1990 California gubernatorial election

Last updated

1990 California gubernatorial election
Flag of California.svg
  1986 November 6, 1990 1994  
  Pete Wilson.jpg Dianne Feinstein congressional portrait (1).jpg
Nominee Pete Wilson Dianne Feinstein
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote3,791,9043,525,197
Percentage49.25%45.78%

1990 California gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
1990 California gubernatorial election by Congressional District.svg
Wilson:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Feinstein:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

George Deukmejian
Republican

Elected Governor

Pete Wilson
Republican

The 1990 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. The Republican candidate, Senator Pete Wilson, defeated the Democratic candidate, former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.

Contents

Feinstein won the Democratic nomination against opponents including California Attorney General John Van de Kamp. Wilson faced minimal opposition in his bid for the Republican nomination.

In 1992, Feinstein was elected to Wilson's former Senate seat and served in the Senate until her death in September 2023.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Pete Wilson 1,856,614 87.50%
Republican David M. Williams107,3975.06%
Republican Jeffrey T. Greene79,0833.73%
Republican Donald L. Bullock54,5772.57%
Republican William B. Allen (write-in)24,0581.13%
Total votes2,121,729 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Dianne Feinstein 1,361,360 52.26%
Democratic John Van de Kamp 1,067,89941.00%
Democratic Frank L. Thomas35,9001.38%
Democratic Charles Pineda Jr.25,3960.97%
Democratic Franklin R. Geraty24,2510.93%
Democratic John Hancock Abbott19,6970.76%
Democratic Charles A. Mahon III17,9870.69%
Democratic F. Frank Wong16,2800.62%
Democratic Eileen Anderson16,1160.62%
Democratic Lydon Byrne11,9750.46%
Democratic Mark Calney7,9230.30%
Democratic Sue Lockard Digre (write-in)680.00%
Total votes2,604,852 100.00%

Minor party primaries

American Independent Party

American Independent primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
American Independent Jerome McCready 8,921 54.12%
American Independent Chuck Morsa7,56345.88%
Total votes16,484 100.00%

Libertarian Party

Libertarian primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Libertarian Dennis Thompson 11,857 100.00%
Total votes11,857 100.00%

Peace and Freedom Party

Peace and Freedom primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Peace and Freedom Maria Elizabeth Muñoz 3,461 56.66%
Peace and Freedom Merle Woo2,64743.34%
Total votes6,108 100.00%

General election results

Candidates

Results

1990 California gubernatorial election [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Pete Wilson 3,791,904 49.25% −11.29%
Democratic Dianne Feinstein 3,525,19745.78%+8.41%
Libertarian Dennis Thompson145,6281.89%+1.18%
American Independent Jerome McCready139,6611.81%+1.13%
Peace and Freedom Maria Elizabeth Muñoz96,8421.26%+0.56%
Independent Joel Britton (write-in)980.00%
Independent Charles A. Mahon III (write-in)910.00%
Independent Franklin R. Geraty (write-in)340.00%
Independent Jerry Irwin Solomon (write-in)120.00%
Majority266,7073.46%
Total votes7,699,467 100.00%
Republican hold Swing -19.71%

Results by county

CountyPete Wilson
Republican
Dianne Feinstein
Democratic
Dennis Thompson
Libertarian
Jerome McCready
American Independent
Maria Elizabeth Muñoz
Peace & Freedom
All Others
Write-in
MarginTotal votes cast [2]
# %# %# %# %# %# %# %
Alameda 117,10731.64%237,34564.12%6,2611.69%4,0491.09%5,4051.46%11 [lower-alpha 1] 0.00%-120,238-32.48%370,178
Alpine 24252.72%17437.91%143.05%163.49%132.83%00.00%6814.81%459
Amador 6,46953.99%4,79740.04%2612.18%3362.80%1180.98%00.00%1,67213.96%11,981
Butte 35,04854.93%25,42239.85%1,4582.29%1,2641.98%6070.95%2 [lower-alpha 2] 0.00%9,62615.09%63,801
Calaveras 7,07152.99%5,42240.63%3912.93%3222.41%1391.04%00.00%1,64912.36%13,345
Colusa 2,79862.37%1,45532.43%932.07%1032.30%370.82%00.00%1,34329.94%4,486
Contra Costa 119,90143.94%144,26852.87%3,7031.36%2,7591.01%2,2350.82%17 [lower-alpha 3] 0.01%-24,367-8.93%272,883
Del Norte 3,61553.21%2,71739.99%1402.06%2193.22%1031.52%00.00%89813.22%6,794
El Dorado 26,45255.81%18,39038.80%7801.65%1,3392.83%4320.91%3 [lower-alpha 4] 0.01%8,06217.01%47,396
Fresno 77,69352.57%63,52342.98%2,1761.47%2,7721.88%1,6181.09%00.00%14,1709.59%147,782
Glenn 4,19061.06%2,18231.80%1852.70%2573.75%480.70%00.00%2,00829.26%6,862
Humboldt 22,94346.81%22,82346.57%9511.94%1,0422.13%1,2492.55%00.00%1200.24%49,008
Imperial 9,42252.22%7,46341.36%2491.38%2971.65%6133.40%00.00%1,95910.86%18,044
Inyo 4,56662.97%2,36932.67%1141.57%1191.64%831.14%00.00%2,19730.30%7,251
Kern 73,06560.08%41,76334.34%2,3591.94%2,8572.35%1,5681.29%1 [lower-alpha 5] 0.00%31,30225.74%121,613
Kings 9,77156.09%6,73138.64%2251.29%3932.26%2991.72%00.00%3,04017.45%17,419
Lake 8,34447.11%8,47547.85%4362.46%2771.56%1781.01%00.00%-131-0.74%17,710
Lassen 4,79056.23%3,15237.00%1802.11%3113.65%861.01%00.00%1,63819.23%8,519
Los Angeles 867,78146.61%911,41348.95%30,1571.62%27,9311.50%24,5601.32%51 [lower-alpha 6] 0.00%-43,632-2.34%1,861,893
Madera 11,21656.50%7,43137.44%3231.63%6513.28%2291.15%00.00%3,78519.07%19,850
Marin 35,56336.77%57,25559.20%1,7501.81%8750.90%1,2771.32%00.00%-21,692-22.43%96,720
Mariposa 3,33651.88%2,63440.96%1462.27%2503.89%641.00%00.00%70210.92%6,430
Mendocino 11,72340.86%14,51550.60%7002.44%6962.43%1,0543.67%00.00%-2,792-9.73%28,688
Merced 17,05450.64%15,00444.55%5141.53%6882.04%4191.24%00.00%2,0506.09%33,679
Modoc 2,11557.35%1,32035.79%832.25%1233.34%471.27%00.00%79521.56%3,688
Mono 1,77657.46%1,12436.36%782.52%642.07%491.59%00.00%65221.09%3,091
Monterey 34,93242.66%42,37151.74%1,5541.90%1,8102.21%1,2221.49%4 [lower-alpha 7] 0.00%-7,439-9.08%81,893
Napa 18,93147.24%19,01747.45%9352.33%7171.79%4731.18%2 [lower-alpha 8] 0.00%-86-0.21%40,075
Nevada 18,45854.20%13,58839.90%8452.48%8182.40%3491.02%00.00%4,87014.30%34,058
Orange 425,02563.72%208,88631.32%13,5892.04%13,1561.97%6,3670.95%7 [lower-alpha 9] 0.00%216,13932.40%667,030
Placer 36,39756.53%24,57738.17%1,1711.82%1,5932.47%6411.00%3 [lower-alpha 10] 0.00%11,82018.36%64,382
Plumas 4,24351.87%3,47742.51%1762.15%2052.51%780.95%1 [lower-alpha 11] 0.01%7669.36%8,180
Riverside 157,21457.26%102,84737.46%5,0641.84%6,8092.48%2,6200.95%1 [lower-alpha 12] 0.00%54,36719.80%274,555
Sacramento 167,98250.32%149,21544.70%5,3811.61%7,2482.17%3,9971.20%25 [lower-alpha 13] 0.01%18,7675.62%333,848
San Benito 4,12045.23%4,44548.80%1852.03%1711.88%1872.05%00.00%-325-3.57%9,108
San Bernardino 169,02855.99%114,76438.02%6,6122.19%7,5362.50%3,8941.29%39 [lower-alpha 14] 0.01%54,26417.98%301,873
San Diego 383,95957.09%244,75936.39%18,2172.71%16,9632.52%8,6241.28%15 [lower-alpha 15] 0.00%139,20020.70%672,537
San Francisco 56,65225.00%161,62671.32%2,9381.30%1,4560.64%3,9521.74%3 [lower-alpha 16] 0.00%-104,974-46.32%226,627
San Joaquin 62,24954.98%46,65341.21%1,4881.31%1,9161.69%9040.80%3 [lower-alpha 17] 0.00%15,59613.78%113,213
San Luis Obispo 38,90953.54%30,14041.47%1,5132.08%1,2081.66%9001.24%3 [lower-alpha 18] 0.00%8,76912.07%72,673
San Mateo 80,25340.45%109,96355.43%3,3471.69%2,5371.28%2,2901.15%6 [lower-alpha 19] 0.00%-29,710-14.98%198,396
Santa Barbara 58,67753.11%46,97742.52%1,6671.51%1,4031.27%1,7461.58%4 [lower-alpha 20] 0.00%11,70010.59%110,474
Santa Clara 178,31042.57%218,84352.24%9,9872.38%6,5441.56%5,1951.24%13 [lower-alpha 21] 0.00%-40,533-9.68%418,892
Santa Cruz 26,79733.11%48,53059.96%2,1802.69%1,6942.09%1,7392.15%1 [lower-alpha 22] 0.00%-21,733-26.85%80,941
Shasta 28,32257.85%17,79536.35%1,1952.44%1,3442.75%3050.62%00.00%10,52721.50%48,961
Sierra 81351.04%67142.12%342.13%543.39%211.32%00.00%1428.91%1,593
Siskiyou 8,32052.61%6,34640.13%4462.82%5593.54%1420.90%00.00%1,97412.48%15,813
Solano 36,75542.50%44,96952.00%1,7532.03%2,0202.34%9701.12%15 [lower-alpha 23] 0.02%-8,214-9.50%86,482
Sonoma 54,70638.60%79,09355.81%2,9822.10%2,4361.72%2,5051.77%1 [lower-alpha 24] 0.00%-24,387-17.21%141,723
Stanislaus 47,27553.49%37,18242.07%1,1871.34%1,9802.24%7570.86%1 [lower-alpha 25] 0.00%10,09311.42%88,382
Sutter 12,64765.45%5,79630.00%3181.65%3992.06%1630.84%00.00%6,85135.46%19,323
Tehama 9,41556.94%5,91535.77%6213.76%4983.01%870.53%00.00%3,50021.17%16,536
Trinity 2,90851.73%2,25040.02%2083.70%1763.13%801.42%00.00%65811.70%5,622
Tulare 41,18662.76%21,67033.02%9401.43%1,0581.61%7751.18%00.00%19,51629.74%65,629
Tuolumne 10,46552.91%8,29441.93%3901.97%4642.35%1670.84%00.00%2,17110.98%19,780
Ventura 106,23457.58%68,13936.93%3,9622.15%3,7702.04%2,3981.30%2 [lower-alpha 26] 0.00%38,09520.65%184,505
Yolo 19,31643.53%22,89051.59%7561.70%7721.74%6381.44%1 [lower-alpha 27] 0.00%-3,574-8.05%44,373
Yuba 7,35559.22%4,34234.96%2602.09%3372.71%1261.01%00.00%3,01324.26%12,420
Total3,791,90449.25%3,525,19745.78%145,6281.89%139,6611.81%96,8421.26%2350.00%266,7073.46%7,699,467

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Pete Wilson won 25 of California's 45 congressional districts including 8 districts that were won by Democrats and Dianne Feinstein won 20 of California's 45 congressional districts including 2 districts that were won by Republicans. [3]

DistrictWilsonFeinsteinRepresentative
1st 42.3%51.6% Frank Riggs (R)
2nd 56.3%37.4% Wally Herger (R)
3rd 49.3%46.1% Bob Matsui (D)
4th 48.7%45.5% Vic Fazio (D)
5th 26.7%69.7% Nancy Pelosi (D)
6th 32.0%63.7% Barbara Boxer (D)
7th 41.3%54.3% George Miller (D)
8th 29.0%67.7% Ron Dellums (D)
9th 37.2%58.4% Pete Stark (D)
10th 37.2%57.2% Don Edwards (D)
11th 38.2%57.4% Tom Lantos (D)
12th 45.2%50.1% Tom Campbell (R)
13th 43.7%50.9% Norman Mineta (D)
14th 56.6%38.4% John Doolittle (R)
15th 53.0%42.3% Gary Condit (D)
16th 39.6%54.6% Leon Panetta (D)
17th 59.7%35.9% Cal Dooley (D)
18th 48.3%46.8% Richard Lehman (D)
19th 52.4%42.5% Bob Lagomarsino (R)
20th 61.2%33.3% Bill Thomas (R)
21st 59.8%35.6% Elton Gallegly (R)
22nd 62.9%32.7% Carlos Moorhead (R)
23rd 41.0%55.7% Anthony Beilenson (D)
24th 33.7%62.5% Henry Waxman (D)
25th 34.5%60.0% Edward Roybal (D)
26th 42.4%53.4% Howard Berman (D)
27th 42.9%52.8% Mel Levine (D)
28th 27.4%69.2% Julian Dixon (D)
29th 22.2%74.3% Maxine Waters (D)
30th 46.7%48.0% Matthew Martinez (D)
31st 34.8%60.6% Mervyn Dymally (D)
32nd 50.3%44.4% Glenn Anderson (D)
33rd 59.4%35.5% David Dreier (R)
34th 47.0%46.8% Ed Torres (D)
35th 60.5%33.2% Jerry Lewis (R)
36th 48.3%46.1% George Brown (D)
37th 58.4%36.5% Al McCandless (R)
38th 57.4%36.6% Bob Dornan (R)
39th 66.6%28.2% William Dannemeyer (R)
40th 63.6%32.0% Christopher Cox (R)
41st 54.9%39.5% Bill Lowery (R)
42nd 62.0%33.8% Dana Rohrabacher (R)
43rd 64.0%30.0% Ron Packard (R)
44th 46.6%46.1% Duke Cunningham (R)
45th 60.5%32.3% Duncan Hunter (R)

Notes

  1. 9 for Britton, 1 for Mahon, 1 for Geraty
  2. 2 for Mahon
  3. 4 for Britton, 11 for Mahon, 2 for Geraty
  4. 3 for Mahon
  5. 1 for Mahon
  6. 41 for Britton, 4 for Mahon, 2 for Geraty, 4 for Solomon
  7. 1 for Britton, 3 for Mahon
  8. 1 for Mahon, 1 for Geraty
  9. 3 for Britton, 3 for Mahon, 1 for Solomon
  10. 1 for Britton, 2 for Geraty
  11. 1 for Mahon
  12. 1 for Mahon
  13. 1 for Britton, 12 for Mahon, 10 for Geraty, 2 for Solomon
  14. 10 for Britton, 15 for Mahon, 9 for Geraty, 5 for Solomon
  15. 13 for Britton, 2 for Mahon
  16. 2 for Britton, 1 for Geraty
  17. 3 for Mahon
  18. 2 for Britton, 1 for Mahon
  19. 3 for Britton, 2 for Mahon, 1 for Geraty
  20. 2 for Britton, 2 for Geraty
  21. 3 for Britton, 7 for Mahon, 3 for Geraty
  22. 1 for Britton
  23. 15 for Mahon
  24. 1 for Britton
  25. 1 for Mahon
  26. 1 for Britton, 1 for Mahon
  27. 1 for Mahon

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dianne Feinstein</span> American politician (1933–2023)

Dianne Emiel Feinstein was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Seymour (California politician)</span> American politician (born 1937)

John Francis Seymour Jr. is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1991 to 1992. A member of the Republican Party, he was appointed to continue Pete Wilson's term but lost the special election to finish it to Democratic nominee and former San Francisco mayor Dianne Feinstein. As of 2024, he is the last Republican to serve as a U.S. senator from California and the last man to have served as a United States Senator from California for the Class 1 Senate seat. Seymour was also the last U.S. senator from Southern California until Alex Padilla took office on January 20, 2021, replacing Kamala Harris when she was inaugurated as vice president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quentin L. Kopp</span> American politician

Quentin Lewis Kopp is an American attorney and politician. He served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and in the California State Senate. Kopp ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Francisco in 1979 against Dianne Feinstein. Kopp advocated for the extension of BART to SFO which was completed in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Padilla</span> American politician (born 1973)

Alejandro "Alex" Padilla is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from California, a seat he has held since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 2015 to 2021 and was a member of the California State Senate and the Los Angeles City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2006 United States Senate election in California was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her third full term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Van de Kamp</span> American politician

John Kalar Van de Kamp was an American politician and lawyer who served as Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1975 until 1981, and then as the 28th Attorney General of California from 1983 until 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 1998 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 3, 1998, resulting in the election of Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis as the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Davis won the general election by an almost 20% margin over his closest opponent, Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren. Davis succeeded Pete Wilson who was term limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 California gubernatorial election</span>

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 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.

The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the U.S. state of California. The party is based in Sacramento and is led by chair Jessica Millan Patterson, the first Latina to lead the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 United States Senate special election in California</span>

The 1992 United States Senate special election in California took place on November 3, 1992, at the same time as the regular election to the United States Senate in California. Feinstein defeated future California governor Gray Davis in the Democratic primary, while Seymour defeated William E. Dannemeyer in the Republican primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 1994 United States Senate election in California was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her first full term. By a margin of 1.9%, this election was the closest race of the 1994 Senate election cycle. This election was the first time ever that an incumbent Democratic Senator from California was re-elected or won re-election to this seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2000 U.S. Senate election in California was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein won her second full term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malia Cohen</span> American politician (born 1977)

Malia M. Cohen is an American politician serving as the 33rd Controller of California since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Cohen previously served as Chair of the California State Board of Equalization from the 2nd district from 2019 to 2023 and as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 10 from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2018 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent California, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate elections in California</span>

Two 2022 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California. There were two ballot items for the same Class 3 seat: a special election to fill the seat for the final weeks of the 117th United States Congress, and a general election for a full term, starting in the 118th United States Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 California Insurance Commissioner election</span>

The 2018 California Insurance Commissioner election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Insurance Commissioner of California. Under California's nonpartisan blanket primary law, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two finishers — regardless of party — advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate manages to receive a majority of the votes cast in the primary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of Dianne Feinstein</span> List of political elections featuring Dianne Feinstein as a candidate

The electoral history of Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein previously served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Mayor of San Francisco, and was a United States Senator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 California Secretary of State election</span>

The 2018 California Secretary of State election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the California Secretary of State. Incumbent Democratic Secretary Alex Padilla won re-election to a second term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States Senate elections in California</span> California U.S. Senate 2024 election

The 2024 United States Senate elections in California will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of California. There will be two ballot items for the same Class 1 seat: a special election to fill the seat for the final weeks of the 118th United States Congress, and a general election for a full term that starts on January 3, 2025, starting in the 119th United States Congress. California uses a nonpartisan blanket primary, in which all candidates regardless of party affiliation appear on the same primary ballot and the two highest-placing candidates advance to the general election; however, special election winners can win outright if they win more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote June 5, 1990 Primary Election (PDF). Sacramento, California. pp. 9–11. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  2. 1 2 California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote General Election, November 6, 1990 (PDF). Sacramento, California. p. 11. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  3. California Secretary of State. Supplement to Statement of Vote November 1990. Sacramento, California. pp. 48–51. Retrieved July 22, 2024.