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 County results Murphy: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1964 United States Senate election in California was held on November 3, 1964.
Incumbent Democratic SenatorClair Engle, who had been first elected in 1958, underwent surgery for a brain tumor in August 1963. Facing a primary challenge fromAlan Cranston and deteriorating health, he withdrew from the race in April 1964. The primary election was won byPierre Salinger, Press Secretary to President Lyndon Johnson. When Engle died in July, Salinger was appointed as interim senator in his place.
Salinger lost election to a full six-year term to RepublicanGeorge Murphy, a retired Hollywood star. This was the only Senate seat Republicans gained in 1964.
On August 24, 1963, Senator Clair Engle underwent surgery to remove abrain tumor, which left him partially paralyzed, forcing him to miss several Senate sessions. Despite this, he was expected to recover and proceeded with his re-election campaign. By March 1964, California State ControllerAlan Cranston had entered the race and received the endorsement of the California Democratic Council.[1]
On April 13, 1964, Engle's illness was evident as he attempted to introduce a resolution to delay construction of theBodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant. He was given permission to speak but was physically unable, and a colleague presented the resolution instead. Engle officially ended his re-election campaign on April 28, 1964, just four days after undergoing his second operation in eight months.[citation needed] He chose not to endorse either Cranston or Salinger.
A major point of contention during the primary and general elections was Salinger's eligibility to run. Though he was born in San Francisco and attended high school there, he was working at theWhite House at the time and officially a resident of Virginia, meaning he could not vote for himself.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Pierre Salinger | 1,177,517 | 44.26% | |
| Democratic | Alan Cranston | 1,037,748 | 39.01% | |
| Democratic | George H. McLain | 180,405 | 6.78% | |
| Democratic | Clair Engle (incumbent) (withdrawn) | 119,967 | 4.51% | |
| Democratic | Lynn W. Johnston | 43,744 | 1.64% | |
| Democratic | Walter R. Buchanan | 24,903 | 0.91% | |
| Democratic | Guido Joseph Pavia | 16,562 | 0.62% | |
| Democratic | Harold E. Fields | 16,061 | 0.60% | |
| Democratic | Demos Cordeiro | 15,696 | 0.59% | |
| Democratic | Mark Morris | 12,357 | 0.46% | |
| Democratic | Emanuel Braude | 10,064 | 0.38% | |
| Democratic | Henry A. Mermel | 6,092 | 0.23% | |
| Total votes | 2,660,306 | 100.00% | ||
At the California Republican Assembly convention in March, which was overwhelmingly attended by supporters ofBarry Goldwater, Murphy was endorsed over Kaiser. During the convention, former Governor of KansasFred Hall entered the race, denouncing the influence of theJohn Birch Society and "the ultra-right wing of the conservatives."[1] Both Kaiser and Murphy were regarded as conservative, Goldwater-friendly candidates, while Hall was a moderate who identified as "a Rockefeller candidate."[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Murphy | 1,121,591 | 54.13% | |
| Republican | Leland M. Kaiser | 689,323 | 33.27% | |
| Republican | Fred Hall | 261,036 | 12.60% | |
| Total votes | 2,071,950 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Murphy | 3,628,552 | 51.54% |  8.61 | |
| Democratic | Pierre Salinger (incumbent) | 3,411,915 | 48.46% |  8.55 | |
| Total votes | 7,040,467 | 100.00 | |||
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