Elected chairman of a local committee seeking to manage growth in the area, Zetterberg urged former congressman Jerry Voorhis, defeated by Nixon in 1946, to run again in 1948.
Voorhis declined, citing health reasons, and Zetterberg decided to run in the Democratic primary instead.
[1] Zetterberg filed for the race on March 23, 1948, just over two months before the June 1 primary, but his commitments as an attorney kept him busy until mid-April.
[3] At the time, California law permitted candidates to run in both major parties' primaries, a practice known as "cross-filing.
Other scholars deem that hypothetical outcome as highly unlikely as Truman lost Nixon's conservative district to Gov.
[1] Nixon biographer Irwin Gellman criticized Zetterberg's performance in the race, stating that Zetterberg did not appear actively involved in the race, nor did he spend enough money on campaign necessities such as posters and stickers[8] Nixon would use similar techniques two years later in his Senate campaign against Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas.
With Nixon running for the Senate, Zetterberg ran again for the House, this time cross-filing and winning the Democratic nomination, but was defeated in the general election by Republican Patrick Hillings by a 60% to 40% tally.