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| Elections in California |
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The 1978 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 1978. The Democratic incumbent, Jerry Brown, defeated the Republican nominee Attorney General Evelle J. Younger and independent candidate Ed Clark in a landslide.
Primary election results
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, California Attorney General Evelle Younger (who was the only Republican elected to a statewide office in the post-Watergate Democratic onslaught in the 1974 California general election) defeated Ed Davis (State Senator and former Los Angeles Police Chief), Ken Maddy (State Senate Minority Leader from Fresno), and Pete Wilson (mayor of San Diego). Incumbent Jerry Brown had only minor opposition in the Democratic Primary. The primary election included Proposition 13, the initiative authored by Howard Jarvis which sought to drastically reduce property taxes and change the way property taxes were calculated. Younger and most Republicans supported Proposition 13 while Brown and most Democrats opposed it. The initiative passed with 64.8% of the vote; it is still in effect, and many other states passed similar laws.
Republican Party
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Evelle J. Younger | 1,008,087 | 40.04% | |
| Republican | Ed Davis | 738,087 | 29.34% | |
| Republican | Ken Maddy | 484,583 | 19.25% | |
| Republican | Pete Wilson | 230,146 | 9.14% | |
| Republican | John V. Briggs | 35,147 | 1.40% | |
| Republican | True R. Slocum Jr. | 11,824 | 0.47% | |
| Republican | Elmer L. Crutchley | 8,951 | 0.36% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 2,517,480 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic Party
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. Brown Jr. (incumbent) | 2,567,067 | 77.53% | |
| Democratic | David Rock | 132,706 | 4.01% | |
| Democratic | John Hancock Abbott | 127,506 | 3.85% | |
| Democratic | George B. Roden | 125,790 | 3.80% | |
| Democratic | Jules Kimmett | 83,339 | 2.52% | |
| Democratic | Gene Atherton | 80,224 | 2.42% | |
| Democratic | Alex D. Aloia | 67,892 | 2.05% | |
| Democratic | Raymond V. Liebenberg | 65,219 | 1.97% | |
| Democratic | Lowell Darling | 60,997 | 1.84% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 178 | 0.01% | |
| Total votes | 3,310,918 | 100.00% | ||
American Independent Party
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Independent | Theresa F. Dietrich | 12,278 | 57.40% | |
| American Independent | Laszlo Kecskemethy | 9,112 | 42.60% | |
| Total votes | 21,390 | 100.00% | ||
Peace and Freedom Party
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace and Freedom | Marilyn Sands | 6,278 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 6,278 | 100.00% | ||
General election
The primary battle left Younger short of money, while Brown had a much larger campaign fund and won reelection in a landslide.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. Brown Jr. (Incumbent) | 3,878,812 | 56.03% | +5.91% | |
| Republican | Evelle J. Younger | 2,526,534 | 36.50% | −10.76% | |
| Independent | Ed Clark | 377,960 | 5.46% | ||
| Peace and Freedom | Marilyn Seals | 70,864 | 1.02% | −0.18% | |
| American Independent | Theresa F. Dietrich | 67,103 | 0.97% | −0.37% | |
| Scattering | 1,105 | 0.02% | |||
| Majority | 1,352,278 | 19.53% | |||
| Total votes | 6,922,378 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | +16.67% | |||
Results by county
| County | Edmund G. Brown Jr. Democratic |
Evelle J. Younger Republican |
Ed Clark Independent |
Marilyn Seals Peace & Freedom |
Theresa F. Dietrich American Independent |
Margin | Total votes cast[a][2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 217,746 | 63.81% | 88,619 | 25.97% | 24,336 | 7.13% | 7,375 | 2.16% | 3,141 | 0.92% | 129,127 | 37.84% | 341,217 |
| Alpine | 202 | 52.74% | 151 | 39.43% | 18 | 4.70% | 5 | 1.31% | 7 | 1.83% | 51 | 13.32% | 383 |
| Amador | 4,144 | 49.65% | 3,534 | 42.34% | 477 | 5.71% | 56 | 0.67% | 136 | 1.63% | 610 | 7.31% | 8,347 |
| Butte | 26,051 | 49.65% | 22,142 | 42.20% | 3,038 | 5.79% | 609 | 1.16% | 634 | 1.21% | 3,909 | 7.45% | 52,474 |
| Calaveras | 4,019 | 48.74% | 3,691 | 44.76% | 377 | 4.57% | 73 | 0.89% | 86 | 1.04% | 328 | 3.98% | 8,246 |
| Colusa | 1,958 | 45.01% | 2,005 | 46.09% | 314 | 7.22% | 37 | 0.85% | 36 | 0.83% | -47 | -1.08% | 4,350 |
| Contra Costa | 122,565 | 54.27% | 80,821 | 35.79% | 17,989 | 7.97% | 2,208 | 0.98% | 2,250 | 1.00% | 41,744 | 18.48% | 225,833 |
| Del Norte | 2,451 | 41.73% | 2,933 | 49.93% | 188 | 3.20% | 77 | 1.31% | 225 | 3.83% | -482 | -8.21% | 5,874 |
| El Dorado | 13,832 | 48.35% | 12,187 | 42.60% | 1,819 | 6.36% | 305 | 1.07% | 466 | 1.63% | 1,645 | 5.75% | 28,609 |
| Fresno | 71,657 | 55.67% | 50,950 | 39.58% | 3,653 | 2.84% | 1,135 | 0.88% | 1,324 | 1.03% | 20,707 | 16.09% | 128,719 |
| Glenn | 3,120 | 42.98% | 3,521 | 48.51% | 444 | 6.12% | 57 | 0.79% | 117 | 1.61% | -401 | -5.52% | 7,259 |
| Humboldt | 21,243 | 50.37% | 16,658 | 39.49% | 2,783 | 6.60% | 713 | 1.69% | 781 | 1.85% | 4,585 | 10.87% | 42,178 |
| Imperial | 8,385 | 46.05% | 8,629 | 47.39% | 870 | 4.78% | 157 | 0.86% | 167 | 0.92% | -244 | -1.34% | 18,208 |
| Inyo | 2,540 | 39.53% | 3,561 | 55.42% | 218 | 3.39% | 47 | 0.73% | 59 | 0.92% | -1,021 | -15.89% | 6,425 |
| Kern | 49,144 | 47.71% | 41,531 | 40.32% | 10,560 | 10.25% | 682 | 0.66% | 1,078 | 1.05% | 7,613 | 7.39% | 102,995 |
| Kings | 8,794 | 53.84% | 6,940 | 42.49% | 281 | 1.72% | 105 | 0.64% | 215 | 1.32% | 1,854 | 11.35% | 16,335 |
| Lake | 6,670 | 52.87% | 5,012 | 39.72% | 651 | 5.16% | 132 | 1.05% | 152 | 1.20% | 1,658 | 13.14% | 12,617 |
| Lassen | 3,377 | 50.34% | 2,849 | 42.47% | 324 | 4.83% | 57 | 0.85% | 102 | 1.52% | 528 | 7.87% | 6,709 |
| Los Angeles | 1,178,368 | 57.34% | 744,491 | 36.23% | 93,692 | 4.56% | 20,205 | 0.98% | 18,256 | 0.89% | 433,877 | 21.11% | 2,055,012 |
| Madera | 7,529 | 52.17% | 6,230 | 43.16% | 414 | 2.87% | 110 | 0.76% | 150 | 1.04% | 1,299 | 9.00% | 14,433 |
| Marin | 49,759 | 55.75% | 29,888 | 33.49% | 7,683 | 8.61% | 1,227 | 1.37% | 698 | 0.78% | 19,871 | 22.26% | 89,255 |
| Mariposa | 2,361 | 53.02% | 1,774 | 39.84% | 212 | 4.76% | 31 | 0.70% | 75 | 1.68% | 587 | 13.18% | 4,453 |
| Mendocino | 11,877 | 54.14% | 7,916 | 36.09% | 1,442 | 6.57% | 377 | 1.72% | 325 | 1.48% | 3,961 | 18.06% | 21,937 |
| Merced | 16,825 | 55.62% | 12,165 | 40.21% | 756 | 2.50% | 202 | 0.67% | 303 | 1.00% | 4,660 | 15.40% | 30,251 |
| Modoc | 1,235 | 40.28% | 1,616 | 52.71% | 137 | 4.47% | 27 | 0.88% | 51 | 1.66% | -381 | -12.43% | 3,066 |
| Mono | 1,042 | 44.82% | 1,164 | 50.06% | 76 | 3.27% | 18 | 0.77% | 25 | 1.08% | -122 | -5.25% | 2,325 |
| Monterey | 34,649 | 52.35% | 27,180 | 41.07% | 3,278 | 4.95% | 550 | 0.83% | 530 | 0.80% | 7,469 | 11.28% | 66,187 |
| Napa | 19,202 | 50.53% | 15,621 | 41.11% | 2,461 | 6.48% | 373 | 0.98% | 344 | 0.91% | 3,581 | 9.42% | 38,001 |
| Nevada | 9,016 | 45.36% | 8,365 | 42.09% | 2,236 | 11.25% | 123 | 0.62% | 136 | 0.68% | 651 | 3.28% | 19,876 |
| Orange | 299,577 | 48.68% | 272,076 | 44.21% | 34,903 | 5.67% | 3,845 | 0.62% | 4,976 | 0.81% | 27,501 | 4.47% | 615,377 |
| Placer | 20,384 | 51.12% | 15,563 | 39.03% | 3,342 | 8.38% | 268 | 0.67% | 321 | 0.80% | 4,821 | 12.09% | 39,878 |
| Plumas | 3,599 | 55.48% | 2,541 | 39.17% | 208 | 3.21% | 37 | 0.57% | 102 | 1.57% | 1,058 | 16.31% | 6,487 |
| Riverside | 101,377 | 54.23% | 75,564 | 40.42% | 6,982 | 3.74% | 1,235 | 0.66% | 1,772 | 0.95% | 25,813 | 13.81% | 186.930 |
| Sacramento | 139,821 | 54.91% | 88,445 | 34.74% | 21,137 | 8.30% | 2,862 | 1.12% | 2,349 | 0.92% | 51,376 | 20.18% | 254,614 |
| San Benito | 2,805 | 49.23% | 2,411 | 42.31% | 349 | 6.12% | 71 | 1.25% | 62 | 1.09% | 394 | 6.91% | 5,698 |
| San Bernardino | 115,082 | 54.01% | 86,638 | 40.66% | 7,151 | 3.36% | 1,402 | 0.66% | 2,822 | 1.32% | 28,444 | 13.35% | 213,095 |
| San Diego | 316,223 | 57.49% | 197,167 | 35.85% | 25,964 | 4.72% | 3,708 | 0.67% | 6,945 | 1.26% | 119,056 | 21.65% | 550,007 |
| San Francisco | 156,601 | 69.46% | 51,429 | 22.81% | 11,577 | 5.13% | 4,400 | 1.95% | 1,458 | 0.65% | 105,172 | 46.65% | 225,465 |
| San Joaquin | 49,169 | 52.17% | 39,425 | 41.84% | 4,063 | 4.31% | 536 | 0.57% | 1,046 | 1.11% | 9,744 | 10.34% | 94,239 |
| San Luis Obispo | 25,695 | 51.20% | 21,689 | 43.22% | 1,772 | 3.53% | 552 | 1.10% | 478 | 0.95% | 4,006 | 7.98% | 50,186 |
| San Mateo | 113,402 | 56.18% | 69,131 | 34.25% | 15,072 | 7.47% | 2,565 | 1.27% | 1,678 | 0.83% | 44,271 | 21.93% | 201,848 |
| Santa Barbara | 59,933 | 56.68% | 38,656 | 36.56% | 4,763 | 4.50% | 1,521 | 1.44% | 858 | 0.81% | 21,277 | 20.12% | 105,731 |
| Santa Clara | 227,493 | 61.35% | 110,444 | 29.79% | 25,550 | 6.89% | 3,784 | 1.02% | 3,512 | 0.95% | 117,049 | 31.57% | 370,783 |
| Santa Cruz | 40,490 | 60.85% | 20,698 | 31.11% | 3,470 | 5.21% | 1,376 | 2.07% | 506 | 0.76% | 19,792 | 29.74% | 66,540 |
| Shasta | 19,432 | 55.26% | 12,698 | 36.11% | 2,256 | 6.42% | 276 | 0.78% | 501 | 1.42% | 6,734 | 19.15% | 35,163 |
| Sierra | 725 | 49.45% | 644 | 43.93% | 71 | 4.84% | 11 | 0.75% | 15 | 1.02% | 81 | 5.53% | 1,466 |
| Siskiyou | 6,851 | 51.11% | 5,747 | 42.88% | 497 | 3.71% | 113 | 0.84% | 196 | 1.46% | 1,104 | 8.24% | 13,404 |
| Solano | 34,513 | 58.05% | 20,176 | 33.94% | 3,670 | 6.17% | 535 | 0.90% | 558 | 0.94% | 14,337 | 24.12% | 59,452 |
| Sonoma | 56,920 | 54.29% | 37,584 | 35.85% | 7,506 | 7.16% | 1,855 | 1.77% | 981 | 0.94% | 19,336 | 18.44% | 104,846 |
| Stanislaus | 36,676 | 55.62% | 25,247 | 38.29% | 2,539 | 3.85% | 678 | 1.03% | 803 | 1.22% | 11,429 | 17.33% | 65,943 |
| Sutter | 6,357 | 44.09% | 6,871 | 47.65% | 1,003 | 6.96% | 77 | 0.53% | 111 | 0.77% | -514 | -3.56% | 14,419 |
| Tehama | 5,986 | 50.25% | 5,002 | 41.99% | 635 | 5.33% | 81 | 0.68% | 208 | 1.75% | 984 | 8.26% | 11,912 |
| Trinity | 2,215 | 50.39% | 1,769 | 40.24% | 298 | 6.78% | 44 | 1.00% | 70 | 1.59% | 446 | 10.15% | 4,396 |
| Tulare | 24,989 | 46.80% | 26,136 | 48.95% | 1,322 | 2.48% | 315 | 0.59% | 634 | 1.19% | -1,147 | -2.15% | 53,396 |
| Tuolumne | 6,772 | 51.09% | 5,757 | 43.44% | 478 | 3.61% | 103 | 0.78% | 144 | 1.09% | 1,015 | 7.66% | 13,254 |
| Ventura | 75,173 | 52.78% | 57,777 | 40.57% | 6,916 | 4.86% | 854 | 0.60% | 1,703 | 1.20% | 17,396 | 12.21% | 142,423 |
| Yolo | 24,357 | 59.39% | 12,703 | 30.97% | 3,064 | 7.47% | 593 | 1.45% | 298 | 0.73% | 11,654 | 28.41% | 41,015 |
| Yuba | 6,434 | 54.84% | 4,402 | 37.52% | 675 | 5.75% | 94 | 0.80% | 127 | 1.08% | 2,032 | 17.32% | 11,732 |
| Total | 3,878,812 | 56.03% | 2,526,534 | 36.50% | 377,960 | 5.46% | 70,864 | 1.02% | 67,103 | 0.97% | 1,352,278 | 19.53% | 6,922,378 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Alpine
- Amador
- Butte
- Calaveras
- Contra Costa
- El Dorado
- Kern
- Lake
- Marin
- Mariposa
- Monterey
- Napa
- Nevada
- Orange
- Riverside
- San Benito
- San Diego
- San Joaquin
- San Luis Obispo
- Santa Barbara
- Stanislaus
- Tuolumne
- Ventura
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Analysis
Jerry Brown's landslide victory ended three of the remaining four very long streaks of Republican dominance in California counties. Brown was the first Democrat to ever carry Alpine County in a gubernatorial election since its establishment in 1864. The same was true for Orange County; it had always backed the Republican candidate since its establishment in 1889. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara County backed a Democratic candidate for the first time since 1882. After this election, the lone county with a long history of backing Republicans was Mono County, which had never backed a Democratic candidate since its founding in 1861[b] and would not vote Democratic until 1998.
Conversely, Jerry Brown remains the most recent Democrat to carry any of the following counties: Butte County, Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Fresno County, Kern County, Lassen County, Madera County, Mariposa County, Placer County, Plumas County, Shasta County, Sierra County, Siskiyou County, Tehama County, Tuolumne County, and Yuba County.
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote and Supplement Primary Election June 6, 1978. Sacramento, California. pp. 1–2. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- ^ a b California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote and Supplement General Election, November 7, 1978. Sacramento, California. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
