1972 United States Senate election in Maine information
1972 United States Senate election in Maine
← 1966
November 7, 1972
1978 →
Nominee
William Hathaway
Margaret Chase Smith
Party
Democratic
Republican
Popular vote
224,270
197,040
Percentage
53.23%
46.77%
County results Hathaway: 50–60% 60–70% Smith: 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election
Margaret Chase Smith
Republican
Elected U.S. Senator
William Hathaway
Democratic
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v
t
e
The 1972 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith ran for re-election to a fifth term, but was defeated by Democrat William Hathaway. As of 2024[update], this was the last time the Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat from Maine.
As of 2024, this remains one of only two times in history (along with the 1846 election) that a Democrat has been elected to this seat for a full term, and the only such instance since the founding of the Republican Party. Maine was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, 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.
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