1966 United States Senate election in Arkansas

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

Candidates

Foster Johnson, Little Rock book salesman^[1]
John L. McClellan, incumbent Senator

Campaign

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

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

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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "McClellan Wins 5th Nomination". El Dorado Times. July 27, 1966. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
^ "Our Campaigns - AR US Senate - D Primary Race - Jul 26, 1966".
^ Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1967). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

[apprimary-1] "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.

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