1972 United States Senate election in Oregon

1972 United States Senate election in Oregon

←  1966 November 7, 1972 1978  →

Nominee Mark Hatfield Wayne Morse Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 494,671 425,036 Percentage 53.72% 46.16%

County results Hatfield:     50-60%     60-70% Morse:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Mark Hatfield Republican Elected U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield Republican

The 1972 United States Senate election in Oregon took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Senator Mark Hatfield was re-elected to a second term in office, defeating Democrat Wayne Morse.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 23, 1972.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Kenneth A. Brown, farmer, ^[1] unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for Oregon's 1st congressional district in 1952
• Lynn Engdahl, professor at Pacific University ^[2]
• Mark Hatfield, incumbent Senator
• John E. Smets, manufacturer ^[3]

Results

Republican primary results ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Hatfield (incumbent)	171,594	61.16%
	Republican	Lynn Engdahl	63,859	22.76%
	Republican	Kenneth A. Brown	30,826	10.99%
	Republican	John E. Smets	13,397	4.78%
	Write-in	All others	913	0.33%
Total votes			280,589	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Robert B. Duncan, former U.S. Congressman for Oregon's 4th congressional district, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 1966
• Wayne Morse, former U.S. Senator
• Don S. Willner, state senator
• Ralph Wiser, businessman ^[3]

Results

Results by county (Democratic primary):

Wayne Morse

•   50–55%
    45–50%
    40–45%
    35–40%

Robert Duncan

•   45–50%
    35–40%

Democratic primary results ^{[4] [5] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Wayne Morse	173,147	43.70%
	Democratic	Robert B. Duncan	130,845	33.03%
	Democratic	Don S. Willner	74,060	18.69%
	Democratic	Ralph Wiser	17,729	4.48%
	Write-in	All others	423	0.11%
Total votes			396,204	100.00%

General election

Campaign

According to the New York Times, the election provided "a choice between two well-known personalities, not issues". ^[8] Morse, who had supported Hatfield's 1966 campaign, was famously opposed to the Vietnam War, as was Hatfield. Thus, the election was ultimately between two well-known anti-war liberals. Hatfield won a fairly comfortable 54-46 victory, winning all but 3 counties.

Results

1972 United States Senate election in Oregon ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mark Hatfield (Incumbent)	494,671	53.72
	Democratic	Wayne Morse	425,036	46.16
	None	Write-Ins	1,126	0.12
Majority			69,635	7.56
Turnout			920,833
	Republican hold		Swing	{{{swing}}}

See also

• 1972 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Record number of candidates file for election". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. March 15, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
2. "Gov. McCall of Oregon Won't Oppose Hatfield". New York Times. New York, NY. March 8, 1972. p. 86. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
3. "Morse will oppose Hatfield". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. May 24, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
4. Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 147.
5. America Votes 10, p. 312.
6. "OR US Senate, 1972 - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
7. "OR US Senate, 1972 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
8. "THE 1972 CAMPAIGN". The New York Times. October 2, 1972.
9. Congressional Quarterly 1998, p. 95.
10. America Votes 10, p. 307.
11. "OR US Senate, 1972". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
12. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF). United States Government Printing Office . Retrieved April 4, 2015– via Clerk.house.gov.

Bibliography

• Congressional Elections, 1946-1996. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN   1-56802-248-4.
• Scammon, Richard M., ed. (1973). America Votes 10: a handbook of contemporary American election statistics, 1972. Washington, D.C.: Governmental Affairs Institute.