1994 United States Senate election in California
← 1992 (special) November 8, 1994 2000 →
 
Nominee Dianne Feinstein Michael Huffington
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 3,979,152 3,817,025
Percentage 46.74% 44.83%
County results
Feinstein:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Huffington:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Dianne Feinstein
Democratic

Elections in California
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State government
Executive
Governor
Lieutenant governor
Attorney general
Secretary of state
Treasurer
Controller
Insurance commissioner
Superintendent
Board of equalization
Legislature
Senate
Assembly
Judiciary
Court of appeals
Elections by year
State propositions
1910–1919
1960–1969
1970–1979
1980–1989
1990–1999
2000–2009
2010–2019
2020–2029
Full list
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County
Board of supervisors
Ballot measures
  • 1980
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
Elections
Los Angeles
Mayor
City attorney
Ballot measures
  • 1986
  • 2017
Elections
Long Beach
Mayor
Orange County
Orange County
Board of supervisors
District attorney
Anaheim
Mayor
Irvine
Mayor
Costa Mesa
Municipal
Sacramento
Mayor
San Diego County
San Diego County
Board of supervisors
San Diego
Mayor
City attorney
City council
San Francisco
Mayor
District attorney
Board of supervisors
Board of education
Elections
San Jose
Mayor
Other localities
Bakersfield

Mayoral elections:

Fresno

Mayoral elections:

Oakland

Mayoral elections:

Riverside

Mayoral elections:

San Bernardino

Mayoral elections:

Stockton

Mayoral elections:

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. By a margin of 1.9%, this election was the closest race of the 1994 Senate election cycle. This election was the first time ever that an incumbent Democratic Senator from California was re-elected or won re-election to this seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dianne Feinstein (incumbent) 1,635,837 74.20%
Democratic Ted J. Andromedas 297,128 13.48%
Democratic Daniel O'Dowd 271,615 12.32%
Total votes 2,204,580 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael Huffington 1,072,358 55.43%
Republican William E. Dannemeyer 565,864 29.25%
Republican Kate Squires 202,950 10.49%
Republican Wolf G. Dalichau 58,307 3.01%
Republican John M. Brown 35,212 1.82%
Total votes 1,934,691 100.00

Other nominations

Peace & Freedom Party

Peace & Freedom primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Peace and Freedom Elizabeth Cervantes Barron 3,487 70.70
Peace and Freedom Larry D. Hampshire 1,445 29.30
Total votes 4,932 100.00

Libertarian Party

Libertarian primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Richard Boddie 120,622 100.00
Total votes 120,622 100.00

American Independent Party

American Independent primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
American Independent Paul Meeuwenberg 13,596 100.00
Total votes 13,596 100.00

Green Party

While there was no primary election for the Green Party, Barbara Blong got the nomination of the party and represented them in the general election.

General election

Candidates

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[6] As of December 23, Huffington still contended that there may have been voting fraud and had not conceded.[7]

Overall

1994 United States Senate election in California[8][9]
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%
Write-in 173 <0.01%
Invalid or blank votes 386,547 4.34%[a]
Majority 162,127 1.90%
Total votes 8,514,089 100.00%
Turnout (({votes))} 44.94%[b]
Democratic hold

By county

Final results from the Secretary of State.[8]

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

  1. ^ "Votes not cast" as a percentage of votes cast anywhere statewide, which numbered 8,900,593.[8]
  2. ^ As a percentage of the voting eligible population (VEP), estimated at 18.946 million.[8]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Defying the Odds?". The Los Angeles Times. p. 74. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "1996 California Voter Information: Statement". vote96.sos.ca.gov. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Citizen Kate: an Election Race Against Conventional Wisdom". The Los Angeles Times. April 4, 1994. p. 59. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  4. ^ B. Drummond Ayres Jr. (October 27, 1994). "THE 1994 CAMPAIGN: CALIFORNIA; Huffington Admits Hiring Illegal Alien". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Chris Cillizza (July 1, 2010). "The 10 nastiest Senate races". The Washington Post The Fix blog.
  6. ^ a b B. Drummond Ayres Jr. (November 19, 1994). "THE NEW CONGRESS: CALIFORNIA; Feinstein Claims Victory in Senate Race". The New York Times.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b c d Jones, Bill (December 16, 1994). "STATEMENT OF VOTE: November 8, 1994, General Election" (PDF). Office of the California Secretary of State. p. xii,37. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  9. ^ 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 November 16, 2020.

External links

Elections in California
California 1994 elections
(1993←)   1994 United States elections   (→1995)
Categories