1958_United_States_Senate_election_in_California Knowpia

1958 United States Senate election in California
	County results; Engle: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% ; Knight: 50–60%
U.S. senator before election; William F. Knowland; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Clair Engle; Democratic

The 1958 United States Senate election in California was held on November 4, 1958.

Incumbent senator William F. Knowland opted not to run for re-election, choosing instead to run for election as governor. Incumbent governor Goodwin Knight exchanged places with Knowland and lost to U.S. Representative Clair Engle in the midst of a national landslide for the Democratic Party.

This was one of 15 seats Democrats gained from the Republican Party in 1958, part of a record swing.

Republican primary edit

Candidates edit

George Christopher, Mayor of San Francisco
William Jolley
Goodwin Knight, Governor of California
Alexander Williamson

Results edit

Primary results by county:

Knight

30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%

Christopher

40–50%

Engle

30–40%
40–50%
50–60%

1958 Republican U.S. Senate primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Goodwin Knight	790,939	49.15%
	Republican	George Christopher	558,245	34.69%
	Democratic	Clair Engle (cross-filing)	173,845	10.80%
	Republican	Alexander D. Williamson	53,273	3.31%
	Republican	William Jolley	32,921	2.05%
Total votes			1,609,223	100.00

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Clair Engle, U.S. Representative from Red Bluff
Fritjof Thygeson

Results edit

General election results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clair Engle	1,558,622	70.85%
	Republican	Goodwin Knight (cross-filing)	385,170	17.51%
	Republican	George Christopher (cross-filing)	221,783	10.08%
	Democratic	Fritjof Thygeson	34,316	1.56%
Total votes			2,199,891	100.00

General election edit

Results edit

1958 U.S. Senate election in California^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Clair Engle	2,927,693	57.01%	57.01
	Republican	Goodwin Knight	2,204,337	42.93%	44.86
	Write-in	Jesse M. Ritchie	892	0.02%	N/A
	Write-in	Ray B. Pollard	281	0.01%	N/A
	Write-in	All others	2,018	0.04%	N/A
Total votes			5,135,221	100.00