The1962 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorCarl Hayden ran for reelection to a seventh term, defeating Republican State SenatorEvan Mecham in the general election. Mecham becameGovernor of Arizona more than two decades later, and was subsequently impeached and removed from office.
This would be Hayden's final run for U.S. Senate, as he would be succeeded in office byBarry Goldwater in1968. This was the last time Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat from Arizona untilMark Kelly's victory in the2020 special election, and the last time until2022, when Kelly was reelected, that Democrats won a full term in this seat.
State SenatorEvan Mecham ran for U.S. Senate, and was challenged by political operative and strategistStephen Shadegg. Shadegg, who had served as campaign manager for both Republican and Democratic candidates, had run at the urging of SenatorBarry Goldwater, but Goldwater failed to officially endorse any candidate in the Republican primary.[2] Shadegg later said that he was "terribly let down" by Goldwater's position of neutrality in the primary after Goldwater had urged Shadegg to seek the seat.[3]
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