1946 United States Senate elections in California

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

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.

Candidates

 * William F. Knowland, incumbent Senator since 1945

Candidates

 * John S. Crowder
 * Adam C. Derkum
 * Wayne McFarland
 * Ellis Patterson, U.S. Representative and former Lieutenant Governor of California
 * Will Rogers Jr., former U.S. Representative from Culver City and son of humorist Will Rogers

Special election
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.