1972 United States Senate elections in Georgia

1972 United States Senate elections in Georgia

November 7, 1972

Nominee Sam Nunn Fletcher Thompson Party Democratic Republican Regular election 636,060 53.96% 542,291 46.01% Special election 404,890 51.98% 362,501 46.54%

Nunn:40–50%50–60%60–70%70–80%80–90%>90% Thompson:40–50%50–60%60–70%70–80% No votes

U.S. senatorbefore election David H. Gambrell Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Sam Nunn Democratic

The1972 United States Senate election in Georgiatook place on November 7, 1972, as one ofthat year's United States Senate elections.It was held concurrently with the1972 presidential election.This seat had opened up following the death ofRichard B. Russellin 1971. Shortly thereafter,Governor of GeorgiaJimmy CarterappointedDavid H. Gambrellto fill Russell's vacant seat. TheDemocratic Partynominee wasSam Nunn,aconservative Democratand member of theGeorgia House of Representatives,and theRepublican PartynominatedFletcher Thompson,theRepresentativefrom theAtlanta-area5th congressional district of Georgia.In the primary, Nunn emerged victorious from a crowded field of Democratic candidates, including Gambrell and former Georgia GovernorErnest Vandiver.Despite PresidentRichard NixondefeatingGeorge McGovernin Georgia in the presidential election on the same day, Nunn defeated Thompson in both the special election 52% to 47% and general election 54% to 46%, both of which appeared on the same ballot.

Georgiawas one of fifteen states alongsideAlabama,Arkansas,Colorado,Delaware,Iowa,Louisiana,Maine,Minnesota,Mississippi,Montana,New Hampshire,Rhode Island,South DakotaandWest Virginiathat were won by Republican PresidentRichard Nixonin 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate.

Timeline

• March 15: Nunn announces his candidacy at a rally inPerry,Georgia.Nunn's great-uncle,Carl Vinson,was among the approximately 1,500 in attendance, and he went on to give $500 to Nunn's campaign.
• March 17: Thompson announces his candidacy at a gas station inAlbany,Georgia.
• August 8: Gambrell comes in first in the Democratic primary, with Nunn in second. Both candidates advance to arunoffbecause neither received over 50 percent of the vote.On the same day, Thompson decisively wins the Republican primary, receiving over 92 percent of the vote in total. In doing so, he defeated three opponents: Howard Tucker, Clarence I. Porter, and Darrell Runyan (the latter of whom also ran in the Democratic primary).
• August 29: The Democratic runoff is held; Nunn defeats Gambrell with 54% of the vote.The New York Timesrefers to Nunn's victory as an "upset".
• November 7: Nunn defeats Thompson in the general election.

Primaries

A total of fifteen candidates ran for the Democratic nomination, including incumbent Gambrell, Nunn, former governorErnest Vandiver,segregationistJ. B. Stoner,and civil rights activistHosea Williams.In the initial round of voting on August 8, 1972, Gambrell finished first with 31.4% of the vote, followed by Nunn with 23.1%.Because no candidate received an outright majority, a runoff was held on August 29, which Nunn won.

General election

Campaign

The 1972 race focused more on candidates than on issues.Both Nunn and Thompson tried to align themselves with politicians who were viewed favorably in Georgia, and to dissociate themselves from those who were viewed unfavorably. Nunn, for example, harshly criticized his own party's nominee for President,George McGovern,pledging not to vote for him in that year's presidential election. Nunn suggested he might cast awrite-invote forGeorge Wallaceinstead. Thompson, by contrast, tried to associate himself with PresidentRichard Nixon,who was polling far ahead of McGovern in Georgia; he also distributed posters across the state linking Nunn to McGovern.As Jon Nordheimer noted inthe New York Timesseveral weeks before the election, "This maneuvering has become so frenzied, in fact, that the relative popularity of the President, Senator McGovern and Governor Wallace might seem to be the only real issues of the campaign."

Among the issues that the candidates focused on during the campaign wasJane Fonda's controversial visit toVietnam.Thompson, then a member of theHouse Internal Security Committee,tried unsuccessfully to persuade his colleagues on the Committee to issue asubpoenaagainst Fonda to answer his accusation that she had committedtreason.Fonda did not testify, butA. William Olsondid, to the effect that theUnited States Department of Justicehad found no reason to prosecute Fonda for either treason or for violating theLogan Act.

Nunn's campaign was much more organized than was Thompson's. Nunn had support from numerous prominent Democrats from his state, including Gambrell, Carter, and Vandiver. By contrast, Thompson's campaign was "almost literally a one-man effort", and he started the race with virtually no footprint outside of his own district.

Endorsements

Nunn was endorsed by almost every establishment Democrat in Georgia, with the notable exception of Lieutenant GovernorLester Maddox,who did not endorse a candidate in the general election. Maddox did, however, support Nunn in his primary challenge to Gambrell.

Thompson tried to tie himself to Nixon, in the hopes of benefiting from Nixon's expected strong performance in Georgia. Nevertheless, Nixon declined to endorse Thompson when he visited Atlanta several weeks before the election. Some speculated that this may have been because the Nixon campaign was pessimistic about Thompson's chances.Instead of Nixon, bothArizonaSenatorBarry Goldwater,a former Republican presidential nominee, and Vice PresidentSpiro Agnewthrew their support behind Thompson.

Sam Nunn

• The Atlanta Constitution
• Marvin Griffin,former Governor of Georgia
• Herman E. Talmadge,United States Senator from Georgia
• George Wallace,formerGovernor of Alabamaand two-time presidential candidate

Fletcher Thompson

• James L. Buckley,United States Senator fromNew York
• Barry Goldwater,United States Senator fromArizonaand former Republican presidential nominee
• Spiro Agnew,Vice President of the United States

Results

1972 United States Senate special election in Georgia

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Nunn	404,890	51.98%
	Republican	Fletcher Thompson	362,501	46.54%
	Independent	Alice Conner	7,587	0.97%
	Independent	George E. Schmidt	3,932	0.51%
Total votes			778,910	100.00%
	Democratichold

1972 United States Senate election in Georgia

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Nunn	636,060	53.96%
	Republican	Fletcher Thompson	542,291	46.01%
	Write-in		391	0.03%
Total votes			1,178,742	100.00%
	Democratichold

Aftermath

By defeating Thompson in the general election, Nunn became the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Georgia despite losing the white vote.Nunn's narrow victory over Thompson reflected a continuing decline in the Democratic Party's influence in Georgia,despite Nixon's landslide victory over McGovern there in the same year.Watergatefurther reduced the party's popularity in the state in 1974, and inthat year's gubernatorial election,Republican gubernatorial candidateRonnie Thompsonlost with only 30% of the vote.WhenNewt Gingrichfirst ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1974, he tried to model his campaign on Nunn's successful one in 1972.