1966 United States Senate election in Arkansas

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

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.

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

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Candidates

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Campaign

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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

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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

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

See also

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1966 United States Senate elections

References

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  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.