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1962 United States Senate election in California

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1962 United States Senate election in California

← 1956 November 6, 1962 1968 →
 
Nominee Thomas Kuchel Richard Richards
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 3,180,483 2,452,839
Percentage 56.31% 43.43%

County results
Kuchel:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Thomas Kuchel
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Thomas Kuchel
Republican

The 1962 United States Senate election in California was held on November 6, 1962.

Incumbent Republican Thomas Kuchel was re-elected to a second full term in office, defeating Democratic State Senator Richard Richards. Kuchel carried every county in California and remains the most recent candidate for Senate to do so as of 2024.[a] As of 2024, this is the last time a Republican was elected to the Class 3 Senate seat from California.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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1962 Republican U.S. Senate primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Thomas Kuchel (inc.) 1,357,975 75.02%
Republican Loyd Wright 247,300 13.66%
Republican Howard Jarvis 180,768 9.99%
Republican William H. Reinholz 24,100 1.33%
Total votes 1,810,143 100.00

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • J.F. Coleman
  • Gabriel Green, photographer and UFO conspiracy theorist
  • Richard Richards, State Senator from Los Angeles County

Results

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1962 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard Richards 1,674,563 82.58%
Democratic Gabriel Green 171,379 8.45%
Democratic J.F. Coleman 170,926 8.43%
Republican Thomas Kuchel (inc.) (write-in) 10,927 0.54%
Total votes 2,027,795 100.00%

General election

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Campaign

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Write-in campaigns were launched for anti-tax activist Howard Jarvis, 1962 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and proponent of nuclear disarmament Linus Pauling, and Edward Brothers, but none made a significant impact on the race.

Results

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1962 United States Senate election in California[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Thomas Kuchel (inc.) 3,180,483 56.31% Increase2.35
Democratic Richard Richards 2,452,839 43.43% Decrease9.47
Independent Howard Jarvis (write-in) 9,963 0.18% N/A
Independent Linus Pauling (write-in) 2,694 0.04% N/A
Independent Edward Brothers (write-in) 284 0.00% N/A
Write-in All others 1,689 0.02% N/A
Total votes 5,647,952 100.00%
Republican hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - R Primary Race - Jun 05, 1962". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - D Primary Race". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. 1963. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  1. ^ Democrat Alan Cranston came very close in 1974, losing Inyo County by only 55 votes.