# 1972 United States Senate election in Oregon

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vte :
The 1972 United States Senate election in Oregon took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Senator Mark Hatfield was re-elected to a second term in office, defeating Democrat Wayne Morse.

## Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 23, 1972.

### Republican primary
#### Candidates

* Kenneth A. Brown, farmer, unsuccessful candidate for Republican nomination for Oregon's 1st congressional district in 1952
* Lynn Engdahl, professor at Pacific University
* Mark Hatfield, incumbent Senator
* John E. Smets, manufacturer

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mark Hatfield (incumbent) | 171,594 | 61.16% |
| | Republican | Lynn Engdahl | 63,859 | 22.76% |
| | Republican | Kenneth A. Brown | 30,826 | 10.99% |
| | Republican | John E. Smets | 13,397 | 4.78% |
| | Write-in | All others | 913 | 0.33% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 280,589 | 100.00% |

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates

* Robert B. Duncan, former U.S. Congressman for Oregon's 4th congressional district, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 1966
* Wayne Morse, former U.S. Senator
* Don S. Willner, state senator
* Ralph Wiser, businessman

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Wayne Morse | 173,147 | 43.70% |
| | Democratic | Robert B. Duncan | 130,845 | 33.03% |
| | Democratic | Don S. Willner | 74,060 | 18.69% |
| | Democratic | Ralph Wiser | 17,729 | 4.48% |
| | Write-in | All others | 423 | 0.11% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 396,204 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Campaign

According to the New York Times, the election provided "a choice between two well-known personalities, not issues". Morse, who had supported Hatfield's 1966 campaign, was famously opposed to the Vietnam War, as was Hatfield. Thus, the election was ultimately between two well-known anti-war liberals. Hatfield won a fairly comfortable 54-46 victory, winning all but 3 counties.

### Results

1972 United States Senate election in Oregon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mark Hatfield (Incumbent) | 494,671 | 53.72 |
| | Democratic | Wayne Morse | 425,036 | 46.16 |
| | None | Write-Ins | 1,126 | 0.12 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 69,635 | 7.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 920,833 | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | {{{swing}}} |