Wikipedia

1946 United States Senate elections in California

(Redirected from 1946 United States Senate special election in California)

For related races, see 1946 United States Senate elections.

The two 1946 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 5, 1946.

1946 United States Senate election in California
← 1940 November 5, 1946 1952 →
 
Nominee William F. Knowland Will Rogers Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,428,067 1,167,161
Percentage 54.10% 44.22%
County results
Knowland:      40–50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%
Rogers:      50–60%
U.S. senator before election

William F. Knowland
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

William F. Knowland
Republican

After incumbent Republican Senator Hiram Johnson died in office in August 1945, Governor Earl Warren appointed U.S. Army Major and former State Senator William F. Knowland to finish Johnson's term until a successor could be duly elected. Knowland won both the special election to complete Johnson's term, and the regularly-scheduled 1946 election, over former U.S. Representative Will Rogers Jr., both held on November 5.

Republican primary

edit

Candidates

edit
  • William F. Knowland, incumbent Senator since 1945

Results

edit
1946 Republican U.S. Senate primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William F. Knowland (inc.) 514,667 64.80%
Democratic Will Rogers Jr. (cross-filing) 203,436 25.61%
Democratic Ellis E. Patterson (cross-filing) 76,151 9.59%
Total votes 794,254 100.00

Democratic primary

edit

Candidates

edit

Results

edit
1946 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Will Rogers Jr. 501,634 47.45%
Democratic Ellis Patterson 286,812 27.13%
Republican William F. Knowland (inc.) (cross-filing) 226,182 21.40%
Democratic Wayne McFarland 17,774 1.68%
Democratic John S. Crowder 17,156 1.62%
Democratic Adam C. Derkum 7,578 0.72%
Total votes 1,057,136 100.00

General election

edit

Results

edit
General election results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William F. Knowland (inc.) 1,428,067 54.10%
Democratic Will Rogers Jr. 1,167,161 44.22%
Prohibition Douglas Corrigan 42,683 1.62%
Socialist Labor Herbert Steiner (write-in) 156 0.01%
Write-in All others 1,398 0.05%
Total votes 2,639,465 100.00%

Special election

edit

In a simultaneous special election for the remainder of Johnson's term, Knowland won easily. Notably, no candidates were listed on the ballot. Each vote was a write-in, making Knowland technically the first ever write-in candidate elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1954, Strom Thurmond became the first candidate to win a Senate election by write-in where another candidate was actually listed on the ballot.

Results

edit
1946 U.S. Senate special election in California[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Write-in William F. Knowland (inc.) 425,273 74.31%
Write-in Will Rogers Jr. 90,723 15.85%
Write-in George H. McLain 17,883 3.13%
Write-in Ellis E. Patterson 3,889 0.68%
Write-in Douglas Corrigan 2,464 0.43%
Write-in Vic Paulsen 1,616 0.28%
Write-in Moody Staten 1,494 0.26%
Write-in Hartley F. Peart 1,383 0.24%
Write-in George C. Highley 1,268 0.22%
Write-in James Moran 918 0.16%
Write-in Ben Rinaldo 765 0.13%
Write-in Aubrey D. Lewis 519 0.09%
Write-in Frank Merriam 507 0.09%
Write-in All others 23,619 4.13%
Total votes 572,321 100.00%

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Special". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1946_United_States_Senate_elections_in_California&oldid=1214776393"