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 County resultsCranston: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Rafferty: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1968 United States Senate election in California was held on November 5, 1968.
Incumbent Republican Thomas Kuchel was narrowly defeated in the June 4 primary by Superintendent of Public Instruction Max Rafferty. Rafferty would in turn go on to lose to Democratic former State Controller Alan Cranston by a close margin.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Phil Cammack
- W.C. Jones
- Thomas Kuchel, incumbent U.S. Senator and Assistant Minority Leader
- Max Rafferty, California Superintendent of Public Instruction since 1963
- James A. Ware, perennial candidate for office from Los Angeles
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Max Rafferty | 1,112,947 | 50.05% | |
| Republican | Thomas Kuchel (incumbent) | 1,043,315 | 46.92% | |
| Republican | James A. Ware | 28,311 | 1.27% | |
| Republican | Phil Cammack | 20,767 | 0.93% | |
| Republican | W.C. Jones | 18,442 | 0.83% | |
| Total votes | 2,223,782 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Anthony Beilenson, State Senator from Beverly Hills
- William M. Bennett, member of the California Public Utilities Commission
- Walter Buchanan, perennial candidate
- Charles Crail
- Alan Cranston, former California State Controller
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Cranston | 1,681,825 | 58.99% | |
| Democratic | Anthony Beilenson | 644,844 | 22.62% | |
| Democratic | Walter R. Buchanan | 227,798 | 7.99% | |
| Democratic | William M. Bennett | 207,720 | 7.29% | |
| Democratic | Charles Crail | 89,023 | 3.12% | |
| Total votes | 2,851,210 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Candidates
- Alan Cranston (Democratic)
- Paul Jacobs (Peace & Freedom)
- Max Rafferty (Republican)
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 | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alan Cranston | 3,680,352 | 51.82% |  8.38
| |
| Republican | Max Rafferty | 3,329,148 | 46.87% |  9.46
| |
| Peace and Freedom | Paul Jacobs | 92,965 | 1.31% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 7,102,465 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
References
- "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - R Primary Race - Jun 04, 1968".
- "William M. Bennett, former JFK campaign chief and state political heavyweight, dies at 91". February 22, 2010.
- "Our Campaigns - CA US Senate - D Primary Race - Jun 04, 1968".
- "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
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