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 County results Kuchel: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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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 2025. As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican was elected to the Class 3 Senate seat from California.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Thomas Kuchel, incumbent Senator since 1954
- Howard Jarvis, anti-tax activist, Los Angeles industrialist
- William H. Reinholz
- Loyd Wright, former American Bar Association President
Results
| 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
Candidates
- J.F. Coleman
- Gabriel Green, photographer and UFO conspiracy theorist
- Richard Richards, State Senator from Los Angeles County
Results
| 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
Campaign
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
Shift by county
Trend by county
Legend
- Republican — >15%
- Republican — +12.5−15%
- Republican — +10−12.5%
- Republican — +7.5−10%
- Republican — +5−7.5%
- Republican — +2.5−5%
- Republican — +0−2.5%
- Democratic — +0−2.5%
- Democratic — +2.5−5%
- Democratic — +5−7.5%
- Democratic — +7.5-10%
- Democratic — +10−12.5%
- Democratic — +12.5−15%
- Democratic — >15%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thomas Kuchel (inc.) | 3,180,483 | 56.31% |  2.35
| |
| Democratic | Richard Richards | 2,452,839 | 43.43% |  9.47
| |
| 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
- Anderson, Totton J.; Lee, Eugene C. (1963). "The 1962 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 16 (2): 396–420. doi:10.2307/444953. ISSN 0043-4078. JSTOR 444953.
- Anderson, Totton J.; Lee, Eugene C. (1963). "The 1962 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 16 (2): 396–420. doi:10.2307/444953. ISSN 0043-4078. JSTOR 444953.
- "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - R Primary Race - Jun 05, 1962". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - D Primary Race". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. 1963. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- Democrat Alan Cranston came very close in 1974, losing Inyo County by only 55 votes.
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