1972 United States Senate elections

Common card · No. 250036

The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia. After the elections, Democrats held 56 seats, and Republicans held 42 seats, with one Conservative and one independent senator in the chamber as well. These were the first elections in which all citizens at least 18 years of age (instead of 21 and older) could vote, due to the 1971 passage of the 26th Amendment. As of 2025, this is the last time...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster), Public domain