John Varick Tunney

(June 26, 1934-Alive). John Tunney, the son of former World Heavyweight Champion Gene Tunney, was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives from California in 1964. At the end of his third term, he won election to the U.S. Senate. Ruggedly handsome, Tunney had a reputation as something of a playboy, and became embroiled in a sex scandal (involving a minor female) near the end of his term. When he sought re-election in 1976, he lost to S. I. Hayakawa and returned to private life.

Alan MacGregor Cranston

(June 19, 1914-December 31, 2000). Cranston was a foreign correspondent in the years immediately preceding WWII and published the first English (anti-Hitler) version of Mein Kampf in 1939. After WWII, he went into the construction business and became active in California Democratic Party affairs. From 1953 to 1957, he was President of the California Democratic Council and in 1958 he was elected State Comptroller of California, serving until he was defeated in 1966. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate where he remained until 1993. He was noted as Democratic Whip of the Senate (1977-1987) and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 1984. Unfortunately, his illustrious career ended under the cloud of scandal. He was implicated in the savings and loan debacle of 1989 and officially reprimanded by the U.S. Senate in 1991.

John Seymour

(December 3, 1937-Alive). John Seymour was a California realtor and former Mayor of Anaheim (1978-1982). He was a Republican member of the California State Senate (1982-1991) when he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy created by Pete Wilson's resignation on January 10, 1991. He stood unsuccessfully for election in 1992, leaving the Senate on November 10, 1992.

Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa

(July 18, 1906-February 27, 1992). Sam Hayakawa's election to the U.S. Senate came as something of a surprise. His chief claim to fame was as a semanticist and author of the classic Language in Action (1941). But Hayakawa climbed the academic ladder until he was appointed President of San Francisco State College (1969-1973). Shortly after taking office, he was confronted with massive student protests against racism, which he saw as a challenge to intellectual freedom and the right of other students to attend classes without disruption. His dramatic defiance of the student demands caught public attention and made him the darling of Republican conservatives. After being disqualified from the U.S. Senate election campaign in 1974, he ran again in 1976 and was elected over the incumbent, John V. Tunney, who was caught up in a sex scandal. Hayakawa remained in the Senate for only one term, distinguishing himself by sleeping through committee hearings.

Pete Wilson

(August 23, 1933-Alive). Pete Wilson was the conservative Mayor of San Diego (1971-1983) when he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate from California in 1982. He remained in the Senate until elected Governor of California in 1990. Wilson served as Governor from 1991 to 1999 and was succeeded by Gray Davis. Once considered for higher office, Wilson was noted as a relatively low-profile legislator during his Senate career.

Dianne Goldman Feinstein

(June 22, 1933-Alive). Dianne Feinstein is known as a tough legislative negotiator, a skill honed during her tenure as Mayor of San Francisco (1978-1988). Feinstein became Mayor when the incumbent, George Moscone, and Supervisor Harvey Milk, were gunned down by their conservative political rival, Dan White, November 27, 1978. An able administrator, she ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and was elected. She and her colleague, Barbara Boxer, currently make up the first state Congressional delegation in history to have two women Senators.

Barbara Levy Boxer

(November 1, 1940-Alive). Barbara Boxer began her political career as a Congressional Aide (1974-1976), then was elected as a Democrat to the Marin County, California Board of Supervisors and served from 1977 to 1983. In 1982, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she remained until her election to the U.S. Senate in 1992. She is currently a member of the U.S. Senate, having the distinction of being part of the first all-female Senate delegation, along with her colleague, Dianne Feinstein. Although physically small, Boxer's reputation is growing in the Senate due to her willingness to stand up and be counted on tough issues.