1962 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

none March 2026 September 2023 1962 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania presidential no 1956 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 1956 1968 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 1968 November 6, 1962 145x145px Joseph S. Clark Jr.jpg Joseph S. Clark Jr. Democratic Party (US) 2,238,383 51.07% James E. Van Zandt (Pennsylvania Congressman).jpg James E. Van Zandt Republican Party (US) 2,134,649 48.70% 1962 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania results map by county.svg 260px County resultsClark: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70%Zandt: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% U.S. Senator Joseph S. Clark, Jr. Democratic Party (US) Joseph S. Clark, Jr. Democratic Party (US) The 1962 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph S. Clark, Jr. successfully sought re-election to another term, defeating Republican nominee James E. Van Zandt. A Democratic U.S. Senator would not be elected in Pennsylvania until 1991, and not again in a regular election until 2006. This was the last time the Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat from Pennsylvania until John Fetterman's victory in 2022.Arlen Specter, who was elected to the seat as a Republican in 1980, switched to the Democratic Party in 2009 before being defeated for re-nomination in 2010. General election Candidates Arla A. Albaugh (Socialist Labor) Joseph S. Clark Jr., incumbent U.S. Senator since 1957 (Democratic) James E. Van Zandt, U.S. Representative from Altoona (Republican) Campaign The 1962 Senate race took place alongside a gubernatorial race that garnered most of the media's attention. Van Zandt criticized Clark for being an idealistic liberal and stressed an anti-communist platform. He also attacked Clark for Clark's support of the Kennedy administration's foreign policy towards both China and Cuba. In return, Clark portrayed Van Zandt as a proponent of McCarthyism who would be "trigger happy" as a Senator.Kennedy John J. Pennsylvania Elections 2014 University Press of America 45–46 9780761864431 https://books.google.com/books?id=c35jBAAAQBAJ&q=1962+pennsylvania+senate+election&pg=PA45 11 January 2017 In the end, Clark was re-elected to the United States Senate, winning his second term. He beat Van Zandt in the nine-county area of Southwestern Pennsylvania surrounding Pittsburgh by nearly 200,000 votes, but lost Central Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia suburbs to Van Zandt. Clark increased his margin of victory in the Southwest from 1956, and his 108,000 vote margin in Allegheny County was an important factor in his victory. Results General election resultsStatistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962 http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1962election.pdf Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House 8 July 2014 Democratic Party (US) Joseph S. Clark, Jr. (incumbent) 2,238,383 51.07% Republican Party (US) James E. Van Zandt 2,134,649 48.70% Socialist Labor Party of America Arla A. Albaugh 10,387 0.24% N/A Other 2 0.00% Democratic Party (United States) Notes References Pennsylvania 1962 Category:1962 Pennsylvania elections