1972 United States Senate election in North Carolina

1972 United States Senate election in North Carolina

← 1966 November 7, 1972 1978 →

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

Elections in North Carolina
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Ballot measures 2012 Amendment 1
Mayoral elections Charlotte mayoral elections 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2022 Cary mayoral elections 2011 2015 2019 Durham mayoral elections 1979 1981 1983 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 Fayetteville mayoral elections 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 Greensboro mayoral elections 2011 2013 2015 2017 Raleigh mayoral elections 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2022 Winston-Salem mayoral elections 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2016 2020
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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 Democratic nominee Rep. Nick Galifianakis. Helms won the election, becoming the first Republican to win a Senate seat in North Carolina in the twentieth century.

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.

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

• J. R. Brown
• Nick Galifianakis, U.S. Representative from Durham
• Eugene Grace
• B. Everett Jordan, incumbent Senator since 1958

Results[]

Runoff[]

1972 Democratic Senate runoff^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	338,558	55.82%	6.57
	Democratic	B. Everett Jordan (incumbent)	267,997	44.18%	0.17
Total votes			606,555	100.00%

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

• William Booe, former member of the Charlotte School Board
• Jesse Helms, WRAL-TV executive and commentator and former Democratic member of the Raleigh City Council
• James Johnson, State Representative from Greensboro

Results[]

General election[]

Results[]

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

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jesse Helms	795,247	54.01%	9.61
	Democratic	Nick Galifianakis	677,293	45.99%	9.60
Total votes			1,472,540	100.00%

Footnotes[]