The 1972 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Clifford P. Case defeated Democratic nominee Paul J. Krebs with 62.46% of the vote.
Primary elections were held on June 6. Case turned away a challenge from conservative doctor James Ralph. Krebs won a large plurality in the Democratic primary over Daniel Gaby and Joseph Karcher.
As of 2026, this was the last time the Republicans won a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey, the second longest such drought for Republicans in any state after Hawaii (since 1970).
Case outperformed Richard Nixon's vote share in the concurrent presidential election by 0.89%.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Clifford P. Case, incumbent U.S. senator
- James W. Ralph, Bergen County physician and candidate for state senate in 1971
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Daniel M. Gaby, Somerset County advertising executive and chair of the Democratic Policy Council
- Joseph T. Karcher, Sayreville borough attorney and former state assemblyman
- Henry Kielbasa, Linden railroad worker
- Paul J. Krebs, former U.S. representative from Livingston
Withdrawn
- Patrick McGahn, chair of the Atlantic County Democratic Committee
Declined
- Edward Crabiel, minority leader of the New Jersey Senate
Campaign
Krebs ran with the support of organized labor and the Hubert Humphrey presidential campaign, as well as the party establishment in Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties, while Gaby ran as a reform candidate and aligned himself with George McGovern's campaign.
Results
Although McGovern won the state's presidential delegate primary easily over Hubert Humphrey, Krebs defeated Gaby by roughly 50,000 votes.
General election
Candidates
- Clifford Case, incumbent senator since 1955 (Republican)
- A. Howard Freund, Roselle Park resident (American)
- Paul J. Krebs, former U.S. representative from Livingston (Democratic)
- Jules Levin, candidate for U.S. Senate in 1966 (Socialist Labor)
- Charles W. Wiley (Independent)
Campaign
From the start of the post-primary campaign, Krebs faced "virtually insurmountable political odds."
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican