1970 United States Senate elections

The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate, taking place in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as President. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.

This was the most recent election in which a third party won a seat in the Senate until 2006.

These were the last elections (at least through 2018) where a member of a political party other than the Democrats or Republicans had won one or more seats in the chamber (not including Independents, members of no political party). This was also the last midterm election until 2018 midterm elections where a sitting President's party simultaneously experienced net gains in the Senate and net losses in the House.

Results summary

Parties		Total Seats			Popular Vote
		1968	1970	+/-	Vote	%
	Democratic	57	54	4	25,402,791	52.40%
	Republican	43	44	2	19,326,064	39.87%
	Conservative	0	1	1	2,183,572	4.50%
	Others	0	1	1	1,566,033	3.23%
Total		100	100		48,478,460	100.0%

Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Getting out the vote

President Nixon said that rather than violent protests, the best way for the American public to get their opinion heard was by voting:

The most powerful four letter word is a clean word, it’s the most powerful four letter word in the history of men, it's called vote. V-O-T-E. My friends, I say that the answer to those that engage in disruption, to those that shout their filthy slogans, to those that try to shout down speakers, it's not to answer in kind, but go to the polls in election day, and in the quiet of that ballot box, stand up and be counted, the great silent majority of America.

— Richard Nixon, "1970 Election: 1970 Year in Review". UPI.com.

Retirements

Democratic holds

1. Florida: Spessard Holland (D) retired and was replaced by Lawton Chiles (D).
2. Minnesota: Eugene McCarthy (DFL) retired and was replaced by former Vice President (and former Senator) Hubert Humphrey (DFL).

Republican hold

1. Delaware: John J. Williams (R) retired and was replaced by William Roth (R). He subsequently (December 31, 1970) resigned to give Roth additional seniority in the next term.

Republican gain

1. Ohio: Stephen M. Young (D) retired and was replaced by Robert Taft Jr. (R).

Incumbents who lost their seats

Democratic hold

1. Texas: Ralph Yarborough (D) lost renomination to Lloyd Bentsen (D).

Democratic gains

1. California: George Murphy (R) lost re-election to John V. Tunney (D).
2. Illinois (Special): Ralph Tyler Smith (R) lost re-election to Adlai Stevenson III (D).

Conservative gain

1. New York: Charles Goodell (R), who was appointed in September 1968 to finish the term of the late Robert Kennedy, lost election to James L. Buckley (C).

Republican gains

1. Connecticut: Thomas J. Dodd (D) dropped out of the Democratic primary, ran as an independent, and lost re-election to Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (R).
2. Maryland: Joseph Tydings (D) lost re-election to John Glenn Beall, Jr. (R).
3. Tennessee: Al Gore, Sr. (D) lost re-election to Bill Brock (R).

Other changes

Independent gain

1. Virginia: Harry F. Byrd Jr. (D) won re-election as an Independent. He broke with the Democratic Party because they asked him to sign an oath of loyalty to the party. Instead of signing the restrictive contract, Byrd ran as an independent. He continued to caucus with the Democrats, and maintained his seniority.

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Ran	D39 Ran	D38 Ran	D37 Ran	D36 Ran	D35 Ran	D34 Ran	D33	D32	D31
D41 Ran	D42 Ran	D43 Ran	D44 Ran	D45 Ran	D46 Ran	D47 Ran	D48 Ran	D49 Ran	D50 Ran
Majority →									D51 Ran
R41 Ran	R42 Ran	R43 Retired	D57 Retired	D56 Retired	D55 Retired	D54 Ran	D53 Ran	D52 Ran
R40 Ran	R39 Ran	R38 Ran	R37 Ran	R36 Ran	R35	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the general elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 Re-elected	D39 Re-elected	D38 Re-elected	D37 Re-elected	D36 Re-elected	D35 Re-elected	D34 Re-elected	D33	D32	D31
D41 Re-elected	D42 Re-elected	D43 Re-elected	D44 Re-elected	D45 Re-elected	D46 Re-elected	D47 Re-elected	D48 Re-elected	D49 Re-elected	D50 Hold
Majority →									D51 Hold
R41 Hold	R42 Gain	R43 Gain	R44 Gain	R45 Gain	C1 Gain	I1 Re-elected new party	D53 Gain	D52 Hold
R40 Re-elected	R39 Re-elected	R38 Re-elected	R37 Re-elected	R36 Re-elected	R35	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

After the special elections

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40	D39	D38	D37	D36	D35	D34	D33	D32	D31
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45	D46	D47	D48	D49	D50
Majority →									D51
R41	R42	R43	R44 Hold	C1	I1	D54 Gain	D53	D52
R40	R39	R38	R37	R36	R35	R34	R33	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key:	C# Conservative (New York) D# Democratic R# Republican I# Independent

Race summary

Special elections during the 91st Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1970 or before January 3, 1971; ordered by election date, then state.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alaska Special (Class 2)	Ted Stevens	Republican	1968 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 3, 1970.	√ Ted Stevens (Republican) 59.6% Wendell P. Kay (Democratic) 40.4%
Illinois Special (Class 3)	Ralph Tyler Smith	Republican	1969 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected November 3, 1970. Democratic gain.	√ Adlai Stevenson III (Democratic) 57.4% Ralph Tyler Smith (Republican) 42.2%

Elections leading to the next Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1971; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Arizona	Paul Fannin	Republican	1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Paul Fannin (Republican) 56.0% Sam Grossman (Democratic) 44.0%
California	George Murphy	Republican	1964 1964 (Appointed)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected.. Democratic gain Incumbent resigned January 1, 1971 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed January 2, 1971.	√ John V. Tunney (Democratic) 53.9% George Murphy (Republican) 44.3% Robert Scheer (Peace and Freedom) 0.9% Charles C. Ripley (Amer. Indep.) 0.9%
Connecticut	Thomas J. Dodd	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent lost renomination and then re-election as an Independent. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (Republican) 41.7% Joseph Duffey (Democratic) 33.8% Thomas J. Dodd (Independent) 24.5%
Delaware	John J. Williams	Republican	1946 1952 1958 1964	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican hold. Incumbent resigned December 31, 1970 to give successor preferential seniority. Winner appointed January 1, 1971.	√ William V. Roth, Jr. (Republican) 58.8% Jacob Zimmerman (Democratic) 40.1%
Florida	Spessard Holland	Democratic	1946 (Appointed) 1946 1952 1958 1964	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Lawton Chiles (Democratic) 53.9% William C. Cramer (Republican) 46.1%
Hawaii	Hiram Fong	Republican	1959 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Hiram Fong (Republican) 51.6% Cecil Heftel (Democratic) 48.4%
Indiana	Vance Hartke	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Vance Hartke (Democratic) 50.1% Richard L. Roudebush (Republican) 49.9%
Maine	Edmund Muskie	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Edmund Muskie (Democratic) 61.9% Neil S. Bishop (Republican) 38.3%
Maryland	Joseph Tydings	Democratic	1964	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ John Glenn Beall, Jr. (Republican) 50.7% Joseph Tydings (Democratic) 48.1%
Massachusetts	Ted Kennedy	Democratic	1962 (Special) 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Ted Kennedy (Democratic) 62.1% Josiah A. Spaulding (Republican) 37.0%
Michigan	Philip Hart	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Philip Hart (Democratic) 66.8% Lenore Romney (Republican) 32.9%
Minnesota	Eugene McCarthy	Democratic-Farmer-Labor[1]	1958 1964	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Hubert Humphrey (Democratic) 57.8% Clark MacGregor (Republican) 41.6%
Mississippi	John C. Stennis	Democratic	1947 (Special) 1952 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John C. Stennis (Democratic) 88.4% William R. Thompson (Independent) 11.6%
Missouri	Stuart Symington	Democratic	1952 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Stuart Symington (Democratic) 51.1% John Danforth (Republican) 48.1% Gene Chapman (Amer. Indep.) 0.8% E. J. DiGirolamo (Independent) 0.04%
Montana	Mike Mansfield	Democratic	1952 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Mike Mansfield (Democratic) 60.5% Harold E. Wallace (Republican) 39.5%
Nebraska	Roman Hruska	Republican	1954 (Special) 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Roman Hruska (Republican) 52.5% Frank B. Morrison (Democratic) 47.5%
Nevada	Howard Cannon	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Howard Cannon (Democratic) 57.7% William J. Raggio (Republican) 41.2%
New Jersey	Harrison A. Williams	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Harrison A. Williams (Democratic) 54.0% Nelson G. Gross (Republican) 42.2%
New Mexico	Joseph Montoya	Democratic	1964 (Special) 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Joseph Montoya (Democratic) 52.3% Anderson Carter (Republican) 46.6%
New York	Charles Goodell	Republican	1968 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected. Conservative gain.	√ James L. Buckley (Conservative) 38.8% Richard Ottinger (Democratic) 36.8% Charles Goodell (Republican) 24.3%
North Dakota	Quentin N. Burdick	Democratic	1960 (Special) 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Quentin N. Burdick (Democratic) 61.3% Thomas S. Kleppe (Republican) 37.8%
Ohio	Stephen M. Young	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent retired. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Robert Taft Jr. (Republican) 49.7% Howard Metzenbaum (Democratic) 47.5%
Pennsylvania	Hugh Scott	Republican	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Hugh Scott (Republican) 51.4% William G. Sesler (Democratic) 45.4%
Rhode Island	John O. Pastore	Democratic	1950 (Special) 1952 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ John O. Pastore (Democratic) 67.5% John McLaughlin (Republican) 31.5%
Tennessee	Al Gore, Sr.	Democratic	1952 1958 1964	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected. Republican gain.	√ Bill Brock (Republican) 51.3% Al Gore, Sr. (Democratic) 47.4%
Texas	Ralph Yarborough	Democratic	1957 (Special) 1958 1964	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected. Democratic hold.	√ Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic) 53.5% George H. W. Bush (Republican) 46.4%
Utah	Frank Moss	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Frank Moss (Democratic) 56.2% Laurence J. Burton (Republican) 42.5% Clyde B. Freeman (Amer. Indep.) 1.4%
Vermont	Winston L. Prouty	Republican	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Winston L. Prouty (Republican) 58.9% Philip H. Hoff (Democratic) 40.2%
Virginia	Harry F. Byrd Jr.	Democratic	1965 (Appointed) 1966 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected as an Independent. Independent gain.	√ Harry F. Byrd Jr. (Independent) 53.5% George Rawlings (Democratic) 31.2% Ray Garland (Republican) 15.3%
Washington	Henry M. Jackson	Democratic	1952 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Henry M. Jackson (Democratic) 82.4% Charles W. Elicker (Republican) 16.0% Bill Massey (Socialist Workers) 0.9% E.S. "Pinky" Fisk (Buffalo) 0.7%
West Virginia	Robert Byrd	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Robert Byrd (Democratic) 77.6% Elmer H. Dodson (Republican) 22.4%
Wisconsin	William Proxmire	Democratic	1957 (Special) 1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ William Proxmire (Democratic) 70.8% John E. Erickson (Republican) 28.5%
Wyoming	Gale W. McGee	Democratic	1958 1964	Incumbent re-elected.	√ Gale W. McGee (Democratic) 55.8% John S. Wold (Republican) 44.2%

Alaska (Special)

Republican Ted Stevens was appointed December 24, 1968 to finish the term of Democrat Bob Bartlett, who had died in office. The open primary was held August 25, 1970, in which Stevens received 40,411 votes (55.91%), Key received 29,459 votes (23.94%), State Senator Joe Josephson received 12,730 votes (18.22%) and Fritz Singer (R) received 1,349 votes (1.93%).^[2][3] In the November 3, 1970 special election to finish the term, he ran against the Democratic Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Wendell P. Kay. Stevens easily won with almost 60% of the vote.^[4]

United States Senate special election in Alaska, 1970^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ted Stevens (incumbent)	47,908	59.61%
	Democratic	Wendell P. Kay	32,456	40.39%
Majority			14,452	18.22%
Turnout			80,364
	Republican hold

Arizona

Incumbent Republican Paul Fannin decided to run for re-election to a second term, running unopposed in the Republican primary. Fannin defeated Democratic businessman Sam Grossman in the general election.

Democratic primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Grossman	78,006	65.24%
	Democratic	John Kruglick, Doctor	27,324	22.85%
	Democratic	H. L. Kelly	14,238	11.91%
Total votes			119,568	100.00

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1970^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Paul Fannin	228,284	55.98%
	Democratic	Sam Grossman	179,512	44.02%
Majority			48,772	11.96%
Turnout			407,796
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

California

United States Senate election in California, 1970^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John V. Tunney	3,496,558	53.86%
	Republican	George Murphy (incumbent)	2,877,617	44.32%
	Peace and Freedom	Robert Scheer	61,251	0.94%
	American Independent	Charles C. Ripley	56,731	0.87%
Majority			618,941	9.54%
Turnout			6,492,157
	Democratic gain from Republican

Connecticut

Republican Lowell P. Weicker Jr. defeated Democrat Joseph Duffey and incumbent Thomas J. Dodd who ran this time as an independent. Dodd entered the race at the last minute and split the Democratic vote, allowing Weicker to win with only 42% of the vote.

United States Senate election in Connecticut, 1970^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lowell P. Weicker Jr.	454,721	41.74%
	Democratic	Joseph Duffey	368,111	33.79%
	Independent	Thomas J. Dodd	266,497	24.46%
Majority			86,610	7.95%
Turnout			1,089,329
	Republican hold

Delaware

United States Senate election in Delaware, 1970^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William V. Roth, Jr.	94,979	58.83%
	Democratic	Jacob W. Zimmerman	64,740	40.10%
	American Independent	Donald G. Gies	1,720	1.07%
Majority			30,239	18.73%
Turnout			161,439
	Republican hold

Florida

Incumbent Democrat Spessard Holland retired instead of seeking a fifth term. During the Democratic primary, former Governor C. Farris Bryant and State Senator Lawton Chiles advanced to a run-off, having received more votes than Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Frederick H. Schultz, attorney Alcee Hastings, and State Representative Joel T. Daves, III. Chiles soundly defeated Bryant in the run-off election, scoring a major upset due to his comparatively small name recognition prior to the election. To acquire name recognition and media coverage, Chiles walked about 1,003 miles (1,614 km) across the state of Florida and was given the nickname "Walkin' Lawton".

The Republican primary exposed an in-party feud between Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. and U.S. Representative William C. Cramer. In the election, Cramer handily defeated G. Harrold Carswell and body shop owner George Balmer; the former was a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge favored by Kirk and had been rejected as a Supreme Court of the United States nominee a few months prior to the primary. Chiles won the election by a relatively small margin of 7.8%, receiving 902,438 votes against Cramer's 772,817 votes.

Incumbent Spessard Holland, who served in the Senate since 1946, decided to retire rather than seek a fifth term.^[11] Although the Democratic Party had dominated state elections since the Reconstruction Era, Claude R. Kirk Jr. and Edward Gurney, both Republicans, were elected Senator and Governor in 1966 and 1968, respectively.^[12]

Democratic Party primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	C. Farris Bryant	240,222	32.90
	Democratic	Lawton Chiles	188,300	25.79
	Democratic	Frederick H. Schultz	175,745	24.07
	Democratic	Alcee Hastings	91,948	12.59
	Democratic	Joel Daves	33,939	4.65
Total votes			730,154	100.00

Democratic Party primary runoff results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lawton Chiles	474,420	65.74
	Democratic	Farris Bryant	247,211	34.26
Total votes			721,631	100.00

Republican Primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Cramer	220,553	62.52
	Republican	G. Harrold Carswell	121,281	34.38
	Republican	George Balmer, body shop owner	10,947	3.10
Total votes			352,781	100.00

United States Senate election in Florida, 1970^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Lawton Chiles	902,438	53.87%	-10.09%
	Republican	Bill Cramer	772,817	46.13%	+10.09%
Majority			129,621	7.74%	-20.17%
Turnout			1,675,255	?	?
	Democratic hold		Swing	?

Hawaii

United States Senate election in Hawaii, 1970^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hiram Fong (incumbent)	124,163	51.57%
	Democratic	Cecil Heftel	116,597	48.43%
Majority			7,566	3.14%
Turnout			240,760
	Republican hold

Illinois (Special)

United States Senate special election in Illinois, 1970^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai Stevenson III	2,065,054	57.37%
	Republican	Ralph Tyler Smith	1,519,718	42.22%
	Socialist Workers	Lynn Henderson	8,859	0.25%
	Socialist Labor	Louis Fisher	5,564	0.15%
	None	Scattering	77	0.00%
Majority			545,336	15.15%
Turnout			3,599,272
	Democratic gain from Republican

Indiana

United States Senate election in Indiana, 1970^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vance Hartke (incumbent)	870,990	50.12%
	Republican	Richard L. Roudebush	866,707	49.88%
Majority			4,283	0.24%
Turnout			1,737,697
	Democratic hold

Maine

United States Senate election in Maine, 1970^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edmund S. Muskie (incumbent)	199,954	61.74%
	Republican	Neil S. Bishop	123,906	38.26%
Majority			76,048	23.48%
Turnout			323,860
	Democratic hold

Maryland

United States Senate election in Maryland, 1970^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Glenn Beall, Jr.	484,960	50.71%
	Democratic	Joseph D. Tydings (incumbent)	460,422	48.14%
	American Independent	Harvey Wilder	10,988	1.15%
Majority			24,538	2.57%
Turnout			956,370
	Republican gain from Democratic

Massachusetts

Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy defeated his challengers. This was Kennedy's first election run since the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident. Kennedy won 62.2%, down from 74.3% that he won in the previous election in 1964 and indicates that Chappaquiddick did affect the election.

The Republican nominee was Josiah Spaulding, a businessman and Republican leader in Massachusetts. He led a group of delegates at the 1968 Republican National Convention who unsuccessfully sought to nominate Nelson A. Rockefeller over Richard Nixon.^[20]

Other candidates were Lawrence Gilfedder (Socialist Labor) and Mark R. Shaw (Prohibition), a former Prohibition Party candidate for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts in 1946, 1952, 1958, 1969, 1962, and 1966. He was the party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 1948 and 1956. In 1964, he was the Prohibition Party's candidate for vice-president of the United States.^[21]

General election^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Edward M. Kennedy (Incumbent)	1,202,856	62.16	-12.1
	Republican	Josiah Spaulding	715,978	37.00	+11.58
	Socialist Labor	Lawrence Gilfedder	10,378	0.54	+0.33
	Prohibition	Mark R. Shaw	5,944	0.31	+0.19
	None	Scattering	451	0.02	+0.02
Majority			486,878	25.16
Turnout			1,935,607
	Democratic hold		Swing

Michigan

United States Senate election in Michigan, 1970^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Philip A. Hart (incumbent)	1,744,672	66.83%
	Republican	Lenore Romney	858,438	32.88%
	Socialist Workers	Paul Ludieu	3,861	0.15%
	Socialist Labor	James Sim	3,254	0.12%
	None	Scattering	538	0.02%
Majority			886,234	33.95%
Turnout			2,610,763
	Democratic hold

Minnesota

Incumbent Democrat Eugene McCarthy retired instead of seeking a third term. Former Democratic U.S. Senator, Vice President and 1968 presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey defeated Republican U.S. Representative Clark MacGregor.

Democratic primary election results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic–Farmer–Labor	Hubert H. Humphrey	338,705	79.25%
	Democratic–Farmer–Labor	Earl D. Craig	88,709	20.76%

Republican primary election results^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clark MacGregor	220,353	93.31%
	Republican	John D. Baucom	15,797	6.69%

General election results^[26][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic–Farmer–Labor	Hubert H. Humphrey	788,256	57.75%
	Republican	Clark MacGregor	568,025	41.62%
	Socialist Workers	Nancy Strebe	6,122	0.45%
	Industrial Government	William Braatz	2,484	0.18%
Majority			220,231	16.13%
Turnout			1,364,887
	Democratic–Farmer–Labor hold

Mississippi

United States Senate election in Mississippi, 1970^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John C. Stennis (incumbent)	286,622	88.40%
	Independent	William Richard Thompson	37,593	11.60%
Majority			249,029	76.80%
Turnout			324,215
	Democratic hold

Missouri

United States Senate election in Missouri, 1970^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stuart Symington (incumbent)	654,831	51.03%
	Republican	John C. Danforth	617,903	48.15%
	American Independent	Gene Chapman	10,065	0.78%
	Independent	E. J. DiGirolamo	513	0.04%
Majority			36,928	2.88%
Turnout			1,283,312
	Democratic hold

Montana

Democratic incumbent Mike Mansfield, the Senate Majority Leader who was first elected to the Senate in 1952, and was re-elected in 1958 and 1964, ran for re-election. Mansfield won the primary against several opponents, and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Harold E. Wallace, a sporting goods salesman and the Republican nominee. While his margin of victory decreased slightly from 1964, Mansfield still managed to defeat Wallace overwhelmingly, winning his fourth and (what would turn out to be his) final term in the Senate.

Democratic Party primary results^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Mansfield (incumbent)	68,146	77.17
	Democratic	Tom McDonald	10,773	12.20
	Democratic	John W. Lawlor	19,384	10.63
Total votes			88,303	100.00

Republican Primary results^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harold E. Wallace	45,549	100.00
Total votes			45,549	100.00

United States Senate election in Montana, 1970^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Mike Mansfield (incumbent)	150,060	60.54%	-3.97%
	Republican	Harold E. Wallace	97,809	39.46%	+3.97%
Majority			52,251	21.08%	-7.95%
Turnout			247,869
	Democratic hold		Swing

Nebraska

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 1970^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roman L. Hruska (incumbent)	240,894	52.49%
	Democratic	Frank B. Morrison	217,681	47.43%
	None	Scattering	391	0.09%
Majority			23,213	5.06%
Turnout			458,966
	Republican hold

Nevada

Democrat Howard Cannon, the incumbent since 1959, won re-election to a third term over William Raggio, the Washoe County District Attorney.

In the Senate, Cannon was known as a moderate in the Democratic Party. He served as chairman of several committees, including the rules committee and the inaugural arrangements committee. Cannon was nearly defeated for re-election in 1964 by Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest election in history. However, he became more popular over the next few years and defeated D.A. William Raggio, whose 1970 senate campaign began his long political career. Raggio ran for the Nevada Senate in 1972 and won. He then served there for decades to come.

General election results^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Howard Cannon (Incumbent)	85,187	57.65%	+7.63%
	Republican	William Raggio	60,838	41.17%	-8.81%
	American Independent	Harold G. DeSellem	1,743	1.18%
Majority			24,349	16.48%	+16.44%
Turnout			147,768
	Democratic hold		Swing

New Jersey

United States Senate election in New Jersey, 1970^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Harrison A. Williams (incumbent)	1,157,074	56.17%
	Republican	Nelson G. Gross	903,026	43.83%
Majority			254,048	12.34%
Turnout			2,060,100
	Democratic hold

New Mexico

Incumbent Democrat Joseph Montoya successfully ran for re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Anderson Carter.

Democratic primary results^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Montoya, Incumbent	85,285	73.10
	Democratic	Richard B. Edwards	31,381	26.90
Majority			53,904	46.20%
Total votes			116,666	100.00

Republican primary results^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Anderson Carter	32,122	57.76
	Republican	David Cargo, Governor of New Mexico	16,951	32.28
	Republican	Harold G. Thompson	5,544	9.97
Majority			14,171	25.48%
Total votes			55,617	100.00

General election results^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Montoya, Incumbent	151,486	52.26
	Republican	Anderson Carter	135,004	46.57
	People's Constitutional	William Higgs	3,382	1.17
Majority			16,482	5.69%
Total votes			289,872	100.00
	Democratic hold

New York

Incumbent Republican Charles Goodell, who was recently appointed to the seat by Governor Nelson Rockefeller after Senator Bobby Kennedy (D) was assassinated, ran for a full term, but was defeated by the Conservative Party of New York nominee James Buckley. Other candidates included: Richard Ottinger, U.S. Congressman (1965–1971, 1975–1985), Kevin P. McGovern, Paul O'Dwyer, Former New York City Council Member from Manhattan, Ted Sorensen, Former Advisor and Speechwriter to President John F. Kennedy, Richard D. McCarthy, U.S. Congressman (1965-1971).

Conservative Party Convention results^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	James Buckley	37,940	91.38
	Conservative	Kevin P. McGovern	3,580	8.62
Total votes			41,520	100.00

Democratic Party Primary results^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Ottinger	366,789	39.61
	Democratic	Paul O'Dwyer	302,438	32.66
	Democratic	Ted Sorensen	154,434	16.68
	Democratic	Richard D. McCarthy	102,224	11.04
Total votes			925,885	100.00

Republican Party Convention results^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles Goodell	311	86.39
		Abstaining	49	13.61
Total votes			360	100.00

Liberal Party Convention results^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Charles Goodell	201	67.00
	Liberal	Paul O'Dwyer	48	16.00
	Liberal	Richard D. McCarthy	33	11.00
	Liberal	Richard Ottinger	12	4.00
	Liberal	Ted Sorensen	6	2.00
Total votes			300	100.00

General election results^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	James Buckley	2,288,190	38.95
	Democratic	Richard Lawrence Ottinger	2,171,232	36.96
	Republican	Charles Goodell	1,178,679
	Liberal	Charles Goodell	225,793
	total	Charles Goodell	1,404,472	23.91
	Communist	Arnold Johnson	4,097	0.07
	Socialist Workers	Kipp Dawson	3,549	0.06
	Socialist Labor	John Emanuel	3,204	0.06
Majority			116,958	1.99
Turnout			5,904,744
	Conservative gain from Republican		Swing

North Dakota

Incumbent Democratic-NPL Party Senator Quentin N. Burdick was re-elected to his third term, defeating Republican candidate Thomas S. Kleppe, who later became the United States Secretary of the Interior.^[31]

Only Burdick filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Thomas S. Kleppe, who was finishing his second and final term as a Representative for North Dakota's second congressional district. Burdick and Kleppe won the primary elections for their respective parties.

One independent candidate, Russell Kleppe, also filed before the deadline.

1970 United States Senate election in North Dakota^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Quentin N. Burdick (Incumbent)	134,519	61.27
	Republican	Thomas S. Kleppe	82,996	37.80
	Independent	Russell Kleppe	2,045	0.93
Majority
Turnout			219,560
	Democratic hold

Ohio

United States Senate election in Ohio, 1970^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert A. Taft, Jr.	1,565,682	49.68%
	Democratic	Howard M. Metzenbaum	1,495,262	47.45%
	American Independent	Richard B. Kay	61,261	1.94%
	Socialist Labor	John O'Neill	29,069	0.92%
Majority			70,420	2.23%
Turnout			3,151,274
	Republican gain from Democratic

Pennsylvania

Incumbent Republican Hugh Scott won re-election, defeating Democratic nominee State Senator William Sesler.

General election results^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Hugh Scott (Incumbent)	1,874,106	51.43%	+0.84%
	Democratic	William Sesler	1,653,774	45.38%	-3.74%
	Constitution	Frank W. Gaydosh	85,813	2.36%	+2.36%
	American Independent	W. Henry McFarland	18,275	0.50%	+0.50%
	Socialist Labor	Herman A. Johnson	4,375	0.12%	-0.02%
	Socialist Workers	Robin Maisel	3,970	0.11%	-0.04%
	Consumer	William R. Mimms	3,932	0.11%	+0.11%
	N/A	Other	60	0.00%	N/A
Majority			220,332	6.05%
Turnout			3,644,305
	Republican hold		Swing

Rhode Island

United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 1970^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John O. Pastore (incumbent)	230,469	67.54%
	Republican	John McLaughlin	107,351	31.46%
	Peace and Freedom	David N. Fenton	2,406	0.71%
	Socialist Workers	Daniel B. Fein	996	0.29%
Majority			123,118	36.08%
Turnout			341,222
	Democratic hold

Tennessee

Republican Bill Brock defeated incumbent Senator Albert Gore, Sr.

United States Senate election in Tennessee, 1970^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Brock	562,645	51.29%
	Democratic	Albert Gore, Sr. (Incumbent)	519,858	47.39%
	American Independent	Cecil Pitard	8,691	0.79%
	Independent	Dan R. East	5,845	0.53%
	None	Scattering	2	0.00%
Majority			42,787	3.90%
Turnout			1,097,041
	Republican hold

Texas

Elections in Texas
Federal government Presidential elections 1848 1852 1856 1860 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Presidential primaries and caucuses Democratic 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 United States Senate elections 1948 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 2020 United States House elections 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 22nd 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 [[2018 United House of Representatives elections in Texas|2018]] 2020 Special elections 3rd district, 1991 Senate, 1993 28th district, 1997 19th district, 2003 22nd district, 2006 27th district, 2018
State government Gubernatorial elections 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1866 1869 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Legislative elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Senate 2018 House 2016 House 2018 Constitutional amendments 2005 2007 General elections 2006 2010 2014 2018
Austin Mayoral elections 1997 2000 2001 (special) 2003 2006 2009 2012 2014 2018
Corpus Christi Mayoral elections 2012 2014 2016 2017 (special) 2018 2020
Dallas–Fort Worth Arlington mayoral elections 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 Dallas mayoral elections 1995 1999 2002 (special) 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 Fort Worth mayoral elections 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 Garland mayoral elections 2018 (special) 2019 Irving mayoral elections 2017 Plano mayoral elections 2017
El Paso Mayoral elections 2001 2003 2005 2009 2013 2017 2020 Other municipal offices 2017 2020
Houston Mayoral elections 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2019 Municipal elections 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
Laredo Mayoral elections 2018
Lubbock Mayoral elections 2012 2014 2016 2018
San Antonio Mayoral elections 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019
Government
v t e

The 1970 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ralph Yarborough was defeated by former Representative Lloyd Bentsen in the Democratic primary. Bentsen then defeated Representative George H.W. Bush in the general election. When Bush was running for President in 1988, his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, selected Bentsen as his vice presidential running mate.

United States Senate election in Texas, 1970^[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lloyd Bentsen	1,226,568	53.34%
	Republican	George H. W. Bush	1,071,234	46.58%
	None	Scattering	1,808	0.08%
Majority			155,334	6.76%
Turnout			2,299,610
	Democratic hold

Utah

United States Senate election in Utah, 1970^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank E. Moss (incumbent)	210,207	56.16%
	Republican	Jaurence J. Burton	159,004	42.48%
	American Independent	Clyde B. Freeman	5,092	1.36%
Majority			51,203	13.68%
Turnout			374,303
	Democratic hold

Vermont

United States Senate election in Vermont, 1970^[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Winston L. Prouty (incumbent)	91,198	58.88%
	Democratic	Philip H. Hoff	62,271	40.20%
	Liberty Union	William H. Meyer	1,416	0.91%
	None	Scattering	14	0.01%
Majority			28,927	18.68%
Turnout			154,899
	Republican hold

Virginia

Incumbent Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected to his first full term after winning a race 4 years earlier to finish the remainder of his father's term. He beat George C. Rawlings, Jr. (D), a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and Ray L. Garland (R), a member of Virginia House of Delegates.

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1970^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Harry F. Byrd Jr. (Incumbent)	506,237	53.54%	+53.54%
	Democratic	George Rawlings	294,582	31.15%	-22.15%
	Republican	Ray L. Garland	144,765	15.31%	-22.07%
	Write-ins		30	<0.01%	-0.02%
Majority			211,655	22.38%	+6.46%
Turnout			945,614
	Independent gain from Democratic

Washington

United States Senate election in Washington, 1970^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Henry M. Jackson (incumbent)	879,385	82.43%
	Republican	Charles W. Elicker	170,790	16.01%
	Socialist Workers	Bill Massey	9,255	0.87%
	Buffalo	Edison S. 'Pinky' Fisk	7,377	0.69%
Majority			708,595	66.42%
Turnout			1,066,807
	Democratic hold

West Virginia

United States Senate election in West Virginia, 1970^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert C. Byrd (incumbent)	345,965	77.64%
	Republican	Elmer H. Dodson	99,658	22.36%
Majority			246,307	54.28%
Turnout			445,623
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin

United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 1970^[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Proxmire (incumbent)	948,445	70.83%
	Republican	John E. Erickson	381,297	28.48%
	American Independent	Edmond E. Hou-Seye	6,137	0.46%
	Independent	Elizabeth (Betty) Boardman	2,022	0.15%
	Socialist Workers	Martha M. Quinn	580	0.04%
	Socialist Labor	Adolf Wiggert	428	0.03%
	None	Scattering	58	0.00%
Majority			567,148	42.35%
Turnout			1,338,967
	Democratic hold

Wyoming

United States Senate election in Wyoming, 1970^[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gale W. McGee (incumbent)	67,207	55.78%
	Republican	John S. Wold	53,279	44.22%
Majority			13,928	11.56%
Turnout			120,486
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States elections, 1970
  • United States gubernatorial elections, 1970
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1970
• 91st United States Congress
• 92nd United States Congress

References