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 County results Municipality resultsPell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Chafee: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1972 United States Senate election in Rhode Island took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorClaiborne Pell successfully sought re-election, defeating RepublicanJohn Chafee in the closest race of Pell's Senate career. Chafee was elected to Rhode Island's other Senate seat in1976, and was colleagues with Pell until the latter's retirement in 1996. This was Pell's only Senate election where he won by single digits, and the only election in which he did not carry every county inRhode Island. That same year, Rhode Island was one of fifteen states that voted for Republican PresidentRichard Nixon in hislandslide re-election victory, while simultaneously electing Democrats to the United States Senate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Claiborne Pell (incumbent) | 221,942 | 53.68% | |
| Republican | John Chafee | 188,990 | 45.71% | |
| Independent | John Quattrocchi | 2,041 | 0.49% | |
| Socialist Workers | Patrick M. DeTemple | 458 | 0.11% | |
| Majority | 32,952 | 7.97% | ||
| Total votes | 413,431 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
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