The 1972 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 7, 1972. The incumbent Democratic Senator, Fred R. Harris, had retired to run for president. The open seat was won by Republican Dewey F. Bartlett, who defeated Democratic nominee Ed Edmondson. However, his victory underperformed that of President Richard Nixon in the concurrent presidential election, which saw Nixon defeat George McGovern by 49.7% in the state.

Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Catholic elected governor of Oklahoma, defeating the Democratic nominee, Preston J. Moore of Oklahoma City. He was defeated for reelection in 1970 by Tulsa attorney David Hall in the closest election in state history. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1972 and served one term. In 1978, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and did not run for reelection that year. He died of complications of lung cancer two months after retiring from the Senate in 1979.