1970 United States Senate election in Ohio

1970 United States Senate election in Ohio

November 3, 1970

Nominee Robert Taft Jr. Howard Metzenbaum Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,565,682 1,495,262 Percentage 49.68% 47.52%

County results Taft:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Metzenbaum:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Stephen M. Young Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Robert Taft Jr. Republican

The 1970 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic Senator Stephen M. Young did not run for re-election to a third term in office. U.S. Representative Robert Taft Jr. won the open seat over Democrat Howard Metzenbaum.

Primary elections were held on May 5. Both Taft and Metzenbaum won very competitive primaries to gain their parties' nominations, over Governor of Ohio Jim Rhodes and astronaut John Glenn, respectively.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kenneth W. Clement, Cleveland physician and advisor to mayor Carl Stokes^[1][2]
• John Glenn, member of the Mercury Seven, first American to orbit the planet Earth, and candidate for Senate in 1964^[2]
• John W. McAlarney, Akron resident^[2]
• Howard Metzenbaum, industrialist, former State Senator from Lyndhurst and campaign manager for Senator Stephen Young in 1964^[2]

Results

1970 Democratic Senate primary^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard Metzenbaum	430,469	46.32%
	Democratic	John Glenn	417,027	44.88%
	Democratic	Kenneth W. Clement	50,375	5.42%
	Democratic	John W. McAlarney	31,438	3.38%
Total votes			929,309	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Rhodes, Governor of Ohio since 1963
• Robert Taft Jr., U.S. Representative from Cincinnati, scion of the Taft family, and nominee for Senate in 1964

Results

1970 Republican Senate primary^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robert Taft Jr.	472,202	50.28%
	Republican	Jim Rhodes	466,932	49.72%
	Republican	William L. White (write-in)	18	0.00%
Total votes			939,152	100.00%

General election

Results

1970 U.S. Senate election in Ohio^[5]^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Robert Taft Jr.	1,565,682	49.68%	0.10
	Democratic	Howard Metzenbaum	1,495,262	46.52%	3.70
	American Independent	Richard B. Kay	61,261	1.94%	N/A
	Socialist Labor	John O'Neill	29,069	0.92%	N/A
Total votes			3,151,274	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• 1970 United States Senate elections

References

1. Moses, Susan (February 21, 2022). "Black History Month in Ohio: Honoring Dr. Kenneth W. Clement".
2. "STOKES ENDORSES SENATE CANDIDATE; Favors Metzenbaum in Ohio Race Against Glenn". The New York Times. Cleveland. March 8, 1970. p. 43.
3. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate- D Primary Race - May 05, 1970".
4. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate- R Primary Race - May 05, 1970".
5. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
6. "Our Campaigns - OH US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1970". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.