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.
Incumbent Senator S.I. Hayakawa became a somewhat controversial figure due to his propensity for off-color statements and for his tendency to doze off in meetings, earning him the nickname "Sleeping Sam".[2] As a result, Hayakawa had a high unfavorability rating of 57%.[3] In spite of this, Hayakawa initially made clear his intent to run for re-election in spite of any potential challenges.[4]
However, Hayakawa trailed in polls badly,[5] and at one point saw his funds dwindle down to less than $40,000.[6] In spite of earlier promises not to, Hayakawa announced his withdrawal from the race on January 31, 1982.[1]
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.
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