1982 United States Senate election in California
The 1982 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa decided to retire after one term. Republican Pete Wilson, the Mayor of San Diego, won Hayakawa's open seat over Democratic Governor Jerry Brown and several minor candidates.
For related races, see 1982 United States Senate elections.General election[edit]
Campaign[edit]
Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported Proposition 13, although he had opposed the measure while mayor of San Diego. However, Brown ran on his gubernatorial record of building the largest state budget surpluses in California history. Both Wilson and Brown were moderate-to-liberal on social issues, including support for abortion rights. The election was expected to be close, with Brown holding a slim lead in most of the polls leading up to Election Day. Wilson hammered away at Brown's appointment of California Chief Justice Rose Bird and used it to portray himself as tougher on crime than Brown. Brown's late entry into the 1980 Democratic presidential primary, after he had promised not to run, was also an issue. President Ronald Reagan made a number of visits to California late in the race to campaign for Wilson. Reagan quipped that the last thing that he wanted to see was both of his home state's U.S. Senate seats falling into Democrats' hands, especially if they were occupied by the man who had succeeded him as governor. Despite exit polls indicating a narrow Brown victory, Wilson won by a wide margin.