1962 United States Senate election in California
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The 1962 United States Senate election in California was held on November 6, 1962. Republican incumbent Thomas Kuchel was elected to a third term in office over Democratic state senator Richard B. Richards. Kuchel carried every county in California and remains the most recent candidate for Senate to do so as of 2026.[a] As of 2026, this is the last time a Republican was elected to the Class 3 Senate seat from California.
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November 6, 1962
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 County results Kuchel: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
Candidates
- Thomas Kuchel, incumbent U.S. senator since 1953
- Howard Jarvis, Los Angeles industrialist and anti-tax activist[1]
- William H. Reinholz
- Loyd Wright, former president of the American Bar Association[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thomas Kuchel (incumbent) | 1,357,975 | 75.02% | |
| Republican | Loyd Wright | 247,300 | 13.66% | |
| Republican | Howard Jarvis | 180,768 | 9.99% | |
| Republican | William H. Reinholz | 24,100 | 1.33% | |
| Total votes | 1,810,143 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- J. F. Coleman
- Gabriel Green, photographer and UFO conspiracy theorist
- Richard B. Richards, state senator from San Gabriel and nominee for this seat in 1956
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard B. Richards | 1,674,563 | 82.58% | |
| Democratic | Gabriel Green | 171,379 | 8.45% | |
| Democratic | J.F. Coleman | 170,926 | 8.43% | |
| Republican | Thomas Kuchel (incumbent) (write-in) | 10,927 | 0.54% | |
| Total votes | 2,027,795 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Thomas Kuchel, incumbent U.S. senator since 1953 (Republican)
- Richard B. Richards, state senator from San Gabriel and nominee for this seat in 1956 (Democratic)
Campaign
Write-in campaigns were launched for anti-tax activist Howard Jarvis, 1962 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and proponent of nuclear disarmament Linus Pauling, and Edward Brothers, but none made a significant impact on the race.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thomas Kuchel (incumbent) | 3,180,483 | 56.31% |  2.35 | |
| Democratic | Richard B. Richards | 2,452,839 | 43.43% |  9.47 | |
| Independent | Howard Jarvis (write-in) | 9,963 | 0.18% | N/A | |
| Independent | Linus Pauling (write-in) | 2,694 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | Edward Brothers (write-in) | 284 | 0.00% | N/A | |
| Write-in | All others | 1,689 | 0.02% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 5,647,952 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
