The two 1946 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 5, 1946.

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (June 2020)

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1946 United States Senate election in California

← 1940 November 5, 1946 1952 →

Nominee William F. Knowland Will Rogers Jr. Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,428,067 1,167,161 Percentage 54.10% 44.22%

County results Knowland:      40–50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Rogers:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election William F. Knowland Republican Elected U.S. Senator William F. Knowland Republican

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After incumbent Republican Senator Hiram Johnson died in office in August 1945, Governor Earl Warren appointed U.S. Army Major and former State Senator William F. Knowland to finish Johnson's term until a successor could be duly elected. Knowland won both the special election to complete Johnson's term, and the regularly-scheduled 1946 election, over former U.S. Representative Will Rogers Jr., both held on November 5.

In a simultaneous special election for the remainder of Johnson's term, Knowland won easily. Notably, no candidates were listed on the ballot. Each vote was a write-in, making Knowland technically the first ever write-in candidate elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1954, Strom Thurmond became the first candidate to win a Senate election by write-in where another candidate was actually listed on the ballot.

• 1946 United States Senate elections