1972 United States Senate election in Texas

1972 United States Senate election in Texas

November 7, 1972

Nominee John Tower Barefoot Sanders Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,822,877 1,511,985 Percentage 53.41% 44.30%

County results Tower:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Sanders:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Amaya:      30–40%

U.S. senator before election John Tower Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Tower Republican

The 1972 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Tower won re-election to a third term.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Thomas M. Cartlidge
• Barefoot Sanders, former state representative and Johnson administration official
• Alfonso Veloz, candidate for governor in 1968
• Hugh Wilson, candidate for Senate in 1957 and 1961
• Ralph Yarborough, former U.S. senator (1957–1971)

Results

1972 Democratic U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ralph Yarborough	1,032,606	49.99%
	Democratic	Barefoot Sanders	787,504	38.12%
	Democratic	Hugh Wilson	125,460	6.07%
	Democratic	Thomas M. Cartlidge	66,240	3.21%
	Democratic	Alfonso Veloz	53,938	2.61%
Total votes			2,065,748	100.00%

Although he received over one million votes, Yarborough was 269 short of a majority. He and Sanders advanced to a runoff election held on June 3.

Runoff campaign

1972 Democratic U.S. Senate runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Barefoot Sanders	1,008,499	52.08%	13.96
	Democratic	Ralph Yarborough	928,132	47.93%	2.06
Total votes			1,936,631	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• John G. Tower, incumbent U.S. senator since 1961

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Tower (incumbent)	1,822,877	53.41%	−2.98%
	Democratic	Barefoot Sanders	1,511,985	44.30%	+1.15%
	Raza Unida	Flores Amaya	63,543	1.86%	N/A
	Socialist Workers	Tom Leonard	14,464	0.42%	N/A
Total votes			3,412,869	100.0%