3,979,152 3,817,025 Start date November 8, 1994 | 46.74% 44.83% | |
 | ||
Winner Dianne Feinstein | ||
The 1994 United States Senate election in California was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her first full term.
Contents
Primary results
From the Secretary of State of California
Major
Minor
Campaign
After one term in the House representing Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, Huffington spent $8 million by the end of August and a total of $28 million during the entire campaign. He became wealthy off oil and gas. The race saw personal attacks on Huffington's wife, Arianna Huffington, who was very involved in the race (the media dubbed her the "Sir Edmund Hillary of social climbing," according to The Almanac of American Politics).
Huffington was called a hypocrite for supporting Proposition 187 and then breaking the law for employing illegal aliens, a story which came out in the race's final days. A grand total of $44 million was spent in the election. At the time, it was the most expensive campaign in a non-presidential election in American history. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post named the election one of the nastiest senate elections in modern history.
Results
On election day it was a very close race, but Feinstein won Los Angeles County, which may have pulled her ahead. Her sizable win in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area may also be credited to her slim statewide victory.
By county
Final results from the Secretary of State.