5,853,651 4,093,501 Start date November 3, 1992 | 54.29% 37.96% | |
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Winner Dianne Feinstein | ||
The 1992 United States Senate special election in California took place on November 3, 1992, at the same time as the regular election to the United States Senate in California. Both of California's Senators were elected for the first time. This is not a unique occurrence; it would happen again in Tennessee in 1994 and Kansas in 1996.
In the 1990 gubernatorial election, Republican Senator Pete Wilson had beaten Democrat Dianne Feinstein for governor. He appointed John F. Seymour to the Senate to replace himself. In this special election held simultaneously with the regular Senate election, Feinstein defeated Seymour to serve the remaining 2 years of the term. She is currently the senior Senator from California, since she took office on November 10, only 7 days after the election. Fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer won the regular election and was inaugurated in January 1993.