1970Final resultsIncumbent defeated
1970 Democratic primary for West Virginia Senate District 5
West Virginia State Senate · West Virginia
Robert R. Nelson (D) won with 59.2% of the vote, defeating Lyle A. Smith (D) by 18.3 points.
Robert R. NelsonDemocrat · winner
59.2%10,075
Lyle A. SmithDemocrat · incumbent
40.8%6,952
17,027 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET