1972 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 1966 November 7, 1972 1978 →

Nominee Edward Brooke John J. Droney Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,505,932 823,278 Percentage 63.53% 34.73%

County results Municipality results Brooke:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Droney:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Edward Brooke Republican Elected U.S. Senator Edward Brooke Republican

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v t e

The United States Senate election of 1972 in Massachusetts was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Senator Edward Brooke defeated Democratic nominee John Droney in a landslide. As of 2024, this remains the last time that a Republican has been elected to Massachusetts’s Class 2 Senate seat and the last time a Republican has been elected to either Senate seat for a full term. This was also the last time until 2010 that a Republican would win any U.S. Senate election in the state. This election was the first time ever that an African-American United States senator was re-elected to the United States Senate.

• Edward Brooke, incumbent Senator since 1967

Senator Edward Brooke was unopposed for re-nomination. At the state convention on June 24, he was renominated by acclamation.^[1]

• John J. Droney, Middlesex County District Attorney^[2]
• Gerald O'Leary, Boston City Councilor
• John P. Lynch, Hampden County Register of Deeds

• George Burke, Norfolk County district attorney (endorsed Droney)^[3]

• John Kenneth Galbraith, economist and former U.S. Ambassador to India^[4]

John Droney won the party endorsement at the June 11 convention on the sixth ballot. The party platform endorsed legalized marijuana and an end to the Vietnam War.^[5] Droney himself did not oppose the war, stating that there was no right or wrong stand on Vietnam.^[6] He received the support of state attorney general Robert H. Quinn, Boston Mayor Kevin White and state legislative leadership. After losing at the convention, Norfolk County district attorney George Burke dropped out of the race and backed Droney. However Boston City Councilor Gerald O'Leary, who was seen as the most liberal candidate, and Hampden County Register of Deeds John Pierce Lynch chose to stay in the race and face Droney in the Democratic primary.^[3]

• Edward Brooke, incumbent Senator since 1967 (Republican)
• John J. Droney, Middlesex County District Attorney (Democratic)
• Donald Gurewitz, anti-war activist (Socialist Workers)

Brooke centered his campaign on experience and his sponsorship of an amendment to end the Vietnam War. Droney ran on a law and order platform supporting Richard Nixon's conservative nominees to the United States Supreme Court and questioning the value of the Fifth Amendment. He also supported some of the president's foreign policy initiatives and did not come out against the Vietnam War.^[6] He chose to focus his attacks on Brooke's record as Massachusetts Attorney General, an office Brooke held from 1963 to 1966, rather than on his record in the senate. Droney criticized Brooke for files that had allegedly disappeared during his administration (an investigative panel could not determine if the files went missing under Brooke's watch or that of his successor Elliot Richardson) as well for his handling of the Boston Strangler case.^[7]

Brooke held a large lead throughout the campaign. He led Droney 72% to 18% in an October poll conducted by Becker Research and 66% to 23% in a poll conducted by the same firm shortly before election day.^[8][9]

General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Edward Brooke (incumbent)	1,505,932	63.53%	2.85
	Democratic	John J. Droney	823,278	34.73%	4.01
	Socialist Workers	Donald Gurewitz	41,369	1.75%	1.41
Total votes			2,370,579	100.00%

• United States Senate elections, 1972

• Race details at ourcampaigns.com