1946 United States Senate elections in California
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 County results Knowland: 40–50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Rogers: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California | ||||
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The two 1946 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 5, 1946.
After incumbent
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
Candidates
- William F. Knowland, incumbent Senator since 1945
Results
| 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
Candidates
- John S. Crowder
- Adam C. Derkum
- Wayne McFarland
- Ellis Patterson, U.S. Representative and former Lieutenant Governor of California
- Will Rogers Jr., former U.S. Representative from Culver City and son of humorist Will Rogers
Results
| 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
Results
| 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
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
| 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
References
- ^ "Our Campaigns - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Special". OurCampaigns. Retrieved June 19, 2020.