The 1964 United States Senate election in California was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Democratic Senator Clair Engle, who had been first elected in 1958, underwent surgery for a brain tumor in August 1963. Facing a primary challenge from

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as President of the Citizens for Global S ...

and deteriorating health, he withdrew from the race in April 1964. The primary election was won by

Pierre Salinger Pierre Emil George Salinger (June 14, 1925 – October 16, 2004) was an American journalist, author and politician. He served as the ninth White House Press Secretary, press secretary for United States presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon ...

, 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 Republican

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to ...

, a retired Hollywood star. This was the only Senate seat Republicans gained in 1964.

Democratic primary

Candidates

*Emanuel Braude *Walter Buchanan, candidate for U.S. Representative in 1934 and 1962 *Demos Cordeiro *

, California Controller *Harold E. Fields *Lynn Johnston, candidate for U.S. Representative in 1963 * George H. McLain, perennial candidate, nativist, and pensioner advocate *Henry A. Mermel *Mark Morris *Guido Joseph Pavia, resident of Napa *

White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...

Declined to run

Stanley Mosk Morey Stanley Mosk (September 4, 1912 – June 19, 2001) was an American jurist, politician, and attorney. He served as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court for 37 years (1964–2001), the longest tenure in that court's history. ...

, California Attorney General (appointed to California Supreme Court)

Withdrew

* Clair Engle, incumbent Senator (died July 30)

Campaign

On August 24, 1963, Senator Clair Engle underwent surgery to remove a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

, 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 Controller

had entered the race and received the endorsement of the California Democratic Council. On April 13, 1964, Engle's illness was evident as he attempted to introduce a resolution to delay construction of the

Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant The Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed Northern California nuclear power facility that was stopped by local activism in the 1960s and never built. The foundations, located west of the active San Andreas Fault, were being dug at the ti ...

. 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. 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 the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

at the time and officially a resident of Virginia, meaning he could not vote for himself.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Fred Hall Frederick Lee Hall (July 24, 1916 – March 18, 1970) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the 31st lieutenant governor of Kansas from 1951 to 1955 and 33rd governor of Kansas from 1955 until 1957 and a justice of the Kans ...

, former Governor of Kansas * Leland M. Kaiser, San Francisco financier *

, actor, film executive, and former President of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

Campaign

At the California Republican Assembly convention in March, which was overwhelmingly attended by supporters of

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

, Murphy was endorsed over Kaiser. During the convention, former Governor of Kansas

entered the race, denouncing the influence of the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

and "the ultra-right wing of the conservatives." Both Kaiser and Murphy were regarded as conservative, Goldwater-friendly candidates, while Hall was a moderate who identified as "a Rockefeller candidate."

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declined to run

Withdrew

Campaign

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election

Results

See also

References

Further reading