# 1972 United States Senate election in Texas

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vte :
The 1972 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Tower won re-election to a third term.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Thomas M. Cartlidge
* Barefoot Sanders, former state representative and Johnson administration official.
* Alfonso Veloz, candidate for governor in 1968
* Hugh Wilson, candidate for Senate in 1957 and 1961
* Ralph Yarborough, former U.S. Senator (1957–1971)

### Results

1972 Democratic U.S. Senate primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ralph Yarborough | 1,032,606 | 49.99% |
| | Democratic | Barefoot Sanders | 787,504 | 38.12% |
| | Democratic | Hugh Wilson | 125,460 | 6.07% |
| | Democratic | Thomas M. Cartlidge | 66,240 | 3.21% |
| | Democratic | Alfonso Veloz | 53,938 | 2.61% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,065,748 | 100.00% |
Although he received over one million votes, Yarborough was 269 short of a majority. He and Sanders advanced to a runoff election held June 3.

### Runoff campaign

1972 Democratic U.S. Senate runoff :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Barefoot Sanders | 1,008,499 | 52.08% | 13.96 |
| | Democratic | Ralph Yarborough | 928,132 | 47.93% | 2.06 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,936,631 | 100.00% | |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* John G. Tower, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1961

## Results

General election results :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Republican | John Tower (incumbent) | 1,822,877 | 53.41% | −2.98% |
| Democratic | Barefoot Sanders | 1,511,985 | 44.30% | +1.15% |
| Raza Unida | Flores Amaya | 63,543 | 1.86% | N/A |
| Socialist Workers | Tom Leonard | 14,464 | 0.42% | N/A |