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peculiar to defend something I have always taken for granted. ... Who, a few years ago, would have thought it possible to have reached the point ... where it is necessary to defend the human right to a choice? ... I fear that the state Democratic Party is unwittingly being used as a tool for the same goals of the national party. ... Today the majority of whites in this state are not one-party Democrats but true [[Independent voter|independents]] - and they are glad that there is the beginning of a second party - so that they can have a real choice.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963-1967)", ''The Journal of Mississippi History'' XLVII, November 1985, No. 4, p. 249.</ref></blockquote> ​

peculiar to defend something I have always taken for granted. ... Who, a few years ago, would have thought it possible to have reached the point ... where it is necessary to defend the human right to a choice? ... I fear that the state Democratic Party is unwittingly being used as a tool for the same goals of the national party. ... Today the majority of whites in this state are not one-party Democrats but true [[Independent voter|independents]] - and they are glad that there is the beginning of a second party - so that they can have a real choice.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963-1967)", ''The Journal of Mississippi History'' XLVII, November 1985, No. 4, p. 249.</ref></blockquote> ​

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Carmichael ran unsuccessfully for the Mississippi State Senate  in both 1966 and 1967, the latter on the statewide Republican ticket headed for a second time by Rubel Phillips.​

Carmichael ran unsuccessfully for the Mississippi State Senate  in both 1966 and 1967, the latter on the statewide Republican ticket headed for a second time by Rubel Phillips.​ In 1971, Carmichael considered a race for lieutenant governor, but Republicans that year fielded no statewide candidates as the [[Democrat|Democrat]] William Lowe "Bill" Waller Sr. ( 1926–2011) defeated the [[African-American]] [[Independent voter|Independent]] Charles Evers (born 1922), a [[civil rights]] activist, brother of the slain Medgar Evers (1925-1963), and the mayor of Fayette, in the gubernatorial [[general election]].<ref name=cdanielson/>​

In 1971, Carmichael considered a race for lieutenant governor, but Republicans that year fielded no statewide candidates as the [[Democrat|Democrat]] William Lowe "Bill" Waller Sr. ( 1926–2011) ] defeated the [[African-American]] Independent [[Charles Evers]], a [[civil rights]] activist, brother of the slain [[Medgar Evers]], and the mayor of Fayette, in the gubernatorial [[general election]].<ref name=cdanielson/>​

Carmichael was a delegate to the 1972 [[Republican National Convention]], which met in [[Miami Beach, Florida|Miami Beach]], Florida, to re-nominate the [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]]-[[Spiro Agnew|Vice President Agnew]] ticket. Carmichael was the Republican [[Candidate|nominee]] in 1972 for the [[U.S. Senate]] against the veteran Democrat [[James Eastland]]. In the Republican primary, Carmichael easily defeated the African-American civil rights figure James Howard Meredith. In the fall campaign, President Nixon directed that Carmichael not attend a Republican rally in Jackson hosted by Agnew, who endorsed two successful Republican candidates for the [[United States House of Representatives]], [[Thad Cochran]] and [[Trent Lott]]. Instead Carmichael was humiliated and had to remain at Republican headquarters two blocks away from the festivities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jim-herring.blogspot.com/2010/05/rubel-phillips-gil-carmichael-and-jack.html|author=[[Jim Herring]]|title=Rubel Phillips, Gil Carmichael, and Jack Reed"|date=May 20, 2010|publisher=jimherring.blogspot.com|accessdate=May 5, 2014}}</ref>One of Eastland's press spokesmen was Larry Speakes, later the [[White House]] acting press secretary in the [[Ronald W. Reagan]] administration. ​

Carmichael was a delegate to the 1972 [[Republican National Convention]], which met in Miami Beach, [[Florida]], to re-nominate the [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]]-[[Spiro Agnew|Vice President Agnew]] ticket. Carmichael was the Republican nominee in 1972 for the [[U.S. Senate]] against the veteran Democrat [[James Eastland]]. In the Republican primary, Carmichael easily defeated the African-American civil rights figure James Howard Meredith. In the fall campaign, President Nixon directed that Carmichael not attend a Republican rally in Jackson hosted by Agnew, who endorsed two successful Republican candidates for the [[United States House of Representatives]], [[Thad Cochran]] and [[Trent Lott]]. Instead Carmichael was humiliated and had to remain at Republican headquarters two blocks away from the festivities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jim-herring.blogspot.com/2010/05/rubel-phillips-gil-carmichael-and-jack.html|author=[[Jim Herring]]|title=Rubel Phillips, Gil Carmichael, and Jack Reed"|date=May 20, 2010|publisher=jimherring.blogspot.com|accessdate=May 5, 2014}}</ref>One of Eastland's press spokesmen was Larry Speakes, later the [[White House]] acting press secretary in the [[Ronald W. Reagan]] administration. ​

Carmichael finished the race against Eastland with 249,779 votes (38.7%). Prentiss Walker (1917-1998) of Smith County, the first Mississippi Republican to serve in the[[United States House of Representatives]] in the 20th century, ran as an Independent in the Senate general election and drew 14,662 votes (2.3 percent). Walker had run as a strongly conservative Republican against Eastland in 1966 and claimed that the veteran senator was too close to Democratic President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and did little as chairman of the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] to block the confirmation of liberal judges prone to enact [[Segregation|integrationist]] rulings. Eastland in his last victory at the polls won the race with 375,102 (58.1 percent);<ref name=campaigns>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=8573|title=Carmichael, Gil|publisher=ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=May 5, 2014}}</ref> he did not seek reelection in 1978 and was succeeded by Moderate Republican [[U.S. Representative]] [[Thad Cochran]].​

Carmichael finished the race against Eastland with 249,779 votes (38.7%). Prentiss Walker (1917-1998) of Smith County, the first Mississippi Republican to serve in the[[United States House of Representatives]] in the 20th century, ran as an Independent in the Senate general election and drew 14,662 votes (2.3 percent). Walker had run as a strongly conservative Republican against Eastland in 1966 and claimed that the veteran senator was too close to Democratic President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and did little as chairman of the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] to block the confirmation of liberal judges prone to enact [[Segregation|integrationist]] rulings. Eastland in his last victory at the polls won the race with 375,102 (58.1 percent);<ref name=campaigns>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=8573|title=Carmichael, Gil|publisher=ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=May 5, 2014}}</ref> he did not seek reelection in 1978 and was succeeded by Moderate Republican [[U.S. Representative]] [[Thad Cochran]].​