1970 United States Senate election in California
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 County results Tunney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Murphy: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1970 United States Senate election in California was held on November 3, 1970.
Incumbent Republican Senator George Murphy lost re-election to a second term to Democratic Congressman John V. Tunney. This election was the first since 1860 in which California sent two Democrats to the U.S. Senate.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Robert Amequista
- Robert R. Barry, former U.S. Representative from New York and unsuccessful candidate for Representative from California in 1966, 1967, and 1968
- Katharine Marros
- George Murphy, incumbent Senator
- Norton Simon, billionaire industrialist and philanthropist
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Murphy (incumbent) | 1,325,271 | 64.30% | |
| Republican | Norton Simon | 670,702 | 32.54% | |
| Republican | Robert R. Barry | 30,558 | 1.48% | |
| Republican | Katharine Marros | 22,238 | 1.08% | |
| Republican | Robert Amequista | 12,336 | 0.60% | |
| Total votes | 2,061,105 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Eileen Anderson, candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1969
- Arthur Bell Jr.
- George E. Brown Jr., U.S. Representative from Monterey Park
- Louis Di Salvo
- Kenneth Hahn, Los Angeles County Supervisor
- Leonard Kurland
- John V. Tunney, U.S. Representative from Riverside
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John V. Tunney | 1,010,812 | 41.58% | |
| Democratic | George Brown Jr. | 812,463 | 33.42% | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Hahn | 417,970 | 17.19% | |
| Democratic | Eileen Anderson | 60,977 | 2.51% | |
| Democratic | Arthur Bell Jr. | 48,878 | 2.01% | |
| Democratic | Leonard Kurland | 43,923 | 1.81% | |
| Democratic | Louis Di Salvo | 35,829 | 1.47% | |
| Total votes | 2,430,852 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Candidates
- George Murphy, incumbent Senator since 1965 (Republican)
- Charles C. Ripley (American Independent)
- Robert Scheer, journalist (Peace and Freedom)
- John V. Tunney, U.S. Representative from Riverside (Democratic)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John V. Tunney | 3,496,558 | 53.86% |  5.40 | |
| Republican | George Murphy (incumbent) | 2,877,617 | 44.33% |  7.21 | |
| American Independent | Charles C. Ripley | 61,251 | 0.94% | N/A | |
| Peace and Freedom | Robert Scheer | 56,731 | 0.87% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 6,492,157 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
