List of United States Senate elections in California

United States Senate elections in California occur when voters in the U.S. state of California select an individual to represent the state in the United States Senate in either of the state's two seats allotted by the Constitution. Regularly scheduled general elections occur on Election Day, coinciding with various other federal, statewide, and local races.

Each state is allotted two U.S. Senators elected to staggered six-year terms, which were originally selected by the state legislature. The Senate is divided into three classes to stagger the terms of its members such that one-third of the Senate would be up for re-election every two years. Upon California's admission to the Union in 1850, the state was assigned a Class 1 seat and a Class 3 seat, first elected in 1849. Since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, U.S. Senators are elected directly by the voters of each state. Special elections may be held to fill mid-term vacancies to elect an individual to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

The list below contains results from all U.S. Senate elections held in California after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, sorted by year. The next scheduled election for the Class 1 seat is in 2024, while the Class 3 seat will hold its next election in 2028.

List of recent elections

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Class 1

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Year Winner Runner(s)-up Others Ref
Candidate Party Votes % Candidate Party Votes % Votes %
1916 Hiram Johnson Republican[a] 574,667 61.09% George S. Patton Democratic 277,852 29.54% 38,797 4.12% [1]
Walter Thomas Mills Socialist 49,341 5.25%
1922 Hiram Johnson Republican 564,422 62.17% William J. Pearson Democratic 215,748 23.76% [2]
Henry Clay Needham Prohibition 70,748 7.79%
Upton Sinclair Socialist 56,982 6.28%
1928 Hiram Johnson Republican 1,148,397 74.11% Minor Moore Democratic 282,411 18.23% 26,624 1.72% [3]
Charles Hiram Randall Prohibition 92,106 5.94%
1934 Hiram Johnson Republican[b] 1,946,572 94.66% George Ross Kirkpatrick Socialist 108,748 5.29% 1,025 0.05% [4]
1940 Hiram Johnson Republican[c] 2,238,899 82.62% Fred Dyster Prohibition 366,044 13.51% 104,893 3.87% [5]
1946 (sp) William Knowland Write-in 425,273 74.31% Will Rogers Jr. Write-in 90,723 15.85% 56,325 9.84% [6]
1946 William Knowland Republican 1,428,067 54.10% Will Rogers Jr. Democratic 1,167,161 44.22% 44,237 1.68%
1952 William Knowland Republican[b] 3,982,448 87.79% Reuben W. Borough Progressive 542,270 11.95% 11,812 0.26% [7]
1958 Clair Engle Democratic 2,927,693 57.01% Goodwin Knight Republican 2,204,337 42.93% 3,191 0.06% [8]
1964 George Murphy Republican 3,628,552 51.54% Pierre Salinger Democratic 3,411,915 48.46% [9]
1970 John V. Tunney Democratic 3,496,558 53.86% George Murphy Republican 2,877,617 44.33% 117,982 1.81% [10]
1976 S. I. Hayakawa Republican 3,748,973 50.17% John V. Tunney Democratic 3,502,862 46.88% 220,433 2.95% [11]
1982 Pete Wilson Republican 4,022,565 51.54% Jerry Brown Democratic 3,494,968 44.78% 288,005 3.68% [12]
1988 Pete Wilson Republican 5,143,409 52.79% Leo T. McCarthy Democratic 4,287,253 44.00% 312,939 3.21% [13]
1992 (sp) Dianne Feinstein Democratic 5,853,651 54.29% John Seymour Republican 4,093,501 37.96% 835,591 7.75% [14]
1994 Dianne Feinstein Democratic 3,979,152 46.74% Michael Huffington Republican 3,817,025 44.83% 717,912 8.43% [15]
2000 Dianne Feinstein Democratic 5,932,522 55.84% Tom Campbell Republican 3,886,853 36.59% 804,239 7.57% [16]
2006 Dianne Feinstein Democratic 5,076,289 59.43% Dick Mountjoy Republican 2,990,822 35.02% 474,365 5.55% [17]
2012 Dianne Feinstein Democratic 7,864,624 62.52% Elizabeth Emken Republican 4,713,887 37.48% [18]
2018 Dianne Feinstein Democratic 6,019,422 54.16% Kevin de León Democratic 5,093,942 45.84% [19]
County results of Class 1 elections since 2000

Class 3

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Year Winner Runner(s)-up Others Ref
Candidate Party Votes % Candidate Party Votes % Votes %
1914 James D. Phelan Democratic 279,896 31.59% Francis J. Heney Progressive 255,232 28.81% 39,921 4.51% [20]
Joseph R. Knowland Republican 254,159 28.69%
Ernest Untermann Socialist 56,805 6.41%
1920 Samuel M. Shortridge Republican 447,835 49.01% James D. Phelan Democratic 371,580 40.67% 36,545 4.00% [21]
James S. Edwards Prohibition 57,768 6.32%
1926 Samuel M. Shortridge Republican 670,128 63.12% John B. Elliott Democratic 391,599 36.88% [22]
1932 William Gibbs McAdoo Democratic 943,164 43.39% Tallant Tubbs Republican 669,676 30.81% 906 0.03% [23]
Robert P. Shuler Prohibition 560,088 25.77%
1938 Sheridan Downey Democratic[d] 1,372,314 54.43% Philip Bancroft Republican 1,126,240 44.67% 22,569 0.90% [24]
1944 Sheridan Downey Democratic 1,728,155 52.29% Frederick F. Houser Republican[e] 1,576,553 47.71% [25]
1950 Richard Nixon Republican 2,183,454 59.23% Helen Gahagan Douglas Democratic 1,502,507 40.76% 354 0.01% [26]
1954 (sp) Thomas Kuchel Republican 2,090,836 53.21% Sam Yorty Democratic 1,788,071 45.51% 50,506 1.29% [27]
1956 Thomas Kuchel Republican 2,892,918 53.96% Richard Richards Democratic 2,445,816 45.62% 22,410 0.42% [28]
1962 Thomas Kuchel Republican 3,180,483 56.33% Richard Richards Democratic 2,452,839 43.44% 12,941 0.23% [29]
1968 Alan Cranston Democratic 3,680,352 51.82% Max Rafferty Republican 3,329,148 46.87% 92,965 1.31% [30]
1974 Alan Cranston Democratic 3,693,160 60.52% H. L. Richardson Republican 2,210,267 36.22% 199,005 3.26% [31]
1980 Alan Cranston Democratic 4,705,399 56.50% Paul Gann Republican 3,093,426 37.15% 528,657 6.35% [32]
1986 Alan Cranston Democratic 3,646,672 49.29% Ed Zschau Republican 3,541,804 47.87% 210,073 2.84% [33]
1992 Barbara Boxer Democratic 5,173,467 47.90% Bruce Herschensohn Republican 4,644,182 43.00% 982,054 9.10% [14]
1998 Barbara Boxer Democratic 4,411,705 53.06% Matt Fong Republican 3,576,351 43.01% 326,897 3.93% [34]
2004 Barbara Boxer Democratic 6,955,728 57.71% Bill Jones Republican 4,555,922 37.80% 541,643 7.49% [35]
2010 Barbara Boxer Democratic 5,218,441 52.18% Carly Fiorina Republican 4,217,366 42.17% 564,353 5.65% [36]
2016 Kamala Harris Democratic 7,542,753 61.60% Loretta Sanchez Democratic 4,701,417 38.40% [37]
2022 (sp) Alex Padilla Democratic 6,559,303 60.89% Mark Meuser Republican 4,212,446 39.11% [38]
2022 Alex Padilla Democratic 6,621,616 61.06% Mark Meuser Republican 4,222,025 38.94% [39]
County results of Class 3 elections since 2004

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "CA US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1916". Our Campaigns.
  2. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1922" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  3. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 6, 1928" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  4. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1934" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  5. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1940" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  6. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1946" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  7. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 1952" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  8. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1958" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  9. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1964" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  10. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  11. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  12. ^ "Federal Elections 1982" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  13. ^ "Federal Elections 1988" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  14. ^ a b "Federal Elections 1992" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  15. ^ "Federal Elections 1994" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  16. ^ "Federal Elections 2000" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  17. ^ "Federal Elections 2006" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  18. ^ "Federal Elections 2012" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  19. ^ "Federal Elections 2018" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  20. ^ "CA US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1914". Our Campaigns.
  21. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 2, 1920" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  22. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1926" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  23. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional and Presidential Election of November 8, 1932" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  24. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1938" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  25. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1944" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  26. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1950" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  27. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1954" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  28. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1956" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  29. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  30. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  31. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1974" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  32. ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
  33. ^ "Federal Elections 1986" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  34. ^ "Federal Elections 1998" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  35. ^ "Federal Elections 2004" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  36. ^ "Federal Elections 2010" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  37. ^ "Federal Elections 2016" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
  38. ^ "United States Senator (Partial Term) - General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022" (PDF). Secretary of State of California.
  39. ^ "United States Senator (Full Term) - General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022" (PDF). Secretary of State of California.
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