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  Nunn: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Thompson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1972 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 7, 1972, as one of that year's United States Senate elections. It was held concurrently with the 1972 presidential election. This seat had opened up following the death of Richard B. Russell in 1971. Shortly thereafter, Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter appointed David H. Gambrell to fill Russell's vacant seat. The Democratic Party nominee was Sam Nunn, a conservative Democrat and member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and the Republican Party nominated Fletcher Thompson, the Representative from the Atlanta-area 5th congressional district of Georgia. In the primary, Nunn emerged victorious from a crowded field of Democratic candidates, including Gambrell and former Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver.[1] Despite President Richard Nixon defeating George McGovern in 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.[2][3]
Georgia was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia that were won by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate.
- ^ "David Gambrell U.S. Senatorial Election of 1972 Materials". University of Georgia. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "1972 Senatorial General Election Results - Georgia". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ Hemphill, John (November 8, 1972). "Nunn, a Conservative Democrat, Defeats Rep. Thompson in Georgia Contest for Senate Seat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 19, 2019.