1994 California gubernatorial election

1994 California gubernatorial election
	County results; Wilson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Brown: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Pete Wilson; Republican	Elected Governor ; Pete Wilson; Republican

The 1994 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, in the midst of that year's "Republican Revolution". Incumbent Republican Pete Wilson easily won re-election over his main challenger, Democratic State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, the daughter of Pat Brown and younger sister of Jerry Brown, both of whom had previously served as governor. Although Wilson initially trailed Brown in the polls as a result of the state's faltering economy, his signature opposition to affirmative action and state services for illegal immigrants (with the associated Proposition 187) eventually led to his win. Wilson won 25% of the African American vote, a fairly strong performance for a Republican. However, he won only 25% of the Latino vote, a weak performance which was widely attributed to his support of Prop 187. This election was the first California gubernatorial election since 1974 in which the winner of the gubernatorial election was of a different party from the incumbent president.

Primaries were held on June 3, 1994.

Republican primary

Candidates

Louis D'Arrigo, Aptos farmer and contractor^[1]
Jim Hart, San Diego resident^[1]
Ron Unz, Palo Alto businessman^[1]
Pete Wilson, incumbent Governor

Results

1994 Republican gubernatorial primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Wilson (incumbent)	1,266,832	61.44%
	Republican	Ron Unz	707,431	34.31%
	Republican	Jim Hart	44,083	2.14%
	Republican	Louis D'Arrigo	43,448	2.11%
	Republican	Mike Eagles (write-in)	34	0.00%
Invalid or blank votes			92,580	4.30%
Total votes			2,154,408	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Kathleen Brown, California Treasurer
Mark Calney, Los Angeles resident^[1]
John Garamendi, California Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Governor in 1982
Tom Hayden, State Senator from Los Angeles
Charles Pineda Jr., Sacramento criminal justice administrator^[1]
Jonathan Trip, Burbank business consultant^[1]

Results

1994 Democratic gubernatorial primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Brown	1,110,372	48.38%
	Democratic	John Garamendi	755,876	32.93%
	Democratic	Tom Hayden	318,777	13.89%
	Democratic	Charles Pineda Jr.	57,314	2.50%
	Democratic	Jonathan Trip	31,716	1.38%
	Democratic	Mark Calney	21,121	0.92%
Invalid or blank votes			139,710	5.74%
Total votes			2,434,866	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Kathleen Brown, California Treasurer (Democratic)
Gloria Estela LaRiva, San Francisco political organizer and printer^[1] (Peace and Freedom)
Jerome McCready, Castroville businessman^[1] (American Independent)
Richard Rider, San Diego stockbroker and financial planner^[1] (Libertarian)
Pete Wilson, incumbent Governor and former U.S. Senator (Republican)

Polling

Source	Date	Pete Wilson	Kathleen Brown
KNBC-TV	November 4, 1994	48%	44%
KCAL-TV	November 3, 1994	49%	39%
Field Poll	November 1, 1994	50%	41%
San Francisco Examiner	October 23, 1994	48%	43%
Los Angeles Times	October 16, 1994	50%	42%
KCAL-TV	October 7, 1994	48%	38%
Los Angeles Times	September 16, 1994	46%	44%

Results

1994 California gubernatorial election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Wilson (incumbent)	4,781,766	55.18
	Democratic	Kathleen Brown	3,519,799	40.62
	Libertarian	Richard Rider	149,281	1.72
	American Independent	Jerome McCready	133,870	1.54
	Peace and Freedom	Gloria Estela LaRiva	80,440	0.93
	No party	Write-ins	219	0.00
Invalid or blank votes			235,261	2.64
Total votes			8,900,855	100.00
	Republican hold

Results by county

County	Wilson	Votes	Brown	Votes	Others	Votes
Glenn	73.54%	5,916	21.37%	1,719	5.10%	410
Colusa	72.70%	3,691	23.68%	1,202	3.62%	184
Sutter	72.11%	15,997	23.86%	5,293	4.02%	893
Inyo	69.51%	5,054	25.83%	1,878	4.67%	339
Kern	69.49%	105,733	25.72%	39,137	4.79%	7,292
Madera	69.24%	18,623	26.85%	7,223	3.91%	1,051
Tulare	69.02%	54,267	27.52%	21,634	3.47%	2,725
Tehama	68.77%	12,836	24.78%	4,626	6.45%	1,204
Shasta	68.45%	37,577	24.84%	13,633	6.72%	3,684
Orange	67.72%	516,811	27.67%	211,132	4.61%	35,196
El Dorado	67.14%	36,695	27.97%	15,289	4.89%	2,670
Placer	67.02%	51,213	28.68%	21,915	4.29%	3,282
Amador	66.81%	8,781	28.73%	3,776	4.47%	586
Calaveras	66.08%	10,438	28.06%	4,432	5.86%	925
Nevada	65.97%	25,159	29.59%	11,283	4.44%	1,693
Yuba	65.95%	9,378	28.14%	4,002	5.91%	840
Mariposa	65.18%	4,699	30.21%	2,178	4.61%	332
Kings	65.02%	14,750	31.28%	7,097	3.70%	839
Mono	64.88%	2,263	30.13%	1,051	4.99%	174
Tuolumne	64.41%	12,706	31.01%	6,117	4.57%	903
Riverside	64.17%	221,027	31.13%	107,207	4.68%	16,183
Plumas	63.87%	5,492	30.58%	2,630	5.54%	477
San Diego	63.35%	477,439	31.97%	240,937	4.67%	35,284
Merced	62.90%	24,873	33.37%	13,197	3.73%	1,474
Butte	62.88%	42,998	32.01%	21,887	5.11%	3,498
Fresno	62.83%	112,851	33.94%	60,958	3.22%	5,809
Ventura	62.36%	136,417	33.44%	73,163	4.20%	9,188
San Bernardino	62.30%	217,085	32.32%	112,636	5.38%	18,755
Del Norte	61.83%	4,626	31.70%	2,372	6.48%	484
Sierra	61.77%	1,018	32.04%	528	6.19%	102
San Joaquin	61.35%	78,682	34.92%	44,787	3.72%	4,774
Stanislaus	60.68%	60,992	34.90%	35,080	4.41%	4,438
Siskiyou	60.17%	11,075	32.88%	6,053	6.94%	1,279
San Luis Obispo	60.07%	52,270	35.27%	30,686	4.64%	4,053
Lassen	58.63%	4,827	32.44%	2,671	8.92%	735
Lake	57.88%	11,416	36.90%	7,279	5.21%	1,029
Trinity	56.88%	3,078	32.95%	1,783	10.15%	550
Santa Barbara	56.68%	75,051	39.59%	52,420	3.73%	4,941
Alpine	56.54%	389	34.88%	240	8.58%	59
Imperial	54.97%	13,208	39.64%	9,525	5.39%	1,294
Sacramento	54.79%	196,229	40.88%	146,423	4.33%	15,504
Napa	54.69%	23,429	40.74%	17,454	4.56%	1,956
San Benito	54.17%	6,398	41.08%	4,852	4.75%	561
Monterey	53.89%	49,565	41.96%	38,597	4.14%	3,817
Solano	51.89%	51,265	43.70%	43,170	4.41%	4,355
Modoc	51.47%	1,972	32.81%	1,257	15.71%	602
Contra Costa	51.47%	154,482	45.02%	135,133	3.50%	10,525
Los Angeles	50.43%	1,043,835	46.06%	953,301	3.51%	72,753
Humboldt	49.34%	23,586	44.27%	21,162	6.39%	3,059
Mendocino	48.37%	14,645	45.30%	13,716	6.33%	1,918
San Mateo	47.63%	102,989	49.21%	106,391	3.15%	6,836
Santa Clara	47.50%	212,075	47.46%	211,904	5.03%	22,490
Yolo	46.58%	23,019	49.28%	24,357	4.12%	2,045
Sonoma	45.65%	73,234	49.69%	79,720	4.66%	7,474
Marin	43.35%	45,983	53.43%	56,665	3.21%	3,415
Santa Cruz	41.09%	37,927	53.39%	49,272	5.51%	5,095
Alameda	36.61%	147,238	59.80%	240,490	3.58%	14,437
San Francisco	27.81%	66,494	69.12%	165,279	3.07%	7,340

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Defying the Odds?". The Los Angeles Times. April 4, 1994. p. 74. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

Statement of vote '94

[candidates-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Defying the Odds?". The Los Angeles Times. April 4, 1994. p. 74. Retrieved May 26, 2023.

[2] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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