| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
County results Hayakawa: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Tunney: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
|
Elections in California |
---|
The 1976 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John V. Tunney ran for re-election to a second term, but was defeated by Republican S. I. Hayakawa. As of 2024, this is the last time an incumbent Democratic Senator from California lost re-election.
Primary elections were held on June 8. Tunney survived a challenge from anti-war activist Tom Hayden, the husband of Jane Fonda. Hayakawa, a novice campaigner, won a surprise victory over seasoned political figures Robert H. Finch, Alphonzo Bell Jr., and John L. Harmer.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John V. Tunney (incumbent) | 1,774,879 | 53.79% | |
Democratic | Tom Hayden | 1,210,637 | 36.69% | |
Democratic | Bob Wallach | 73,142 | 2.22% | |
Democratic | Lois T. Bodle | 54,220 | 1.64% | |
Democratic | Frank L. Thomas | 53,843 | 1.63% | |
Democratic | Howard L. Gifford | 46,977 | 1.42% | |
Democratic | Ronald L. Williams | 29,511 | 0.89% | |
Democratic | Leslie W. Craven | 28,583 | 0.87% | |
Democratic | Millard F. Slover | 28,108 | 0.85% | |
Write-in | All others | 25 | 0.00% | |
Total votes | 3,299,925 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | S. I. Hayakawa | 886,743 | 38.25% | |
Republican | Robert H. Finch | 614,240 | 26.49% | |
Republican | Alphonzo E. Bell Jr. | 532,969 | 22.99% | |
Republican | John L. Harmer | 197,252 | 8.51% | |
Republican | Walter Hollywood | 28,163 | 1.22% | |
Republican | Clyde F. Tracy | 17,784 | 0.77% | |
Republican | James A. Ware | 14,990 | 0.65% | |
Republican | Henry Hill | 10,290 | 0.44% | |
Republican | Michael A. Hirt | 9,941 | 0.43% | |
Republican | Hannibal C. Burchette V | 6,222 | 0.27% | |
Total votes | 2,318,594 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | S. I. Hayakawa | 3,748,973 | 50.12% | ||
Democratic | John V. Tunney (incumbent) | 3,502,862 | 46.89% | ||
Peace and Freedom | David Wald | 104,383 | 1.40% | ||
American Independent | Jack McCoy | 82,739 | 1.11% | ||
Independent | Omari Musa | 31,629 | 0.42% | ||
Majority | 246,111 | 3.23% | |||
Turnout | 7,470,586 | 100.00% | |||
Republican gain from Democratic |
Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa was a Canadian-born American academic and politician of Japanese ancestry. A professor of English, he served as president of San Francisco State University and then as U.S. Senator from California from 1977 to 1983.
John Varick Tunney was an American politician who served as a United States Senator and Representative from the state of California in the 1960s and 1970s. A Democrat, Tunney was known for his focus on anti-trust and environmental legislation, especially the Noise Pollution Control Act of 1972 and the anti-trust Tunney Act. Tunney also strongly supported civil rights and shepherded the 1975 expansion of the Voting Rights Act.
Robert Hutchinson Finch was a Republican politician from La Canada Flintridge, California. From 1967 to 1969, he served as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of California. Following Richard Nixon's presidential campaign in 1968, he was appointed Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1969. He was the Counselor to the President from 1970 until 1972. During the 1976 California United States Senate election, he lost in the Republican primary to S.I. Hayakawa.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 1976 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. Held on November 2, the 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with Democrat Jimmy Carter's presidential election and the United States Bicentennial celebration. Although almost half of the seats decided in this election changed parties, Carter's narrow victory did not provide coattails for the Democratic Party. Each party flipped seven Senate seats, although, one of the seats flipped by Democrats was previously held by a Conservative.
The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. It took place on November 3, with the 33 seats of Class 1 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. These races occurred in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as president. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since Reconstruction.
The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
Alphonzo Edward Bell Jr. was a Republican United States Representative from California. Bell represented Malibu and the influential Westside region of Los Angeles for eight terms, from 1961 to 1977.
The 1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James Eastland decided to retire.
The 1986 United States Senate election in California took place on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Alan Cranston narrowly won re-election to a fourth and final term over Republican U.S. Congressman Ed Zschau. This was the last time where both major party nominees for the Class 3 Senate seat in California were men until 2022.
The 1978 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Robert P. Griffin ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate, Detroit City Council President Carl Levin.
The 1988 United States Senate election in California took place on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Senator Pete Wilson won re-election to a second term.
The 1982 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa decided to retire after one term. Republican Pete Wilson, the Mayor of San Diego, won Hayakawa's open seat over Democratic Governor Jerry Brown and several minor candidates.
The 1962 United States Senate election in California was held on November 6, 1962.
The 1970 United States Senate election in California was held on November 3, 1970.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent U.S. Senator John L. McClellan was re-elected to a sixth term in office, defeating U.S. Representative David Pryor in a hotly contested primary. In the general election, McClellan easily defeated Republican physician Wayne Babbitt. This was McClellan's final campaign; he died in his sleep in 1977. Pryor was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1974 and won the race to succeed McClellan in 1978.
The 1978 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Clark ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Republican former Lieutenant Governor Roger Jepsen. This was the last time until 2014 that a Republican would win Iowa's class 2 Senate seat.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the U.S. representative from Vermont's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the U.S. Senate, as well as various other state and local elections.
The Indochina Peace campaign (IPC) was an antiwar organization founded in 1972 by Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda primarily to advocate for Congressional action to end American involvement in the Vietnam War and, following the March 1973 withdrawal of U.S. ground troops, to end funding for the South Vietnam military.