His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-Communist which elevated him to national prominence. In 1950, he was elected to the Senate. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party's presidential nominee in the 1952 election, serving for eight years in that capacity. Republicans in California's 12th congressional district were frustrated by their inability to defeat Democratic representative Jerry Voorhis, They sought a consensus candidate who would run a strong campaign against him. In 1945, they formed a 'Committee of 100' to decide on a candidate, hoping to avoid internal dissensions which had led to previous Voorhis victories. These included paper and microfilm copies that Chambers turned over to House investigators after having hidden them overnight in a field; they became known as the 'Pumpkin Papers'. Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950 for denying under oath he had passed documents to Chambers. In 1948, Nixon successfully cross-filed as a candidate in his district, winning both major party primaries, and was comfortably reelected.