1972 United States Senate election in South Carolina

none March 2026 September 2023 1972 United States Senate election in South Carolina South Carolina presidential no 1966 United States Senate election in South Carolina 1966 1978 United States Senate election in South Carolina 1978 November 7, 1972 Strom Thurmond 1967 cropped1.png 150x150px Strom Thurmond Republican Party (United States) 415,806 63.29% 3x4.svg Eugene N. Zeigler Democratic Party (United States) 241,056 36.69% 1972 United States Senate election in South Carolina results map by county.svg 220px County resultsThurmond: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Zeigler: #7996e2 50–60% U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond Republican Party (United States) Strom Thurmond Republican Party (United States) The 1972 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1972 to select the U.S. senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond easily defeated Democratic challenger Eugene N. Zeigler. This marked the first time that a Republican was re-elected senator from the state, and the first time since 1872 when that person won consecutive elections. Democratic primary The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on August 29, 1972. Eugene N. Zeigler, a state senator from Florence, defeated John Bolt Culbertson to become the Democratic nominee in the general election. Democratic primary Democratic Party (United States) Eugene N. Zeigler 201,170 58.66% Democratic Party (United States) John Bolt Culbertson 141,757 41.34% 342,927 100.00% Republican primary Senator Strom Thurmond faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans and avoided a primary election. General election Campaign The general election campaign was a lackluster affair, as Thurmond was heavily favored to win re-election and he outspent Zeigler by a margin of four to one. However, Thurmond's re-election was almost derailed when his hometown newspaper, the Edgefield Advertiser, ran the headline "SEN. THURMOND IS UNPRINCIPLED WITH COLORED OFFSPRING WHILE PARADING AS A DEVOUT SEGREGATIONIST" on the October 11 front page. The Thurmond campaign fiercely denied that he had sired a black child, and claimed that it was a dirty trick being played by the Zeigler campaign. While the allegation ultimately proved true, at the time it served to galvanize voters for Thurmond. Election results South Carolina U.S. Senate election, 19721972 Election Statistics https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/1972election/ Republican Party (United States) Strom Thurmond (incumbent) 415,806 63.29% +1.3% Democratic Party (United States) Eugene N. Zeigler 241,056 36.69% -1.3% 172 0.02% N/A 657,034 100.00% 174,750 27.0% +2.6% 657,034 65.2% +16.1% |- | Republican Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Republican hold |- See also List of United States senators from South Carolina United States Senate elections, 1972 References Bass Jack Jack Bass Marilyn W. Thompson Marilyn W. Thompson Strom: The Complicated Personal and Political Life of Strom Thurmond https://archive.org/details/stromcomplicated00bass registration 2005 PublicAffairs 267–270 State Election Commission Report of the South Carolina State Election Commission 1973 State Election Commission Columbia, SC 572 South Carolina 1972 Category:1972 South Carolina elections Category:Strom Thurmond