1972 United States House of Representatives elections


The 1972 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 1972, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 93rd United States Congress. This was the first election held after the 1970 United States redistricting cycle. It coincided with the landslide reelection victory of President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon's [United States Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party|Republican Party] managed to gain a net of twelve House of Representatives seats from the Democratic Party, although the Democrats retained a majority.
This was the first election in which citizens at least 18 years of age could vote, due to the recent passage of the 26th Amendment. This was the last time until 2022 that a Democrat would win a House seat in Alaska, and the first time since 1888 that a Republican won a House seat in Louisiana.

Special elections

Six special elections were also held throughout the year, six before November and one concurrent with the November general election.
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Results

392 incumbent members sought reelection, but 13 were defeated in primaries and 13 defeated in the general election for a total of 366 incumbents winning.
Source:

Incumbents retiring

Democratic gains

Democratic holds

Republican gains

Republican holds

Incumbents defeated

Incumbents defeated in primary

  1. : George P. Miller
  2. : John G. Schmitz
  3. : Wayne Aspinall
  4. : George Elliott Hagan
  5. : Jack H. McDonald
  6. : Walter S. Baring Jr.
  7. : Cornelius Edward Gallagher
  8. : Emanuel Celler
  9. : James H. Scheuer
  10. : James A. Byrne
  11. : William Sheldrick Conover
  12. : John L. McMillan
  13. : James Kee

Incumbents defeated in general election

  1. : Mike McKevitt
  2. : John S. Monagan
  3. : Abner J. Mikva
  4. : Andrew Jacobs Jr.
  5. : Fred Schwengel
  6. : John Henry Kyl
  7. : Louise Day Hicks
  8. : John G. Dow
  9. : William Anderson
  10. : Earle Cabell
  11. : Graham B. Purcell Jr.
  12. : Sherman P. Lloyd
  13. : Alvin E. O'Konski

Alabama

Alabama was reapportioned from 8 to 7 seats and eliminated the old, dividing it between the old 2nd and 4th and making compensating boundary changes elsewhere.
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Alaska

Incumbent Nick Begich won re-election three weeks after having disappeared in a plane crash October 16; challenger Don Young would later win a March special election after Begich was declared dead on December 29.
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Arizona

Arizona was reapportioned from 3 seats to 4 and carved a new district in the Phoenix suburbs and the northeast from parts of the existing districts.
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Arkansas

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California

California was reapportioned from 38 to 43 seats, adding one seat in the Bay Area, one in the Central Valley, and 3 in southern California; three went to Democrats, two to Republicans. Despite a retirement and two lost renominations, both parties held their seats in this election, bringing the Democrats up from 20 seats to 23 and the Republicans up from 18 seats to 20.
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Colorado

Colorado was reapportioned from 4 to 5 seats, constructing a new east and south of Denver.
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Connecticut

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Delaware

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Florida

Florida was reapportioned from 12 to 15 seats, adding a seat in central and two in south Florida.
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Georgia

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Hawaii

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Idaho

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Illinois

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Indiana

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Iowa

Iowa was reapportioned from 7 seats to 6, dividing the old around Des Moines between its neighbors. Its incumbent, Neal Smith, won again in the south-central Iowa.
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Kansas

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

Louisiana stayed at eight house seats following the 1970 census, but the Eighth District's boundaries were radically altered. New governor Edwin W. Edwards ordered the district to take in territory far to the south and east of its traditional base of Alexandria, which included many African-American and progressive white voters. The change was largely regarded as an election deal between Edwards and former Rep. Gillis Long, who finished third in the Democratic Primary in the 1971 Louisiana Governor's Election behind Edwards and J. Bennett Johnston. Long easily won back the Eighth District seat he lost in 1964 to cousin Speedy Long. Speedy Long retired when his home of LaSalle Parish was shifted to the Fifth District, where incumbent Otto Passman was entrenched.
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Maine

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Maryland

Maryland's redistricting eliminated a seat in Baltimore in favor of an additional seat in the DC suburbs.
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Massachusetts

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Michigan

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

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Missouri

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Montana

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Nebraska

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

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New Jersey

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New Mexico

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New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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Ohio

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Oklahoma

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Oregon

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Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

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South Carolina

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South Dakota

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Tennessee

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Texas

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Utah

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Vermont

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Virginia

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Washington

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West Virginia

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Wisconsin

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Wyoming

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Non-voting delegates

The non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia is elected for two-year terms, as are all other Representatives and Delegates minus the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, who is elected to a four-year term.

District of Columbia

The election for the Delegate from the District of Columbia featured winner Walter E. Fauntroy, who won his first re-election after winning the special election in the previous year.
Walter E. Fauntroy, a Democrat, sought re-election for his second term to the United States House of Representatives. Fauntroy was opposed in this election by Republican challenger William Chin-Lee who received 25.12%, and Statehood Party candidate Charles I. Cassell who received 11.92%. This resulted in Fauntroy being elected with 60.64% of the vote.

United States Virgin Islands

Democrat Ron de Lugo was elected as the first delegate from United States Virgin Islands's at-large congressional district defeating Republican Victor Scheider.

Works cited

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