1994 United States Senate election in California
The 1994 United States Senate election in California was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her first full term.
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 County results Feinstein: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Huffington: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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Primary results
From the Secretary of State of California
Democratic
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent) | 1,635,837 | 74.20 | |
| Ted J. Andromedas | 297,128 | 13.48 | |
| Daniel O'Dowd | 271,615 | 12.32 | |
| Total votes | 2,204,580 | 100.00 | |
Republican
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Huffington | 1,072,358 | 53.79 | |
| William E. Dannemeyer | 565,864 | 28.38 | |
| Kate Squires | 202,950 | 10.18 | |
| James Peter Gough | 58,853 | 2.95 | |
| Wolf G. Dalichau | 58,307 | 2.92 | |
| John M. Brown | 35,212 | 1.77 | |
| Total votes | 1,993,544 | 100.00 | |
Peace & Freedom
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Cervantes Barron | 3,487 | 70.70 | |
| Larry D. Hampshire | 1,445 | 29.30 | |
| Total votes | 4,932 | 100.00 | |
Others
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libertarian | Richard Benjamin Boddie | 120,622 | 100.00% | |
| American Independent | Paul Meeuwenberg | 13,596 | 100.00% | |
| Green | Barbara Blong | N/A | 100.00% | |
General election
Candidates
- Dianne Feinstein (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
- Michael Huffington (R), U.S. Representative
- Elizabeth Cervantes Barron (PF)
- Barbara Blong (G)
- Richard Benjamin Boddie (L)
- Paul Meeuwenberg (AI)
Campaign
After one term in the House representing Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, Huffington spent $8 million by the end of August and a total of $28 million during the entire campaign. He became wealthy off oil and gas. The race saw personal attacks on Huffington's wife, Arianna Huffington, who was very involved in the race (the media dubbed her the "Sir Edmund Hillary of social climbing," according to The Almanac of American Politics).
Huffington was called a hypocrite for supporting Proposition 187 and then breaking the law for employing illegal aliens, a story which came out in the race's final days.[1] A grand total of $44 million was spent in the election. At the time, it was the most expensive campaign in a non-presidential election in American history. Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post named the election one of the nastiest senate elections in modern history.[2]
Results
On election day it was a very close race, but Feinstein won Los Angeles County, which may have pulled her ahead. Her sizable win in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area may also be credited to her slim statewide victory. A large number of absentee ballots left the results in doubt for over two weeks. On November 18, Senator Feinstein declared victory. At that time, she was ahead by 147,404 votes, with only 156,210 remaining uncounted ballots.[3] Huffington had not conceded at that point, saying that there was evidence of voter fraud and calling for an investigation. He had already filed a legal complaint, which had already been dismissed.[3] As of December 23, Huffington still contended that there may have been voting fraud and had not conceded.[4]
Overall
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dianne Feinstein (Incumbent) | 3,979,152 | 46.74% | |
| Republican | Michael Huffington | 3,817,025 | 44.83% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Elizabeth Cervantes Barron | 255,301 | 3.00% | |
| Libertarian | Richard Benjamin Boddie | 179,100 | 2.10% | |
| American Independent | Paul Meeuwenberg | 142,771 | 1.68% | |
| Green | Barbara Blong | 140,567 | 1.65% | |
| No party | Write-ins | 173 | <0.01% | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 386,547 | 4.34%[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| Majority | 162,127 | 1.90% | ||
| Total votes | 8,514,089 | 100.00% | ||
| Turnout | 44.94%[lower-alpha 2] | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
By county
Final results from the Secretary of State.[5]
| County | Feinstein | Votes | Huffington | Votes | Barron | Votes | Boddie | Votes | Others | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 79.16% | 185,543 | 15.39% | 36,083 | 1.90% | 4,452 | 1.05% | 2,472 | 2.50% | 5,854 |
| Marin | 70.86% | 74,664 | 24.42% | 25,733 | 1.31% | 1,380 | 1.39% | 1,462 | 2.02% | 2,125 |
| Alameda | 68.34% | 271,456 | 25.21% | 100,120 | 2.35% | 9,323 | 1.45% | 5,778 | 2.65% | 10,539 |
| San Mateo | 64.24% | 136,686 | 29.94% | 63,702 | 2.05% | 4,362 | 1.50% | 3,187 | 2.28% | 4,850 |
| Contra Costa | 57.94% | 170,256 | 36.02% | 105,854 | 2.06% | 6,056 | 1.51% | 4,437 | 2.47% | 7,268 |
| Sonoma | 57.53% | 91,164 | 34.04% | 53,938 | 2.94% | 4,653 | 2.01% | 3,178 | 3.48% | 5,519 |
| Santa Cruz | 57.07% | 52,056 | 32.31% | 29,466 | 3.96% | 3,613 | 2.49% | 2,267 | 4.17% | 3,807 |
| Santa Clara | 55.79% | 245,232 | 35.93% | 157,922 | 2.96% | 13,029 | 2.14% | 9,403 | 3.18% | 13,983 |
| Yolo | 54.87% | 26,793 | 36.56% | 17,851 | 3.18% | 1,553 | 1.86% | 906 | 3.54% | 1,729 |
| Los Angeles | 51.53% | 1,046,026 | 40.38% | 819,594 | 3.35% | 67,993 | 1.97% | 39,952 | 2.78% | 56,332 |
| Solano | 51.01% | 49,920 | 41.03% | 40,158 | 2.90% | 2,834 | 1.68% | 1,645 | 3.38% | 3,312 |
| Napa | 50.73% | 21,340 | 41.33% | 17,388 | 2.33% | 982 | 1.82% | 766 | 3.78% | 1,592 |
| Mendocino | 50.27% | 15,008 | 39.90% | 11,912 | 3.20% | 955 | 2.72% | 812 | 3.92% | 1,169 |
| Sacramento | 47.85% | 168,073 | 43.88% | 154,128 | 2.85% | 9,994 | 1.84% | 6,446 | 3.58% | 12,584 |
| Santa Barbara | 47.16% | 60,811 | 43.29% | 55,825 | 2.84% | 3,664 | 2.29% | 2,956 | 4.41% | 5,686 |
| Alpine | 46.72% | 313 | 42.09% | 282 | 4.93% | 33 | 2.24% | 15 | 4.03% | 27 |
| Monterey | 46.52% | 42,246 | 43.94% | 39,905 | 4.20% | 3,814 | 1.55% | 1,411 | 3.79% | 3,439 |
| Humboldt | 46.04% | 21,817 | 43.77% | 20,742 | 2.54% | 1,202 | 2.31% | 1,093 | 5.35% | 2,534 |
| Lake | 44.76% | 8,675 | 46.66% | 9,043 | 2.32% | 449 | 2.33% | 451 | 3.94% | 763 |
| San Benito | 40.89% | 4,735 | 47.28% | 5,476 | 5.32% | 616 | 2.13% | 247 | 4.38% | 507 |
| San Joaquin | 39.89% | 50,218 | 52.00% | 65,466 | 2.88% | 3,622 | 1.55% | 1,954 | 3.69% | 4,646 |
| Fresno | 39.70% | 69,892 | 52.73% | 92,818 | 3.33% | 5,866 | 1.38% | 2,426 | 2.86% | 5,033 |
| Tuolumne | 39.54% | 7,693 | 52.26% | 10,169 | 2.46% | 479 | 2.11% | 410 | 3.63% | 706 |
| Merced | 39.02% | 15,092 | 52.67% | 20,372 | 3.44% | 1,329 | 1.59% | 616 | 3.29% | 1,272 |
| Stanislaus | 38.93% | 38,414 | 51.91% | 51,224 | 3.21% | 3,169 | 1.68% | 1,658 | 4.27% | 4,217 |
| Ventura | 38.57% | 82,472 | 50.98% | 108,993 | 3.59% | 7,671 | 2.70% | 5,773 | 4.16% | 8,891 |
| San Luis Obispo | 38.36% | 32,777 | 51.83% | 44,285 | 2.74% | 2,345 | 2.49% | 2,127 | 4.57% | 3,905 |
| Imperial | 38.33% | 9,086 | 49.46% | 11,724 | 7.32% | 1,735 | 1.38% | 328 | 3.51% | 832 |
| Amador | 38.25% | 4,950 | 53.32% | 6,900 | 1.94% | 251 | 2.23% | 288 | 4.26% | 551 |
| San Diego | 37.82% | 279,249 | 53.17% | 392,529 | 3.08% | 22,745 | 2.48% | 18,314 | 3.45% | 25,441 |
| Nevada | 37.37% | 13,987 | 53.64% | 20,076 | 2.06% | 771 | 2.73% | 1,023 | 4.19% | 1,570 |
| Placer | 36.93% | 27,934 | 54.28% | 41,058 | 2.33% | 1,759 | 2.20% | 1,666 | 4.27% | 3,231 |
| El Dorado | 36.77% | 19,888 | 54.37% | 29,402 | 2.05% | 1,109 | 2.46% | 1,331 | 4.35% | 2,352 |
| Plumas | 36.53% | 3,082 | 54.03% | 4,559 | 2.71% | 229 | 2.61% | 220 | 4.12% | 348 |
| Mono | 35.98% | 1,263 | 53.25% | 1,869 | 2.42% | 85 | 2.48% | 87 | 5.87% | 206 |
| Mariposa | 35.53% | 2,520 | 55.20% | 3,915 | 2.23% | 158 | 2.26% | 160 | 4.78% | 339 |
| Calaveras | 35.17% | 5,467 | 54.30% | 8,441 | 2.32% | 360 | 2.90% | 450 | 5.31% | 826 |
| Siskiyou | 34.58% | 6,256 | 55.50% | 10,040 | 2.92% | 529 | 2.59% | 468 | 4.41% | 798 |
| Del Norte | 34.51% | 2,553 | 56.16% | 4,154 | 2.16% | 160 | 2.22% | 164 | 4.95% | 366 |
| Butte | 34.45% | 23,317 | 57.03% | 38,600 | 2.64% | 1,789 | 2.20% | 1,492 | 3.68% | 2,490 |
| Sierra | 34.25% | 548 | 54.31% | 869 | 3.06% | 49 | 3.94% | 63 | 4.44% | 71 |
| Kings | 33.98% | 7,592 | 56.96% | 12,725 | 3.79% | 846 | 1.45% | 323 | 3.82% | 854 |
| Riverside | 33.95% | 115,333 | 56.11% | 190,615 | 3.41% | 11,582 | 2.58% | 8,755 | 3.96% | 13,438 |
| San Bernardino | 33.34% | 114,027 | 55.95% | 191,343 | 3.73% | 12,752 | 2.89% | 9,876 | 4.09% | 13,986 |
| Madera | 32.56% | 8,613 | 59.26% | 15,675 | 2.84% | 750 | 1.71% | 452 | 3.63% | 960 |
| Lassen | 32.44% | 2,639 | 56.51% | 4,597 | 2.83% | 230 | 2.79% | 227 | 5.43% | 442 |
| Orange | 31.88% | 239,010 | 58.87% | 441,398 | 2.71% | 20,308 | 2.92% | 21,901 | 3.62% | 27,175 |
| Trinity | 31.87% | 1,703 | 54.53% | 2,914 | 3.71% | 198 | 3.89% | 208 | 6.01% | 321 |
| Tulare | 31.45% | 24,244 | 59.77% | 46,074 | 3.72% | 2,871 | 1.76% | 1,359 | 3.29% | 2,535 |
| Yuba | 29.70% | 4,158 | 59.75% | 8,365 | 3.06% | 429 | 2.44% | 341 | 5.05% | 707 |
| Colusa | 29.34% | 1,449 | 63.29% | 3,126 | 2.77% | 137 | 1.48% | 73 | 3.12% | 154 |
| Tehama | 27.94% | 5,142 | 61.55% | 11,329 | 2.84% | 522 | 2.67% | 492 | 5.00% | 921 |
| Shasta | 27.83% | 15,077 | 62.99% | 34,129 | 2.51% | 1,362 | 2.21% | 1,200 | 4.46% | 2,417 |
| Sutter | 27.23% | 5,958 | 65.09% | 14,242 | 2.55% | 559 | 1.63% | 357 | 3.50% | 766 |
| Kern | 26.63% | 39,987 | 63.61% | 95,504 | 3.43% | 5,153 | 2.15% | 3,229 | 4.17% | 6,259 |
| Inyo | 25.96% | 1,841 | 64.95% | 4,606 | 2.51% | 178 | 2.14% | 152 | 4.44% | 315 |
| Modoc | 24.77% | 951 | 63.72% | 2,447 | 2.55% | 98 | 3.23% | 124 | 5.73% | 220 |
| Glenn | 24.68% | 1,956 | 67.51% | 5,351 | 2.01% | 159 | 1.63% | 129 | 4.18% | 331 |
See also
References
- B. Drummond Ayres Jr. (October 27, 1994). "THE 1994 CAMPAIGN: CALIFORNIA; Huffington Admits Hiring Illegal Alien". The New York Times.
- Chris Cillizza (July 1, 2010). "The 10 nastiest Senate races". The Washington Post The Fix blog.
- B. Drummond Ayres Jr. (November 19, 1994). "THE NEW CONGRESS: CALIFORNIA; Feinstein Claims Victory in Senate Race". The New York Times.
- B. Drummond Ayres Jr. (December 26, 1994). "Nov. 8 Is Long Gone, but the California Election Lingers On, and On and On". The New York Times.
- Jones, Bill (1994-12-16). "STATEMENT OF VOTE: November 8, 1994, General Election" (PDF). Office of the California Secretary of State. p. xii,37. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. "STATISTICS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 8, 1994" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. p. 3,6. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
External links
- JoinCalifornia 1994 General Election