# 1968 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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vte :
The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1968 was held on November 5, 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. This was the last time any incumbent was re-elected in this seat until 2010. To date, this is also the last time a Democrat was re-elected as a senator in North Carolina.
This is the last time that a U.S. Senate candidate was elected in North Carolina at the same time that a presidential candidate of a different political party won the state.

## Primaries
### Democratic primary

22.2% of the voting age population participated in the Democratic primary.
Democratic primary results (U.S. Senate) – May 4, 1968 :
| 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

4.6% of the voting age population participated in the Republican primary.
Republican primary results (U.S. Senate) – May 4, 1968 (first round) :
| 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) :
| Party | 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.
1968 North Carolina U.S. Senate election – November 5, 1968 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Sam Ervin | 870,406 | 60.56% |
| | Republican | Robert Somers | 566,934 | 39.44% |