1938 California gubernatorial election
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 County results Olson: 40–50% 50–60% Merriam: 40–50% 50–60% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1938 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938. Culbert L. Olson defeated incumbent governor Frank F. Merriam to become the first Democrat elected Governor of California since James Budd in 1894. Merriam had angered the left and the right throughout his tenure as governor, leading a significant swing in favor of the Democratic party.
Olson was the first Democrat since George Stoneman in 1882 to receive an absolute majority of the vote. For the first time since 1882, Alameda County, Los Angeles County, and Ventura County were carried by a Democrat and San Diego County backed a Democrat for governor for the first time since 1879. California would not elect a Democrat as governor again until 1958. This was the last time until Gray Davis in 1998 that a Democrat who was not a member of the Brown family won the governorship.
Primary election results
Candidates
- George J. Hatfield (R), lieutenant governor
- Z. S. Leymel (R), former mayor of Fresno
- Frank F. Merriam (R), incumbent governor
- Francis Michael O'Connor (R)
- John F. Dockweiler (D), US Representative
- Herbert C. Legg (D), Los Angeles County Supervisor
- Daniel C. Murphy (D)
- William H. Neblett (D)
- J. F. T. O'Connor (D), United States Comptroller of Currency
- Culbert L. Olson (D), member of California Senate
- Teodoro Antonio Tomasini (D)
- Raymond L. Haight (Progressive), Los Angeles attorney
- William E. Riker (Progressive), white supremacist preacher
- Robert Noble (Commonwealth)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 405,362 | 54.85% | |
| Republican | George J. Hatfield | 169,278 | 22.91% | |
| Republican | Raymond L. Haight | 124,102 | 16.79% | |
| Republican | Francis Michael O'Connor | 18,642 | 2.52% | |
| Republican | John F. Dockweiler (write-in) | 8,966 | 1.21% | |
| Republican | Z. S. Leymel | 8,184 | 1.11% | |
| Republican | Culbert L. Olson (write-in) | 4,469 | 0.60% | |
| Total votes | 739,003 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Culbert L. Olson | 483,483 | 41.97% | |
| Democratic | John F. Dockweiler | 218,342 | 18.96% | |
| Democratic | Daniel C. Murphy | 137,740 | 11.96% | |
| Democratic | Raymond L. Haight | 125,012 | 10.85% | |
| Democratic | Herbert C. Legg | 80,586 | 7.00% | |
| Democratic | J. F. T. O'Connor | 71,999 | 6.25% | |
| Democratic | William H. Neblett | 21,219 | 1.84% | |
| Democratic | Teodoro Antonio Tomasini | 10,142 | 0.88% | |
| Democratic | Frank F. Merriam (write-in) | 3,340 | 0.29% | |
| Total votes | 1,151,863 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsend Party | Frank F. Merriam (write-in)[a] | 5,350 | 64.82% | |
| Townsend Party | John F. Dockweiler (write-in) | 1,471 | 17.82% | |
| Townsend Party | Culbert L. Olson (write-in) | 1,432 | 17.35% | |
| Total votes | 8,253 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive | Raymond L. Haight | 4,569 | 57.76% | |
| Progressive | Culbert L. Olson | 3,271 | 40.09% | |
| Progressive | William E. Riker | 170 | 2.15% | |
| Total votes | 7,910 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth | Robert Noble | 274 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 274 | 100.00% | ||
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Culbert L. Olson | 1,391,734 | 52.49% | +14.74% | |
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 1,171,019 | 44.17% | −4.71% | |
| Progressive | Raymond L. Haight | 64,418 | 2.43% | −10.56% | |
| Commonwealth | Robert Noble | 23,787 | 0.90% | +0.90% | |
| Scattering | 505 | 0.02% | |||
| Majority | 220,715 | 8.32% | |||
| Total votes | 2,651,463 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | +19.45% | |||
Results by county
| County | Culbert L. Olson Democratic | Frank F. Merriam Republican | Raymond L. Haight Progressive | Robert Noble Commonwealth | Scattering Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 109,010 | 49.48% | 106,694 | 48.43% | 3,825 | 1.74% | 753 | 0.34% | 39 | 0.02% | 2,316 | 1.05% | 220,321 |
| Alpine | 29 | 18.95% | 110 | 71.90% | 14 | 9.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -81 | -52.94% | 153 |
| Amador | 1,803 | 52.47% | 1,486 | 43.25% | 132 | 3.84% | 15 | 0.44% | 0 | 0.00% | 317 | 9.23% | 3,436 |
| Butte | 8,408 | 48.45% | 8,249 | 47.53% | 542 | 3.12% | 155 | 0.89% | 0 | 0.00% | 159 | 0.92% | 17,354 |
| Calaveras | 1,818 | 46.44% | 1,866 | 47.66% | 207 | 5.29% | 24 | 0.61% | 0 | 0.00% | -48 | -1.23% | 3,915 |
| Colusa | 1,768 | 41.11% | 2,339 | 54.38% | 168 | 3.91% | 26 | 0.60% | 0 | 0.00% | -571 | -13.28% | 4,301 |
| Contra Costa | 23,782 | 56.82% | 17,096 | 40.84% | 835 | 1.99% | 139 | 0.33% | 4 | 0.01% | 6,686 | 15.97% | 41,856 |
| Del Norte | 1,092 | 43.58% | 1,325 | 52.87% | 73 | 2.91% | 16 | 0.64% | 0 | 0.00% | -233 | -9.30% | 2,506 |
| El Dorado | 3,375 | 57.23% | 2,079 | 35.26% | 402 | 6.82% | 41 | 0.70% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,296 | 21.98% | 5,897 |
| Fresno | 32,937 | 55.52% | 22,728 | 38.31% | 3,370 | 5.68% | 294 | 0.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 10,209 | 17.21% | 59,329 |
| Glenn | 2,068 | 39.88% | 2,924 | 56.39% | 168 | 3.24% | 25 | 0.48% | 0 | 0.00% | -856 | -16.51% | 5,185 |
| Humboldt | 8,795 | 46.00% | 9,617 | 50.30% | 571 | 2.99% | 137 | 0.72% | 0 | 0.00% | -822 | -4.30% | 19,120 |
| Imperial | 5,495 | 45.47% | 6,259 | 51.79% | 203 | 1.68% | 129 | 1.07% | 0 | 0.00% | -764 | -6.32% | 12,086 |
| Inyo | 1,184 | 42.44% | 1,456 | 52.19% | 135 | 4.84% | 15 | 0.54% | 0 | 0.00% | -272 | -9.75% | 2,790 |
| Kern | 25,392 | 58.66% | 16,116 | 37.23% | 1,332 | 3.08% | 448 | 1.03% | 1 | 0.00% | 9,276 | 21.43% | 43,289 |
| Kings | 5,545 | 53.35% | 4,395 | 42.28% | 359 | 3.45% | 92 | 0.89% | 3 | 0.03% | 1,150 | 11.06% | 10,394 |
| Lake | 1,571 | 37.72% | 2,438 | 58.54% | 91 | 2.18% | 65 | 1.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -867 | -20.82% | 4,165 |
| Lassen | 2,764 | 48.53% | 2,624 | 46.08% | 258 | 4.53% | 49 | 0.86% | 0 | 0.00% | 140 | 2.46% | 5,695 |
| Los Angeles | 612,499 | 55.76% | 446,069 | 40.61% | 24,958 | 2.27% | 14,552 | 1.32% | 339 | 0.03% | 166,430 | 15.15% | 1,098,417 |
| Madera | 4,148 | 57.11% | 2,805 | 38.62% | 273 | 3.76% | 37 | 0.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,343 | 18.49% | 7,263 |
| Marin | 8,340 | 43.46% | 10,445 | 54.42% | 351 | 1.83% | 52 | 0.27% | 4 | 0.02% | -2,105 | -10.97% | 19,192 |
| Mariposa | 1,362 | 54.50% | 1,043 | 41.74% | 59 | 2.36% | 35 | 1.40% | 0 | 0.00% | 319 | 12.77% | 2,499 |
| Mendocino | 5,355 | 45.92% | 5,897 | 50.57% | 286 | 2.45% | 123 | 1.05% | 0 | 0.00% | -542 | -4.65% | 11,661 |
| Merced | 8,303 | 54.05% | 6,367 | 41.45% | 547 | 3.56% | 140 | 0.91% | 4 | 0.03% | 1,936 | 12.60% | 15,361 |
| Modoc | 1,472 | 48.26% | 1,416 | 46.43% | 132 | 4.33% | 30 | 0.98% | 0 | 0.00% | 56 | 1.84% | 3,050 |
| Mono | 445 | 47.39% | 446 | 47.50% | 42 | 4.47% | 6 | 0.64% | 0 | 0.00% | -1 | -0.11% | 939 |
| Monterey | 9,736 | 44.82% | 11,436 | 52.65% | 428 | 1.97% | 122 | 0.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,700 | -7.83% | 21,722 |
| Napa | 4,786 | 42.03% | 6,275 | 55.10% | 261 | 2.29% | 65 | 0.57% | 1 | 0.01% | -1,489 | -13.08% | 11,388 |
| Nevada | 3,494 | 43.84% | 4,052 | 50.84% | 379 | 4.76% | 45 | 0.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -558 | -7.00% | 7,970 |
| Orange | 24,257 | 43.27% | 29,774 | 53.11% | 1,166 | 2.08% | 863 | 1.54% | 4 | 0.01% | -5,517 | -9.84% | 56,064 |
| Placer | 6,653 | 58.92% | 3,834 | 33.96% | 747 | 6.62% | 57 | 0.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,819 | 24.97% | 11,291 |
| Plumas | 2,373 | 56.25% | 1,607 | 38.09% | 198 | 4.69% | 41 | 0.97% | 0 | 0.00% | 766 | 18.16% | 4,219 |
| Riverside | 17,026 | 45.93% | 18,895 | 50.97% | 737 | 1.99% | 409 | 1.10% | 2 | 0.01% | -1,869 | -5.04% | 37,069 |
| Sacramento | 32,885 | 54.07% | 25,836 | 42.48% | 1,921 | 3.16% | 174 | 0.29% | 5 | 0.01% | 7,049 | 11.59% | 60,821 |
| San Benito | 1,910 | 42.25% | 2,466 | 54.55% | 124 | 2.74% | 21 | 0.46% | 0 | 0.00% | -556 | -12.30% | 4,521 |
| San Bernardino | 30,696 | 51.47% | 27,515 | 46.14% | 1,001 | 1.68% | 409 | 0.69% | 13 | 0.02% | 3,181 | 5.33% | 59,634 |
| San Diego | 54,552 | 52.84% | 45,891 | 44.45% | 1,749 | 1.69% | 1,039 | 1.01% | 2 | 0.00% | 8,661 | 8.39% | 103,233 |
| San Francisco | 132,346 | 53.36% | 111,046 | 44.77% | 3,843 | 1.55% | 781 | 0.31% | 19 | 0.01% | 21,300 | 8.59% | 248,035 |
| San Joaquin | 22,340 | 50.34% | 20,990 | 47.30% | 895 | 2.02% | 147 | 0.33% | 5 | 0.01% | 1,350 | 3.04% | 44,377 |
| San Luis Obispo | 6,660 | 45.91% | 7,046 | 48.57% | 608 | 4.19% | 192 | 1.32% | 0 | 0.00% | -386 | -2.66% | 14,506 |
| San Mateo | 20,723 | 47.85% | 21,579 | 49.82% | 801 | 1.85% | 200 | 0.46% | 8 | 0.02% | -856 | -1.98% | 43,311 |
| Santa Barbara | 10,870 | 41.81% | 14,325 | 55.10% | 689 | 2.65% | 107 | 0.41% | 5 | 0.02% | -3,455 | -13.29% | 25,996 |
| Santa Clara | 32,994 | 46.70% | 36,191 | 51.23% | 1,217 | 1.72% | 226 | 0.32% | 20 | 0.03% | -3,197 | -4.53% | 70,648 |
| Santa Cruz | 8,962 | 45.17% | 10,198 | 51.40% | 531 | 2.68% | 150 | 0.76% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,236 | -6.23% | 19,841 |
| Shasta | 4,994 | 56.26% | 3,445 | 38.81% | 344 | 3.88% | 94 | 1.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,549 | 17.45% | 8,877 |
| Sierra | 719 | 49.72% | 565 | 39.07% | 149 | 10.30% | 13 | 0.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 154 | 10.65% | 1,446 |
| Siskiyou | 5,882 | 48.97% | 5,146 | 42.84% | 794 | 6.61% | 190 | 1.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 736 | 6.13% | 12,012 |
| Solano | 9,037 | 50.92% | 8,051 | 45.36% | 586 | 3.30% | 74 | 0.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 986 | 5.56% | 17,748 |
| Sonoma | 12,207 | 42.25% | 15,582 | 53.93% | 957 | 3.31% | 140 | 0.48% | 9 | 0.03% | -3,375 | -11.68% | 28,895 |
| Stanislaus | 12,730 | 47.34% | 12,333 | 45.86% | 1,598 | 5.94% | 226 | 0.84% | 6 | 0.02% | 397 | 1.48% | 26,893 |
| Sutter | 3,093 | 43.97% | 3,691 | 52.47% | 224 | 3.18% | 27 | 0.38% | 0 | 0.00% | -598 | -8.50% | 7,035 |
| Tehama | 2,740 | 44.99% | 2,882 | 47.32% | 427 | 7.01% | 41 | 0.67% | 0 | 0.00% | -142 | -2.33% | 6,090 |
| Trinity | 1,081 | 53.36% | 808 | 39.88% | 107 | 5.28% | 30 | 1.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 273 | 13.47% | 2,026 |
| Tulare | 16,162 | 50.29% | 14,571 | 45.34% | 1,113 | 3.46% | 283 | 0.88% | 8 | 0.02% | 1,591 | 4.95% | 32,137 |
| Tuolumne | 2,672 | 53.80% | 2,091 | 42.10% | 168 | 3.38% | 36 | 0.72% | 0 | 0.00% | 581 | 11.70% | 4,967 |
| Ventura | 11,264 | 49.31% | 10,647 | 46.61% | 789 | 3.45% | 139 | 0.61% | 2 | 0.01% | 617 | 2.70% | 22,841 |
| Yolo | 3,997 | 43.28% | 4,865 | 52.67% | 352 | 3.81% | 22 | 0.24% | 0 | 0.00% | -868 | -9.40% | 9,236 |
| Yuba | 3,133 | 48.65% | 3,097 | 48.09% | 182 | 2.83% | 26 | 0.40% | 2 | 0.03% | 36 | 0.56% | 6,440 |
| Total | 1,391,734 | 52.49% | 1,171,019 | 44.17% | 64,418 | 2.43% | 23,787 | 0.90% | 505 | 0.02% | 220,715 | 8.32% | 2,651,463 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Alameda
- Amador
- Butte
- Kern
- Kings
- Los Angeles
- Mariposa
- Merced
- Modoc
- Placer
- Sacramento
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Joaquin
- Shasta
- Sierra
- Siskiyou
- Solano
- Tulare
- Ventura
- Yuba
Counties that flipped from Progressive to Democratic
Notes
- ^ Was not listed under Townsend in the general election
References
- ^ a b c d e California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote at Primary Election Held on August 30, 1938 in the State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. pp. 5–7. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ a b California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote at General Election Held on November 8, 1938 in the State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 4. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
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