1976 Senate elections · California history
California U.S. Senate election 1976
Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa REP +3.3 gain · Class I seat · held 11/2/76
- Votes counted
- 7,470,586
- Margin
- 3.3 pts
- Seat held by
- Democraticchanged party
- President in CA
- R+1.8same year
General election 11/2/76
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa Won | REP | 3,748,973 | 50.18% | |
| John Varick Tunney | DEM | 3,502,862 | 46.89% | |
| David Wald | PAF | 104,383 | 1.40% | |
| Jack McCoy | AIP | 82,739 | 1.11% | |
| Omari Musa | IND | 31,629 | 0.42% | |
| Total | 7,470,586 | |||
Official source: data
Other California Senate races
| Year | Seat | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Class I | Adam B. Schiff | 17.8 |
| 2024 special | Class I | Adam B. Schiff | 17.5 |
| 2022 | Class III | Alex Padilla | 22.1 |
| 2022 special | Class III | Alex Padilla | 21.8 |
| 2018 | Class I | Dianne Feinstein | 8.3 |
| 2016 | Class III | Kamala Harris | 23.2 |
| 2012 | Class I | Dianne Feinstein | 25.1 |
| 2010 | Class III | Barbara Boxer | 10.0 |
| 2006 | Class I | Dianne Feinstein | 24.4 |
| 2004 | Class III | Barbara Boxer | 19.9 |
| 2000 | Class I | Dianne Feinstein | 19.3 |
| 1998 | Class III | Barbara Boxer | 10.1 |
Full California Senate history →
Questions and answers
Who won the 1976 California Senate race?
Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa (REP) won with 50.2% of the vote, ahead of John Varick Tunney (46.9%), a margin of 3.3 points.
Did the California Senate seat change party in 1976?
Yes. It moved from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
How many votes were cast in the 1976 California Senate race?
7,470,586 votes were counted for the candidates in the general election.
Compiled by FiveThirtyEight from the official source linked above.