1972 United States Senate election in North Carolina

The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1972 was held on 7 November 1972 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate, and coinciding with the 1972 presidential election. The general election was fought between the Republican nominee Jesse Helms and the Democrat nominee Rep. Nick Galifianakis. Helms won the election, becoming the first Republican to win a Senate seat in North Carolina in the twentieth century.

1972 United States Senate election in North Carolina

November 7, 1972

Nominee Jesse Helms Nick Galifianakis Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 795,247 677,293 Percentage 54.0% 46.0%

County results Helms:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Galifianakis:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election B. Everett Jordan Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jesse Helms Republican

Three-term Representative Nick Galifianakis defeated two-term incumbent Senator B. Everett Jordan in the second ballot in the Democratic primary. Galifianakis was seen as an anti-establishment liberal in North Carolina,[1][2] although an opponent of busing.

Primaries

Democratic primary

1972 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – First round [3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	377,993	49.25%	N/A
	Democratic	B. Everett Jordan (incumbent)	340,391	44.35%	-34.91%
	Democratic	J. R. Brown	27,009	3.52%	N/A
	Democratic	Eugene Grace	22,156	2.89%	N/A
Turnout			767,549

1972 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – Second round [3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	338,558	55.82%	+6.57%
	Democratic	B. Everett Jordan (incumbent)	267,997	44.18%	-0.17%
Turnout			606,555

Republican primary

1972 North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jesse Helms	92,496	60.13%	N/A
	Republican	James Johnson	45,303	29.45%	N/A
	Republican	William Booe	16,032	10.42%	N/A
Turnout			153,831

Result

1972 North Carolina U.S. Senate election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jesse Helms	795,247	54.01%	+9.61%
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	677,293	45.99%	-9.60%
Turnout			1,472,540

Footnotes

1. Hunter, Marjorie (5 June 1972). "Defeat of Jordan by Rep. Galifianakis In Carolina is Linked to 'New Politics'". The New York Times. p. 26.
2. Hunter, Marjorie (28 October 1972). "Major Races in North Carolina Seem Close". The New York Times. p. 14.
3. "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2009-06-12.