1946 United States Senate elections in California

The two 1946 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 5, 1946.

1946 United States Senate election in California

← 1940 November 5, 1946 1952 →

Nominee William Knowland Will Rogers Jr. Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,428,067 1,167,161 Percentage 54.10% 44.22%

County results Knowland:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Rogers:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election William F. Knowland Republican Elected U.S. Senator William F. Knowland Republican

After incumbent Republican Senator Hiram Johnson died in office in August 1945, Governor Earl Warren appointed U.S. Army Major and former State Senator William F. Knowland to finish Johnson's term until a successor could be duly elected. Knowland won both the special election to complete Johnson's term, and the regularly scheduled 1946 election, over former U.S. Representative Will Rogers Jr., both held on November 5.

Republican primary

Candidates

• William F. Knowland, incumbent Senator since 1945

Results

1946 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William F. Knowland (inc.)	514,667	64.80%
	Democratic	Will Rogers Jr. (cross-filing)	203,436	25.61%
	Democratic	Ellis E. Patterson (cross-filing)	76,151	9.59%
Total votes			794,254	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John S. Crowder
• Adam C. Derkum
• Wayne McFarland
• Ellis Patterson, U.S. Representative and former Lieutenant Governor of California
• Will Rogers Jr., former U.S. Representative from Culver City and son of humorist Will Rogers

Results

1946 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Will Rogers Jr.	501,634	47.45%
	Democratic	Ellis Patterson	286,812	27.13%
	Republican	William F. Knowland (inc.) (cross-filing)	226,182	21.40%
	Democratic	Wayne McFarland	17,774	1.68%
	Democratic	John S. Crowder	17,156	1.62%
	Democratic	Adam C. Derkum	7,578	0.72%
Total votes			1,057,136	100.00

General election

Results

General election results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William F. Knowland (inc.)	1,428,067	54.10%
	Democratic	Will Rogers Jr.	1,167,161	44.22%
	Prohibition	Douglas Corrigan	42,683	1.62%
	Socialist Labor	Herbert Steiner (write-in)	156	0.01%
	Write-in	All others	1,398	0.05%
Total votes			2,639,465	100.00%

Special election

In a simultaneous special election for the remainder of Johnson's term, Knowland won easily. Notably, no candidates were listed on the ballot. Each vote was a write-in, making Knowland technically the first ever write-in candidate elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1954, Strom Thurmond became the first candidate to win a Senate election by write-in where another candidate was actually listed on the ballot.

Results

1946 U.S. Senate special election in California^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Write-in	William F. Knowland (inc.)	425,273	74.31%
	Write-in	Will Rogers Jr.	90,723	15.85%
	Write-in	George H. McLain	17,883	3.13%
	Write-in	Ellis E. Patterson	3,889	0.68%
	Write-in	Douglas Corrigan	2,464	0.43%
	Write-in	Vic Paulsen	1,616	0.28%
	Write-in	Moody Staten	1,494	0.26%
	Write-in	Hartley F. Peart	1,383	0.24%
	Write-in	George C. Highley	1,268	0.22%
	Write-in	James Moran	918	0.16%
	Write-in	Ben Rinaldo	765	0.13%
	Write-in	Aubrey D. Lewis	519	0.09%
	Write-in	Frank Merriam	507	0.09%
	Write-in	All others	23,619	4.13%
Total votes			572,321	100.00%

See also

• 1946 United States Senate elections