 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County resultsBoxer: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Herschensohn: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The1992 United States Senate election in California took place on November 3, 1992, at the same time as thespecial election to the United States Senate in California. Incumbent DemocratAlan Cranston decided to retire. DemocratBarbara Boxer won the open seat. This election was noted as both of California's senators were elected for the first time. This is not a unique occurrence; it would happen again inTennessee in 1994,Kansas in 1996, andGeorgia in 2021. Fellow DemocratDianne Feinstein, California's senior senator, won the special election and was inaugurated in November 1992.
In the primary election in June, Boxer defeated McCarthy and Levine with 43.6% of the vote.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Boxer | 1,339,126 | 43.58% | |
| Democratic | Leo T. McCarthy | 943,229 | 30.70% | |
| Democratic | Mel Levine | 667,359 | 21.72% | |
| Democratic | Charles Greene | 122,954 | 4.00% | |
| Total votes | 3,072,668 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bruce Herschensohn | 956,146 | 38.80% | |
| Republican | Tom Campbell | 859,970 | 34.90% | |
| Republican | Sonny Bono | 417,848 | 16.96% | |
| Republican | Isaac Park Yonker | 94,623 | 3.84% | |
| Republican | Alexander Swift Justice | 60,104 | 2.44% | |
| Republican | John W. Spring | 54,941 | 2.23% | |
| Republican | John M. Brown | 20,810 | 0.84% | |
| Total votes | 2,464,442 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace and Freedom | Genevieve Torres | 5,492 | 60.34% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Shirley Lee | 3,610 | 39.66% | |
| Total votes | 9,102 | 100.00% | ||
The general election between Boxer and Herschensohn was very close. At the eleventh hour, controversy emerged that the Republican nominee attended a strip club, which some Republican operatives later blamed for Herschensohn's loss.[5]
Four days beforeElection Day polls showed Herschensohn had narrowed a double digit deficit, trailing by 3 points.Political operativeBob Mulholland disrupted a campaign appearance with a large poster advertising astrip club shouting "Should the voters of California elect someone who frequently travels the strip joints of Hollywood?" Herschensohn admitted he had visited a strip club once, with his girlfriend and another couple. Withpress coverage of the story, Herschensohn spent the waning days of the campaign denying related allegations. When the votes were cast and counted, Boxer won the election by five points.[6] Although Republicans have blamed the defeat on the underhanded tactics of the Boxer campaign, evidence of the connection between Mulholland's outburst and the campaign never surfaced.[7][8][9]
The election was very close. Boxer was declared the winner by theAssociated Press at 1:22 A.M. Pacific Coast Time.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Boxer | 5,173,467 | 47.90% | |
| Republican | Bruce Herschensohn | 4,644,182 | 43.00% | |
| American Independent | Jerome N. McCready | 373,051 | 3.45% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Genevieve Torres | 372,817 | 3.45% | |
| Libertarian | June R. Genis | 235,919 | 2.18% | |
| Write-in | Joel Britton | 110 | 0.00% | |
| Write-in | John Cortese | 101 | 0.00% | |
| Write-in | Robert L. Bell | 56 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 10,799,647 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
Shift by county
Trend by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic
|
Final results from theSecretary of State of California.[10]
| County | Boxer | Votes | Hersch. | Votes | McC. | Votes | Torres | Votes | Genis | Votes | W/I | V's |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 76.57% | 233,068 | 18.72% | 56,972 | 1.48% | 4,503 | 1.84% | 5,602 | 1.38% | 4,214 | 0.00% | 13 |
| Alameda | 66.94% | 343,020 | 25.08% | 128,489 | 3.08% | 15,768 | 2.85% | 14,610 | 2.04% | 10,477 | 0.01% | 29 |
| Marin | 63.47% | 80,902 | 29.14% | 37,150 | 2.59% | 3,299 | 2.08% | 2,656 | 2.72% | 3,464 | 0.00% | 1 |
| Santa Cruz | 61.21% | 67,927 | 29.27% | 32,482 | 2.98% | 3,309 | 3.18% | 3,525 | 3.36% | 3,726 | 0.00% | 2 |
| San Mateo | 59.39% | 158,490 | 32.68% | 87,209 | 2.49% | 6,638 | 2.87% | 7,669 | 2.58% | 6,879 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Yolo | 58.23% | 35,006 | 33.10% | 19,900 | 3.70% | 2,222 | 2.85% | 1,711 | 2.12% | 1,274 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Sonoma | 56.76% | 108,991 | 32.65% | 62,696 | 4.05% | 7,772 | 3.69% | 7,084 | 2.85% | 5,476 | 0.00% | 7 |
| Mendocino | 55.99% | 19,818 | 33.10% | 11,718 | 4.60% | 1,627 | 3.28% | 1,160 | 3.03% | 1,074 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Contra Costa | 55.17% | 203,563 | 35.76% | 131,923 | 3.65% | 13,462 | 3.06% | 11,290 | 2.36% | 8,711 | 0.00% | 3 |
| Santa Clara | 54.11% | 314,884 | 35.55% | 206,913 | 3.61% | 21,001 | 3.59% | 20,922 | 3.14% | 18,261 | 0.00% | 2 |
| Los Angeles | 52.55% | 1,410,423 | 39.60% | 1,062,974 | 2.56% | 68,630 | 3.57% | 95,779 | 1.72% | 46,195 | 0.00% | 65 |
| Solano | 51.87% | 67,007 | 36.50% | 47,148 | 5.12% | 6,615 | 4.02% | 5,188 | 2.49% | 3,217 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Napa | 49.63% | 25,746 | 39.81% | 20,655 | 4.32% | 2,240 | 3.55% | 1,841 | 2.69% | 1,396 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Sacramento | 49.09% | 215,853 | 40.90% | 179,844 | 3.96% | 17,425 | 3.79% | 16,684 | 2.25% | 9,911 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Monterey | 48.65% | 54,400 | 41.05% | 45,903 | 4.16% | 4,648 | 3.63% | 4,058 | 2.51% | 2,801 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Humboldt | 48.63% | 27,916 | 43.13% | 24,757 | 3.14% | 1,802 | 3.38% | 1,941 | 1.72% | 986 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Lake | 46.82% | 10,805 | 40.54% | 9,357 | 6.01% | 1,388 | 3.51% | 810 | 3.12% | 720 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Alpine | 45.18% | 272 | 43.19% | 260 | 5.81% | 35 | 4.65% | 28 | 1.16% | 7 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Santa Barbara | 45.11% | 70,998 | 46.25% | 72,793 | 3.49% | 5,486 | 3.46% | 5,444 | 1.70% | 2,673 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Stanislaus | 45.03% | 55,688 | 45.18% | 55,875 | 4.31% | 5,332 | 3.64% | 4,501 | 1.85% | 2,285 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Imperial | 44.66% | 11,614 | 43.79% | 11,389 | 3.15% | 819 | 7.07% | 1,839 | 1.33% | 347 | 0.00% | 0 |
| San Benito | 43.68% | 5,415 | 44.59% | 5,527 | 4.76% | 590 | 4.34% | 538 | 2.63% | 326 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Tuolumne | 42.81% | 9,811 | 46.24% | 10,596 | 4.86% | 1,113 | 3.87% | 886 | 2.21% | 507 | 0.01% | 2 |
| Del Norte | 42.36% | 3,891 | 46.69% | 4,289 | 6.00% | 551 | 3.05% | 280 | 1.91% | 175 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Mono | 42.23% | 1,820 | 47.19% | 2,034 | 4.01% | 173 | 3.83% | 165 | 2.74% | 118 | 0.00% | 0 |
| San Diego | 42.17% | 399,087 | 47.35% | 448,181 | 4.06% | 38,434 | 3.53% | 33,379 | 2.89% | 27,336 | 0.00% | 12 |
| San Joaquin | 42.15% | 66,484 | 47.57% | 75,032 | 4.41% | 6,963 | 3.94% | 6,213 | 1.92% | 3,036 | 0.00% | 0 |
| S. L. Obispo | 41.23% | 41,824 | 49.24% | 49,945 | 4.47% | 4,530 | 2.89% | 2,933 | 2.17% | 2,205 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Siskiyou | 40.60% | 8,115 | 47.87% | 9,568 | 6.33% | 1,266 | 3.00% | 599 | 2.21% | 441 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Plumas | 40.48% | 4,032 | 47.47% | 4,728 | 7.13% | 710 | 2.78% | 277 | 2.13% | 212 | 0.01% | 1 |
| Amador | 40.38% | 6,082 | 48.91% | 7,366 | 5.07% | 764 | 3.23% | 486 | 2.41% | 363 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Ventura | 39.62% | 104,335 | 50.62% | 133,274 | 3.89% | 10,253 | 3.66% | 9,629 | 2.20% | 5,793 | 0.01% | 25 |
| Nevada | 39.45% | 17,091 | 49.87% | 21,609 | 5.35% | 2,317 | 2.74% | 1,186 | 2.60% | 1,125 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Placer | 39.33% | 34,905 | 50.50% | 44,813 | 3.98% | 3,532 | 3.72% | 3,297 | 2.47% | 2,193 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Merced | 39.21% | 17,848 | 49.12% | 22,360 | 5.35% | 2,434 | 3.47% | 1,579 | 2.85% | 1,298 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Sierra | 38.69% | 705 | 48.19% | 878 | 7.14% | 130 | 3.02% | 55 | 2.96% | 54 | 0.00% | 0 |
| El Dorado | 38.66% | 24,601 | 50.86% | 32,368 | 4.68% | 2,975 | 3.33% | 2,116 | 2.48% | 1,576 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Calaveras | 38.35% | 6,402 | 49.54% | 8,269 | 5.80% | 969 | 3.35% | 559 | 2.96% | 494 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Lassen | 38.09% | 3,761 | 48.85% | 4,823 | 7.67% | 757 | 3.33% | 329 | 2.06% | 203 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Riverside | 38.05% | 160,630 | 51.83% | 218,778 | 4.39% | 18,512 | 3.63% | 15,323 | 2.11% | 8,891 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Butte | 37.41% | 31,505 | 51.47% | 43,338 | 5.11% | 4,306 | 3.28% | 2,762 | 2.73% | 2,296 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Fresno | 36.93% | 78,321 | 55.59% | 117,891 | 2.16% | 4,587 | 3.78% | 8,009 | 1.53% | 3,248 | 0.00% | 3 |
| S. Bernardino | 36.90% | 164,620 | 51.81% | 231,143 | 4.74% | 21,138 | 4.38% | 19,555 | 2.14% | 9,558 | 0.02% | 100 |
| Mariposa | 36.86% | 2,989 | 51.92% | 4,211 | 5.36% | 435 | 3.86% | 313 | 2.00% | 162 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Trinity | 35.16% | 2,261 | 49.51% | 3,184 | 7.79% | 501 | 4.15% | 267 | 3.39% | 218 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Yuba | 34.03% | 5,638 | 52.67% | 8,726 | 7.24% | 1,199 | 3.30% | 547 | 2.76% | 458 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Colusa | 33.57% | 1,859 | 56.19% | 3,112 | 5.00% | 277 | 3.21% | 178 | 2.02% | 112 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Orange | 33.41% | 317,740 | 57.89% | 550,502 | 3.20% | 30,400 | 3.21% | 30,550 | 2.29% | 21,783 | 0.00% | 2 |
| Kings | 33.09% | 8,151 | 57.15% | 14,079 | 3.63% | 895 | 4.85% | 1,196 | 1.28% | 315 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Modoc | 32.64% | 1,429 | 54.07% | 2,367 | 8.18% | 358 | 3.22% | 141 | 1.90% | 83 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Madera | 31.89% | 9,401 | 59.74% | 17,609 | 3.42% | 1,009 | 3.82% | 1,127 | 1.12% | 329 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Inyo | 30.98% | 2,563 | 58.59% | 4,847 | 4.96% | 410 | 3.36% | 278 | 2.12% | 175 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Sutter | 30.83% | 7,719 | 59.04% | 14,783 | 4.86% | 1,216 | 3.23% | 809 | 2.05% | 513 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Tehama | 30.71% | 6,450 | 56.62% | 11,893 | 6.47% | 1,360 | 3.08% | 647 | 3.12% | 655 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Kern | 30.30% | 53,141 | 60.97% | 106,916 | 3.58% | 6,286 | 3.54% | 6,200 | 1.61% | 2,823 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Tulare | 29.24% | 25,311 | 62.21% | 53,856 | 3.54% | 3,066 | 3.78% | 3,273 | 1.23% | 1,067 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Shasta | 28.39% | 18,868 | 59.44% | 39,507 | 6.15% | 4,085 | 3.78% | 2,515 | 2.24% | 1,492 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Glenn | 26.27% | 2,271 | 62.16% | 5,373 | 6.12% | 529 | 3.23% | 279 | 2.22% | 192 | 0.00% | 0 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
A clearly shaken Herschensohn, who has embraced the GOP "family values" platform, at first refused to comment on the accusations, calling them "a pretty desperate thing." But he later conceded that he once visited the Seventh Veil nude-dance club in Hollywood...The authors were LA Times staff writers.
That vintage Mulholland maneuver made it all but impossible for Herschensohn to stay on-message during the campaign's crucial closing days.
Bob Mulholland, publicly accused Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn of visiting a Sunset Boulevard strip club. Herschensohn had been running as the traditional-values candidate.
Amid the controversy, Herschensohn lost the Senate race to Democrat Barbara Boxer, and the GOP was outraged at what it called a "smear campaign." Kennedy suspended Mulholland, but he soon returned to the party.
.jpg)
.jpg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)