results

Republican primary ^[4]

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

1972 United States Senate election in Oklahoma ^[4]

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

1. Hayden, Tom (May 8, 1975). "Fred Harris: A Populist With a Prayer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
2. "Charles Nesbitt Obituary (2007) Oklahoman". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
3. "Al Terrill". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
4. "1968-1974 Election Results" (PDF). Oklahoma State Elections Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.