page_title: 1946 California's 12th congressional district election
section_title: Final days
hierarchical_section_title: 1946 California's 12th congressional district election / General election / Final days
caption_attribution_description: English: San Gabriel Mission Playhouse an example of Mission Revival Style architecture This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 100002674
context_page_description: An election for a seat in the United States House of Representatives took place in California's 12th congressional district on November 5, 1946, the date set by law for the elections for the 80th United States Congress. In the 12th district election, the candidates were five-term incumbent Democrat Jerry Voorhis, Republican challenger Richard Nixon, and former congressman and Prohibition Party candidate John Hoeppel. Nixon was elected with 56% of the vote, starting him on the road that would, almost a quarter century later, lead to the presidency.
  First elected to Congress in 1936, Voorhis had defeated lackluster Republican opposition four times in the then-rural Los Angeles County district to win re-election. For the 1946 election, Republicans sought a candidate who could unite the party and run a strong race against Voorhis in the Republican-leaning district. After failing to secure the candidacy of General George Patton, in November 1945 they settled on Lieutenant Commander Richard Nixon, who had lived in the district prior to his World War II service.
context_section_description: In mid October, the Nixon campaign unveiled an advertisement which foreshadowed his run for Senate four years later. After stating that Nixon, at the South Pasadena debate, confronted the congressman with "a photostatic copy of his endorsement by the communist-dominated PAC", the ad stated, "Among the extreme left-wingers with whom Voorhis kept company in voting the PAC line are Helen Gahagan Douglas, Vito Marcantonio ..."  On October 29, the Alhambra Post-Advocate and Monrovia News-Post printed identical pieces entitled "How Jerry and Vito voted", comparing the California congressman's voting record with that of Marcantonio, a leftist New York congressman. In 1950, a similar comparison between the voting record of Marcantonio and Democratic Senate nominee Douglas, printed on pink paper, came to be known as the "Pink Sheet".
  The Nixon campaign continued to run newspaper ads touching on the PAC issue. One ad suggested Radio Moscow had urged the election of the CIO slate. Others touched on Voorhis's past registration as a Socialist, and stated that his congressional record "is more Socialistic and Communistic than Democratic".  The Democrats brought James Roosevelt and other prominent Democrats into the district to campaign for Voorhis.  Nixon proposed that his wartime acquaintance, former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen campaign for him.  However, the candidate could not get permission from the California Republican committee for Stassen to visit.  Voorhis publicized a letter he had received from the Republican governor, Earl Warren, praising him for a disability insurance proposal he had made.  Nixon supporters asked Warren for a letter praising Nixon, or at least a retraction of the Voorhis letter.  Warren refused, saying that Voorhis deserved the compliment, and Nixon would not receive an endorsement. This conflict began a contentious relationship between Nixon and Warren which lasted until Warren's death shortly before Nixon's resignation as president.
  No polls had been taken during the campaign.  On election night, Voorhis took an early lead in the vote count, but was soon overtaken by his challenger, whose margin increased as the night went on. Nixon defeated Voorhis by over 15,000 votes.  The Republican won 19 of the 22 municipalities in the district, including Voorhis's home town of San Dimas.  Voorhis won the Democratic strongholds of El Monte and Monterey Park, as well as rural Baldwin Park.  Time magazine's post-election issue came out in mid-November, and it praised the future president for "politely avoid[ing] personal attacks on his opponent".
caption: San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, site of the fifth Nixon–Voorhis debate
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