# 1972 United States Senate election in New Jersey

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vte :
The 1972 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Clifford P. Case defeated Democratic nominee Paul J. Krebs with 62.46% of the vote.
Primary elections were held on June 6. Case turned away a challenge from James Ralph. Krebs won a large plurality in the Democratic primary over Daniel Gaby and Joseph Karcher.
As of 2024, this was the last time the Republicans won a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey.
Case outperformed Republican President Richard Nixon's vote share in terms in the concurrent presidential election by 0.89%.

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Clifford P. Case, incumbent United States Senator
* James W. Ralph

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Clifford P. Case (incumbent) | 187,268 | 70.13% |
| | Republican | James W. Ralph | 79,766 | 29.87% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 267,034 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Daniel M. Gaby, advertising executive and chair of the Democratic Policy Council
* Joseph T. Karcher, Sayreville Borough Attorney and former State Assemblyman
* Henry Kielbasa, railroad worker
* Paul J. Krebs, former U.S. Representative from Livingston

#### Withdrawn

* Patrick McGahn, chair of the Atlantic County Democratic Committee

#### Declined

* Edward Crabiel, Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate

### Campaign

Krebs ran with the support of organized labor and the Hubert Humphrey presidential campaign, while Gaby ran as a reform candidate and aligned himself with George McGovern's campaign.

### Results

Although McGovern won the state's presidential preference primary easily, Krebs defeated Gaby by roughly 50,000 votes.
Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paul J. Krebs | 135,000 | 43.16% |
| | Democratic | Daniel M. Gaby | 86,213 | 27.56% |
| | Democratic | Joseph T. Karcher | 51,321 | 16.41% |
| | Democratic | Henry Kielbasa | 40,235 | 12.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 312,769 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Clifford Case, incumbent Senator since 1955 (Republican)
* A. Howard Freund, (American)
* Paul J. Krebs, former U.S. Representative from Livingston (Democratic)
* Jules Levin, candidate for U.S. Senate in 1966 (Socialist Labor)
* Charles W. Wiley, (Independent)

### Campaign

From the start of the post-primary campaign, Krebs faced "virtually insurmountable political odds."

### Results

1972 United States Senate election in New Jersey :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Clifford P. Case (incumbent) | 1,743,854 | 62.46% | 2.44 |
| | Democratic | Paul J. Krebs | 963,573 | 34.51% | 2.47 |
| | American | A. Howard Freund | 40,980 | 1.47% | N/A |
| | Independent | Charles W. Wiley | 33,442 | 1.20% | N/A |
| | Socialist Labor | Jules Levin | 10,058 | 0.36% | 0.12 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 780,281 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,791,907 | | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |