1968 United States Senate election in North Carolina
November 5, 1968
 
Nominee Sam Ervin Robert Somers
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 870,406 566,834
Percentage 60.56% 39.44%
County results
Ervin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Somers:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Sam Ervin
Democratic

 Elected U.S. Senator

Sam Ervin
Democratic

The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1968 was held on 5 November 1968 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. The general election was fought between the Democratic incumbent Sam Ervin and the Republican nominee Robert Somers. Ervin won re-election to a third full term, with over 60% of the vote.[1] This was the last time any incumbent was re-elected in this seat until 2010.[2] As of 2023, this is also the last time a Democrat was re-elected as a senator in North Carolina.[3]

Primaries

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results (U.S. Senate) – May 4, 1968 [4][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Ervin (incumbent) 499,392 78.25%
Democratic Charles Pratt 60,362 9.46%
Democratic John Gathings Sr. 48,357 7.58%
Democratic Fred Brummitt 30,126 4.72%

Republican primary

Republican primary results (U.S. Senate) – May 4, 1968 (first round)[6][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Robert Somers 48,351 36.62%
Republican J.L. Zimmerman 43,644 33.06%
Republican Edwin Tenney Jr. 40,023 30.32%
Republican primary results (U.S. Senate) – June 1, 1968 (runoff) [5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Robert Somers 8,816 60.59%
Republican J.L. Zimmerman 5,734 39.41%

General election

The general election was held on November 5, 1968.[7]

1968 North Carolina U.S. Senate election – November 5, 1968 [1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Ervin 870,406 60.56%
Republican Robert Somers 566,934 39.44%

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "1968 Senatorial General Election Results - North Carolina". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. October 13, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ Craver, Richard (November 3, 2010). ""Burr 'breaks curse' with re-election win"". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ "U.S. Senate: States in the Senate | North Carolina Senators". www.senate.gov. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Our Campaigns - NC US Senate - D Primary Race - May 04, 1968".
  5. 1 2 3 North Carolina Manual 1969 (Report). N.C. Department of the Secretary of State. 1969. pp. 331–334. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Our Campaigns - NC US Senate - R Runoff Race - Jun 01, 1968".
  7. ↑ Wicker, Tom (November 5, 1968). "Nation Will Vote Today: Close Presidential Race Predicted in Late Polls". The New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.