1994 California gubernatorial election

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1994 California gubernatorial election
Flag of California.svg
  1990 November 8, 1994 1998  
  Pete Wilson meeting with Les Aspin, Feb 3, 1993 - cropped to Wilson (3x4a).JPEG KathleenBrown (3x4a).png
Nominee Pete Wilson Kathleen Brown
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote4,781,7663,519,799
Percentage55.18%40.62%

1994 California gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
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.

Contents

Primaries were held on June 3, 1994.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

1994 Republican gubernatorial primary
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Pete Wilson (incumbent) 1,266,832 61.44%
Republican Ron Unz 707,43134.31%
Republican Jim Hart44,0832.14%
Republican Louis D'Arrigo43,4482.11%
Republican Mike Eagles (write-in)340.00%
Invalid or blank votes92,5804.30%
Total votes2,154,408 100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1994 Democratic gubernatorial primary
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Kathleen Brown 1,110,372 48.38%
Democratic John Garamendi 755,87632.93%
Democratic Tom Hayden 318,77713.89%
Democratic Charles Pineda Jr.57,3142.50%
Democratic Jonathan Trip31,7161.38%
Democratic Mark Calney21,1210.92%
Invalid or blank votes139,7105.74%
Total votes2,434,866 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Polling

SourceDatePete
Wilson
Kathleen
Brown
KNBC-TV November 4, 199448%44%
KCAL-TV November 3, 199449%39%
Field Poll November 1, 199450%41%
San Francisco Examiner October 23, 199448%43%
Los Angeles Times October 16, 199450%42%
KCAL-TV October 7, 199448%38%
Los Angeles Times September 16, 199446%44%

Results

1994 California gubernatorial election [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Pete Wilson (incumbent) 4,781,766 55.18
Democratic Kathleen Brown 3,519,79940.62
Libertarian Richard Rider149,2811.72
American Independent Jerome McCready133,8701.54
Peace and Freedom Gloria Estela LaRiva 80,4400.93
No party Write-ins 2190.00
Invalid or blank votes235,2612.64
Total votes8,900,855 100.00
Republican hold

Results by county

County Wilson Votes Brown VotesOthersVotes
Glenn 73.54%5,91621.37%1,7195.10%410
Colusa 72.70%3,69123.68%1,2023.62%184
Sutter 72.11%15,99723.86%5,2934.02%893
Inyo 69.51%5,05425.83%1,8784.67%339
Kern 69.49%105,73325.72%39,1374.79%7,292
Madera 69.24%18,62326.85%7,2233.91%1,051
Tulare 69.02%54,26727.52%21,6343.47%2,725
Tehama 68.77%12,83624.78%4,6266.45%1,204
Shasta 68.45%37,57724.84%13,6336.72%3,684
Orange 67.72%516,81127.67%211,1324.61%35,196
El Dorado 67.14%36,69527.97%15,2894.89%2,670
Placer 67.02%51,21328.68%21,9154.29%3,282
Amador 66.81%8,78128.73%3,7764.47%586
Calaveras 66.08%10,43828.06%4,4325.86%925
Nevada 65.97%25,15929.59%11,2834.44%1,693
Yuba 65.95%9,37828.14%4,0025.91%840
Mariposa 65.18%4,69930.21%2,1784.61%332
Kings 65.02%14,75031.28%7,0973.70%839
Mono 64.88%2,26330.13%1,0514.99%174
Tuolumne 64.41%12,70631.01%6,1174.57%903
Riverside 64.17%221,02731.13%107,2074.68%16,183
Plumas 63.87%5,49230.58%2,6305.54%477
San Diego 63.35%477,43931.97%240,9374.67%35,284
Merced 62.90%24,87333.37%13,1973.73%1,474
Butte 62.88%42,99832.01%21,8875.11%3,498
Fresno 62.83%112,85133.94%60,9583.22%5,809
Ventura 62.36%136,41733.44%73,1634.20%9,188
San Bernardino 62.30%217,08532.32%112,6365.38%18,755
Del Norte 61.83%4,62631.70%2,3726.48%484
Sierra 61.77%1,01832.04%5286.19%102
San Joaquin 61.35%78,68234.92%44,7873.72%4,774
Stanislaus 60.68%60,99234.90%35,0804.41%4,438
Siskiyou 60.17%11,07532.88%6,0536.94%1,279
San Luis Obispo 60.07%52,27035.27%30,6864.64%4,053
Lassen 58.63%4,82732.44%2,6718.92%735
Lake 57.88%11,41636.90%7,2795.21%1,029
Trinity 56.88%3,07832.95%1,78310.15%550
Santa Barbara 56.68%75,05139.59%52,4203.73%4,941
Alpine 56.54%38934.88%2408.58%59
Imperial 54.97%13,20839.64%9,5255.39%1,294
Sacramento 54.79%196,22940.88%146,4234.33%15,504
Napa 54.69%23,42940.74%17,4544.56%1,956
San Benito 54.17%6,39841.08%4,8524.75%561
Monterey 53.89%49,56541.96%38,5974.14%3,817
Solano 51.89%51,26543.70%43,1704.41%4,355
Modoc 51.47%1,97232.81%1,25715.71%602
Contra Costa 51.47%154,48245.02%135,1333.50%10,525
Los Angeles 50.43%1,043,83546.06%953,3013.51%72,753
Humboldt 49.34%23,58644.27%21,1626.39%3,059
Mendocino 48.37%14,64545.30%13,7166.33%1,918
San Mateo 47.63%102,98949.21%106,3913.15%6,836
Santa Clara 47.50%212,07547.46%211,9045.03%22,490
Yolo 46.58%23,01949.28%24,3574.12%2,045
Sonoma 45.65%73,23449.69%79,7204.66%7,474
Marin 43.35%45,98353.43%56,6653.21%3,415
Santa Cruz 41.09%37,92753.39%49,2725.51%5,095
Alameda 36.61%147,23859.80%240,4903.58%14,437
San Francisco 27.81%66,49469.12%165,2793.07%7,340

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "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)