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 2030, while the Class 3 seat will hold its next election in 2028.

List of recent elections

Asterisk * shows incumbent senators

Class 1

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%	N/A [d]		[18]
2018	Dianne Feinstein*		Democratic	6,019,422	54.16%	Kevin de León		Democratic	5,093,942	45.84%	N/A [d]		[19]
2024 (sp)	Adam Schiff		Democratic	8,837,051	58.75%	Steve Garvey		Republican	6,204,637	41.25%	N/A [d]
2024	Adam Schiff		Democratic	9,036,252	58.87%	Steve Garvey		Republican	6,312,594	41.13%	N/A [d]

County results of Class 1 elections since 2000

• 
  2000
  Feinstein vs. Campbell
• 
  2006
  Feinstein vs. Mountjoy
• 
  2012
  Feinstein vs. Emken
• 
  2018
  Feinstein vs. de León
• 
  2024
  Schiff vs. Garvey

Class 3

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 [e]	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 [f]	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%	N/A [d]		[37]
2022 (sp)	Alex Padilla*		Democratic	6,559,303	60.89%	Mark Meuser		Republican	4,212,446	39.11%	N/A [d]		[38]
2022	Alex Padilla*		Democratic	6,621,616	61.06%	Mark Meuser		Republican	4,222,025	38.94%	N/A [d]		[39]

County results of Class 3 elections since 2004

• 
  2004
  Boxer vs. Jones
• 
  2010
  Boxer vs. Fiorina
• 
  2016
  Harris vs. Sanchez
• 
  2022
  Padilla vs. Meuser

See also

• List of United States senators from California
• List of United States presidential elections in California
• Elections in California

Notes

1. Cross-nominated by the Progressive Party.
2. Cross-nominated by the Democratic Party.
3. Cross-nominated by the Democratic Party and the California Progressive Party.
4. Since the passage of Proposition 14 in 2010, the general elections have been limited to only two candidates
5. Cross-nominated by the California Progressive Party and the Townsend Party.
6. Cross-nominated by the Prohibition Party.

References

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. "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 .

External links

• Elections and Voter Information, Secretary of State of California
• Election Information, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
• Election and Voting Information, Federal Election Commission