Following Ellender's death, the Republican Party replaced presumptive nominee Charles McLean with attorney and New Orleans mayoral candidate Ben Toledano. Toledano was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Following Ellender's death, former governor John McKeithen joined the race as an independent candidate. He initially hoped to enter the race as a Democrat but was barred by party leaders from entering the primary. He campaigned against the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, George McGovern.[3]
General electionedit
Campaignedit
The sudden death of Ellender and the independent candidacy of former governor McKeithen made this a rare competitive general election in Louisiana. The Republican Party had not seriously contested one of Louisiana's Senate seats since Reconstruction, and Republican leaders believed McKeithen's presence in the race could split the Democratic vote.[3]
McKeithen ran a populist, agrarian campaign against Johnston, citing his own investment in the state's agriculture industry and attempting to portray Johnston as an urban elitist, similar to McKeithen's campaign against former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story Morrison in the 1963-64 governor's race. All three major candidates supported President Nixon's handling of the Vietnam War.[3]
^"Johnston Wins in Louisiana". The New York Times. August 20, 1972. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^"1972 US Senate – D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
^ abcReed, Roy (September 30, 1972). "THE 1972 CAMPAIGN". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^"LA US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
April 19, 2024
1972, united, states, senate, election, louisiana, held, november, 1972, 1966, november, 1972, 1978, nominee, bennett, johnston, john, mckeithen, toledano, party, democratic, independent, republican, popular, vote, percentage, parish, resultsjohnston, mckeithe. The 1972 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 9 1972 1972 United States Senate election in Louisiana 1966 November 7 1972 1978 Nominee J Bennett Johnston John McKeithen Ben Toledano Party Democratic Independent Republican Popular vote 598 987 250 161 206 846 Percentage 55 21 23 06 19 07 Parish resultsJohnston 30 40 40 50 50 60 60 70 McKeithen 40 50 50 60 60 70 U S senator before election Elaine Edwards Democratic Elected U S Senator J Bennett Johnston Democratic Former state representative J Bennett Johnston was elected to the Senate to succeed First Lady of Louisiana Elaine Edwards who had been appointed by her husband on an interim basis following the death of Senator Allen Ellender Following Johnston s victory in the general election Elaine Edwards resigned and Governor Edwin Edwards appointed Johnston so that he could gain seniority in the Senate Louisiana was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama Arkansas Colorado Delaware Georgia Iowa Maine Minnesota Mississippi Montana New Hampshire Rhode Island South Dakota and West Virginia that were won by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate Contents 1 Democratic primary 1 1 Candidates 1 1 1 Declared 1 1 2 Deceased 1 2 Results 2 Republican primary 2 1 Candidates 2 1 1 Withdrew 2 2 Results 3 Independents and third parties 3 1 American Independent 3 2 Independent 4 General election 4 1 Campaign 4 2 Results 5 See also 6 ReferencesDemocratic primary editCandidates edit Declared edit Frank Tunney Allen resident of West Monroe J Bennett Johnston former state representative and candidate for Governor in 1972 1 Deceased edit Allen Ellender incumbent Senator Senator Ellender died July 27 a few weeks before the August 19 primary but his name remained on the ballot Results edit 1972 Democratic U S Senate primary 2 Party Candidate Votes Democratic J Bennett Johnston 623 078 79 44 Democratic Frank T Allen 88 198 11 25 Democratic Allen Ellender inc deceased 73 088 9 32 Total votes 784 364 100 00 Republican primary editCandidates edit Ben Toledano attorney and nominee for Mayor of New Orleans in 1970 Withdrew edit Charles M McLean Results edit Following Ellender s death the Republican Party replaced presumptive nominee Charles McLean with attorney and New Orleans mayoral candidate Ben Toledano Toledano was unopposed for the Republican nomination Independents and third parties editAmerican Independent edit Hall Lyons Republican nominee for Louisiana s 3rd congressional district in 1966 Independent edit John J McKeithen former Governor of Louisiana Following Ellender s death former governor John McKeithen joined the race as an independent candidate He initially hoped to enter the race as a Democrat but was barred by party leaders from entering the primary He campaigned against the Democratic Party s presidential nominee George McGovern 3 General election editCampaign edit The sudden death of Ellender and the independent candidacy of former governor McKeithen made this a rare competitive general election in Louisiana The Republican Party had not seriously contested one of Louisiana s Senate seats since Reconstruction and Republican leaders believed McKeithen s presence in the race could split the Democratic vote 3 McKeithen ran a populist agrarian campaign against Johnston citing his own investment in the state s agriculture industry and attempting to portray Johnston as an urban elitist similar to McKeithen s campaign against former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story Morrison in the 1963 64 governor s race All three major candidates supported President Nixon s handling of the Vietnam War 3 Results edit General election results 4 Party Candidate Votes Democratic J Bennett Johnston 598 987 55 21 nbsp 44 79 Independent John J McKeithen 250 161 23 06 N A Republican Ben Toledano 206 846 19 07 nbsp 19 07 American Independent Hall M Lyons 28 910 2 67 nbsp 2 67 Total votes 1 084 904 100 00 See also edit1972 United States Senate electionsReferences edit Johnston Wins in Louisiana The New York Times August 20 1972 Retrieved August 16 2019 1972 US Senate D Primary OurCampaigns Retrieved August 15 2019 a b c Reed Roy September 30 1972 THE 1972 CAMPAIGN The New York Times Retrieved August 16 2019 LA US Senate OurCampaigns Retrieved August 15 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1972 United States Senate election in Louisiana amp oldid 1199182597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
