1952 United States Senate election in California

The 1952 United States Senate election in California was held on November 4, 1952, concurrently with the 1952 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

1952 United States Senate election in California

← 1946 November 4, 1952 1958 →

Nominee William Knowland Reuben W. Borough Party Republican Progressive Alliance Democratic Popular vote 3,982,448 542,270 Percentage 87.79% 11.95%

County results Knowland:      80–90%      90-100%

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

By cross-filing and winning the Democratic nomination, incumbent Republican Senator William F. Knowland was able to cruise to a general election victory with only nominal opposition.

Until 1988, this was the last time a nominee from either party won re-election to this seat.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Robert D. Adams
• William F. Knowland, incumbent Senator since 1945

Results

1952 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William F. Knowland (inc.)	1,341,170	87.68%
	Democratic	Clinton D. McKinnon (cross-filing)	140,571	9.19%
	Republican	Robert D. Adams	47,969	3.14%
Total votes			1,529,710	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Clinton D. McKinnon, U.S. Representative from San Diego
• Arthur W. Watwood

Results

Primary result
Knowland:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
McKinnon:      70–80%

1952 Democratic U.S. Senate primary^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William F. Knowland (inc.) (cross-filing)	966,881	55.54%
	Democratic	Clinton D. McKinnon	633,556	36.39%
	Democratic	Arthur W. Watwood	140,406	8.07%
Total votes			1,740,843	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Reuben W. Borough, former Los Angeles Public Works Commissioner and editor of EPIC News (Progressive)
• William F. Knowland, incumbent Senator since 1945 (Republican)

Results

General election results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William Knowland (Incumbent)	3,982,448	87.79%	+33.69%
	Progressive	Reuben W. Borough	542,270	11.95%	N/A
	Write-in	Helen Gahagan Douglas	11,812	0.26%	N/A
Total votes			4,536,530	100.00%
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1952 United States Senate elections