The 1962 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator
Carl Hayden ran for reelection to a seventh term, defeating Republican State Senator
Evan Mecham in the general election. Mecham became
Governor of Arizona more than two decades later, and was subsequently impeached and removed from office.
This would be Hayden's final run for U.S. Senate, as he would be succeeded in office by
Barry Goldwater in
1968. This was the last time Democrats won the Class 3 Senate seat from Arizona until
Mark Kelly's victory in the
2020 special election, and the last time until
2022, when Kelly was reelected, that Democrats won a full term in this seat.
State Senator
Evan Mecham ran for U.S. Senate, and was challenged by political operative and strategist
Stephen Shadegg. Shadegg, who had served as campaign manager for both Republican and Democratic candidates, had run at the urging of Senator
Barry Goldwater, but Goldwater failed to officially endorse any candidate in the Republican primary.[2] Shadegg later said that he was "terribly let down" by Goldwater's position of neutrality in the primary after Goldwater had urged Shadegg to seek the seat.[3]
Candidates
Evan Mecham, State Senator & future Governor of Arizona