1992 United States Senate special election in California

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1992 United States Senate special election in California
Flag of California.svg
  1988 November 3, 1992 1994  
  Dianne Feinstein congressional portrait.jpg John Seymour 1991.png
Nominee Dianne Feinstein John Seymour
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote5,853,6514,093,501
Percentage54.29%37.96%

1992 United States Senate special election in California results map by county.svg
County results
Feinstein:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Seymour:     40–50%     50–60%

U.S. senator before election

John Seymour
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

The 1992 United States Senate special election in California took place on November 3, 1992, at the same time as the regular election to the United States Senate in California. Feinstein defeated future California governor Gray Davis in the Democratic primary, while Seymour defeated William E. Dannemeyer in the Republican primary.

Contents

In this special election to complete the unexpired term of Republican Pete Wilson, who resigned to become Governor of California, incumbent Republican Senator John Seymour was defeated by former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, whom Wilson defeated in the 1990 gubernatorial election. Feinstein subsequently held seniority over fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer, who was elected on the same day; because Feinstein was elected to complete an unexpired term, she took office on November 4, only 1 day after the election, while Boxer's term commenced with the beginning of the next session of Congress in January 1993. These elections marked the first time in history that two women simultaneously served in the Senate from the same state.

Background

The seat became vacant after incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pete Wilson won the 1990 gubernatorial election, defeating Democrat Dianne Feinstein. Wilson appointed John Seymour to the Senate to replace himself.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1992 Democratic special U.S. Senate primary [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dianne Feinstein 1,775,124 54.74%
Democratic Gray Davis 1,009,76132.85%
Democratic David Kearns149,9184.88%
Democratic Joseph Alioto139,4104.54%
Total votes3,074,213 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

1992 Republican special U.S. Senate primary [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican John Seymour (incumbent) 1,216,096 51.17%
Republican William E. Dannemeyer 638,27926.86%
Republican Jim Trinity306,18212.88%
Republican William B. Allen 216,1779.10%
Total votes2,376,734 100.00

General election

Results

1992 United States Senate special election in California [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dianne Feinstein 5,853,651 54.29%
Republican John Seymour (incumbent)4,093,50137.96%
Peace and Freedom Gerald Horne 305,6972.84%
American Independent Paul Meeuwenberg281,9732.62%
Libertarian Richard Benjamin Boddie247,7992.30%
No party Write-ins 1220.00
Invalid or blank votes591,8225.20%
Total votes11,374,565 100.00%
Turnout  54.52
Democratic gain from Republican

By county

County Feinstein Seymour HorneMeeuwenbergBoddieWrite-in
sharevotessharevotessharevotessharevotessharevotessharevotes
Alameda 72.56%374,67521.93%113,2232.30%11,8661.61%8,3231.60%8,2570.00%23
Alpine 47.91%28742.07%2523.01%184.51%272.50%150.00%0
Amador 48.29%7,31942.64%6,4632.40%3644.07%6172.60%3940.00%0
Butte 44.72%37,39645.57%38,1112.96%2,4773.56%2,9803.19%2,6660.00%0
Calaveras 46.64%7,83942.00%7,0592.32%3905.38%9053.65%6140.00%0
Colusa 37.58%2,08354.37%3,0142.53%1403.18%1762.35%1300.00%0
Contra Costa 62.96%229,98831.62%115,5071.92%7,0111.77%6,4701.73%6,3200.00%2
Del Norte 50.92%4,69639.66%3,6582.56%2364.98%4591.89%1740.00%0
El Dorado 45.34%28,95745.56%29,1012.37%1,5123.80%2,4272.93%1,8730.00%0
Fresno 45.07%94,98848.48%102,1722.32%4,8882.25%4,7401.88%3,9590.00%4
Glenn 33.10%2,86456.73%4,9082.51%2174.81%4162.85%2470.00%0
Humboldt 59.81%35,17833.18%19,5132.99%1,7562.13%1,2531.90%1,1170.00%0
Imperial 48.77%12,43343.42%11,0703.77%9622.55%6511.48%3780.00%0
Inyo 37.41%3,06752.66%4,3182.68%2204.34%3562.90%2380.00%0
Kern 36.31%63,66154.46%95,4833.22%5,6403.59%6,2892.43%4,2580.00%3
Kings 40.70%9,80550.29%12,1153.74%9013.57%8601.70%4100.00%0
Lake 55.10%12,73235.04%8,0963.12%7213.96%9162.77%6410.00%0
Lassen 40.39%4,00547.64%4,7243.29%3265.59%5543.10%3070.00%0
Los Angeles 58.72%1,552,22334.03%899,6563.18%84,0932.09%55,3801.97%52,1230.00%20
Madera 39.79%11,68252.14%15,3092.94%8623.63%1,0661.50%4410.00%0
Marin 71.26%92,20524.61%31,8461.45%1,8800.88%1,1421.80%2,3280.00%0
Mariposa 45.38%3,68143.98%3,5683.09%2515.07%4112.48%2010.00%0
Mendocino 60.59%22,00030.28%10,9933.55%1,2902.86%1,0392.72%9880.00%0
Merced 47.61%22,01043.79%20,2462.79%1,2892.95%1,3652.86%1,3230.00%0
Modoc 35.77%1,57252.95%2,3273.00%1325.21%2293.07%1350.00%0
Mono 45.11%1,93144.64%1,9112.83%1213.95%1693.48%1490.00%0
Monterey 58.89%66,41734.74%39,1822.10%2,3692.30%2,5901.96%2,2160.00%0
Napa 57.01%29,87535.38%18,5392.46%1,2882.93%1,5372.22%1,1610.00%0
Nevada 46.04%20,04444.73%19,4762.90%1,2613.32%1,4443.02%1,3130.00%0
Orange 39.87%377,17050.93%481,8102.86%27,0563.42%32,3162.93%27,7290.00%0
Placer 45.75%40,51145.73%40,4972.38%2,1093.30%2,9202.84%2,5180.00%0
Plumas 46.44%4,64743.64%4,3672.30%2304.53%4533.10%3100.00%0
Riverside 44.56%187,54845.44%191,2583.52%14,8083.95%16,6322.54%10,6890.00%0
Sacramento 53.77%237,72238.07%168,3182.99%13,2282.88%12,7162.29%10,1130.00%1
San Benito 55.51%6,93837.10%4,6372.34%2932.88%3602.16%2700.00%0
San Bernardino 44.35%200,97945.67%206,9693.64%16,5113.71%16,8042.61%11,8250.01%48
San Diego 46.97%442,85543.63%411,3623.21%30,2873.09%29,1493.10%29,2120.00%3
San Francisco 80.60%250,97215.79%49,1651.63%5,0620.62%1,9191.36%4,2330.00%10
San Joaquin 48.90%76,60743.11%67,5312.78%4,3603.27%5,1231.94%3,0430.00%1
San L. Obispo 47.47%48,37643.94%44,7752.54%2,5873.08%3,1342.97%3,0300.00%0
San Mateo 67.25%181,99027.89%75,4701.84%4,9831.29%3,4781.73%4,6840.00%0
Santa Barbara 49.63%77,90042.71%67,0433.43%5,3862.25%3,5351.98%3,1010.00%0
Santa Clara 62.19%364,99730.98%181,8582.15%12,6462.20%12,9122.47%14,5180.00%2
Santa Cruz 67.88%76,32725.40%28,5622.49%2,8011.84%2,0722.39%2,6860.00%1
Shasta 37.81%25,11151.48%34,1922.90%1,9284.62%3,0703.19%2,1160.00%0
Sierra 45.12%81844.57%8082.48%453.47%634.36%790.00%0
Siskiyou 44.35%8,96345.42%9,1802.34%4735.16%1,0432.73%5510.00%0
Solano 59.83%77,73932.30%41,9702.75%3,5712.84%3,6962.28%2,9600.00%0
Sonoma 62.84%121,47129.38%56,7933.02%5,8462.43%4,7022.33%4,5020.00%0
Stanislaus 50.11%62,11041.59%51,5492.84%3,5193.49%4,3251.98%2,4500.00%0
Sutter 36.43%9,13553.54%13,4272.38%5965.24%1,3132.42%6060.00%0
Tehama 39.31%8,25348.19%10,1162.99%6275.43%1,1404.08%8560.00%0
Trinity 42.41%2,74343.66%2,8243.80%2466.29%4073.83%2480.00%0
Tulare 35.71%30,66556.46%48,4932.72%2,3323.11%2,6742.00%1,7200.00%0
Tuolumne 50.56%11,89540.59%9,5502.90%6823.40%8012.54%5970.01%2
Ventura 45.30%119,36646.32%122,0642.72%7,1673.04%8,0192.61%6,8820.00%1
Yolo 61.68%37,34031.70%19,1912.18%1,3192.27%1,3762.17%1,3110.00%1
Yuba 40.76%6,89046.63%7,8823.07%5186.09%1,0303.45%5840.00%0

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "June 2, 1992, Primary Election, Statement of Vote" (PDF). p. 25.
  2. Feldman, Paul (March 13, 1992). "CAMPAIGN JOURNAL : Instead of Door to Door, It's Now VCR to VCR". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 17, 2021. And two others vying for the same Republican Senate nomination as Dannemeyer--underfunded Claremont college professor Bill Allen and retired Glendale dentist Jim Trinity, a political unknown--have mailed campaign videos to leading Republicans and reporters in attempts to establish credibility for their long-shot campaigns.
  3. "1992 U.S. Senate Election Results for California" (PDF). elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.