[43] He received help from the AFL–CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell.[41] His platform focused on the environment, withdrawal from Vietnam, civil rights, mass transit, equitable taxation, health care, and public dissatisfaction with "politics as usual".[41][53] A few months before the election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points,[41] but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage[21] and he won with 50.5 percent of the vote.[53]

Death of wife and daughter
On December 18, 1972, a few weeks after Biden was elected senator, his wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware.[29][54] Neilia's station wagon was hit by a semi-trailer truck as she pulled out from an intersection. Their sons Beau (aged 3) and Hunter (aged 2) were taken to the hospital in fair condition, Beau with a broken leg and other wounds and Hunter with a minor skull fracture and other head injuries.[55] Biden considered resigning to care for them,[21] but Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield persuaded him not to.[56] The accident filled Biden with anger and religious doubt. 