The 1974 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright ran for re-election to a sixth term in office, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Governor of Arkansas Dale Bumpers. Bumpers won the general election easily.
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![]() County results Bumpers: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Dale Bumpers, Governor of Arkansas
- J. William Fulbright, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1945
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Dale Bumpers | 380,748 | 65.04 | |
Democratic | J. William Fulbright (Incumbent) | 204,630 | 34.96 | |
Total votes | 585,378 | 100.00 |
General election
editCampaign
editJones accused Bumpers of excessive spending as governor, citing the construction of a $186 million state office complex. Bumpers not only ignored Jones but instead campaigned mostly for the young Democrat Bill Clinton, who failed to unseat Republican U.S. Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt in Arkansas's 3rd congressional district.[citation needed]
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Dale Bumpers | 461,056 | 84.90 | 25.75 | |
Republican | John H. Jones | 82,026 | 15.10 | 25.75 | |
Total votes | 543,082 | 100.00 | |||
Democratic hold | Swing |