1958 California gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1958 California gubernatorial election California presidential no 1954 California gubernatorial election 1954 1962 California gubernatorial election 1962 November 4, 1958 Pat Brown, 1961.jpg Pat Brown Democratic Party (United States) 3,140,076 59.75% William F. Knowland headshot.jpg William Knowland Republican Party (United States) 2,110,911 40.16% 1958 California gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 300px County resultsBrown: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80%Knowland: #e27f7f 50–60% Governor Goodwin Knight Republican Party (United States) Pat Brown Democratic Party (United States) The 1958 California gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 4. Incumbent governor Goodwin Knight initially ran for re-election to a third term, but eventually withdrew and ran for election to the Senate. Incumbent senator William Knowland switched places with Knight to run for governor, but was defeated in a landslide by Democratic Attorney General Pat Brown, who won the first of his two terms as governor of California. Knowland's decision to run for governor came in spite of strong opposition from Knight, who had wanted to run for re-election rather than for the Senate. Knowland's use of heavy-handed tactics to force Knight from the race, along with labor mobilization against Proposition 18, was a major factor in the Democratic landslide in California in 1958.Starr Kevin Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963 Oxford University Press 2011 9780195153774 212–216Anderson Totton J. The 1958 Election in California The Western Political Quarterly [University of Utah, Sage Publications, Inc., Western Political Science Association] 12 1 1959 0043-4078 444055 276–300 http://www.jstor.org/stable/444055 2024-05-07 Primary elections Primary elections were held on June 3, 1958. Democratic primary Candidates Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, incumbent Attorney General of California Donald Donaldson William F. Knowland, incumbent U.S. Senator (cross-filing) Results Democratic primary resultsState of California Statement of Vote Direct Primary Election June 3, 1958 California Secretary of State Sacramento, California 3 https://archive.org/details/stateofcaliforn195262cali/page/n225/mode/2up?view=theater 20 July 2024 Democratic Party (United States) Edmund G. "Pat" Brown 1,890,622 82.62% Republican Party (United States) William F. Knowland 313,385 13.69% Democratic Party (United States) Donald Donaldson 84,449 3.69% 2,288,456 100.00% Republican primary Candidates Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, incumbent Attorney General of California (cross-filing) William F. Knowland, incumbent U.S. Senator Results Republican primary results Republican Party (United States) William F. Knowland 1,290,106 77.48% Democratic Party (United States) Edmund G. "Pat" Brown 374,879 22.52% 1,664,985 100.00% General election results California was considered a Republican stronghold in the post-World War II era, electing Republican governors Earl Warren and Goodwin Knight, as well as senators Richard Nixon, Knowland, and Thomas Kuchel. Knowland was a prestigious two-term Senator who had served as Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader. His seat was considered safe going into the 1958 midterm elections, but he stunned everyone when he announced his intention to run for governor instead of re-election to the Senate. This was especially surprising because California had a relatively popular Republican governor in Goodwin Knight who was also expected to be re-elected. Knowland coerced Knight into a "backroom deal" in which Knowland and Knight would "trade places", with Knight running for Knowland's Senate seat. Knight really had no desire to be Senator and in later years lamented how Knowland "strongarmed" him into the switch. Knowland thought being governor would enhance his chances of challenging another Californian, Richard Nixon, for the 1960 Republican presidential nomination. For their part, the Democrats nominated popular state Attorney General Pat Brown, who was the only Democrat that held a statewide office in a Republican leaning state. As it turned out, the Knowland-Knight switch was not popular with California voters. Brown steadily gained in the polls and defeated Knowland for governor, and Knight lost to Congressman Clair Engle in the Senate race. 1958 California gubernatorial electionState of California Statement of Vote General Election November 4, 1958 California Secretary of State Sacramento, California 3 https://archive.org/details/stateofcaliforn195262cali/page/n257/mode/2up?view=theater 20 July 2024 California Democratic Party Pat Brown 3,140,076 59.75% +16.59% California Republican Party William F. Knowland 2,110,911 40.16% -16.67% Independent William P. Gale (write-in) 2,301 0.04% Independent L. A. Delaney (write-in) 505 0.01% Independent Herbert Steiner (write-in) 239 0.00% Scattering 1,745 0.03% 1,029,165 19.58% 5,255,777 100.00% California Democratic Party California Republican Party +33.26% Results by county Brown's landslide victory ended many streaks of Republican dominance in various counties throughout the state. Brown was the first Democrat to ever win Imperial County and Riverside County in a gubernatorial election. Meanwhile, this was the first election since 1859 in which Humboldt County voted for a Democratic candidate; the first since 1882 in which Marin County and San Mateo County voted for a Democratic candidate; the first since 1902 in which Monterey County voted for a Democratic candidate; the first since 1906 in which Nevada County, San Benito County, San Luis Obispo County, Santa Cruz County, and Sutter County voted for a Democratic candidate; and the first since 1910 in which Calaveras County, Colusa County, Glenn County, Lake County, Mendocino County, Napa County, Sonoma County, Tehama County voted for a Democratic candidate. Brown also won the largest share for a Democrat in Alpine County since 1882 and in Orange County since the latter's establishment in 1889. Those two counties, along with Mono County and Santa Barbara County were the most historically reliably Republican counties that Brown failed to flip.Pat Brown's son, Jerry Brown, would ultimately flip Alpine, Orange, and Santa Barbara counties in his 1978 reelection landslide, but Mono County would not vote Democratic until 1998. Conversely, as of 2024, this election is also the last time that a Democrat has carried Glenn County, Inyo County, Sutter County, and Tulare County. Moreover, a Democratic candidate has only carried Butte County, Calaveras County, and Mariposa County in one election since 1958.In 1978 County Edmund G. BrownDemocratic William F. KnowlandRepublican William P. GaleWrite-in All OthersThese votes are Scattering unless otherwise noted in each countyWrite-in Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # %Alameda228,10564.84%123,37235.07%1290.04%19742 for Delaney, 52 for Steiner0.06%104,73329.77%351,803Alpine7743.50%10056.50%00.00%00.00%-23-12.99%177Amador2,66564.23%1,48335.74%00.00%10.02%1,18228.49%4,149Butte16,88655.23%13,67744.74%100.03%00.00%3,20910.50%30,573Calaveras3,06758.99%2,08840.16%440.85%00.00%97918.83%5,199Colusa2,92464.04%1,64235.96%00.00%00.00%1,28228.08%4,566Contra Costa95,12865.14%50,81234.79%00.00%1040.07%44,31630.34%146,044Del Norte3,36862.05%2,06037.95%00.00%00.00%1,30824.10%5,428El Dorado5,72066.43%2,88933.55%00.00%11 for Delaney0.01%2,83132.88%8,610Fresno72,69266.84%35,74732.87%3220.30%00.00%36,94533.97%108,761Glenn4,19061.46%2,62538.51%10.01%10.01%1,56522.96%6,817Humboldt21,01362.12%12,79937.84%00.00%147 for Delaney0.04%8,21424.28%33,826Imperial8,58051.93%7,94348.07%00.00%00.00%6373.86%16,523Inyo2,78053.92%2,37446.04%00.00%20.04%4067.87%5,156Kern52,58762.87%30,88936.93%220.03%140116 for Delaney, 3 for Steiner0.1721,69825.94%83,638Kings9,22768.33%4,26431.58%50.04%70.05%4,96336.75%13,503Lake3,41155.72%2,71144.28%00.00%00.00%70011.43%6,122Lassen3,55369.68%1,54530.30%10.02%00.00%2,00839.38%5,099Los Angeles1,254,22657.91%909,42941.99%1,1200.05%996233 for Delaney, 112 for Steiner0.05%344,79715.92%2,165,771Madera8,13368.95%3,66331.05%00.00%00.00%4,47037.89%11,796Marin29,09655.98%22,83243.93%210.04%260.05%6,26412.05%51,975Mariposa1,43758.01%1,04041.99%00.00%00.00%39716.03%2,477Mendocino10,75963.71%6,11636.22%00.00%130.08%4,64327.49%16,888Merced15.43067.79%7,32832.19%00.00%40.02%8,10235.59%22,762Modoc2,01062.77%1,19237.23%00.00%00.00%81825.55%3,202Mono46144.41%57755.59%00.00%00.00%-116-11.18%1,038Monterey26,67656.12%20,85343.87%80.02%00.00%5,82312.25%47,537Napa14,54460.95%9,30939.01%00.00%90.04%5,23521.94%23,862Nevada5,03558.20%3,60141.63%00.00%150.17%1,43416.58%8,651Orange85,36446.30%98,72953.55%00.00%2590.14%-13,365-7.25%184,352Placer13,42268.75%6,09331.21%90.05%00.00%7,32937.54%19,524Plumas3,71474.16%1,27725.50%00.00%170.34%2,43748.66%5,088Riverside46,61152.65%41,82447.24%700.08%241 for Delaney, 8 for Steiner0.03%4,7875.41%88,529Sacramento107,67970.95%44,02729.01%520.03%00.00%63,65241.94%151,758San Benito3,21359.53%2,18240.43%20.04%00.00%1,03119.10%5,397San Bernardino86,88258.33%61,89141.55%1240.08%480.03%24,99116.78%148,945San Diego150,92551.71%140,73448.22%1400.05%7319 for Delaney, 6 for Steiner0.03%10,1913.49%291,872San Francisco219,41370.79%90,43029.17%660.02%6019 for Delaney, 41 for Steiner0.02%128,98341.61%309,969San Joaquin48,28462.58%28,80737.34%330.04%320.04%19,47725.24%77,156San Luis Obispo15,31556.78%11,64643.17%00.00%130.05%3.66913.60%26,974San Mateo97,47561.76%60,21538.15%550.03%8318 for Delaney, 15 for Steiner0.05%37,26023.61%157,828Santa Barbara23,44049.43%23,84950.50%120.03%2121 for Delaney0.04%-509-1.08%47,222Santa Clara108,73259.50%73,87440.42%00.00%1420.08%34,85819.07%182,748Santa Cruz17,63551.58%16,52848.34%00.00%2525 for Delaney0.07%1,1073.24%34,188Shasta14,02471.24%5,64528.68%100.05%60.03%8,37942.57%19,685Sierra82664.89%44735.11%00.00%00.00%37929.77%1,273Siskiyou8,74767.34%4,23332.59%100.08%00.00%4,51434.75%12,990Solano27,42969.79%11,84730.14%00.00%270.07%15,58239.65%39,303Sonoma30,84157.04%23,21642.94%00.00%140.03%7,62514.10%54,071Stanislaus31,98462.50%19,16837.46%00.00%230.04%12,81625.04%51,175Sutter5,03250.10%5,00949.87%30.03%00.00%230.23%10,044Tehama5,86063.50%3,36836.50%00.00%00.00%2,49227.00%9,228Trinity2,31569.37%1,01430.39%00.00%80.24%1,30138.99%3,337Tulare25,66858.19%18,40741.73%00.00%350.08%7,26116.46%44,110Tuolumne4,77166.66%2,37433.17%120.17%00.00%2,39733.49%7,157Ventura32,78961.63%20,36838.28%200.04%243 for Delaney, 2 for Steiner0.05%12,42123.35%53,201Yolo13,01470.27%5,48529.62%00.00%200.11%7,52940.66%18,519Yuba4,99260.43%3,26439.51%00.00%50.06%1,72820.92%8,261Total3,140,07659.75%2,110,91140.16%2,3010.04%2,4890.05%1,029,16519.58%5,255,777 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Butte Calaveras Colusa Contra Costa Del Norte El Dorado Glenn Humboldt Imperial Inyo Kern Lake Los Angeles Marin Mariposa Mendocino Modoc Monterey Napa Nevada Riverside San Benito San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo San Mateo Santa Clara Santa Cruz Siskiyou Sonoma Stanislaus Sutter Tehama Tulare Ventura See also Elections in California Notes References California Elections Page Further reading Anderson, Totton J. “The 1958 Election in California.” Western Political Quarterly 12#1 (1959), pp. 276–300. online Anderson, Totton J. "Extremism in California Politics: The Brown-Knowland and Brown-Nixon Campaigns Compared." Political Research Quarterly 16.2 (1963): 371+. Bell, Jonathan. "Social Democracy and the Rise of the Democratic Party in California, 1950–1964." Historical Journal 49.2 (2006): 497–524. online Pawel, Miriam. (2018). The Browns of California : the family dynasty that transformed a state and shaped a nation. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. Rapoport, R. California Dreaming: The Political Odyssey of Pat & Jerry Brown. Berkeley: Nolo Press (1982) 0-917316-48-7. Rarick Ethan California Rising: The Life and Times of Pat Brown https://books.google.com/books?id=vo99tTE2lDcC Berkeley University of California Press 2006 9780520939844 summary Rarick, Ethan. "The Brown Dynasty." in Modern American Political Dynasties: A Study of Power, Family, and Political Influence ed by Kathleen Gronnerud and Scott J. Spitzer. (2018): 211–30. Rice, Richard B. (2012). The Elusive Eden: A New History of California. New York: McGraw-Hill. 978-0-07-338556-3. Rogin, Michael Paul, John L. Shover. Political Change in California: Critical Elections and Social Movements, 1890-1966 (Greenwood, 1970). Schuparra, Kurt. Triumph of the Right: The Rise of the California Conservative Movement, 1945-1966 (M.E. Sharpe, 1998). Statistics Compiled by Frank M. Jordan, Secretary of State State of California. Statement of Vote. Direct Primary Election June 3, 1958 https://archive.org/details/stateofcaliforn195262cali/page/n224/mode/1up CA Primary 1958 Compiled by Frank M. Jordan, Secretary of State State of California. Statement of Vote. General Election November 4, 1958 https://archive.org/details/stateofcaliforn195262cali/page/n256/mode/1up CA General 1958 Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997 Washington, D.C. Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998 1-56802-396-0 Congressional Quarterly 1998 Gubernatorial California 1958 Category:November 1958 in the United States