1986 United States Senate election in California

1986 United States Senate election in California

←  1980 November 4, 1986 (1986-11-04) 1992  →

Nominee Alan Cranston Ed Zschau Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,646,672 3,541,804 Percentage 49.29% 47.87%

County results Cranston:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Zschau:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election Alan Cranston Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Alan Cranston Democratic

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Hancock Abbott, perennial candidate
• Robert John Banuelos, resident of Costa Mesa
• Alan Cranston, incumbent Senator
• Charles Greene
• Brian Lantz, candidate for Mayor of San Francisco in 1983

Results

1986 Democratic Senate primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Cranston (incumbent)	1,807,244	80.71%
	Democratic	Charles Greene	165,594	7.40%
	Democratic	John Hancock Abbott	124,218	5.55%
	Democratic	Robert John Banuelos	77,286	3.45%
	Democratic	Brian Lantz	64,907	2.90%
Total votes			2,239,249	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• William B. Allen, professor at Harvey Mudd College and member of the National Council on the Humanities
• Michael D. Antonovich, Los Angeles County Supervisor and former State Assemblyman
• Eldridge Cleaver, author and former Black Panther
• Edward M. Davis, State Senator and former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
• Bobbi Fiedler, U.S. Representative from Encino
• Bruce Herschensohn, political commentator for KABC-TV in Los Angeles
• Joe Knowland, actor, publisher of The Oakland Tribune and son of former Senator William Knowland
• Art Laffer, economic advisor to President Ronald Reagan
• George Montgomery
• Robert W. Naylor, State Assemblyman from Menlo Park
• William H. Pemberton, candidate for Senate in 1982
• John W. Spring
• Ed Zschau, U.S. Representative from Los Altos

Results

1986 Republican Senate primary ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Zschau	737,384	37.12%
	Republican	Bruce Herschensohn	587,852	29.59%
	Republican	Michael D. Antonovich	180,010	9.06%
	Republican	Bobbi Fiedler	143,032	7.20%
	Republican	Edward M. Davis	130,309	6.56%
	Republican	Robert W. Naylor	60,820	3.06%
	Republican	Art Laffer	47,288	2.38%
	Republican	Joe Knowland	35,987	1.81%
	Republican	Eldridge Cleaver	23,512	1.17%
	Republican	George Montgomery	16,374	0.82%
	Republican	William B. Allen	12,990	0.65%
	Republican	William H. Pemberton	6,698	0.34%
	Republican	John W. Spring	4,478	0.23%
Total votes			1,986,374	100.00%

Peace and Freedom primary

Candidates

• Lenni Brenner, Trotskyist anti-war activist and writer
• Paul Kangas, private investigator and perennial candidate

Results

1986 Peace and Freedom Senate primary ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Peace and Freedom	Paul Kangas	2,495	51.03%
	Peace and Freedom	Lenni Brenner	2,394	48.97%
Total votes			4,889	100.00%

General election

Results

Shift by county

Trend by county

Legend

•   Republican — >15%
•   Republican — +12.5−15%
•   Republican — +10−12.5%
•   Republican — +7.5−10%
•   Republican — +5−7.5%
•   Republican — +2.5−5%
•   Republican — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5−5%
•   Democratic — +5−7.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +10−12.5%

1986 California U.S. Senate election ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Cranston (incumbent)	3,646,672	49.29%
	Republican	Ed Zschau	3,541,804	47.87%
	American Independent	Edward B. Vallen	109,916	1.49%
	Libertarian	Breck McKinley	66,261	0.90%
	Peace and Freedom	Paul Kangas	33,869	0.46%
	Independent	John W. Spring	12	0.00%
	Independent	Sam Manuel	11	0.00%
	Independent	John Hancock Abbott	4	0.00%
Total votes			7,398,549	100.00%
	Democratic hold

See also

• 1986 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate- D Primary Race - Jun 03, 1986".
2. "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - R Primary Race - Jun 03, 1986".
3. "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - PFP Primary Race - Jun 03, 1986".
4. "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1986".