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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.
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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. "Pat" Brown | 1,890,622 | 82.62% | |
| Republican | William F. Knowland | 313,385 | 13.69% | |
| Democratic | Donald Donaldson | 84,449 | 3.69% | |
| Total votes | 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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William F. Knowland | 1,290,106 | 77.48% | |
| Democratic | Edmund G. "Pat" Brown | 374,879 | 22.52% | |
| Total votes | 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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. "Pat" Brown | 3,140,076 | 59.75% | +16.59% | |
| Republican | 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% | |||
| Majority | 1,029,165 | 19.58% | |||
| Total votes | 5,255,777 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | +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.
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.
| County | Edmund G. Brown Democratic |
William F. Knowland Republican |
William P. Gale Write-in |
All Others Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 228,105 | 64.84% | 123,372 | 35.07% | 129 | 0.04% | 197 | 0.06% | 104,733 | 29.77% | 351,803 |
| Alpine | 77 | 43.50% | 100 | 56.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -23 | -12.99% | 177 |
| Amador | 2,665 | 64.23% | 1,483 | 35.74% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,182 | 28.49% | 4,149 |
| Butte | 16,886 | 55.23% | 13,677 | 44.74% | 10 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,209 | 10.50% | 30,573 |
| Calaveras | 3,067 | 58.99% | 2,088 | 40.16% | 44 | 0.85% | 0 | 0.00% | 979 | 18.83% | 5,199 |
| Colusa | 2,924 | 64.04% | 1,642 | 35.96% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,282 | 28.08% | 4,566 |
| Contra Costa | 95,128 | 65.14% | 50,812 | 34.79% | 0 | 0.00% | 104 | 0.07% | 44,316 | 30.34% | 146,044 |
| Del Norte | 3,368 | 62.05% | 2,060 | 37.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,308 | 24.10% | 5,428 |
| El Dorado | 5,720 | 66.43% | 2,889 | 33.55% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,831 | 32.88% | 8,610 |
| Fresno | 72,692 | 66.84% | 35,747 | 32.87% | 322 | 0.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 36,945 | 33.97% | 108,761 |
| Glenn | 4,190 | 61.46% | 2,625 | 38.51% | 1 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.01% | 1,565 | 22.96% | 6,817 |
| Humboldt | 21,013 | 62.12% | 12,799 | 37.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 14 | 0.04% | 8,214 | 24.28% | 33,826 |
| Imperial | 8,580 | 51.93% | 7,943 | 48.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 637 | 3.86% | 16,523 |
| Inyo | 2,780 | 53.92% | 2,374 | 46.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.04% | 406 | 7.87% | 5,156 |
| Kern | 52,587 | 62.87% | 30,889 | 36.93% | 22 | 0.03% | 140 | 0.17 | 21,698 | 25.94% | 83,638 |
| Kings | 9,227 | 68.33% | 4,264 | 31.58% | 5 | 0.04% | 7 | 0.05% | 4,963 | 36.75% | 13,503 |
| Lake | 3,411 | 55.72% | 2,711 | 44.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 700 | 11.43% | 6,122 |
| Lassen | 3,553 | 69.68% | 1,545 | 30.30% | 1 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,008 | 39.38% | 5,099 |
| Los Angeles | 1,254,226 | 57.91% | 909,429 | 41.99% | 1,120 | 0.05% | 996 | 0.05% | 344,797 | 15.92% | 2,165,771 |
| Madera | 8,133 | 68.95% | 3,663 | 31.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,470 | 37.89% | 11,796 |
| Marin | 29,096 | 55.98% | 22,832 | 43.93% | 21 | 0.04% | 26 | 0.05% | 6,264 | 12.05% | 51,975 |
| Mariposa | 1,437 | 58.01% | 1,040 | 41.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 397 | 16.03% | 2,477 |
| Mendocino | 10,759 | 63.71% | 6,116 | 36.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.08% | 4,643 | 27.49% | 16,888 |
| Merced | 15.430 | 67.79% | 7,328 | 32.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.02% | 8,102 | 35.59% | 22,762 |
| Modoc | 2,010 | 62.77% | 1,192 | 37.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 818 | 25.55% | 3,202 |
| Mono | 461 | 44.41% | 577 | 55.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -116 | -11.18% | 1,038 |
| Monterey | 26,676 | 56.12% | 20,853 | 43.87% | 8 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 5,823 | 12.25% | 47,537 |
| Napa | 14,544 | 60.95% | 9,309 | 39.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 9 | 0.04% | 5,235 | 21.94% | 23,862 |
| Nevada | 5,035 | 58.20% | 3,601 | 41.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 15 | 0.17% | 1,434 | 16.58% | 8,651 |
| Orange | 85,364 | 46.30% | 98,729 | 53.55% | 0 | 0.00% | 259 | 0.14% | -13,365 | -7.25% | 184,352 |
| Placer | 13,422 | 68.75% | 6,093 | 31.21% | 9 | 0.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 7,329 | 37.54% | 19,524 |
| Plumas | 3,714 | 74.16% | 1,277 | 25.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 17 | 0.34% | 2,437 | 48.66% | 5,088 |
| Riverside | 46,611 | 52.65% | 41,824 | 47.24% | 70 | 0.08% | 24 | 0.03% | 4,787 | 5.41% | 88,529 |
| Sacramento | 107,679 | 70.95% | 44,027 | 29.01% | 52 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 63,652 | 41.94% | 151,758 |
| San Benito | 3,213 | 59.53% | 2,182 | 40.43% | 2 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,031 | 19.10% | 5,397 |
| San Bernardino | 86,882 | 58.33% | 61,891 | 41.55% | 124 | 0.08% | 48 | 0.03% | 24,991 | 16.78% | 148,945 |
| San Diego | 150,925 | 51.71% | 140,734 | 48.22% | 140 | 0.05% | 73 | 0.03% | 10,191 | 3.49% | 291,872 |
| San Francisco | 219,413 | 70.79% | 90,430 | 29.17% | 66 | 0.02% | 60 | 0.02% | 128,983 | 41.61% | 309,969 |
| San Joaquin | 48,284 | 62.58% | 28,807 | 37.34% | 33 | 0.04% | 32 | 0.04% | 19,477 | 25.24% | 77,156 |
| San Luis Obispo | 15,315 | 56.78% | 11,646 | 43.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.05% | 3.669 | 13.60% | 26,974 |
| San Mateo | 97,475 | 61.76% | 60,215 | 38.15% | 55 | 0.03% | 83 | 0.05% | 37,260 | 23.61% | 157,828 |
| Santa Barbara | 23,440 | 49.43% | 23,849 | 50.50% | 12 | 0.03% | 21 | 0.04% | -509 | -1.08% | 47,222 |
| Santa Clara | 108,732 | 59.50% | 73,874 | 40.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 142 | 0.08% | 34,858 | 19.07% | 182,748 |
| Santa Cruz | 17,635 | 51.58% | 16,528 | 48.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 25 | 0.07% | 1,107 | 3.24% | 34,188 |
| Shasta | 14,024 | 71.24% | 5,645 | 28.68% | 10 | 0.05% | 6 | 0.03% | 8,379 | 42.57% | 19,685 |
| Sierra | 826 | 64.89% | 447 | 35.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 379 | 29.77% | 1,273 |
| Siskiyou | 8,747 | 67.34% | 4,233 | 32.59% | 10 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,514 | 34.75% | 12,990 |
| Solano | 27,429 | 69.79% | 11,847 | 30.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 27 | 0.07% | 15,582 | 39.65% | 39,303 |
| Sonoma | 30,841 | 57.04% | 23,216 | 42.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 14 | 0.03% | 7,625 | 14.10% | 54,071 |
| Stanislaus | 31,984 | 62.50% | 19,168 | 37.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 23 | 0.04% | 12,816 | 25.04% | 51,175 |
| Sutter | 5,032 | 50.10% | 5,009 | 49.87% | 3 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 23 | 0.23% | 10,044 |
| Tehama | 5,860 | 63.50% | 3,368 | 36.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,492 | 27.00% | 9,228 |
| Trinity | 2,315 | 69.37% | 1,014 | 30.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 8 | 0.24% | 1,301 | 38.99% | 3,337 |
| Tulare | 25,668 | 58.19% | 18,407 | 41.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 35 | 0.08% | 7,261 | 16.46% | 44,110 |
| Tuolumne | 4,771 | 66.66% | 2,374 | 33.17% | 12 | 0.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,397 | 33.49% | 7,157 |
| Ventura | 32,789 | 61.63% | 20,368 | 38.28% | 20 | 0.04% | 24 | 0.05% | 12,421 | 23.35% | 53,201 |
| Yolo | 13,014 | 70.27% | 5,485 | 29.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 20 | 0.11% | 7,529 | 40.66% | 18,519 |
| Yuba | 4,992 | 60.43% | 3,264 | 39.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 0.06% | 1,728 | 20.92% | 8,261 |
| Total | 3,140,076 | 59.75% | 2,110,911 | 40.16% | 2,301 | 0.04% | 2,489 | 0.05% | 1,029,165 | 19.58% | 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
Notes
- 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.
- In 1978
- These votes are Scattering unless otherwise noted in each county
- 42 for Delaney, 52 for Steiner
- 1 for Delaney
- 7 for Delaney
- 116 for Delaney, 3 for Steiner
- 233 for Delaney, 112 for Steiner
- 1 for Delaney, 8 for Steiner
- 19 for Delaney, 6 for Steiner
- 19 for Delaney, 41 for Steiner
- 18 for Delaney, 15 for Steiner
- 21 for Delaney
- 25 for Delaney
- 3 for Delaney, 2 for Steiner
References
- Starr, Kevin (2011). Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963. Oxford University Press. p. 212-216. ISBN 9780195153774.
- Anderson, Totton J. (1959). "The 1958 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 12 (1). : 276–300. ISSN 0043-4078. JSTOR 444055. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ California Secretary of State. State of California Statement of Vote Direct Primary Election June 3, 1958. Sacramento, California. p. 3. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ California Secretary of State. State of California Statement of Vote General Election November 4, 1958. Sacramento, California. p. 3. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
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) 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.
- Rice, Richard B. (2012). The Elusive Eden: A New History of California. New York: McGraw-Hill. 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).
- 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.
- Compiled by Frank M. Jordan, Secretary of State. State of California. Statement of Vote. General Election November 4, 1958.
- Gubernatorial Elections, 1787-1997. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998. ISBN 1-56802-396-0.
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