1972 United States Senate election in Kentucky

The 1972 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Senator John Sherman Cooper retired, and Democratic State Senator Walter Dee Huddleston narrowly won the open seat over former Republican Governor Louie Nunn.

Candidates

 * Willis V. Johnson
 * Sandy Hockensmith
 * Walter Dee Huddleston, State Senator from Elizabethtown
 * Charles Van Winkle
 * James E. Wallace

Candidates

 * W. Howard Clay
 * Robert E. Gable, businessman and Commissioner of State Parks of Kentucky
 * Thurman Jerome Hamlin, perennial candidate from London
 * Louie Nunn, former Governor of Kentucky (1967–71)
 * George Wooton