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 County results Congressional district resultsBaker: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Blanton: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1972 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 7, 1972, concurrently with theU.S. presidential election as well as other elections to theUnited States Senate in other states as well as elections to theUnited States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. IncumbentRepublican U.S. SenatorHoward Baker won re-election to a second term, becoming the first Republican Senator in the state to ever do so.
9.1% of the voting age population participated in the Republican primary.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Baker (incumbent) | 242,733 | 97.0% | |
| Republican | Hubert Patty | 7,581 | 3.0% | |
| Total votes | 250,314 | 100.0% | ||
13.9% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ray Blanton | 292,249 | 76.4% | |
| Democratic | Don Palmer | 40,700 | 10.6% | |
| Democratic | Herman Frey | 18,814 | 4.9% | |
| Democratic | Ron Stinnett | 15,804 | 4.1% | |
| Democratic | Raymond Gibbs | 14,941 | 3.9% | |
| Democratic | Other | 12 | 0.0% | |
| Total votes | 382,520 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Howard Baker (incumbent) | 716,539 | 61.55% | +5.85% | |
| Democratic | Ray Blanton | 440,599 | 37.85% | +6.46% | |
| Independent | Dan East | 7,026 | 0.60% | N/A | |
| Other | 31 | 0.00% | N/A | ||
| Majority | 275,940 | 23.70% | +12.30% | ||
| Turnout | 1,164,195 | ||||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
| County[6] | Howard Baker, Jr. Republican | Ray Blanton Democratic | Other votes | Total votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | # | % | # | % | # | ||
| Anderson | 62.8% | 13,403 | 36.9% | 7,868 | 0.3% | 55 | 21,326 |
| Bedford | 50.6% | 3,600 | 48.5% | 3,448 | 0.9% | 65 | 7,113 |
| Benton | 43.5% | 1,848 | 56.0% | 2,379 | 0.4% | 19 | 4,246 |
| Bledsoe | 60.4% | 1,878 | 39.1% | 1,217 | 0.5% | 14 | 3,109 |
| Blount | 69.2% | 15,030 | 30.4% | 6,601 | 0.4% | 86 | 21,717 |
| Bradley | 73.5% | 9,776 | 26.0% | 3,465 | 0.5% | 63 | 13,304 |
| Campbell | 64.7% | 4,323 | 34.8% | 2,329 | 0.5% | 33 | 6,685 |
| Cannon | 52.2% | 1,381 | 47.2% | 1,249 | 0.5% | 14 | 2,644 |
| Carroll | 50.3% | 4,255 | 49.1% | 4,153 | 0.5% | 43 | 8,451 |
| Carter | 78.0% | 10,354 | 21.5% | 2,858 | 0.5% | 62 | 13,274 |
| Cheatham | 44.4% | 1,536 | 55.0% | 1,905 | 0.6% | 21 | 3,462 |
| Chester | 44.5% | 1,817 | 55.0% | 2,244 | 0.4% | 18 | 4,079 |
| Claiborne | 64.5% | 3,175 | 35.2% | 1,731 | 0.3% | 13 | 4,919 |
| Clay | 52.5% | 857 | 46.9% | 766 | 0.6% | 10 | 1,633 |
| Cocke | 78.2% | 4,735 | 21.5% | 1,301 | 0.3% | 18 | 6,054 |
| Coffee | 54.7% | 5,203 | 45.3% | 4,309 | 0.0% | 0 | 9,512 |
| Crockett | 59.0% | 2,016 | 41.0% | 1,399 | 0.0% | 0 | 3,415 |
| Cumberland | 66.1% | 4,137 | 33.5% | 2,094 | 0.4% | 24 | 6,255 |
| Davidson | 56.2% | 73,272 | 43.3% | 56,472 | 0.5% | 627 | 130,371 |
| Decatur | 44.2% | 1,715 | 55.5% | 2,150 | 0.3% | 11 | 3,876 |
| DeKalb | 49.5% | 1,620 | 49.5% | 1,621 | 0.9% | 31 | 3,272 |
| Dickson | 44.8% | 2,789 | 54.4% | 3,389 | 0.8% | 51 | 6,229 |
| Dyer | 61.1% | 4,657 | 37.9% | 2,889 | 0.9% | 71 | 7,617 |
| Fayette | 49.4% | 2,756 | 50.0% | 2,791 | 0.6% | 35 | 5,582 |
| Fentress | 67.5% | 1,930 | 32.0% | 915 | 0.5% | 13 | 2,858 |
| Franklin | 48.1% | 3,508 | 51.6% | 3,765 | 0.3% | 24 | 7,297 |
| Gibson | 52.7% | 7,117 | 46.7% | 6,309 | 0.7% | 89 | 13,515 |
| Giles | 40.8% | 2,028 | 58.4% | 2,902 | 0.7% | 36 | 4,966 |
| Grainger | 71.4% | 2,635 | 28.1% | 1,038 | 0.4% | 15 | 3,688 |
| Greene | 71.1% | 9,003 | 28.4% | 3,604 | 0.5% | 64 | 12,671 |
| Grundy | 46.1% | 1,187 | 53.4% | 1,375 | 0.5% | 13 | 2,575 |
| Hamblen | 67.3% | 7,769 | 32.3% | 3,726 | 0.4% | 44 | 11,539 |
| Hamilton | 71.2% | 55,129 | 28.3% | 21,932 | 0.5% | 403 | 77,464 |
| Hancock | 72.4% | 1,603 | 26.3% | 583 | 1.3% | 28 | 2,214 |
| Hardeman | 42.1% | 2,378 | 57.0% | 3,214 | 0.9% | 51 | 5,643 |
| Hardin | 49.7% | 2,985 | 50.2% | 3,019 | 0.1% | 6 | 6,010 |
| Hawkins | 69.8% | 7,322 | 27.7% | 2,907 | 2.5% | 257 | 10,486 |
| Haywood | 47.1% | 2,501 | 51.9% | 2,756 | 1.1% | 56 | 5,313 |
| Henderson | 60.0% | 4,159 | 39.6% | 2,744 | 0.3% | 23 | 6,926 |
| Henry | 45.5% | 3,430 | 53.8% | 4,058 | 0.8% | 57 | 7,545 |
| Hickman | 36.2% | 1,284 | 63.1% | 2,236 | 0.7% | 24 | 3,544 |
| Houston | 39.1% | 644 | 59.7% | 983 | 1.2% | 20 | 1,647 |
| Humphreys | 41.5% | 1,699 | 57.2% | 2,340 | 1.3% | 54 | 4,093 |
| Jackson | 38.2% | 807 | 61.2% | 1,293 | 0.6% | 12 | 2,112 |
| Jefferson | 68.6% | 4,986 | 31.0% | 2,255 | 0.4% | 30 | 7,271 |
| Johnson | 82.2% | 3,089 | 16.5% | 620 | 1.3% | 47 | 3,756 |
| Knox | 68.7% | 61,478 | 30.8% | 27,573 | 0.5% | 442 | 89,493 |
| Lake | 48.3% | 757 | 50.6% | 793 | 1.1% | 18 | 1,568 |
| Lauderdale | 48.1% | 2,627 | 51.0% | 2,784 | 1.0% | 53 | 5,464 |
| Lawrence | 52.1% | 5,115 | 47.2% | 4,631 | 0.7% | 67 | 9,813 |
| Lewis | 35.5% | 847 | 64.5% | 1,539 | 0.0% | 0 | 2,386 |
| Lincoln | 45.6% | 2,407 | 53.8% | 2,836 | 0.6% | 31 | 5,274 |
| Loudon | 65.1% | 4,794 | 34.7% | 2,555 | 0.2% | 15 | 7,364 |
| Macon | 67.4% | 2,099 | 32.6% | 1,015 | 0.0% | 0 | 3,114 |
| Madison | 54.9% | 11,569 | 45.1% | 9,499 | 0.0% | 6 | 21,074 |
| Marion | 56.5% | 3,294 | 42.8% | 2,499 | 0.7% | 40 | 5,833 |
| Marshall | 45.8% | 2,043 | 53.8% | 2,401 | 0.4% | 19 | 4,463 |
| Maury | 58.8% | 6,335 | 40.7% | 4,387 | 0.5% | 54 | 10,776 |
| McMinn | 65.3% | 6,878 | 34.2% | 3,603 | 0.5% | 49 | 10,530 |
| McNairy | 43.1% | 2,962 | 56.4% | 3,869 | 0.5% | 34 | 6,865 |
| Meigs | 61.7% | 966 | 37.8% | 592 | 0.4% | 7 | 1,565 |
| Monroe | 61.8% | 5,414 | 37.9% | 3,318 | 0.3% | 22 | 8,754 |
| Montgomery | 50.9% | 6,694 | 48.6% | 6,388 | 0.5% | 68 | 13,150 |
| Moore | 46.5% | 491 | 52.9% | 559 | 0.7% | 7 | 1,057 |
| Morgan | 56.5% | 2,109 | 43.1% | 1,610 | 0.4% | 15 | 3,734 |
| Obion | 48.2% | 3,454 | 50.9% | 3,652 | 0.9% | 63 | 7,169 |
| Overton | 47.0% | 1,683 | 52.6% | 1,886 | 0.4% | 15 | 3,584 |
| Perry | 38.1% | 747 | 61.5% | 1,206 | 0.4% | 8 | 1,961 |
| Pickett | 66.9% | 920 | 33.0% | 454 | 0.1% | 2 | 1,376 |
| Polk | 55.6% | 2,091 | 44.1% | 1,657 | 0.3% | 11 | 3,759 |
| Putnam | 53.7% | 5,416 | 45.7% | 4,602 | 0.6% | 63 | 10,081 |
| Rhea | 64.0% | 3,351 | 36.0% | 1,881 | 0.0% | 0 | 5,232 |
| Roane | 61.9% | 7,691 | 37.7% | 4,680 | 0.4% | 45 | 12,416 |
| Robertson | 46.1% | 3,182 | 53.2% | 3,676 | 0.7% | 51 | 6,909 |
| Rutherford | 57.0% | 9,500 | 42.0% | 7,010 | 1.0% | 164 | 16,674 |
| Scott | 74.6% | 2,641 | 25.2% | 891 | 0.2% | 6 | 3,538 |
| Sequatchie | 54.9% | 1,091 | 44.5% | 884 | 0.7% | 13 | 1,988 |
| Sevier | 80.4% | 7,461 | 18.9% | 1,750 | 0.7% | 65 | 9,276 |
| Shelby | 65.2% | 148,117 | 33.9% | 77,127 | 0.9% | 1,946 | 227,190 |
| Smith | 47.3% | 1,503 | 51.8% | 1,645 | 0.9% | 30 | 3,178 |
| Stewart | 34.4% | 658 | 64.7% | 1,237 | 0.8% | 16 | 1,911 |
| Sullivan | 68.3% | 26,282 | 31.1% | 11,949 | 0.6% | 225 | 38,456 |
| Sumner | 54.8% | 8,055 | 44.5% | 6,531 | 0.7% | 106 | 14,692 |
| Tipton | 60.9% | 4,804 | 38.3% | 3,025 | 0.8% | 60 | 7,889 |
| Trousdale | 42.1% | 529 | 57.7% | 726 | 0.2% | 3 | 1,258 |
| Unicoi | 75.5% | 3,512 | 24.3% | 1,130 | 0.3% | 12 | 4,654 |
| Union | 68.1% | 1,745 | 31.5% | 806 | 0.4% | 11 | 2,562 |
| Van Buren | 47.0% | 515 | 52.1% | 570 | 0.9% | 10 | 1,095 |
| Warren | 49.1% | 2,898 | 50.0% | 2,951 | 0.9% | 51 | 5,900 |
| Washington | 73.2% | 16,571 | 26.1% | 5,914 | 0.7% | 158 | 22,643 |
| Wayne | 67.4% | 2,422 | 32.4% | 1,166 | 0.2% | 6 | 3,594 |
| Weakley | 49.3% | 4,066 | 50.7% | 4,185 | 0.0% | 0 | 8,251 |
| White | 49.8% | 1,951 | 49.4% | 1,936 | 0.7% | 29 | 3,916 |
| Williamson | 64.5% | 6,444 | 34.5% | 3,444 | 1.1% | 108 | 9,996 |
| Wilson | 53.1% | 5,034 | 46.1% | 4,375 | 0.8% | 73 | 9,482 |
| Total | 61.5% | 716,539 | 37.8% | 440,599 | 0.6% | 7,057 | 1,164,195 |
