1982 United States Senate election in California
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| Elections in California | ||||
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The 1982 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa decided to retire after one term. Republican Pete Wilson, the Mayor of San Diego, won Hayakawa's open seat over Democratic Governor Jerry Brown and several minor candidates.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Robert K. Booher
- Ted Bruinsma, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
- Rafael D. Cortes
- Bob Dornan, U.S. Representative from Garden Grove
- Woodland Hills and son of U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater
- John Hickey
- Pete McCloskey, U.S. Representative from Woodside and 1972 presidential candidate
- Edison P. McDaniels
- William H. Pemberton
- Maureen Reagan, daughter of President Ronald Reagan
- Corona del Mar, former U.S. Representative, and American Independent nominee for President in 1972
- William B. Shockley, recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Pete Wilson, Mayor of San Diego and former Assemblyman
Withdrew
- S.I. Hayakawa, incumbent Senator since 1977[1]
Campaign
Incumbent Senator S.I. Hayakawa became a somewhat controversial figure due to his propensity for off-color statements and for his tendency to doze off in meetings, earning him the nickname "Sleeping Sam".[2] As a result, Hayakawa had a high unfavorability rating of 57%.[3] In spite of this, Hayakawa initially made clear his intent to run for re-election in spite of any potential challenges.[4]
However, Hayakawa trailed in polls badly,[5] and at one point saw his funds dwindle down to less than $40,000.[6] In spite of earlier promises not to, Hayakawa announced his withdrawal from the race on January 31, 1982.[1]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pete Wilson | 851,292 | 37.54% | |
| Republican | Pete McCloskey | 577,267 | 25.46% | |
| Republican | Barry Goldwater Jr. | 408,308 | 18.01% | |
| Republican | Bob Dornan | 181,970 | 8.03% | |
| Republican | Maureen Reagan | 118,326 | 5.22% | |
| Republican | John G. Schmitz | 48,267 | 2.13% | |
| Republican | Ted Bruinsma | 37,762 | 1.67% | |
| Republican | William Shockley | 8,308 | 0.37% | |
| Republican | Rafael D. Cortes | 8,064 | 0.36% | |
| Republican | John Hickey | 7,737 | 0.34% | |
| Republican | Robert K. Booher | 7,546 | 0.33% | |
| Republican | Edison McDaniels | 6,945 | 0.31% | |
| Republican | William H. Pemberton | 5,760 | 0.25% | |
| Democratic | May Chote (write-in) | 15 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 2,267,577 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Jerry Brown, Governor of California
- Walter R. Buchanan, perennial candidate
- Raymond Caplette
- Paul B. Carpenter, State Senator from Cypress and psychologist
- May Chote, candidate for U.S. Representative in 1976
- Bob Hampton
- Tom Metzger, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and nominee for U.S. Representative in 1980
- Richard Morgan, candidate for Senate in 1980
- William F. Wertz, follower of Lyndon LaRouche
- Gore Vidal, writer and public intellectual
- Daniel K. Whitehurst, Mayor of Fresno
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jerry Brown | 1,392,660 | 50.67% | |
| Democratic | Gore Vidal | 415,366 | 15.11% | |
| Democratic | Paul B. Carpenter | 415,198 | 15.11% | |
| Democratic | Daniel K. Whitehurst
|
167,574 | 6.10% | |
| Democratic | Richard Morgan | 94,908 | 3.45% | |
| Democratic | Tom Metzger | 76,502 | 2.78% | |
| Democratic | Walter R. Buchanan | 55,727 | 2.03% | |
| Democratic | Bob Hampton | 37,427 | 1.36% | |
| Democratic | Raymond "RayJ" Caplette | 31,865 | 1.16% | |
| Democratic | William F. Wertz | 30,795 | 1.12% | |
| Democratic | May Chote | 30,743 | 1.12% | |
| Democratic | Daniel Fallon (write-in) | 6 | 0.00% | |
| Democratic | Aristotle Scoledes (write-in) | 4 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 2,748,775 | 100.0 | ||
General election
Campaign
Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported
U.S. Senate
seats falling into Democrats' hands, especially if they were occupied by the man who had succeeded him as governor. Despite exit polls indicating a narrow Brown victory, Wilson won by a wide margin.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pete Wilson | 4,022,565 | 51.54% | |
| Democratic | Jerry Brown | 3,494,968 | 44.78% | |
| Libertarian | Joseph Fuhrig | 107,720 | 1.38% | |
| Peace and Freedom | David Wald | 96,388 | 1.23% | |
| American Independent | Theresa Dietrich | 83,809 | 1.07% | |
Independent
|
Thomas Kendall (Write In) | 36 | 0.00% | |
Independent
|
Ben Leonik (Write In) | 34 | 0.00% | |
| Republican hold | ||||
See also
References
- ^ from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Shafer, Scott (February 8, 2023). "Long Before Feinstein, Another California Senator Faced Questions About Mental Fitness". KQED. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Brown, Goldwater lead Senate Poll". Lodi News-Sentinel. UPI. November 9, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Hayakawa To Seek Re-Election". The Press-Courier. Associated Press. February 10, 1981. p. 18. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Wagman, Robert J. (December 5, 1981). "Political season starts early in California". The Argus-Press. p. 4. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Senator fires aide for lack of money". Star-News. Associated Press. November 8, 1981. pp. 11A. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "CA US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 08, 1982".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Race - Nov 02, 1982".