1998 California gubernatorial election

Last updated

1998 California gubernatorial election
Flag of California.svg
←  1994 November 3, 1998 2002  →
Turnout41.43%
  Gray Davis, portrait.jpg Dan Lungren (3x4a).jpg
Nominee Gray Davis Dan Lungren
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote4,860,7023,218,030
Percentage57.97%38.38%
1998 California gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Davis:      40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Lungren:      40–50%     50–60%
Governor before election

Pete Wilson
Republican

Elected Governor

Gray Davis
Democratic

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.

Contents

The 1998 California gubernatorial election featured the state's only gubernatorial blanket primary, a practice which was later struck down in United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones in 2000. The primary occurred on June 2, 1998. Davis defeated fellow Democrats Jane Harman and Al Checchi for the Democratic nomination. Davis received more votes than Dan Lungren who ran against less well-known opponents in the Republican primary. The primary set a record for spending in a California gubernatorial primary.

Open primary

The Democratic field for the race became open when the state's most well-known and popular politician, Senator Dianne Feinstein, decided in January 1998 not to run for governor despite a request from President Bill Clinton. She decided not to run in the race because of the difficulty of campaigning, the "deteriorated" nature of California statewide campaigns, and her desire to continue her work in the Senate. [1] Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta also decided not to run. [2]

Al Checchi, a Democratic airline executive and political newcomer, was among the first to declare for the race. Gray Davis also declared around the same time. Congresswoman Jane Harman joined the contest in early April 1998. In early polling the three candidates were within 12 points of each other, with Davis in last. [3] Harman spent $14.4 million in her race for governor. [4] Checchi spent just under $39 million on his campaign. [4] The airline executive's campaign included numerous ads, one of which included school children trying to pronounce his name and another with his wife speaking Spanish. [2] Checchi did not identify himself as a Democrat in most of his early campaign ads. [5] Harman briefly overtook Checchi in state polls but declined after Checchi launched a series of negative campaign ads against her. [6] Many of Feinstein's top campaign advisers worked for Harman during the Gubernatorial primary. Harman's campaign ran a biographical ad of her at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. [2]

Davis ran on the campaign slogan "experience money can't buy", and he promised to make education his top priority, which matched voters' concerns in exit polls. All three major Democratic candidates made education one of their top priorities in the campaign. [6] Davis was third in polling until the final week of the campaign, and because he had trouble raising money during the early months of the campaign, he did not run campaign ads early in the race as did Harman and Checchi. [2] Davis spent 9 million in total campaign funds in the primary [4] and later criticized Checchi for giving money to Republicans Steve Forbes and Bob Dole in 1996. [2]

Lungren spent $7.7 million in the primary. [4] Davis finished first in the primary, followed by Lungren, Checchi, and Harman.

Candidates

Democrat

Republican

Green

Libertarian

Peace and Freedom

American Independent

Natural Law

Primary results

California gubernatorial open primary, 1998
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Gray Davis 2,083,396 34.74
Democratic Al Checchi 748,82812.49
Democratic Jane Harman 741,25112.36
Democratic Charles "Chuck" Pineda Jr.23,3670.39
Democratic Pia Jensen12,4030.21
Democratic Michael Palitz12,0500.20
Republican Dan Lungren 2,023,618 33.75
Republican Dennis Peron 72,6131.21
Republican James D. Crawford28,8810.48
Republican Eduardo M. Rivera22,2220.37
Republican Jeff Williams [7] 19,7990.33
Green Dan Hamburg 92,298 1.54
Libertarian Steve W. Kubby 47,025 0.78
Peace and Freedom Gloria Estela La Riva 21,505 0.36
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 15,5720.26
American Independent Nathan E. Johnson 19,540 0.33
Natural Law Harold H. Bloomfield 12,422 0.21
Invalid or blank votes209,8283.38
Total votes6,206,618 100.00
Turnout  

General election

Gray Davis won the general election by almost 20% over Dan Lungren. Davis outspent Lungren 28.6 million to 23.8 million. [4] Davis tried to portray Lungren as too conservative. In one debate, Davis attacked Lungren for voting no on a Safe Drinking Water Bill in the 1980s while Lungren tried to cast himself as the political heir of former California Governor Ronald Reagan. The policy differences between Davis and Lungren were substantial. Davis was pro-abortion in a staunchly pro-abortion state, and Lungren was anti-abortion. Lungren favored giving children abstinence only education. Both candidates were Roman Catholic. Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Bob Kerrey made campaign stops in California on Davis's behalf. [8] [9] Davis succeeded in casting Lungren as too far right for California. Even normally conservative San Diego County went for Davis, and – foreshadowing their Democratic trends in the 21st century — remote high mountain Mono County backed a Democratic Governor for the first time since before 1900, and adjacent Alpine County for only the second time in that period after 1978. Upon his victory, Davis promised he would focus his attention on education and would convene a special session of the legislature. [10] The race determined who would control reapportionment of congressional districts after the 2000 census. [6]

Results

Final results from the Secretary of State. [11]

1998 gubernatorial election, California
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Gray Davis 4,860,702 57.97
Republican Dan Lungren 3,218,03038.38
Green Dan Hamburg 104,1791.24
Libertarian Steve Kubby 73,8450.88
Peace and Freedom Gloria Estela LaRiva 59,2180.71
American Independent Nathan E. Johnson37,9640.45
Natural Law Harold H. Bloomfield31,2370.37
No party Write-ins 210.00
Invalid or blank votes235,9257.24
Total votes8,621,142 100.00
Turnout  41.43
Democratic gain from Republican

Results breakdown

Davis is the last Democratic gubernatorial nominee to have won Amador, Kings, Riverside, and Trinity Counties. Davis was the last Democrat until Jerry Brown in 2010 to carry Alpine, Del Norte, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa Barbara Counties, the last until Jerry Brown in 2014 to carry Merced, Mono, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus, and Ventura Counties, and the last until Gavin Newsom in 2018 to carry San Bernardino County.

County Davis Votes Lungren VotesOthersVotes
San Francisco 80.03%192,49615.16%36,4644.82%11,567
Alameda 73.47%282,29722.58%86,7453.95%15,195
Marin 68.94%70,10826.94%27,3924.11%4,193
San Mateo 68.43%142,14428.52%59,2493.05%6,320
Los Angeles 65.69%1,297,89631.16%615,6423.14%62,134
Santa Cruz 65.62%56,07827.73%23,6996.65%5,680
Sonoma 64.29%103,23529.03%46,6166.68%10,724
Santa Clara 64.28%270,10531.66%133,0154.05%17,056
Yolo 63.06%31,93933.14%16,7833.80%1,926
Contra Costa 62.82%190,20034.25%103,6862.93%8,867
Solano 62.81%63,79133.76%34,2883.43%3,480
Napa 59.86%25,80935.24%15,1934.90%2,112
Monterey 59.76%54,46436.27%33,0533.97%3,619
Lake 58.83%11,07435.77%6,7345.40%1,017
San Benito 57.42%7,53137.87%4,9674.71%618
Sacramento 57.37%206,87039.65%142,9702.98%10,721
Mendocino 57.37%16,45030.20%8,65912.43%3,563
Imperial 56.15%13,26236.38%8,5927.47%1,765
Merced 53.39%21,20044.16%17,5352.45%973
Santa Barbara 53.33%65,93742.76%52,8733.90%4,827
Ventura 52.95%110,22643.76%91,0933.30%6,851
San Bernardino 52.60%174,629!43.39%144,0564.02%13,336
San Joaquin 52.03%64,37745.62%56,4472.35%2,911
Del Norte 51.34%3,82041.49%3,0877.16%533
Humboldt 51.22%23,88037.88%17,65810.90%5,081
Riverside 51.15%173,56745.73%155,1753.13%10,607
Stanislaus 50.69%50,79347.00%47,0952.32%2,322
Alpine 50.35%28543.64%2476.00%34
Kings 49.98%11,37047.06%10,7042.95%673
San Diego 49.45%364,16946.28%340,8344.27%31,423
Amador 49.20%6,61448.19%6,4782.61%351
San Luis Obispo 49.04%42,54346.53%40,3634.43%3,837
Trinity 49.01%2,44743.42%2,1687.56%378
Tuolumne 48.38%9,73148.58%9,7713.03%610
Fresno 47.68%82,29349.46%85,3692.86%4,946
Mono 47.35%1,64147.32%1,6405.34%185
Yuba 46.54%6,30249.79%6,7433.67%497
Tehama 46.02%8,56150.23%9,3433.75%698
Butte 46.00%30,18449.86%32,7174.14%2,716
Lassen 45.85%3,79249.15%4,0654.99%413
Siskiyou 45.54%7,49349.23%8,1005.24%861
Calaveras 45.46%7,35850.35%8,1504.18%678
Inyo 45.36%3,08249.70%3,3774.95%336
Nevada 44.98%17,52250.62%19,7204.40%1,717
Orange 44.69%318,19852.07%370,7363.23%23,126
Tulare 44.11%32,18653.54%39,0722.35%1,715
Plumas 43.99%3,76452.26%4,4723.75%321
El Dorado 43.84%25,42952.64%30,5343.51%2,037
Colusa 43.60%2,13653.50%2,6212.89%142
Placer 43.55%38,73453.68%47,7452.78%2,462
Shasta 43.28%23,07652.76%28,1303.97%2,109
Sutter 42.07%9,29655.73%12,3132.20%486
Mariposa 41.86%3,00553.70%3,8554.45%319
Kern 41.80%59,13255.29%78,2132.90%4,103
Glenn 41.74%3,15054.86%4,1403.40%256
Sierra 41.70%73452.50%9245.80%102
Madera 41.10%10,86956.20%14,8642.70%714
Modoc 40.74%1,42852.95%1,8566.30%221

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray Davis</span> Governor of California from 1999 to 2003

Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 until he was recalled and removed from office in 2003. He is the second state governor in U.S. history to have been recalled, after Lynn Frazier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 California gubernatorial recall election</span>

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1992 United States Senate elections, held November 3, 1992, were elections for the United States Senate. The 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, along with special elections to fill vacancies. They coincided with Bill Clinton's victory in the presidential election. This was the first time since 1956 that the balance of the Senate remained the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Lungren</span> American lawyer & politician (born 1946)

Daniel Edward Lungren is an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for California's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party, during his tenure, the district covered most of Sacramento County, portions of Solano County, as well as all of Alpine County, Amador County and Calaveras County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Cox</span> American attorney, businessman, broadcaster, and political activist

John Herman Cox is an American businessman, housing developer, and political activist, who has run for public office several times, mostly recently for Governor of California as a Republican Party candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican acting governor Jane Swift chose not to seek a full term in office. Republican businessman Mitt Romney defeated Democratic Treasurer Shannon O'Brien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2002 California gubernatorial election was an election that occurred on November 5, 2002. Democrat Gray Davis defeated Republican Bill Simon by 5% and was re-elected to a second four-year term as Governor of California. Davis would be recalled less than a year into his next term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states. Kentucky and Mississippi held their general elections on November 4. Louisiana held the first round of its jungle primary on October 4 and the runoff on November 15. In addition, California held a recall election on October 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2002, in 36 states and two territories. The Republicans won eight seats previously held by the Democrats, as well as the seat previously held by Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who was elected on the Reform Party ticket but had since renounced his party affiliation. The Democrats won 10 seats previously held by the Republicans, as well as the seat previously held by Maine governor Angus King, an independent. The elections were held concurrently with the other United States elections of 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 California gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of California

The 2010 California gubernatorial election was held November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of California. The primary elections were held on June 8, 2010. Because constitutional office holders in California have been prohibited from serving more than two terms in the same office since November 6, 1990, incumbent Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was term-limited and thus was ineligible to run for re-election to a third term. Former Governor Jerry Brown, to whom the term limits did not apply due to a grandfather clause, defeated Meg Whitman in the general election and was sworn into office on January 3, 2011. As of 2023, this is the last time the Governor’s office in California changed partisan control.

Alfred Attilio Checchi is an American businessman who was a candidate for Governor of California in the 1998 gubernatorial election, losing to fellow Democrat Gray Davis in the June 1998 primary. Checchi finished in second place in the Democratic primary, capturing 12.49% of the vote. He ran as a New Democrat and called for increased spending on education. He set a new record at the time for spending in a California gubernatorial race, spending over $40 million of his personal fortune. Checchi had previously enjoyed success in various business ventures, most notably serving as co-chairman of Northwest Airlines. He attended the Harvard School of Business. Checchi is married to his wife Kathryn and has 3 children.

<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">Ami Bera</span> American physician & politician (born 1965)

Amerish Babulal "Ami" Bera is an American physician and politician who has been serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and represents California's 6th congressional district, which is in Sacramento County.

<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 gubernatorial elections</span> Election of 39 state governors

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in 2018 U.S. gubernatorial elections. The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States elections</span>

The 2024 United States elections are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. During this presidential election year, the president and vice president will be elected. In addition, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested to determine the membership of the 119th United States Congress. Thirteen state and territorial governorships and numerous other state and local elections will also be contested.

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

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. Primary elections will take place on March 5, 2024 during Super Tuesday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2024 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections. 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested in regular elections, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the U.S. Congress from January 3, 2025, to January 3, 2031, and two special elections will be held to complete unexpired terms. Senators are divided into three classes whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 1 senators, who were last elected in 2018, will be up for election again in 2024. Numerous other federal, state, and local elections, including the U.S. presidential election and elections to the House, will also be held on this date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Maine gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Democratic governor Janet Mills won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee and former governor, Paul LePage. Neither candidate faced any primary opposition. An independent candidate, Sam Hunkler, received 2% of the vote, the lowest total for a third party or independent gubernatorial candidate in the state since 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election</span> Election of Josh Shapiro as Pennsylvania Governor

The 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Pennsylvania and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeated State Senator Doug Mastriano by 14.8 percentage points to succeed term-limited incumbent governor Tom Wolf (D). Primaries were held on May 17, 2022. Shapiro won the Democratic nomination after running unopposed and Mastriano won the Republican nomination with 44% of the vote. Mastriano's nomination drew attention due to his far-right political views.

References

  1. ↑ "No California Gubernatorial Bid For Sen. Feinstein". CNN . Archived from the original on February 19, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "California Governor's Race Gets Tougher". Cnn.com. March 26, 1998. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Millionaires Battle In California Governor's Primary". Cnn.com. April 6, 1998. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Spending in the 1998 Governor's race". Sos.ca.gov. December 13, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  5. ↑ "The "Inside Politics" Interview: The California Governor's Race". Cnn.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Lt. Governor Wins Primary in California". Washingtonpost.com. June 3, 1998. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Engineered Finishing Systems | Robotics & Automation". CCIS. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Lungren, Davis Feisty In Debate Democrat scoffs as GOP hopeful invokes Reagan". Sfgate.com. October 16, 1998. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  9. ↑ Carla Marinucci (July 28, 1998). "Lungren, Davis – Deep Divide Over Abortion: Candidates' religion is not common ground". Sfgate.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Democrats' Sweep in California Could Have Lasting Impact". Washingtonpost.com. November 5, 1998. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.