And Bruce Herschensohn was nominated for the U.S. Senate in 1992 giving us Barbara Boxer.
I assume you would have preferred Tom Campbell, Herschensohn's primary opponent, as the Republican nominee in 1992--the same Campbell who lost to Dianne Feinstein in 2000 by 19%. That year, I went to a Campbell "rally" at Cal State Northridge. The auditorium was all but empty, with about 14 or so in attendance.
Although Bruce Herschensohn lost to Boxer by less than five percentage points, he got more votes than President George Bush, who at the time was running for re-election, as well as the liberal Republican John "See More Taxes" Seymour, who was trounced by Dianne Feinstein.
Bruce Herschensohn has come closer to beating Boxer than has any other Republican. I believe Herschensohn would have won if President Bush hadn't abandoned California in his re-election campaign.