United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1972

The 1972 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 7, 1972 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina. Popular incumbent Republican Senator Strom Thurmond easily defeated Democratic challenger Eugene N. Zeigler.

Democratic Primary

The South Carolina Democratic Party held their primary for governor on August 29, 1972. Eugene N. Zeigler, a state senator from Florence, defeated John Bolt Culbertson to become the Democratic nominee in the general election.

Democratic Primary
Candidate	Votes	%
Eugene N. Zeigler	201,170	58.7
John Bolt Culbertson	141,757	41.3

Republican Primary

Senator Strom Thurmond faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans and avoided a primary election.

General election campaign

The general election campaign was a lackluster affair as Thurmond was heavily favored to win re-election and he outspent Zeigler by a margin of four to one. However, Thurmond's re-election was almost derailed when his hometown newspaper, the Edgefield Advertiser, ran the headline "SEN. THURMOND IS UNPRINCIPLED WITH COLORED OFFSPRING WHILE PARADING AS A DEVOUT SEGREGATIONIST" on the October 11 front page. The Thurmond campaign fiercely denied that he had sired a black child and claimed that it was a dirty trick being played by the Zeigler campaign. While the allegation ultimately proved true, at the time it served to galvanize voters for Thurmond.

Election results

South Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 1972

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Strom Thurmond	428,145	63.5	+1.3
	Democratic	Eugene N. Zeigler	246,182	36.5	-1.3
Majority			181,963	27.0	+2.6
Turnout			674,327	65.2	+16.1
	Republican hold

See also

• List of United States Senators from South Carolina
• United States Senate elections, 1972