Clinton D. McKinnon

Clinton Dotson McKinnon (February 5, 1906 – December 29, 2001) was an American Democratic politician and journalist from San Diego, California. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1953.

Biography McKinnon was born in 1906 in Dallas, Texas, to Dr. John and Tennie McKinnon; his mother was a nurse. He was their only child; his father died when he was 12.

Education He graduated from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California. McKinnon attended Stanford University in 1924, attended the University of Geneva in 1930, and received a BA from University of Redlands in 1930.

Early career McKinnon was a journalist and owned newspapers in Texas and California.

San Diego Daily Journal In 1943, McKinnon sold his three LA area papers and bought the three-times-a-week San Diego Progress-Journal. In January 1944, he announced it would be converted to a daily format, making it the only daily newspaper to be established during World War II, the San Diego Daily Journal.

Ahead of his run for Congress, McKinnon sold the paper to journalist John A. Kennedy in 1947; Kennedy sold it to the Union-Tribune Publishing Company in 1950.

Journal alumni include Tribune editor and columnist Neil Morgan and Congressman Lionel Van Deerlin.

His other ventures included the La Jolla Light, Coronado Journal, and radio station KSDJ (now KCBQ).

Death McKinnon died on December 29, 2001, in La Jolla, California.

Family McKinnon and his wife Lucille had two sons, Clinton Daniel (Dan) and Michael Dean (Mike), and a daughter Connie.

Mike, who died in 2012, was the majority stockholder in McKinnon Broadcasting, owner of San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine, and a Texas state legislator from 1972 to 1976. Dan, the former owner of KSON radio, was a minority stockholder in McKinnon Broadcasting, ran for US Congress as a Republican in 1980, and was national campaign chairman for the Duncan Hunter for President campaign in 2008.

Electoral history