1966 United States Senate election in Arkansas

The 1966 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 8, 1966. Incumbent U.S. Senator John L. McClellan was re-elected to a fifth term in office.

1966 U.S. Senate Democratic primary in Arkansas

← 1960 July 26, 1966 1972 →
 
Nominee John L. McClellan Foster Johnson
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 310,526 91,746
Percentage 77.19% 22.81%

U.S. senator before election

John L. McClellan
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

John L. McClellan
Democratic

Because the Republican Party (or any other party) did not field a candidate in the general election, McClellan's primary victory was tantamount to election.

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Campaign edit

For the first time since 1954, Senator John McClellan faced a challenger for the Democratic nomination, Foster Johnson, a 51-year-old book salesman and political neophyte. McClellan did not stage a formal campaign for re-election and ignored his opponent.[1] Johnson did win the support of organized labor in the state but attracted little attention to his campaign otherwise.[1]

Results edit

1966 Democratic U.S. Senate primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John L. McClellan (inc.) 220,588 77.19%
Democratic Foster Johnson 91,746 22.81%
Total votes 402,272 100.00%

General election edit

McClellan was unopposed in the general election. At this time, Arkansas law did not require tabulation of votes for unopposed candidates.[3]

See also edit

1966 United States Senate elections

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "McClellan Wins 5th Nomination". El Dorado Times. July 27, 1966. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - AR US Senate - D Primary Race - Jul 26, 1966".
  3. ^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1967). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.