1970 United States Senate election in Florida, Republican primary, Campaign
Expecting to benefit over the uproar in Florida over the rejection of Judge Carswell, political aides suggested that Carswell resign from the bench and run for Holland's Senate seat. Carswell agreed and declared his candidacy while accompanying Governor Kirk in front of reporters in Miami on April 20. Initially, Lieutenant Governor Ray C. Osborne was challenging Cramer for the Republican nomination, but dropped out after Carswell entered the race. Years later, Kirk expressed regret for encouraging Carswell to run and Osborne to withdraw.


1970 United States Senate election in Florida, Republican primary, Campaign
It is possible that Cramer and Gurney came to an agreement in which Gurney would run for Senate in 1968 and allow Cramer to run in 1970. However, Carswell and Gurney denied having any knowledge of the deal. Although Nixon encouraged Cramer to run, he would not voice support for either Carswell or Cramer during the primary contest. Carswell was endorsed by nationally known actors John Wayne and Gene Autry, as well as Governor Kirk and Senator Gurney.


1970 United States Senate election in Florida, Republican primary, Campaign
In the primary campaign, Cramer stressed his amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit forced busing to achieve racial balance in public schools. He raised questions about Carswell's concurrence in two Fifth Circuit busing edicts. At first, Carswell ignored Cramer's charges; then he spoke out against busing. A reporter from the Miami Herald compared Carswell's speeches to "legal opinions" aimed more at Senators Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Birch Bayh of Indiana, who had worked against his confirmation, than to Florida Republican primary voters.


1970 United States Senate election in Florida, Republican primary, Campaign
As a circuit judge, Carswell was bound by high court precedent, and after 1968, the federal courts had decreed busing as a tool to pursue racial balance in schools. Like Cramer, Kirk was identified with anti-busing forces. He had been unable, in 1970, to halt a desegregation plan in Manatee County. At a time of cultural change and social unrest, Cramer went beyond the busing issue in his speeches to attack "cop killers, bombers, burners, and racial revolutionaries who would destroy America."


1970 United States Senate election in Florida, Republican primary, Campaign
In the Republican primary held on September 8, 1970, Cramer received 220,553 votes to Carswell's 121,281. A third candidate, businessman George Balmer, polled 10,974 votes. Senate Republican Leader Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, who opposed Carswell's confirmation to the Supreme Court, said that Carswell "was asking for it, and he got what he deserved." Cramer attributed his Senate nomination to his grassroots support and Carswell's lack of campaign experience. Carswell, however, argued that his support among Democrats would have been considerable had Florida been an open primary state, which both Alabama and Georgia conducted open primaries.


1970 United States Senate election in Hawaii
The 1970 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 3, 1970.


1970 United States Senate election in Hawaii
Incumbent Republican U.S Senator Hiram Fong was re-elected to a third term in office, narrowly defeating Democratic businessman Cec Heftel. As of 2021, this remains the last U.S. Senate election in Hawaii to be won by a Republican.


1970 United States Senate election in Indiana
The 1970 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Vance Hartke was narrowly re-elected to a third term in office over Republican U.S. Representative Richard Roudebush.


1970 United States Senate election in Maine
The 1970 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democrat Edmund Muskie defeated Republican nominee Neil S. Bishop with 61.74% of the vote.


1970 United States Senate election in Maryland
The 1970 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Tydings ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Republican U.S. Representative J. Glenn Beall Jr.


1970 United States Senate election in Maryland
Tydings had defeated Beall's father, Senator James Glenn Beall six years earlier. Tydings's own adoptive father Millard had served as Senator alongside Beall Sr., making this a rare dynastic election between the sons of former Senators.


1970 United States Senate election in Maryland
As of 2021, this is the last time the Republicans won the Class 1 Senate seat in Maryland.


1970 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
The 1970 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held on November 3, 1970. The incumbent Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy defeated his challengers. This was Kennedy's first election run since the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident. Kennedy won 62.2% of the vote, down from the 74.3% that he won in the previous election in 1964, indicating that Chappaquiddick did affect his popularity.


1970 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
This was the last election in which Ted Kennedy lost any Massachusetts county. Spaulding carried Barnstable, Dukes, Franklin, and Nantucket Counties.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan
The 1970 United States Senate election in Michigan took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Philip Hart was re-elected to a third term in office over former First Lady of Michigan Lenore Romney.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
George W. Romney was an early favorite for the Republican nomination. President Richard Nixon, who never had good relations with George Romney either personally or on policy grounds, and whom Romney had run against for President in 1968, promoted him for Senate to get Romney out of his cabinet. However, George came up with the idea of his wife Lenore running, and sprung this proposal on Lenore and the children at the end of 1969. Lenore's professed no desire to run unless no other candidate could be found.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
U.S. House Minority Leader Gerald Ford (from Grand Rapids) thought Lenore Romney could unite the state party's different factions, but Governor William Milliken opposed her candidacy. Some suspected that her Senate candidacy was just a stalking horse for keeping George's options open.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
At a February 21, 1970 meeting of the Michigan Republican Party, convened to declare a "consensus" candidate, liberal U.S. Representative Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (who would Hart’s successor after switching to the Democratic Party) and conservative State Senator Robert J. Huber joined Milliken in opposition, blocking Lenore Romney from reaching the three-fourths majority required for the consensus declaration.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
On February 23, Lenore Romney formally entered the contest for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat. George successfully pressured Milliken to endorse her, though this may have backfired when The Detroit News exposed the pressure campaign. At the next party meeting, on March 7, Lenore gained the consensus candidate position, and talk of George running ended. Riegle also ended his campaign.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
In the ensuing primary, Romney's campaign emphasized her sex as a campaign theme, arguing, "Never before has the voice and understanding of a concerned woman been more needed." Billboards featuring her face, captioned only "Lenore" and omitting any reference to political party, were common throughout the state. She was considered photogenic but was so thin that she was sometimes described as "frail" or "waiflike."


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
Romney issued a half-hour campaign film that featured endorsements from many national and state party leaders as well as from celebrities Bob Hope and Art Linkletter, and showcased her family and her concern for disadvantaged people. Huber, in contrast, emphasized his edge in political experience, derided her "motherly concern", and criticized the "bossism" of the Romney family.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
Romney called for the withdrawal of all American troops from Vietnam by the end of 1971 and characterized the Vietnam war as "disastrous." She expressed concern over the Cambodian Incursion and proposed an end to congressional funding if Nixon did not abide by his pledge to withdraw from there by the end of the month. On other issues, Romney sometimes took overly broad stances that appeared to come down on multiple sides. The conservative wing of the party, which had never trusted her husband, had the same reaction to her. The largely male press corps tended to deal with her in a paternalistic way, and she was often identified as "Mrs. George Romney" in stories and photo captions.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, Republican primary, Campaign
Initially heavily favored over Huber, her campaign failed to gain momentum and polls showed a close race; in response, she shifted her ads to focus more on her stands on issues. In the August 4, 1970, primary, Lenore Romney won a narrow victory, with 52 percent of the vote compared to Huber's 48 percent.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Campaign
In the general election, with diminished prestige, a divided party, and with campaign resources drained by the primary fight, Romney was behind incumbent Democrat Hart from the beginning. Romney issued position papers and emphasized crime and social permissiveness, advocated a national healthcare plan, and expressed opposition to environmental damage caused by industry. She never made any personal attacks against Hart. As the only woman running for the U.S. Senate that year, she was a tireless campaigner, traveling around the state in a chartered Cessna and making as many as twelve stops a day.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Campaign
Nevertheless, the perception grew that she did not have any vision for what she would do as a senator and was only in the race because she was George Romney's wife. In response, she said at one point, "I'm not a stand-in or a substitute for anyone." Her campaign material continued to just refer to "Lenore." She also was negatively impacted, in both the primary and general election, by fallout from her husband's effort as HUD Secretary to enforce housing integration in Warren, Michigan.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Campaign
The Romney children campaigned for her, including Mitt, who took student leave to work as a driver and advance man at schools and county fairs during the summer. Together, Lenore and Mitt visited all 83 Michigan counties. George was in Washington most of the time and did not publicly campaign for her until the campaign's final day.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Campaign
Consistently far ahead in polls, Hart staged a low-key campaign with few public appearances; he mostly ignored her and sometimes acted condescendingly towards her in private.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Results
Hart handily won a third term with 67 percent of the vote to Romney's 33 percent. Romney made an unusual election-night visit to congratulate Hart in person, and in saying "I hope all good things will be his," gave what the victor termed "the most graceful and really moving concession speech I've ever heard."


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Results
In her election night remarks, Romney said, "I thought [running as a woman] would be an asset. It was disappointing to find that many people closed their minds just because I was a woman." The following year, Romney published an article in Look magazine describing the openly dismissive reaction she had gotten from both men and women. She wrote that, "In factories, I encountered men in small groups, laughing, shouting, 'Get in the kitchen. George needs you there.


1970 United States Senate election in Michigan, General election, Results
What do you know about politics?'" To a friend she wrote, "[I had no idea] how open and bare and wide my own vulnerability would be ... the body wounds are deep." She told one of her children that she wished she had not run, and concluded that "It's the most humiliating thing I know of to run for office."


1970 United States Senate election in Minnesota
The 1970 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy opted not to seek reelection. Former Democratic U.S. Senator, Vice President and 1968 presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey defeated Republican U.S. Representative Clark MacGregor.


1970 United States Senate election in Mississippi
The 1970 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John C. Stennis won re-election to his fifth term, easily defeating independent candidate William Richard Thompson.


1970 United States Senate election in Missouri
The 1970 United States Senate election in Missouri took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Stuart Symington was re-elected to a fourth term in office over Republican John Danforth.


1970 United States Senate election in Montana
The 1970 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent United States Senator Mike Mansfield, who was first elected to the Senate in 1952 and was re-elected in 1958 and 1964, ran for re-election. Mansfield won the Democratic primary against several opponents, and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Harold E. Wallace, a sporting goods salesman and the Republican nominee. While his margin of victory decreased slightly from 1964, Mansfield still managed to defeat Wallace in a landslide, winning his fourth and final term in the Senate.


1970 United States Senate election in Nebraska
The 1970 United States Senate election in Nebraska took place on November 3, 1970. The incumbent Republican Senator, Roman Hruska, was re-elected, albeit with a reduced majority. He defeated the former Governor of Nebraska Frank B. Morrison.


1970 United States Senate election in Nevada
The 1970 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howard Cannon won re-election to a third term.


1970 United States Senate election in Nevada, Campaign
In the Senate, Cannon was known as a moderate in the Democratic Party. He served as chairman of several committees, including the rules committee and the inaugural arrangements committee. Cannon was nearly defeated for re-election in 1964 by Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest elections in history. However, he became more popular over the next few years and defeated D.A. William Raggio, whose 1970 senate campaign began his long political career. Raggio ran for the Nevada Senate in 1972 and won, serving until 2011.


1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey
The 1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democrat Harrison A. Williams defeated Republican nominee Nelson G. Gross with 54.02% of the vote.


1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Democratic primary, Campaign
Guarini ran as the candidate of the powerful Hudson County Democratic machine.


1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
Nelson Gross resigned his position as party chairman on April 9 to enter the race for Senate with the full-backing of Governor William T. Cahill. Cahill's support discouraged any serious contenders from challenging Gross in the primary.


1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
Gross was nonetheless privately criticized as a poor choice by some Republicans due to his ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Justice for involvement with a Mafia-backed labor union. The investigation was led by U.S. Attorney Frederick Bernard Lacey, who had been personally recommended to the Nixon administration by Senator Clifford Case. Case and Gross had been on uneven terms since Gross undermined Case's "favorite son" status at the 1968 Republican National Convention by bringing Bergen County delegates into the Nixon column.


1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
Gross assailed Williams as a "radical liberal" and implied that he was involved in "influence peddling" for having sponsored special bills for about 70 Chinese seamen who jumped ship in the United States.


1970 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
In mid-October, President Richard Nixon campaigned for Gross as part of a one-day swing through Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin and New Jersey.


1970 United States Senate election in New Mexico
The 1970 United States Senate election in New Mexico took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Montoya successfully ran for re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Anderson Carter.


1970 United States Senate election in New York
The 1970 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 3, 1970, to elect New York's Class I Senator in its delegation. Representative Charles Goodell had been appointed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller to serve the remainder of Robert F. Kennedy's senatorial term following Kennedy's assassination.


1970 United States Senate election in New York
Goodell attempted to win election to a full term in the Senate with the Republican and Liberal nominations, but faced opposition from Democratic nominee Richard Ottinger and Conservative nominee James L. Buckley. Buckley was able to win with a plurality of the popular vote due to the left-wing vote being split between Ottinger and Goodell.


1970 United States Senate election in New York
Buckley would serve in the Senate until his reelection bid was defeated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1976. Buckley's victory in the 1970 election would remain the last time a third party candidate won election to the Senate until Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman won reelection with the Connecticut for Lieberman nomination in 2006.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Background
It was speculated by the Democratic Party that Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and older brother of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, would seek the Democratic nomination for New York's Senate election in 1964. Elected members of the Democratic Party supported a possible campaign by Robert Kennedy, with New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. endorsing him on August 21, 1964. On August 25, Kennedy announced that he would seek the Democratic Senatorial nomination, after establishing a residence in Glen Cove, New York.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Background
On September 1, 1964, he defeated Representative Samuel S. Stratton for the Democratic nomination at the Democratic state convention with 968 to 153 delegate votes. He also received the nomination of the Liberal Party with a majority of the delegate vote. In the general election he defeated incumbent Republican Senator Kenneth Keating.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Background, Appointment
On March 16, 1968, Kennedy announced that he would seek the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party for the 1968 presidential election. After winning four primaries Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles, California on June 6.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Background, Appointment
Kennedy's death left a vacancy in the United States Senate that would be filled through an appointment by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. John W. Gardner, John Lindsay, Burke Marshall, C. Douglas Dillon, Charles Goodell, Ogden Reid, and Whitney Young were considered as possible candidates for the appointment. On August 11, a spokesman for Rockfeller stated that main choices for the appointment were Gardner, Goodell, and Reid. On September 10, Rockefeller appointed Goodell, a member of the House of Representatives from the 38th congressional district, to fill the vacancy.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Background, Appointment
On July 16, 1968, Joseph A. Valenti filed a lawsuit in the Western District Court against Governor Rockefeller attempting to have a special election held during the 1968 election cycle rather than the 1970 election cycle. Randolph Phillips and George Backer filed similar lawsuits in the Southern District Court on July 17, and July 19. On January 20, 1969, the Southern District Court dismissed their cases allowing for Goodell to serve the remainder of Kennedy's term until a regular election was held in 1970.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Conservative nomination
On January 28, 1970, Kevin P. McGovern announced that he would seek the Conservative Party's senatorial nomination and criticized the party's leadership for allegedly favoring state Senator John J. Marchi. On April 6, James L. Buckley, the brother of conservative author William F. Buckley Jr. and the party's former senatorial nominee in 1968, announced that he would seek the Conservative Party's nomination.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Conservative nomination
The Conservative State Committee convened inside Hotel McAlpin in Manhattan, New York City, on April 7, to select the party's nominees in the general election. McGovern attempted to force a primary campaign between him and Buckley, but failed to receive the 25% of delegate votes to force a primary. Buckley received nearly ninety percent of the delegate votes and the remainder was split between McGovern and abstaining delegates.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
Prior to the Democratic primary New York Democratic state chairman John J. Burns met with Representatives Richard Ottinger, Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal, Jonathan Brewster Bingham, and Otis G. Pike in Washington, D.C., in 1969, to discuss plans to prevent party infighting during the 1970 Senate Democratic primary.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
On July 12, Paul O'Dwyer, who had received the Democratic nomination for Senate in 1968, announced that he would seek the Democratic senatorial nomination in 1970. O'Dwyer formally announced his candidacy in New York City on December 11, and again in Albany on December 12. However, he was criticized for his refusal to support Hubert Humphrey during the 1968 presidential election. Joseph Zaretski, the Democratic Minority Leader in the state Senate, stated that O'Dwyer was the only candidate with a "tremendous chance of winning the Democratic designation" due to his statewide organization.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
On May 12, 1969, Ted Sorensen, who had served as White House Counsel during John F. Kennedy's presidency, stated that prior to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, he had been asked to run for Kennedy's Senate seat. Sorensen started to campaign for the Democratic senatorial nomination in October.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
Representative Richard Ottinger announced on January 19, 1970, that he would be entering the Democratic senatorial primary as the "unity candidate". Ottinger formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination on February 24.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
On January 29, Rosenthal announced that he would conduct a statewide tour to test support for a possible senatorial campaign. He promised that he would not cause an irresponsible or destructive primary in a letter written to the state's 300 Democratic committee members. The next day his office stated that Rosenthal was actively campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Although Rosenthal never official announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination he announced on March 4, that he would seek reelection to the House of Representatives as he was unable to find support for a possible senatorial campaign.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
On January 12, Representative Richard D. McCarthy stated that he was interested in running for the Democratic nomination for the senate election. On February 27, McCarthy announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination. On April 2, McCarthy dropped out of the Democratic primary to help maintain party unity, but later reentered the primary on April 19, as he felt that Upstate New York would lack representation among the Democratic nominees due to all of the other candidates being from the New York metropolitan area.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
On February 23, Morris B. Abram, the president of Brandeis University who had challenged Georgia's voting system in a lawsuit that resulted in the one man, one vote principle being established by the Supreme Court of the United States, announced his resignation from his position so that he could seek the Democratic nomination for senator.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
However, the Poughkeepsie Board of Elections ruled that Abram was ineligible to run in the Democratic primary as he registered as a member of the Democratic Party on January 26, 1970, meaning that according to New York's election laws he could only run in Democratic primaries after the 1970 general election. The only way that Abram could be granted permission participate in the Democratic primary would be if the New York State Democratic Committee gave 51% approval at its convention on April 1.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign
On March 6, Abram asked the state committee for permission to run, but state chairman John J. Burns stated that a survey of party officials showed little support for him due to his decision to sit out the 1968 presidential election. However, Burns told Abram to conduct a statewide campaign in an attempt to gain support from state committee members. He withdrew from the primary and endorsed Ted Sorensen for the nomination on April 9.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Campaign, Convention
The 345 member of the Democratic state committee convened in Liberty, New York, from March 31 to April 2, to select the party's nominees. Sorensen received 62% of the delegate vote, making him the designated candidate for the primary, to O'Dwyer's 25%, and Ottinger's 12%. As Sorensen and O'Dwyer were the only candidates to receive more than 25% of the delegate vote they were the only candidates given automatic access onto the primary ballot. All of the other candidates had to petition their way onto the primary ballot with over 10,000 signatures. Ottinger filed petitions with a total of 26,463 signatures and McCarthy filed petitions with a total of 17,080 signatures.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Democratic nomination, Results
On June 23, the Democratic primary was held in which Ottinger won with over 366,000 votes. O'Dwyer placed second with over 300,000 votes, and performed best within New York City. Sorensen, who was selected as the designated candidate by the state committee, placed a distant third with over 154,000 votes. McCarthy placed last in fourth with over 102,000 votes, and only placed first in his home county, Erie County, and surrounding Cattaraugus and Wyoming counties.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Liberal nomination
The Liberal Party's nomination was electorally important as due to New York's electoral fusion law the party could give its nomination, and a large percentage of the popular vote, to any other party nominee. In the 1968 Senate election incumbent Republican Senator Jacob Javits had defeated Paul O'Dwyer by over one million votes, with half of that total coming from the Liberal Party's ballot line.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Liberal nomination
On April 4, 1970, the state committee selected Timothy W. Costello to serve as the party's placeholder senatorial candidate. The committee selected placeholder candidates for multiple positions as New York law allowed for parties to replace their nominees within five weeks of selecting them. Due to the selection of Costello, who was serving as Deputy Mayor of New York City, Leon A. Katz, a member of the New York City Council, called for Mayor John Lindsay to fire Costello.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Liberal nomination
Charles Goodell was favored by officials in the Liberal Party due to criticism levied against him by members of the Republican and Conservative state committees and his opposition to the Vietnam War. Costello also endorsed Goodell before the nomination ballot. On May 11, Goodell received the party's nomination against Paul O'Dwyer, Richard D. McCarthy, Richard Ottinger, and Ted Sorenson.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Liberal nomination
Prior to the ballot voting O'Dwyer accused the Liberal Party of rigging the ballot in favor of Goodell and stated that his nomination would be a betrayal to liberal voters.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Republican nomination
On March 24, 1970, Charles Goodell announced that he would seek reelection to the United States Senate. During his announcement speech in front of 250 people at the Park Central Hotel Goodell criticized Nixon's civil rights, military spending, and Vietnam policies and Nixon's nomination of G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court of the United States.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Republican nomination
James L. Buckley attempted to enter the Republican senatorial primary, but was rejected by the Republican State Committee.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Republican nomination
On April 8, the 360 member Republican state committee convened to select the Republican nominees for multiple offices. Goodell faced no opposition during ballot although 49 of the 360 committee members, from Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens counties, chose to abstain rather than to vote for him. The entire 28-member Nassau County delegation abstained due to Goodell's lack of support for Nixon, but chose to not nominate another candidate as that could lead to primary challenges in the state legislator and accusations of not being "real" Republicans. Joseph Margiotta, the Nassau County Chairman, also stated that abstaining would not anger Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who supported Goodell.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Communist
Arnold Johnson, the public relations director of the Communist Party USA, was selected to serve as the Communist Party's senatorial nominee.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Conservation
On July 15, 1970, Richard Ottinger's campaign announced that it would circulate petitions in an attempt to gain another ballot line named the Conservation Party. James L. Buckley criticized the party as an attempt to confuse voters who wished to vote for the Conservative Party. Ottinger's campaign claimed that conservation was chosen for the party's name to reflect Ottinger's support for environmental protection.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Conservation
In August, Ottinger filed petitions with a total of 33,561 signatures, more than the 12,000 required, to gain the additional ballot line. However, Mason Hampton, the attorney of the Nassau County Conservative Party, filed 24 objections with the board of elections over the Conservation Party and Representative James F. Hastings filed an objection to Secretary of State John P. Lomenzo over the party's name on August 24.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Conservation
On September 4, Lomenzo ruled that the Conservation Party's name was too similar to the Conservative Party's name and ruled the Conservation Party off of the general election ballot. Ottinger made an appeal to the New York Supreme Court, and on September 17, the state Supreme Court ruled that the Conservation Party could appear on the ballot. However, the Conservative Party made an appeal to the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court and on October 1, the court ruled in favor of removing the Conservation Party from the general election ballot. Ottinger made an appeal to the New York Court of Appeals, but on October 7, the Court of Appeals ruled four to three to sustain the decision of the appellate court decision.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Independent Alliance
On June 20, 1970, F. Clifton White, James L. Buckley's campaign manager, announced that Buckley's campaign would circulate petitions in an attempt to gain another ballot line named the Independent Alliance Party. Enough valid signatures were collected to gain the additional ballot line, but Secretary of State John P. Lomenzo ruled that the Independent Alliance's emblem, an outline of New York with Buckley's name inside, was illegal as New York's election law limited the number of times that a candidate's name could appear on a ballot line to one. Lomenzo later allowed the party onto the ballot after the emblem was changed to a shield with the letter "I" inside.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Independent Alliance
Although the Independent Alliance Party received over 100,000 votes in the general election, more than the 50,000 votes required to become an official party and automatic ballot access, it did not become an official party as its only candidate was Buckley, who ran in the Senate election and not in the gubernatorial election where the 50,000 votes were required to come from.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Socialist Labor
In April 1970, the Socialist Labor Party of America selected John Emanuel, who had served as the party's nominee in the 1969 New York City mayoral election and as the party's senatorial candidate in 1968, as its senatorial nominee.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, Other nominations, Socialist Workers
On January 22, 1970, the Socialist Workers Party selected Kipp Dawson, who was 29 years old, as its senatorial nominee. She had served as a national coordinator of the Student Mobilization Committee to End The War in Vietnam.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election
On September 14, a debate was held between Buckley, Goodell, and Ottinger at the New York State Publishers Association dinner with a four-person panel asking questions. During the debate Goodell and Ottinger stated that the $100,000 bail for the Panther 21 was unconstitutional and supported the direct election of the president while Buckley stated that the bail was constitutional and supported the present use of the electoral college to select the president.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election
A televised debate was held on October 11, between Buckley, Goodell, and Ottinger by WABC-TV. Goodell and Ottinger gave support to opposition to the Vietnam War and criticized the foreign policy in Latin America would lead to "more Vietnams" in Latin America. Buckley gave support to the Vietnam War and stated that leaving Vietnam would undermine the trust of other small countries in the United States. Another televised debate between the candidates was held on October 18.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election
On October 30, Stanley Shaw, the Liberal Party leader in Queens County, Paul Siminoff and Basil Kyriakakis, the Liberal Party leader in Syracuse and Rochester, and New York City Council Minority Leader Eldon R. Clingan called for an emergency meeting of the Liberal Party's state executive committee to decide whether or not to revoke its nomination from Goodell and instead give it to Ottinger to prevent a Buckley victory through vote splitting.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election
Buckley won the senate election, receiving 2,288,190 votes (38.75%), against Ottinger, receiving 2,171,232 votes (36.77%), and Goodell, receiving 1,434,472 votes (24.29%). Buckley ran for reelection in 1976, but was defeated by Democratic nominee Daniel Patrick Moynihan.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election, Nixon and Agnew
On June 23, 1970, Charles Goodell stated that he would not support President Richard Nixon during the 1972 presidential election if the United States continued its military involvement in Southeast Asia. On June 24, Goodell stated that he would conduct his campaign without aid from the Nixon administration. He later rejected financial aid from the Nixon administration and the Republican National Committee even though his campaign was struggling financially.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election, Nixon and Agnew
Goodell lacked support among the Republican base and leadership. On July 1, the Dutchess County Republican Party voted 55 to 21 to not support Goodell, and the Ulster County Republican Party chose to not take a position on the Senate election and told voters to choose for themselves. On July 8, the Franklin County Republican Party voted unanimously to endorse Buckley. On August 25, the Norwich Republican committee endorsed all of the Republican candidates except for Goodell, as four of the eight committee members chose to abstain.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election, Nixon and Agnew
However, Goodell later stated that he was a better supporter of Nixon than Senators Barry Goldwater and Strom Thurmond, as Goodell supported Nixon in 48% of his votes compared to Goldwater's 37% support. Goodell also stated that the invasion of Cambodia would be a successful tactical campaign, but that the war would continue to drag on.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election, Nixon and Agnew
Nixon declined to endorse any candidate in New York's senate election. Assistant Press Secretary Gerald Lee Warren stated that Nixon had no position in the election when the New York Times asked Warren if the White House preferred Buckley over Goodell. Goodell stated that Nixon wanted the entire Republican slate to win their elections and that the only reason he chose not to endorse Goodell was due to him asking Nixon to not do so. Buckley stated that Goodell was attempting to "turn any misfortune of the campaign to his advantage".


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election, Nixon and Agnew
Although Nixon declined to take a position in New York's senate election, Vice-president Spiro Agnew did. On September 30, Agnew criticized Goodell for having "left the [Republican] party" and joined the "awful liberal-radical coalition" to obstruct Nixon's policies. It was revealed that Nixon had approved of Agnew's criticism of Goodell before traveling to Europe. Goodell stated that if Nixon wished to remain neutral in the senate election then he should keep Agnew out of the election as well.


1970 United States Senate election in New York, General election, Nixon and Agnew
Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott criticized Agnew for his attacks on Goodell, and liberal Republican Senators Jacob Javits, Edward Brooke, and Mark Hatfield also criticized Agnew. Goodell offered to debate Agnew, but Agnew declined stating that he was "challenged to debates every day". On October 8, Agnew referred to Goodell as the "Christine Jorgensen of the Republican Party", comparing Goodell to the American soldier who had undergone sex reassignment surgery in the 1950s; Jorgensen later demanded an apology from Agnew as she did not want her name to be used in "dirty politics".


1970 United States Senate election in North Dakota
The 1970 United States Senate election in North Dakota was held November 3, 1970. The incumbent, North Dakota Democratic NPL Party Senator Quentin Burdick, was re-elected to his third term, defeating Republican candidate Thomas S. Kleppe, who later became the United States Secretary of the Interior.


1970 United States Senate election in North Dakota
Only Burdick filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Thomas S. Kleppe, who was finishing his second and final term as a Representative for North Dakota's second congressional district. Burdick and Kleppe won the primary elections for their respective parties.


1970 United States Senate election in North Dakota
One independent candidate, Russell Kleppe, also filed before the deadline.


1970 United States Senate election in Ohio
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.


1970 United States Senate election in Ohio
Both Taft and Metzenbaum won very competitive primaries to gain their parties' nominations, over Governor of Ohio Jim Rhodes and astronaut John Glenn, respectively.


1970 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
The 1970 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Hugh Scott won re-election, defeating Democratic nominee William Sesler.


1970 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
The 1970 United States Senate election in Rhode Island took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Pastore successfully sought re-election, defeating Republican John McLaughlin. This was the last election when a Democratic was elected to Rhode Island's Class 1 Senate Seat until Sheldon Whitehouse was elected in the 2006 Senate election in Rhode Island.


1970 United States Senate election in Tennessee
The United States Senate election of 1970 in Tennessee was held on November 3, 1970. Republican Bill Brock defeated Democratic incumbent Albert Gore, Sr. who ran for a fourth term.


1970 United States Senate election in Texas
The 1970 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ralph Yarborough was defeated by former U.S. Representative Lloyd Bentsen in the Democratic primary. Bentsen then defeated Republican U.S. Representative and future president George H. W. Bush in the general election. When Bush was running for president in 1988, his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, selected Bentsen as his vice presidential running mate.


1970 United States Senate election in Texas, Democratic primary, Campaign
Yarborough, a liberal icon, was challenged by the more conservative Bentsen in the Democratic primary. In what was characterized as an extremely bitter campaign, Bentsen accused Yarborough of supporting desegregation busing and criticized his opposition to the Vietnam War. Many Texas liberals threatened to support the Republican Bush if Bentsen won the primary, believing that the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party would be threatened if Bentsen were elected. Bentsen ultimately defeated Yarborough in the Democratic primary on May 2, 1970.


1970 United States Senate election in Texas, General election
The general election was held November 3, 1970. Bentsen defeated Bush, 53.6% – 46.5%.


1970 United States Senate election in Utah
The 1970 United States Senate election in Utah was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democratic Senator Frank Moss was re-elected to a third term in office, defeating Republican U.S. Representative Laurence J. Burton.


1970 United States Senate election in Utah
As of 2021, this is the last time the Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Utah, giving it the second longest streak of voting only Republicans to the senate(tied with Wyoming), only beaten by Kansas.


1970 United States Senate election in Vermont
The 1970 United States Senate election in Vermont took place on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Republican Winston L. Prouty successfully ran for re-election to third term in the United States Senate, defeating Former Democratic Governor Philip H. Hoff.


1970 United States Senate election in Virginia
The 1970 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected to his first full term after winning a race 4 years earlier to finish the remainder of his father's term.


1970 United States Senate election in Washington
The 1970 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democrat Henry M. Jackson won a fourth term in office with a landslide victory over Republican State Senator Charles Elicker.


1970 United States Senate election in West Virginia
The 1970 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent senator Robert Byrd won re-election by the biggest margin at that point in his career.


1970 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Background
The election was held during the 1970 United States Senate elections. In the election Democrats maintained their majority, but lost seats.


1970 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
The 1970 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 3, 1970. Incumbent Democrat William Proxmire was re-elected to a third term in office over Republican John E. Erickson.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming
The 1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming took place on November 2, 1970. Incumbent Democratic Senator Gale W. McGee ran for re-election to his third term. In a rematch of the 1964 election, he once again faced Republican John S. Wold, who at this time represented Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives. 1970 proved to be a fairly strong year for Wyoming Republicans; Governor Stanley Hathaway was re-elected in a landslide and the party won all of the other statewide offices.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming
However, McGee proved popular, and managed to increase his margin from 1964, beating Wold by a solid 56-44% margin. As of 2021, this is the last time that a Democratic candidate won a United States Senate election in Wyoming, currently the second-longest winning streak for the Republican Party (tied with Utah), second to Kansas.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, Democratic primary, Campaign
As Senator Gale W. McGee faced a fierce challenge for re-election from Republican Congressman John S. Wold, he faced discontent in the Democratic Party over his continued support for the Vietnam War. In the spring of 1970, State Senator Mike Svilar announced that he could not support McGee for re-election, and noted that he was in conversation with several other anti-war Wyoming Democrats, including attorney John Mackey and mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, about challenging McGee in the Democratic primary.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, Democratic primary, Campaign
Ernest Wilkerson, a Casper attorney and the 1966 Democratic nominee for Governor, ruled out a challenge to McGee himself, but indicated his support for an anti-war primary challenger and held open the possibility that he could run as an independent candidate. In June, Svilar announced his candidacy, framing the contest as "a choice between war and peace," as he and McGee agreed on virtually all other issues. To support Svilar, a coalition of left-leaning Democrats in the mold of George McGovern, Eugene McCarthy, and Ted Kennedy, formed the New Democratic Coalition.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, Democratic primary, Campaign
The campaign between McGee and Svilar quickly turned negative, with Svilar repeating his earlier pledge to not support McGee if he won the nomination. McGee threatened legal action against Svilar for claiming that McGee supported staying in Vietnam indefinitely, and Svilar refused to retract his allegation. As the campaign closed out, the state affiliate of the AFL-CIO sent a letter to its members claiming that "Svilar's purpose is not to win, but to stir up anti-McGee feeling that can be used in the general election . . .


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, Democratic primary, Campaign
to spoil the McGee chances," a charge that Svilar called "completely false and a desperate last-ditch, grasping at straws by Gale McGee's political machine as it sees itself about to collapse." Despite the tenacity of the campaign, however, polling close to the primary election showed the race largely uncompetitive; a Wyoming Stockman Farmer poll taken in early August showed McGee leading Svilar, 39-4%.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, Democratic primary, Campaign
Ultimately, McGee defeated Svilar in a landslide, winning 80% of the vote to Svilar's 20%. Attorney Ernest Wilkerson, who had said that he would evaluate the possibility of an independent campaign against McGee depending on Svilar's performance, ultimately declined to do so. However, in the general election, Svilar refused to support McGee over Wold, though he did support the rest of the state Democratic ticket, and Paul Petzoldt, an anti-war opponent of McGee's in the Democratic Party, endorsed Wold over him.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, General election, Campaign
The general election campaign between McGee and Wold was fierce, with national Republicans targeting McGee for defeat. A small controversy developed over McGee falsely claiming the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, which prompted a member of the NRA Board of Directors to accuse McGee of "deceiving" voters. However, the Casper Star-Tribune issued a correction to its original reporting, noting that McGee did not claim the endorsement, but instead aloud read a complimentary letter from the NRA at a sportsmen meeting in Rock Springs, which some of the attendees took as an endorsement.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, General election, Campaign
Polling of the race in October suggested a McGee victory, though depending on the source, they disagreed about how sizable; Wold's internal polling put McGee up just 51-48% on October 4, while independent polling from Casper television station KTWO put McGee up 56-44%, projecting an overall turnout of 140,000 votes. By late October, KTWO polling showed McGee widening his lead, beating Wold 57-43%.


1970 United States Senate election in Wyoming, General election, Campaign
In the end, McGee ended up defeating Wold by a wide margin, winning 56% of the vote to Wold's 44%, an increase from the 1964 campaign. McGee won by racking up large margins in the central and southern ancestrally Democratic counties of the state, through which the Union Pacific line ran, while Wold performed better in the more reliably Republican regions in the far north, east, and west.


1970 United States Senate elections
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate, taking place in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as President. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.


1970 United States Senate elections
This was the most recent election in which a third party won a seat in the Senate until 2006.


1970 United States Senate elections
These were the last elections until 2018 where a member of a political party other than the Democrats or Republicans had won one or more seats in the chamber (not including Independents, members of no political party). This was also the last midterm election until the 2018 midterm elections where a sitting President's party simultaneously experienced net gains in the Senate and net losses in the House. As of 2021, this is also the most recent cycle in which Democrats won Senate elections in Utah and Wyoming, and the most recent in which Republicans won a Senate election in Hawaii.


1970 United States Senate elections, Getting out the vote
President Nixon said that rather than violent protests, the best way for the American public to get their opinion heard was by voting:


1970 United States Senate elections, Getting out the vote
The most powerful four letter word is a clean word, it’s the most powerful four letter word in the history of men, it's called vote. V-O-T-E. My friends, I say that the answer to those that engage in disruption, to those that shout their filthy slogans, to those that try to shout down speakers, it's not to answer in kind, but go to the polls in election day, and in the quiet of that ballot box, stand up and be counted, the great silent majority of America.


1970 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Special elections during the 91st Congress
In these special elections, the winner was seated during 1970 or before January 3, 1971; ordered by election date, then state.


1970 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 1971; ordered by state.


1970 United States Senate elections, Alaska (special)
Republican Ted Stevens was appointed December 24, 1968 to finish the term of Democrat Bob Bartlett, who had died in office. The open primary was held August 25, 1970, in which Stevens received 40,411 votes (55.91%), Key received 29,459 votes (23.94%), State senator Joe Josephson received 12,730 votes (18.22%) and Fritz Singer (R) received 1,349 votes (1.93%). In the November 3, 1970 special election to finish the term, he ran against the Democratic Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Wendell P. Kay. Stevens easily won with almost 60% of the vote.


1970 United States Senate elections, Arizona
Incumbent Republican Paul Fannin decided to run for re-election to a second term, running unopposed in the Republican primary. Fannin defeated Democratic businessman Sam Grossman in the general election.


1970 United States Senate elections, Connecticut
Republican Lowell P. Weicker Jr. defeated Democrat Joseph Duffey and incumbent Thomas J. Dodd who ran this time as an independent. Dodd entered the race at the last minute and split the Democratic vote, allowing Weicker to win with only 42% of the vote.


1970 United States Senate elections, Florida
Incumbent Democrat Spessard Holland retired instead of seeking a fifth term. During the Democratic primary, former Governor C. Farris Bryant and State senator Lawton Chiles advanced to a run-off, having received more votes than Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Frederick H. Schultz, attorney Alcee Hastings, and State Representative Joel T. Daves, III. Chiles soundly defeated Bryant in the run-off election, scoring a major upset due to his comparatively small name recognition prior to the election. To acquire name recognition and media coverage, Chiles walked about 1,003 miles (1,614 km) across the state of Florida and was given the nickname "Walkin' Lawton".


1970 United States Senate elections, Florida
The Republican primary exposed an in-party feud between Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. and U.S. Representative William C. Cramer. In the election, Cramer handily defeated G. Harrold Carswell and body shop owner George Balmer; the former was a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge favored by Kirk and had been rejected as a Supreme Court of the United States nominee a few months prior to the primary. Chiles won the election by a relatively small margin of 7.8%, receiving 902,438 votes against Cramer's 772,817 votes.


1970 United States Senate elections, Florida
Incumbent Spessard Holland, who served in the Senate since 1946, decided to retire rather than seek a fifth term. Although the Democratic Party had dominated state elections since the Reconstruction Era, Claude R. Kirk Jr. and Edward Gurney, both Republicans, were elected senator and Governor in 1966 and 1968, respectively.


1970 United States Senate elections, Illinois (special)
A special election was held to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Everett Dirksen, who had died in office. Republican Ralph Tyler Smith had been appointed to fill the seat after Dirksen's death, and he lost the special election to Democrat Adlai Stevenson III.


1970 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy defeated his challengers. This was Kennedy's first election run since the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident. Kennedy won 62.2%, down from 74.3% that he won in the previous election in 1964; this decrease was due to numerous factors including Chappaquiddick and a far more favorable environment for the Republicans than the Democratic landslide year of 1964.


1970 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
The Republican nominee was Josiah Spaulding, a businessman and Republican leader in Massachusetts. He led a group of delegates at the 1968 Republican National Convention who unsuccessfully sought to nominate Nelson A. Rockefeller over Richard Nixon.


1970 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
Other candidates were Lawrence Gilfedder (Socialist Labor) and Mark R. Shaw (Prohibition), a former Prohibition Party candidate for U.S. senator from Massachusetts in 1946, 1952, 1958, 1969, 1962, and 1966. He was the party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 1948 and 1956. In 1964, he was the Prohibition Party's candidate for vice-president of the United States.


1970 United States Senate elections, Minnesota
Incumbent Democrat Eugene McCarthy retired instead of seeking a third term. Former Democratic U.S. senator, Vice President and 1968 presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey defeated Republican U.S. Representative Clark MacGregor.


1970 United States Senate elections, Montana
Democratic incumbent Mike Mansfield, the Senate Majority Leader who was first elected to the Senate in 1952, and was re-elected in 1958 and 1964, ran for re-election. Mansfield won the primary against several opponents, and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Harold E. Wallace, a sporting goods salesman and the Republican nominee. While his margin of victory decreased slightly from 1964, Mansfield still managed to defeat Wallace overwhelmingly, winning his fourth and (what would turn out to be his) final term in the Senate.


1970 United States Senate elections, Nevada
Democrat Howard Cannon, the incumbent since 1959, won re-election to a third term over William Raggio, the Washoe County District Attorney.


1970 United States Senate elections, Nevada
In the Senate, Cannon was known as a moderate in the Democratic Party. He served as chairman of several committees, including the rules committee and the inaugural arrangements committee. Cannon was nearly defeated for re-election in 1964 by Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest election in history. However, he became more popular over the next few years and defeated D.A. William Raggio, whose 1970 senate campaign began his long political career. Raggio ran for the Nevada Senate in 1972 and won. He then served there for decades to come.


1970 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
Incumbent Democrat Joseph Montoya successfully ran for re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Anderson Carter.


1970 United States Senate elections, New York
Incumbent Republican Charles Goodell, who was recently appointed to the seat by Governor Nelson Rockefeller after senator Bobby Kennedy (D) was assassinated, ran for a full term, but was defeated by the Conservative Party of New York nominee James L. Buckley. Other candidates included: Richard Ottinger, U.S. Congressman (1965–1971, 1975–1985), Kevin P. McGovern, Paul O'Dwyer, Former New York City Council Member from Manhattan, Ted Sorensen, Former Advisor and Speechwriter to President John F. Kennedy, Richard D. McCarthy, U.S. Congressman (1965-1971).


1970 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Incumbent Democratic-NPL Party Senator Quentin N. Burdick was re-elected to his third term, defeating Republican candidate Thomas S. Kleppe, who later became the United States Secretary of the Interior.


1970 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
Only Burdick filed as a Dem-NPLer, and the endorsed Republican candidate was Thomas S. Kleppe, who was finishing his second and final term as a Representative for North Dakota's second congressional district. Burdick and Kleppe won the primary elections for their respective parties.


1970 United States Senate elections, North Dakota
One independent candidate, Russell Kleppe, also filed before the deadline.


1970 United States Senate elections, Pennsylvania
Incumbent Republican Hugh Scott won re-election, defeating Democratic nominee State senator William Sesler.


1970 United States Senate elections, Texas
Incumbent Democrat Ralph Yarborough was defeated by former Representative Lloyd Bentsen in the Democratic primary. Bentsen then defeated Representative George H.W. Bush in the general election. When Bush was running for President in 1988, his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, selected Bentsen as his vice presidential running mate.


1970 United States Senate elections, Virginia
Incumbent Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected to his first full term after winning a race 4 years earlier to finish the remainder of his father's term. He beat George C. Rawlings Jr. (D), a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and Ray L. Garland (R), a member of Virginia House of Delegates.


1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois
The 1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois was held on November 3, 1970 to fill the remainder of the term of Republican Everett Dirksen, who had died in office. Republican Ralph Tyler Smith had been appointed to fill the seat after Dirksen's death, and he lost the special election to Democrat Adlai Stevenson III.


1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois, Election information
The primaries and general election coincided with those for House and state elections.


1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout in the primary elections was 26.28%, with a total of 1,381,147 votes cast.


1970 United States Senate special election in Illinois, Election information, Turnout
Turnout during the general election was 67.43%, with 3,599,272 votes cast.


1970 United States Virgin Islands voting age referendum
A referendum on the voting age was held in the United States Virgin Islands on 3 November 1970. After the Legislature of the Islands requested a referendum take place, it was approved by the United States Congress on 6 October 1970. Voters were given the options of 18, 19, 20 or 21, and the winning option had to receive an absolute majority of the vote. Although the results saw 55.67% vote in favour of setting the voting age at 18, when the blank votes were included, this dropped to 46.71%. A lawsuit was subsequently filed on 1 December 1970, and on 21 January 1971 a court decided that the blank ballots should be discarded, giving the 18 option an absolute majority of votes.


1970 United States Virgin Islands voting age referendum
Prior to the Elective Governor Acts of 1968, the governor of the US Virgin Islands was appointed. Melvin H. Evans was the first governor elected under the new system.


1970 United States census
The United States Census of 1970, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 203,392,031, an increase of 13.4 percent over the 179,323,175 persons enumerated during the 1960 Census. This was the first census since 1800 in which New York was not the most populous state – California overtook it in population in November 1962. This was also the first census in which all states recorded a population of over 300,000, and the first in which a city in the geographic South recorded a population of over 1 million (Houston).


1970 United States census, Data availability
Microdata from the 1970 census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. These data were originally created and disseminated by DUALabs. Personally identifiable information will be available in 2042.


1970 United States census, Conclusions
California took over as the most populous state; New York had previously been ranked number one. While the entire country increased to more than 204 million persons, four states lost population, with West Virginia leading the list, down 8 and a half percent from 1960.


1970 United States elections
The 1970 United States elections were held on November 3, and elected the members of the 92nd United States Congress. The election took place during the Vietnam War, in the middle of Republican President Richard Nixon's first term. Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew campaigned heavily for Republican candidates, with Nixon encouraging voters to respond to anti-war and civil rights activists by voting the Republican ticket.


1970 United States elections
In an October speech he declared, "My friends, I say that the answer to those that engage in disruption--to those that shout their filthy slogans, to those that try to shout down speakers--is not to answer in kind, but go to the polls on election day, and in the quiet of that ballot box, stand up and be counted: the great silent majority of America." Despite these White House efforts, the Democratic Party retained its Senate majority and increased its majority in the House.


1970 United States elections
In the House of Representatives, the Democrats picked up twelve seats at the expense of the Republican Party.


1970 United States elections
In the Senate, Republicans picked up two seats and James L. Buckley won election as a member of the Conservative Party of New York. As of 2020, Buckley is the most recent individual to win election to the Senate as a member of a third party and remain affiliated with that party after the election.


1970 United States elections
Until 2018, this was the last midterm election cycle in which a sitting president's party made net gains in one chamber of Congress while suffering net losses in the other chamber.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on 3 November 1970, in 35 states and two territories.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections
During this election, the Democrats won a number of the governorships up for re-election via many ways, such as retirement of incumbent, term limits, or defeat of incumbent.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections
In 1970, Arizona, New Mexico and Wisconsin elected their governors to four-year terms for the first time, having previously elected them to two-year terms.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections
This election coincided with the Senate and the House elections.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Alabama
In Alabama, Governor Albert Brewer (who succeeded to the governorship upon Lurleen Wallace's death in 1968) had to endure a very nasty Democratic primary against former Governor George Wallace. In addition, there were no Republicans in the race for governor. Wallace won the Democratic primary and in November the election.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Alaska
In Alaska, then-Lt. Gov. Keith Miller had gotten the job of governor in 1969 after Walter Hickel resigned to be part of President Nixon's Cabinet. He lost in 1970 to former Governor William Egan.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Arizona
In Arizona, governors were elected to serve two-year terms until 1970, when Jack Richard Williams was the first governor to be elected to a four-year term. Previously, Williams had been elected governor twice to two-year terms in 1966 and in 1968. Arizona made the switch official from a two-year term to a four-year term in 1968 with an amendment.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Arkansas
In Arkansas, Winthrop Rockefeller was the first Republican governor in Arkansas since the Reconstruction period. He was defeated in his bid for a third term, by the Democratic challenger Dale Bumpers.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, California
Incumbent Republican Governor and future President Ronald Reagan was elected to a second term as governor with about 53% of the vote over Speaker of the State Assembly Jesse Unruh.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Connecticut
Incumbent John Dempsey, a Democrat, did not seek re-election. Sixth District Congressman Thomas Joseph Meskill (Republican) defeated First District Congressman Emilio Q. Daddario (Democratic) 53.76% to 46.23%.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Colorado
In Colorado, John Arthur Love won re-election. He served until 1973, when he would resign to become the first head of Energy Policy under President Nixon.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Florida
Florida's Claude R. Kirk Jr. was another 'first Republican governor since Reconstruction' as well (he switched from Democrat to Republican early on), and was defeated by the Democrat Reubin Askew.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Georgia
In Georgia, governors would be limited to one term until George Busbee was allowed to serve two, and was the first governor to serve two consecutive terms. Future president Jimmy Carter won the election.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Hawaii
In Hawaii, Burns won another term in 1970, but in 1973, Burns had health problems and his Lt. Governor George Ariyoshi, took over-as acting governor, and in 1974, with Burns' retirement, won a term in his own right. Burns died in 1975.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Iowa
Iowa also had its governors serving two-year terms until Robert D. Ray won a four-year term in 1974. Previously, Ray had won a two-year term in 1968, a two-year term this year (1970), and would win another two-year term in 1972. Iowa made the four-year term switch official with an amendment to the state's constitution in 1972.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Kansas
Like Arizona and Iowa, Kansas also had its governors serving two-year terms until 1974, when a constitutional amendment was added, creating a four-year term system for governors. Docking was elected governor in 1966, 1968, 1970, and would get elected in 1972. The first governor to get a four-year term was Robert Frederick Bennett in 1974.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Maine
Beginning with the 1962 governor's race, Maine switched from a two-year term system to a four-year term system for the governors. John H. Reed was the first Maine governor to be elected to a four-year term. Kenneth Curtis was re-elected.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Maryland
In Maryland, Mandel first won the governorship in 1969 in a special election when Agnew resigned in order to become vice president.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Maryland
In 1970, Mandel ran for a full term and won.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Massachusetts
In 1966, Massachusetts switched from a two-year to four-year terms for governors, and John A. Volpe was the first Massachusetts governor to be elected to a four-year term. He had previously been elected to two-year terms in 1960 and in 1964. Volpe resigned in 1969 to become President Nixon's Secretary of Transportation. Francis W. Sargent then became acting governor. In 1970, Sargent got a term in his own right.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Michigan
In 1963, Michigan changed governors' terms from two years to four years. George W. Romney had won two-year terms in 1962 and 1964, and a four-year term in 1966. He resigned in 1969 to become President Nixon's Housing and Urban Development Secretary. William Milliken became governor, and got a full termin 1970.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Nebraska
In 1962, voters in Nebraska approved of an amendment, effective with the 1966 governor's race, that switched from two-year to four-year terms for governors. In 1966, the "two consecutive terms" rule was established. Norbert Tiemann was the first Nebraskan to get a four-year term with the 1966 governor's race. J. James Exon was elected governor.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, New Mexico
New Mexico also had a two-year term for governors until 1970, when the state constitution was changed to a four-year term for governors-without being allowed to have two consecutive terms. As for the "no two consecutive terms" rule, that was still on the books until 1991, when thanks to a change in the state's constitution, Bruce King was eligible for two consecutive terms. King was elected to the first of three non-consecutive terms.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, New York
In New York, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller won re-election to a fourth term. Rockefeller served until 1973, when he resigned.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, although the constitution was changed to allow governors to have two consecutive terms, the rule didn't apply to then current Gov. Raymond P. Shafer. The election was won by Milton Shapp.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, South Carolina
Governors in South Carolina weren't allowed two consecutive terms until 1980, when an amendment to the constitution was added. Richard Riley was the first South Carolina governor to have two consecutive terms with his 1982 re-election. John C. West won election.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, South Dakota
South Dakota also had governors on two-year terms until 1972, when a constitutional amendment allowed the governor to have a four-year term. Richard F. Kneip would be the first governor to be elected to a four-year term, though he resigned to accept an appointment. Kneip, elected governor for a two-year term this year (1970), would be re-elected for another two-year term in 1972.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Tennessee
In 1978, Tennessee changed its constitution to allow the governors to serve two consecutive terms. Winfield Dunn was elected this (1970) year.


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Wisconsin
In 1968, Wisconsin changed its constitution from a two-year term for governor to a four-year term. Upon his election this year, Patrick Lucey would become the first governor to serve a four-year term (see Wisconsin gubernatorial elections).


1970 United States gubernatorial elections, Wyoming
Governor Stanley K. Hathaway won re-election to a second four-year term.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election
The 1970 University of Kent at Canterbury election for the position of Chancellor was called following the death of the first Chancellor, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, on 27 August 1968. Following protracted discussions and arrangements the election was held on 7 May 1970, with the winner Jo Grimond installed in July 1970.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Electorate, nominations and rules
The death of Princess Marina came suddenly, less than four years after the University's creation, and no formal process had been developed for selecting a new Chancellor.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Electorate, nominations and rules
The relevant Statute is, in fact, rather unhelpful about any details, merely saying that the appointment is to be made by the Court on the nomination of the Council after consultation with the Senate.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Electorate, nominations and rules
Although in theory a Chancellor could have been appointed in the same manner as the Vice-Chancellor, growing demands for student participation in the running of universities and a belief that the Chancellor should represent the entire University led to the Council and Senate agreeing to a direct election by all students, monthly-paid staff and members of the Council.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Electorate, nominations and rules
Because of concerns that a frivolous candidate might be elected, a complex system of nominations was agreed:


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Electorate, nominations and rules
Voting was to be by means of the alternative vote.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Electorate, nominations and rules
The process was not begun until October 1969. The joint committee was initially chaired by Sydney Irving, Chairman of Ways and Means of the House of Commons.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Candidates
Only those who were approved by the committee and assented to the election had their names made public. Several people whose names were approved subsequently declined the position.


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Candidates
Those who were put to the electorate were as follows:


1970 University of Kent at Canterbury Chancellor election, Result
By agreement the numbers were not revealed, but all four candidates "were understood to have received 'respectable' votes". Jo Grimond was declared elected, and formally installed at the start of July. He served in the post until 1990.


1970 Upper Hunter state by-election
The 1970 Upper Hunter state by-election was held on 14 February 1970 for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Upper Hunter. It was triggered by the resignation of Frank O'Keefe (Country) to successfully contest the federal seat of Paterson at the 1969 election.


1970 Upper Voltan constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in the Republic of Upper Volta on 14 June 1970. It followed a military coup in 1966, and would restore multi-party democracy. However, the new constitution made the country a presidential republic, with the President able to dissolve the National Assembly and rule by decree. It also allowed coup leader Sangoulé Lamizana to remain President for a further four years. It was approved by 98.56% of voters with a 77.3% turnout.


1970 Upper Voltan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Upper Volta on 20 December 1970, following the restoration of multi-party democracy in a referendum earlier in the year. The result was a victory for the former sole legal party, the Voltaic Democratic Union–African Democratic Rally, which won 37 of the 57 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 48.3%.


1970 Uruguayan Primera División, Overview
It was contested by 11 teams, and Nacional won the championship.


1970 Utah Redskins football team
The 1970 Utah Redskins football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Head coach Bill Meek led the team to a 4–2 mark in the WAC and 6–4 overall.


1970 Utah State Aggies football team
The 1970 Utah State Aggies football team represented Utah State University in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season as independent. Led by fourth-year head coach Chuck Mills, the team played their home games at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah. The team completed the season with a 5–5 record, which was shortened by one game from what was originally scheduled; the game against Wichita State on October 3 was canceled after one of their charter aircraft crashed in Colorado en route to Utah the day before, killing many of their starting players and coaching staff.


1970 VFA season
The 1970 Victorian Football Association season was the 89th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the tenth season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Prahran Football Club, marking the club's third Division 1 premiership; it defeated Williamstown, which qualified for the Grand Final in its first season after promotion to Division 1, on 20 September by 50 points. The Division 2 premiership was won by Coburg, in its second season since being relegated from Division 1.


1970 VFA season, Division 1
The Division 1 home-and-home season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals returned to the St Kilda Cricket Ground for the first time since 1966.


1970 VFA season, Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-home season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system; all finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park.


1970 VFL Grand Final
The 1970 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on 26 September 1970. It was the 74th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1970 VFL season. The match was won by Carlton by a margin of 10 points, marking that club's 10th premiership victory.


1970 VFL Grand Final
This game is widely considered to be one of the greatest Grand Finals of all time and, according to one of the key protagonists Ted Hopkins, heralded "the birth of modern football". The attendance figure of 121,696 spectators broke the grand final record set the previous year of 119,165 spectators, and set an all-time attendance record for any football code in Australia that still stands.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Prologue
Collingwood finished 1970 on top of the ladder with 18 wins. Carlton was next with 16 wins, followed by St Kilda and South Melbourne (14 wins each). South Melbourne was participating in its first Finals series since 1945, and got in despite winning only four of their last eight home-and-away matches.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Prologue
During the home-and-away season, Collingwood and Carlton had played each other twice. In Round 8 at VFL Park, Carlton had led by 29 points at half-time before being overrun to lose by 23. In the return fixture at Victoria Park in Round 19, Collingwood was dominant and won by 77, then its greatest winning margin against Carlton. The two clubs faced each other again in the second semi-final, which was a closely fought battle won by Collingwood 17.16 (118) d. 17.6 (108). Carlton qualified for the grand final with a comfortable 62-point victory against St Kilda in the preliminary final.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Prologue
Collingwood had last played in a VFL Grand Final in 1966, which was won by St Kilda by one point, while the Blues were playing in their third consecutive VFL Grand final. The match was the fourth grand final between the two traditional rivals, the previous occurring in 1910, 1915 and 1938.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Teams
Collingwood named an unchanged line-up from the team that had defeated Carlton in the Second Semi-final. There had been some concern over star ruckman Len Thompson, who had not trained for the entire week leading up to the Grand Final on doctor's orders. Players highlighted in yellow have been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Teams
The umpiring panel for the match, comprising one field umpire, two boundary umpires and two goal umpires is given below.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Teams
Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 1970.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary
Conditions were perfect at the MCG. The attendance of 121,696 spectators was the highest in the history of the league, a record still held today. Carlton captain Nicholls won the toss and chose to kick toward the Punt Road End.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
Kicking against a very slight breeze, Collingwood were into attack straight away when umpire Jolley awarded a free kick to Jenkin from the opening bounce. For the next 20 minutes, the Collingwood midfielders continually won the ball and drove deep into the forward line with long kicks, while the Blues struggled to maintain any sort of meaningful possession. Collingwood opened the scoring with behinds to Wayne Richardson and Britt before ex-captain Tuddenham gathered the ball from a handpass under pressure from Max Richardson, evaded an attempted bump and snapped the first goal of the game at the 5-minute mark.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
McKenna followed up with his first goal of the match at the 13-minute mark, converting a free kick set shot after great play upfield from O'Callaghan, Price and Tuddenham. After missing a snapshot earlier in the quarter, Britt received a handball from McKenna in the forward pocket to score Collingwood's third goal at the 21-minute mark. Up to that stage, Carlton had yet to register a score, but the Magpies' had been inaccurate finishing in front of goal.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
It took the Blues until the 23-minute mark of the quarter to register its first score, with a behind to Crosswell after bringing the ball forward through scrappy play. A minute later, Jesaulenko had a great chance to kick Carlton's first goal when he took a strong mark from a rushed kick forward by Silvagni, only to miss his set shot from directly in front. Collingwood responded at the 29-minute mark when a pass from Wayne Richardson found McKenna, whose set shot from 20 yards out on a slight angle gave him his second goal for the game. The quarter-time siren sounded shortly afterward, with Collingwood 29 points ahead.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
The Blues finally scored their first goal of the game in the second minute of the quarter, when rover Gallagher converted his free kick set shot after a careless bump from Jenkin. Collingwood responded almost immediately when McKenna got front position to a long kick into the forward line from Dean and marked strongly before kicking his third goal. Then at the 8-minute mark, the Magpies scored two goals in quick succession; the first came when Clifton intercepted an attempted pass by Gallagher on Carlton's half-forward line and kicked long into attack.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Coming out from Collingwood's forward line to gather possession of the ball, Dunne grabbed it on the half volley, turned on to his non-preferred left foot and snapped a long-range goal. Then from the subsequent centre bounce, Collingwood captain Waters sharked Jones' hit-out and sent another long kick into Collingwood's forward line. McKenna was in the right place to gather the bouncing ball and snap his fourth goal to extend Collingwood's lead to 44 points.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
The remainder of the quarter was evenly contested, with each side kicking three goals: Robert Walls (Carlton) in the 9th minute, Adrian Gallagher (Carlton) in the 12th minute, Max Richardson (Collingwood) in the 16th minute, McKenna with his fifth goal of the half in the 22nd minute, Sergio Silvagni (Carlton) in the 29th minute and Robert Dean (Collingwood) in the 31st minute. As such, the half time margin remained 44 points.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Notable among the highlights in the quarter came in the 27th minute, when Jesaulenko (Carlton) leapt onto the shoulders of Collingwood ruckman Graeme Jenkin and took a spectacular mark that was judged the official 1970 Mark of the Year. Mike Williamson's TV commentary of the mark, "Oh, Jesaulenko, you beauty!" has endured as famous as the mark itself, and was later included in the Toyota Legendary Moments series of advertisements.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Although the Magpies had built a formidable and seemingly insurmountable half-time lead, there was one incident that had fans worried; Collingwood's superstar full-forward McKenna was groggy after teammate Tuddenham had accidentally floored him with a hip-and-shoulder while flying for a chest mark. McKenna, who already had kicked over 140 goals for the season and five goals in the first half. He would only kick one more goal for the rest of the match. The fact that this goal came from an overhead mark only 2 minutes and 43 seconds after the collision caused the TV commentators to believe that he had recovered. Speaking about the incident forty years later in an interview for the Herald Sun, McKenna recalled that:


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
I don't remember much after that and nothing from halftime. The club doctor wanted to take me off, but Bobby Rose wouldn't hear of it. In the second half I started to wait for the ball and play in an uncharacteristic fashion. I went home after the game and straight to bed, waking at 10pm and thinking I had better get to the wake.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
During the break, champion Carlton coach Ron Barassi instructed his players to handball and play on at all costs, instituting a strategy to try to nullify Collingwood's long kicking game. A key positional move was the introduction of little-known Ted Hopkins, a small rover, as a substitute for Bert Thornley in the second half.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
These changes were highly effective and in the early part of the third quarter, Carlton staged one of the most remarkable purple patches in league history, kicking seven goals in eleven minutes to draw the margin back to only three points. Substitute Ted Hopkins kicked the first two, roving the ball from broken marking contests in the goal square in the 3rd and 4th minutes of the quarter. In the 7th minute, Syd Jackson snapped a goal from near the boundary line in the forward pocket.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
In the 8th minute, Brent Crosswell kicked a goal from a high tackle free kick. Hopkins kicked his third goal in the 10th minute after receiving a handpass from Robert Walls, who had marked at half-forward; and in the 12th minute, Walls marked at half forward again, this time playing on and kicking the goal himself. Finally, in the 14th minute, from a ball-up in the forward pocket, Hopkins managed to kick the ball to Alex Jesaulenko who scored a goal to bring the margin back to only three points, 10.14 (74) vs 11.5 (71).


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
Thereafter, Collingwood steadied, and the second half of the third quarter was a much more even contest. In the 20th minute, Collingwood extended the lead to 10 points with a set shot goal by Len Thompson. Two minutes later, Jesaulenko kicked a goal for Carlton from a free kick, and from the ensuing centre bounce, Collingwood responded with a goal to Ross Dunne from a close range mark. In the 28th minute, McKenna marked and kicked his sixth goal from 20m, and shortly before the three-quarter time siren he kicked another behind, to extend the margin to 17 points.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
After imploring his team to take risks and play on at every opportunity at half-time, Barassi changed his tone at the three-quarter time huddle, eyeballing each player and declaring, "Win, lose or draw, I'm proud of you." He later revealed that he had kept that line stored in his memory after reading an article by Harry Beitzel in the aftermath of the previous season's Grand final defeat.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
Carlton opened the final quarter strongly, but missed two early shots – Hopkins again roving the ball in the goal square before hitting the post from less than a metre out in the first minute, and Jackson missing wide on a long-range set shot – before Thompson kicked a set shot goal in the 5th minute for Collingwood. At this point, Collingwood was 21 points ahead, having scored the last three goals.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
Soon after, Carlton had three shots inside three minutes to narrow the margin back to eight points, largely through the efforts of ruckman John Nicholls who was resting forward. He kicked a goal in the 8th minute from a high tackle free kick; then in the 9th minute rucked the ball to Robert Walls, whose snap shot from near the boundary line was just touched on the line by Peter Eakins; and then in the 10th minute took a contested mark and converted another short range set shot. No goals were kicked in the following ten minutes, both teams' defences repeatedly repelling attacks. Collingwood's 19th and 20th men were both brought on to replace cramping team mates.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
In the 20th minute, Syd Jackson made a brilliant piece of individual play, smothering then regathering an attempted clearing kick by Eakins, before handpassing to an unmarked Hopkins at full forward, who kicked his fourth goal and brought the margin back to one point. As time-on neared, Crosswell was awarded a free kick for a high tackle from Tuddenham and took his set shot on an angle from 35 metres out. In an interview for the AFL Record 50 years later, Crosswell recalled that “the wind was going slightly right to left and I remember thinking I needed to kick it towards the right goalpost. The kick was slightly right of the goalpost and the wind just took it through, thankfully."


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
The Blues had taken the lead for the first time in the match, amidst scenes of pandemonium in the stands. In the critical passage of play in the 28th minute, Peter McKenna claimed an overhead mark in the forward-line, having gotten his hands to the ball but just been spoiled from behind, but the umpire called play-on; ten seconds later, Carlton had cleared to centre half-forward, where Jesaulenko gathered and kicked towards the vacant goal, and the ball took four bounces and went through for a goal to put Carlton 11 points ahead. At this point, Carlton had kicked the last 5.2 (32) of the game. Dunne kicked a behind for Collingwood in the 29th minute to narrow the margin to ten points, and the siren went shortly after.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
This was the same winning margin as the Second Semi Final also played at the MCG two weeks earlier  between these teams which Collingwood won 17.16 (118) to 17.6 (108). Leading ball winners for Carlton were Crosswell with 23 (17 kicks and 6 handballs), McKay 20 (18 and 2) and Waite 19 (10 and 9).


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
For Collingwood, Price 22 (17 and 5), W. Richardson 22 (21 and 1) and M. Richardson 19 (13 and 6) Brent Crosswell (Carlton) was generally regarded as the best player on the day for his four-quarter contribution, especially in the first half when many Carlton players were not playing well. Hopkins, whose four goals as 19th man became legendary, played only one further game for Carlton, soon quitting football to pursue other interests.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
The game was immediately hailed across the Australian sporting press as an all-time classic. In a typically eloquent report for the Canberra Times, respected journalist Rohan Rivett described the Grand final as a 'once-in-a-lifetime match':


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
Years hence thousands of boys who yelled themselves hoarse will be trying to tell sons or grandsons how it happened. [ ...] For the uncommitted spectator, if anyone could, remain uninvolved in the frenzy, there were 10½ minutes of luminous football in the third quarter which transformed a hopelessly one-sided struggle into one of the historic sporting occasions. Thereafter the 121,696 people jamming the sundrenched ground simmered or yelled in mounting fever of hope and fear until the last kick.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
In his match report for The Age, chief football writer Percy Beames called Carlton's triumph "a premiership win based on courage, and Ron Barassi's greatest coaching triumph since he crossed from Melbourne."


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
In addressing the moment in the dying stages of the game when McKenna was not paid a mark from which he might have put Collingwood back in front, Beames wrote that he sided with umpire Jolley's decision. He also wrote that the Collingwood players had little excuse for letting down their coach Bob Rose, compared to their losses in 1964 and 1966. Besides their scoring inaccuracy, Beames also criticized Collingwood for their lack of heart and ability to rise to the challenge in the final quarter, as well as focusing too much on their spearhead McKenna, while citing Carlton's evenness as the key to victory.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
Carlton runner Rodney Wilkinson, who had taken over the position when Sergio Silvagni came out of retirement midway through the 1970 season, offered a unique perspective on where he believed the outcome of the game had been decided, based on the habits of both coaches:


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
‘Barass’ sat with [former Carlton player and then chairman of selectors] Jack Wrout upstairs (in the old Smokers Stand?) - but Rose sat with his man, the selector Charlie Utting, on the bench at ground level. The game of football, once it starts, is like a chess game, but in footy you can’t see all the pieces from ground level... and I believe Rose was 10 to 15 minutes behind in the 1970 Grand Final, particularly when the game started swinging and moves could have been made.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
If you look back at the replay of the game, when Hopkins kicked those goals in the third quarter, his opponent Colin Tully was nowhere to be seen. When you’re coaching from ground level you don’t pick up on a lot of these things, but Barassi, from where he was positioned, would have reacted straight away. Put it this way. If Barassi had coached Collingwood, they’d never have lost it.


1970 VFL Grand Final, Match summary, Aftermath
The 44-point half-time deficit overcome by Carlton was then the second-largest half-time deficit ever overcome in VFL history. The only larger deficit overcome before this was 52 points, by Collingwood against St Kilda in Round 10 earlier in the season (which remains the record as of 2020).


1970 VFL Grand Final, Perspective, "The birth of modern football"
One thing we said we must do is handball, and we handball, and we handball and we handball. It was the only possible way to get back into the game. I reminded them of the game out at Hawthorn, where prior to this game our handball was down. So that game we had to handball. And today was the same. I reminded them of it. At half time I think our handball was 13, which was just shocking. And we did something about it and it won us the match.