1982 United States Senate election in California

Summary

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.

1982 United States Senate election in California

← 1976 November 2, 1982 1988 →
 
Nominee Pete Wilson Jerry Brown
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 4,022,565 3,494,968
Percentage 51.54% 44.78%

County results

Wilson:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Brown:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

S. I. Hayakawa
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Pete Wilson
Republican

Republican primary edit

Candidates edit

Withdrew edit

Campaign edit

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 edit

1982 Republican U.S. Senate primary[7]
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 edit

Candidates edit

Results edit

1982 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[8]
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 edit

Campaign edit

Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported Proposition 13, although he had opposed the measure while mayor of San Diego. However, Brown ran on his gubernatorial record of building the largest state budget surpluses in California history. Both Wilson and Brown were moderate-to-liberal on social issues, including support for abortion rights. The election was expected to be close, with Brown holding a slim lead in most of the polls leading up to Election Day. Wilson hammered away at Brown's appointment of California Chief Justice Rose Bird and used it to portray himself as tougher on crime than Brown. Brown's late entry into the 1980 Democratic presidential primary, after he had promised not to run, was also an issue. President Ronald Reagan made a number of visits to California late in the race to campaign for Wilson. Reagan quipped that the last thing that he wanted to see was both of his home state's 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 edit

General election results[9]
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 edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Turner, Wallace; Times, Special To the New York (January 31, 1982). "HAYAKAWA ABANDONS RACE FOR A SECOND TERM IN SENATOR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Brown, Goldwater lead Senate Poll". Lodi News-Sentinel. UPI. November 9, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "Hayakawa To Seek Re-Election". The Press-Courier. Associated Press. February 10, 1981. p. 18. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Wagman, Robert J. (December 5, 1981). "Political season starts early in California". The Argus-Press. p. 4. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Senator fires aide for lack of money". Star-News. Associated Press. November 8, 1981. pp. 11A. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  7. ^ "CA US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  8. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 08, 1982".
  9. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Race - Nov 02, 1982".