1970 United States Senate election in California

1970 United States Senate election in California

← 1964 November 3, 1970 1976 →
 
Nominee John V. Tunney George Murphy
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 3,496,558 2,877,617
Percentage 53.86% 44.33%

County results
Tunney:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Murphy:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

George Murphy
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

John V. Tunney
Democratic

The 1970 United States Senate election in California was held on November 3, 1970.

Incumbent Republican Senator George Murphy lost re-election to a second term to Democratic Congressman John V. Tunney. This election was the first since 1860 in which California sent two Democrats to the U.S. Senate.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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  • Robert Amequista
  • Robert R. Barry, former U.S. Representative from New York and unsuccessful candidate for Representative from California in 1966, 1967, and 1968
  • Katharine Marros
  • George Murphy, incumbent Senator
  • Norton Simon, billionaire industrialist and philanthropist

Results

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1970 Republican U.S. Senate primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George Murphy (incumbent) 1,325,271 64.30%
Republican Norton Simon 670,702 32.54%
Republican Robert R. Barry 30,558 1.48%
Republican Katharine Marros 22,238 1.08%
Republican Robert Amequista 12,336 0.60%
Total votes 2,061,105 100.00

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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1970 Democratic U.S. Senate primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John V. Tunney 1,010,812 41.58%
Democratic George Brown Jr. 812,463 33.42%
Democratic Kenneth Hahn 417,970 17.19%
Democratic Eileen Anderson 60,977 2.51%
Democratic Arthur Bell Jr. 48,878 2.01%
Democratic Leonard Kurland 43,923 1.81%
Democratic Louis Di Salvo 35,829 1.47%
Total votes 2,430,852 100.00

General election

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Candidates

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Results

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General election results[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John V. Tunney 3,496,558 53.86% Increase5.40
Republican George Murphy (incumbent) 2,877,617 44.33% Decrease7.21
American Independent Charles C. Ripley 61,251 0.94% N/A
Peace and Freedom Robert Scheer 56,731 0.87% N/A
Total votes 6,492,157 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CA US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "CA US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1970". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2019.