Stephen Zetterberg

Stephen Ingersoll Zetterberg (October 2, 1916 – January 30, 2009) was an American attorney and Democratic activist. Zetterberg was best known for being defeated by Congressman Richard Nixon in the Democratic primary for the 1948 California's 12th congressional district election, as Nixon, having no Republican primary opposition, entered the Democratic primary to ensure he would have no Democratic opponent in the general election.

Early life Zetterberg was born on October 2, 1916, in Galesburg, Illinois. He grew up in New Castle, Indiana, moving to Claremont, California as a teenager. He went to college locally at Pomona College, serving in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. After the war ended, he worked as a congressional staffer for United States Senator Scott W. Lucas (D-Ill.).

At the time, California law permitted candidates to run in both major parties' primaries, a practice known as "cross-filing." Under California law at the time, the incumbent was listed first on the ballot, and was identified as such. According to Zetterberg in a 1972 interview, some voters showed him their sample ballots, convinced Nixon was the Democratic incumbent. In 1946, both Nixon and Voorhis had cross filed, each unsuccessfully.

Zetterberg refused to take the obvious retaliatory step of running also in the Republican primary, deeming it hypocritical. A few Nixon biographers have stated that had Nixon and Zetterberg met in the general election, Nixon could have been defeated in an election in which President Harry S. Truman was re-elected and the Democrats picked up seats in the California delegation to the House of Representatives. Other scholars deem that hypothetical outcome as highly unlikely as Truman lost Nixon's conservative district to Gov. Thomas Dewey, the Republican candidate for president, and Nixon had proven himself to be a strong fundraiser and campaigner. Nixon would use similar techniques two years later in his Senate campaign against Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas. This time, the Democrats focused attention on his actions and coined the sobriquet "Tricky Dick" for Nixon. 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. Cross-filing was abolished in California in 1959.

Later years Zetterberg remained active in politics, serving on a governor's task force on health. He continued the practice of law until 2008, and audited courses at Pomona College until his mid 80s. Zetterberg served on the boards of the Pomona Valley YMCA and Casa Colina, a Pomona rehabilitation hospital. His wife, the former Connie Lyon, died in 2007 after the two had been married for 67 years. Zetterberg was survived by three sons and a daughter.