1966 California gubernatorial election
November 8, 1966
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Pat Brown
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 3,742,913 2,749,174
Percentage 57.55% 42.27%
County results

Reagan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Brown:      50–60%
Governor before election

Pat Brown
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Ronald Reagan
Republican

The 1966 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. The election was a contest primarily between incumbent governor Pat Brown and former actor Ronald Reagan, who mobilized conservative voters and defeated Brown in a landslide. As of the 2022 gubernatorial election, this is the last time an incumbent governor of California lost re-election, though one subsequent incumbent governor was recalled.

Background

Incumbent governor Pat Brown had been twice elected with significant accomplishments, such as the construction of the state highway system.[1] After his re-election victory over former vice president Richard Nixon in 1962, Brown was strongly considered for Lyndon B. Johnson's running mate in 1964.[2] However, Brown's popularity began to sag amidst the civil disorders of the Watts riots and the early student protests at the University of California, Berkeley including the Free Speech Movement.[3]

Primaries

California's liberal Republicans including George Christopher leveled attacks on Ronald Reagan for his conservative positions.[4] Reagan popularized the eleventh commandment created by California Republican Party chairman Gaylord Parkinson. In his 1990 autobiography An American Life, Reagan attributed the rule to Parkinson, explained its origin, and claimed to have followed it, writing, "The personal attacks against me during the primary finally became so heavy that the state Republican chairman, Gaylord Parkinson, postulated what he called the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. It's a rule I followed during that campaign and have ever since."[5] Parkinson used the phrase as common ground to prevent a split in the party.[4]

Results

1966 California Democratic gubernatorial primary[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Pat Brown (inc.) 1,355,262 51.91
Democratic Sam Yorty 981,088 37.58
Democratic Carlton Benjamin Goodlett 95,476 3.66
Democratic Wallace J. Duffy 77,029 2.95
Democratic Dale Alexander 43,453 1.66
Democratic Ronald Reagan (write-in) 27,422 1.05
Democratic Ingram W. Goad 18,088 0.69
Total votes 2,597,818 100
1966 California Republican gubernatorial primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ronald Reagan 1,417,623 64.62
Republican George Christopher 675,683 30.80
Republican Warren N. Dorn 44,812 2.04
Republican William Penn Patrick 40,887 1.86
Republican Joseph R. Maxwell 7,052 0.32
Republican Sam Yorty (write-in) 5,993 0.27
Republican Pat Brown (inc.) (write-in) 1,700 0.08
Total votes 2,193,750 100

Campaign

Polls in February 1966 showed Christopher with a seven-point lead over Brown and Brown leading Reagan by four, so Brown sought to influence the Republican primary in Reagan's favor by having operatives pass negative claims against Christopher to columnist Drew Pearson.[8] With the nomination of Reagan, a well-known and charismatic political outsider-actor, the Republicans seized upon Brown's sudden unpopularity evidenced by a tough battle in the Democratic primary.[9] Nixon worked tirelessly behind the scenes and Reagan trumpeted his law-and-order campaign message, going into the general election with a great deal of momentum. After pollsters discovered that the Berkeley student protests were a major priority of Republican voters, Reagan repeatedly promised to "clean up the mess at Berkeley."[10]

At first, Brown tried to smear Reagan's conservative supporters with "lame Nazi metaphors".[11] After Reagan deftly parried that tactic, Brown made a serious gaffe.[11] He ran a television commercial in which he used a rhetorical question to remind a group of elementary school children that John Wilkes Booth, another actor, had killed Abraham Lincoln.[11] Brown's crude comparison of Reagan to Booth based on their common background as actors—in the state that happens to be home to Hollywood—did not go over well with the California electorate.[11][12] Within 48 hours, Reagan had overtaken Brown in the polls.[11]

With a lead that grew throughout September and October, Reagan won by over 990,000 votes, aided by traditionally Democratic working-class areas in Los Angeles and elsewhere.[13] Brown won in only three counties, Alameda, Plumas, and San Francisco. He narrowly won Alameda by about 2,000 votes and Plumas by about 100 votes.[14][15]

Results

1966 California gubernatorial election[14][15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ronald Reagan 3,742,913 57.55
Democratic Pat Brown (incumbent) 2,749,174 42.27
Other Various candidates 11,358 0.18
Total votes 6,503,445 100.00
Turnout   57.70
Republican gain from Democratic

Results by county

County Reagan Votes Brown Votes
Mono 77.84% 1,205 22.16% 343
Orange 72.15% 293,413 27.85% 113,275
Sutter 70.43% 9,828 29.57% 4,126
Calaveras 67.77% 3,810 32.23% 1,812
Butte 67.48% 25,443 32.52% 12,263
Glenn 66.35% 4,676 33.65% 2,371
Inyo 66.19% 3,961 33.81% 2,023
Nevada 65.85% 7,373 34.15% 3,823
Alpine 65.78% 148 34.22% 77
Del Norte 63.99% 3,409 36.01% 1,918
San Diego 63.82% 252,070 36.18% 142,890
Santa Barbara 63.54% 50,284 36.46% 28,853
Lake 63.09% 5,499 36.91% 3,217
El Dorado 63.08% 9,189 36.92% 5,378
Tehama 63.01% 6,629 36.99% 3,891
Imperial 62.87% 12,372 37.13% 7,307
Riverside 62.77% 84,501 37.23% 50,112
Modoc 62.73% 1,946 37.27% 1,156
Kern 62.67% 64,716 37.33% 38,543
San Luis Obispo 62.55% 21,528 37.45% 12,891
Trinity 62.27% 2,050 37.73% 1,242
San Bernardino 62.19% 121,916 37.81% 74,120
Colusa 62.09% 2,806 37.91% 1,713
Mariposa 61.51% 1,811 38.49% 1,133
Santa Cruz 61.47% 26,988 38.53% 16,913
Monterey 61.06% 35,944 38.94% 22,923
San Benito 60.96% 3,565 39.04% 2,283
Ventura 60.94% 58,068 39.06% 37,224
San Joaquin 60.77% 54,647 39.23% 35,281
Sonoma 60.68% 41,516 39.32% 26,898
Yuba 60.52% 6,658 39.48% 4,344
Tulare 59.95% 33,095 40.05% 22,109
Mendocino 59.81% 10,161 40.19% 6,827
Napa 59.53% 17,740 40.47% 12,060
Amador 58.33% 2,985 41.67% 2,132
Tuolumne 58.21% 4,845 41.79% 3,479
Los Angeles 57.26% 1,389,995 42.74% 1,037,663
Marin 57.21% 40,411 42.79% 30,230
Humboldt 57.20% 19,210 42.80% 14,374
Kings 55.79% 9,957 44.21% 7,890
Santa Clara 55.40% 164,970 44.60% 132,793
Sierra 55.27% 650 44.73% 526
Contra Costa 55.13% 107,543 44.87% 87,525
Shasta 54.83% 15,155 45.17% 12,486
Placer 54.61% 14,664 45.39% 12,187
Stanislaus 54.37% 31,473 45.63% 26,418
Siskiyou 54.21% 7,057 45.79% 5,962
Madera 54.18% 7,490 45.82% 6,335
Fresno 53.96% 70,182 46.04% 59,869
Lassen 53.95% 3,190 46.05% 2,723
San Mateo 53.71% 107,498 46.29% 92,654
Merced 53.01% 14,103 46.99% 12,499
Sacramento 50.91% 109,801 49.09% 105,861
Solano 50.15% 23,187 49.85% 23,047
Yolo 50.08% 13,073 49.92% 13,032
Alameda 49.75% 189,055 50.25% 190,968
Plumas 49.18% 2,658 50.82% 2,747
San Francisco 41.11% 114,796 58.89% 164,435

References

  1. ↑ Cannon 2003, pp. 3–5
  2. ↑ "California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown". Paley Center. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  3. ↑ Cannon 2003, pp. 6–9
  4. 1 2 Wilcox, David C. (April 8, 2002). "The "Eleventh Commandment"". Enter Stage Right. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ Reagan, Ronald (1990). An American Life. Simon and Schuster. p. 150.
  6. ↑ "Our Campaigns - CA Governor - D Primary Race - Jun 07, 1966". Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Our Campaigns - CA Governor - R Primary Race - Jun 07, 1966". Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ Cannon 2003, pp. 146–147
  9. ↑ Cannon 2003, pp. 147–150
  10. ↑ Kerr, Clark (2001). The Gold and the Blue: A Personal Memoir of the University of California, 1949-1967, Volume 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 288. ISBN 9780520925014. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Reagan, Michael; Denney, Jim (2010), The New Reagan Revolution: How Ronald Reagan's Principles Can Restore America's Greatness, p. 111, ISBN 978-0-312-64454-3
  12. ↑ Cannon 2003, pp. 151–152
  13. ↑ Cannon 2003, pp. 156–160
  14. 1 2 Anderson, Totton J.; Lee, Eugene C. (June 1967). "The 1966 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 20 (2): 535–554. doi:10.2307/446081. JSTOR 446081.
  15. 1 2 Archived September 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

  • Anderson, Totton J.; Lee, Eugene C. (1967), "The 1966 Election in California", Western Political Quarterly, 20#2 pp. 535–554 in JSTOR
  • Becker, Jules, and Douglas A. Fuchs. "How two major California dailies covered Reagan vs. Brown." Journalism Quarterly 44.4 (1967): 645–653.
  • Cannon, Lou (2003). Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 1-58648-030-8.
  • Cannon, Lou (2001), Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio (PublicAffairs, 2001)
  • Cannon, Lou. "Preparing for the Presidency: The Political Education of Ronald Reagan" in A Legacy of Leadership: Governors and American History ed. by Clayton McClure Brooks (2008) pp 137–155. online
  • Dallek, Matthew. The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics (2000), 1966 election;
  • De Groot, Gerard J. "'A Goddamned Electable Person': The 1966 California Gubernatorial Campaign of Ronald Reagan." History 82#267 (1997) pp: 429-448 online.
  • De Groot, Gerard J. "Ronald Reagan and Student Unrest in California, 1966-1970." Pacific Historical Review 65.1 (1996): 107–129. online free Archived 2023-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
  • Edwards, Anne. Early Reagan: The Rise to Power (New York, 1987), includes 1966 election
  • McKenna, Kevin. "The 'Total Campaign': How Ronald Reagan Overwhelmingly Won the California Gubernatorial Election of 1966." (Thesis, Columbia University, 2010)
  • 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) ISBN 0-917316-48-7.
  • Rarick, Ethan (2006), California Rising: The Life and Times of Pat Brown, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 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.
  • Reeves, Michelle. "Obey the Rules or Get Out": Ronald Reagan's 1966 Gubernatorial Campaign and the 'Trouble in Berkeley'." Southern California Quarterly (2010): 275–305. in JSTOR
  • Rice, Richard B. The Elusive Eden: A New History of California. (McGraw-Hill, 2012). ). ISBN 978-0-07-338556-3.
  • Rogin, Michael Paul, John L. Shover. Political Change in California: Critical Elections and Social Movements, 1890-1966 (Greenwood, 1970).
  • Rorabaugh, William J. Berkeley at War, the 1960s (Oxford University Press, 1989).
  • Schuparra, Kurt. Triumph of the Right: The Rise of the California Conservative Movement, 1945-1966 (M.E. Sharpe, 1998).
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