California gubernatorial election, 1962

California gubernatorial election, 1962
	Election results by county
Governor before election; Pat Brown ; Democratic	Elected Governor; Pat Brown ; Democratic

Last updated March 17, 2019

The California gubernatorial election, 1962 was held on November 6, 1962. The Democratic incumbent, Pat Brown, ran for re-election against former Vice President Richard Nixon. In his concession speech, Nixon accused the media of favoring his opponent Brown, stating that it was his "last press conference" and "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more."^[1] Six years later, Nixon was elected President of the United States.

The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of California. The party is headquartered in Sacramento, and is led by acting-Chair Alex Gallardo-Rooker.

The incumbent is the current holder of an office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the Hungarian presidential election, 2017, János Áder was the incumbent, because he had been the president in the term before the term for which the election sought to determine the president. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.

Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown Sr. was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 32nd Governor of California from 1959 to 1967. Born in San Francisco, Brown had an early interest in speaking and politics; he earned a LL.B. degree in 1927, and subsequently began legal practice. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, he was elected attorney general of California in 1950 before becoming the state's governor in 1959. As governor, Brown embarked on massive projects, building important infrastructure and redefining the state's higher education system. He was never a serious contender in the national conventions, although frequently on primary ballots as California's favorite son. He lost his bid for a third term as governor in 1966 to future President Ronald Reagan, but his legacy has since earned him regard as the builder of modern California. His son Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. was the 34th and 39th Governor of California; his daughter, Kathleen Brown, was the 29th California State Treasurer.

Election background

Edmund G. (Pat) Brown Sr. was a relatively popular Democratic governor in California who was first elected in 1958.^[2] At the time, California was generally considered a Republican stronghold, with Republican governors and senators from the end of World War II until the election of Democrat Clair Engle to the Senate in 1958, and Brown's election as governor the same year. The state voted for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, and Nixon carried the state over John F. Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential election.

Clair Engle was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a United States Senator from California. He is best remembered for participating in the vote breaking the filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the US Senate while partially paralyzed and unable to speak, shortly before his death from a brain tumor.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was a five-star general in the United States Army and served as supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front.

In 1962, with popular incumbent Senator Thomas Kuchel a shoo-in for re-election, the Republican Party felt it could also gain the governorship and win the state back from the Democrats. They turned to former Vice President Richard Nixon, the biggest name at the time in the California Republican Party. Having been elected Senator in 1950 and carrying the state against Kennedy in 1960, they also felt a convincing win could be a springboard for Nixon to challenge Kennedy again in 1964, since he narrowly lost to him in 1960.^[3] However, the conservative Joe Shell challenged Nixon in the primary, and received support from the John Birch Society. Although Nixon beat Shell in the primary, 1,285,151 votes (65.4 percent) to Shell's 656,542 (33.4 percent), the contest was bitter, and Nixon did not reach out to conservative Shell supporters, which weakened him in the general election.^[4]

Thomas Kuchel United States Senator from California

Thomas Henry Kuchel was a moderate Republican US Senator from California. From 1959 to 1969, he was the minority whip in the Senate, where he was the co-manager on the floor for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which he supported.

The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the California affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party is based in Sacramento, and is led by Chairwoman Jessica Patterson.

Joseph Claude Shell, Sr., was an American oil producer and lobbyist who represented District 58 in the California State Assembly from 1953-1963 and was the Assembly Republican Minority Leader.

In a bitter and expensive campaign, Brown and Nixon campaigned with great zeal and effort. Nixon had a lead in the polls early on, but Brown chipped away at his lead. Still, come election day, Nixon was favored to win a relatively close election. But Brown not only won, but by a surprising 5%. A stunned and frustrated Nixon announced he was retiring from politics, a promise he would later rescind in a dramatic comeback in 1968.

General election results

1962 gubernatorial election, California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pat Brown (incumbent)	3,037,109	51.94
	Republican	Richard Nixon	2,740,351	46.87
	Prohibition	Robert L. Wyckoff	69,700	1.19
Invalid or blank votes			82,442	1.39
Total votes			5,929,602	100.00
Turnout			{{{votes}}}	57.50
	Democratic hold

Results by county

County	Brown	Votes	Nixon	Votes	Wyckoff	Votes
Plumas	66.44%	3,397	31.76%	1,624	1.80%	92
Trinity	64.58%	2,201	33.69%	1,148	1.73%	59
Solano	64.31%	25,987	34.37%	13,888	1.32%	532
Shasta	63.97%	14,753	34.07%	7,858	1.96%	453
Lassen	62.50%	3,500	35.14%	1,968	2.36%	132
San Francisco	62.19%	180,298	36.96%	107,165	0.85%	2,455
Sacramento	60.69%	115,462	37.74%	71,788	1.57%	2,988
Yolo	60.67%	13,334	37.82%	8,311	1.51%	332
Madera	60.46%	7,728	38.36%	4,903	1.19%	152
Placer	59.98%	13,592	38.29%	8,677	1.72%	390
Siskiyou	59.98%	7,718	38.41%	4,942	1.62%	208
Kings	59.03%	9,141	39.48%	6,113	1.49%	231
Amador	58.16%	2,811	40.16%	1,941	1.68%	81
Alameda	57.98%	206,861	40.88%	145,851	1.13%	4,038
Sierra	57.98%	676	39.54%	461	2.49%	29
Fresno	57.78%	68,187	40.85%	48,211	1.37%	1,615
Merced	57.62%	14,105	41.14%	10,071	1.23%	302
El Dorado	56.25%	6,572	41.44%	4,842	2.30%	269
Contra Costa	55.49%	91,150	43.34%	71,192	1.18%	1,935
Yuba	53.77%	5,028	44.74%	4,184	1.49%	139
Stanislaus	53.64%	30,431	44.80%	25,417	1.57%	888
Napa	53.50%	14,748	44.72%	12,326	1.78%	490
Ventura	53.46%	37,777	45.15%	31,899	1.39%	982
San Luis Obispo	52.86%	16,110	45.36%	13,825	1.78%	543
Tuolumne	52.48%	3,631	46.06%	3,187	1.46%	101
Humboldt	52.19%	17,739	46.22%	15,708	1.59%	540
Kern	52.10%	48,737	46.33%	43,342	1.57%	1,471
Colusa	52.06%	2,320	46.14%	2,056	1.80%	80
Del Norte	51.97%	2,741	45.85%	2,418	2.18%	115
San Mateo	51.88%	90,464	47.09%	82,115	1.03%	1,797
Los Angeles	51.83%	1,191,724	46.98%	1,080,113	1.19%	27,445
Modoc	51.73%	1,641	46.44%	1,473	1.83%	58
San Bernardino	51.68%	88,437	46.78%	80,054	1.54%	2,634
Mendocino	51.50%	8,704	46.96%	7,936	1.54%	261
Tehama	51.36%	5,077	46.44%	4,591	2.21%	218
Santa Clara	51.20%	121,149	47.63%	112,700	1.18%	2,783
Nevada	51.02%	4,818	47.12%	4,450	1.85%	175
San Joaquin	49.40%	43,276	49.25%	43,147	1.34%	1,178
Sonoma	49.19%	29,373	49.65%	29,647	1.17%	696
Tulare	49.08%	24,598	49.71%	24,914	1.21%	608
Glenn	48.70%	3,299	49.50%	3,353	1.80%	122
San Benito	48.30%	2,527	50.46%	2,640	1.24%	65
Butte	47.74%	16,142	50.79%	17,172	1.47%	497
Mariposa	47.50%	1,272	50.37%	1,349	2.13%	57
Santa Barbara	47.50%	30,424	51.24%	32,821	1.26%	807
Inyo	47.00%	2,526	50.99%	2,740	2.01%	108
Riverside	46.60%	50,257	51.86%	55,926	1.54%	1,666
Monterey	46.52%	24,801	52.52%	28,000	0.96%	512
Calaveras	46.37%	2,379	51.75%	2,655	1.87%	96
Marin	45.38%	27,664	53.67%	32,720	0.95%	582
Santa Cruz	44.93%	17,354	53.28%	20,580	1.79%	690
Lake	44.42%	3,315	54.15%	4,041	1.43%	107
Imperial	44.14%	8,241	55.01%	10,271	0.85%	158
San Diego	42.40%	153,389	55.83%	201,969	1.77%	6,416
Sutter	41.19%	4,816	57.59%	6,734	1.21%	142
Orange	39.16%	112,152	59.35%	169,962	1.49%	4,263
Mono	36.12%	488	62.18%	840	1.70%	23
Alpine	34.72%	67	63.21%	122	2.07%	4

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References

↑ Matthews, Christopher J (1997). Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar America. Free Press. pp. 215–218. ISBN 978-0-684-83246-3.
↑ Lawrence, David G (2009). California: The Politics of Diversity. Wadsworth Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-495-57097-4.
↑ Starr, Kevin (2009). Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963. Oxford University Press. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-0-19-515377-4.
↑ Perlstein, Rick (2002). Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus.

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[Kennedy_and_Nixon:_The_Rivalry_That_Shaped_Postwar_America-1] Matthews, Christopher J (1997). Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar America. Free Press. pp. 215–218. ISBN 978-0-684-83246-3.

[California:_The_Politics_of_Diversity-2] Lawrence, David G (2009). California: The Politics of Diversity. Wadsworth Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-495-57097-4.

[Golden_Dreams:_California_in_an_Age_of_Abundance,_1950-1963-3] Starr, Kevin (2009). Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963. Oxford University Press. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-0-19-515377-4.

[4] Perlstein, Rick (2002). Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus.

v t e Richard Nixon
37th President of the United States (1969–1974) 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961) U.S. Senator from California (1950–1953) U.S. Representative for CA-12 (1947–1950)
Presidency	First inauguration Second inauguration Nixon Doctrine "Bring Us Together" Economic policies Nixon shock Tar Baby Option Environmental Protection Agency creation National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space exploration 1971 National Cancer Act Vietnam War Cambodian bombing Paris Peace Accords "Peace with Honor" Silent majority Cold War period Linkage policy 1972 Visit to China Shanghai Communiqué Détente 1972 Moscow Summit Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty SALT I Treaty Prevention of Nuclear War Agreement Threshold Test Ban Treaty Endangered Species Act Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse War on Drugs Drug Enforcement Administration Enemies List list of opponents Operation CHAOS Watergate timeline White House tapes United States v. Nixon Senate Watergate Committee impeachment process Resignation speech Pardon State of the Union Address (1970 1973 1974) Wilson desk Judicial appointments Supreme Court controversies
Life and politics	Presidential Library and Museum Richard Nixon Foundation Birthplace and boyhood home Checkers speech Kitchen Debate Operation 40 "Last press conference" Florida White House "La Casa Pacifica" Nixon Center Nixon v. General Services Administration Death and state funeral
Books	Six Crises(1962) Bibliography
Elections	United States House of Representatives elections, 1946 1948 U.S. Senate election, 1950 California gubernatorial election, 1962 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1960 1964 1968 1972 Republican National Conventions, 1952 1956 1960 1968 1972 Nixon Presidential campaign, 1968 United States presidential elections, 1952 1956 1960 debates 1968 1972
Popular culture	Nixon goes to China (phrase) Millhouse(1971 film) Four More Years(1972 film) All the President's Men(1976 film) White House Madness(1975 film) Nixon in China(1987 opera) Nixon(1995 film) Elvis Meets Nixon(1997 film) Dick(1999 film) The Frost-Nixon Interviews (2006 play, 2008 film) Our Nixon(2013 film) U.S. Postage stamp
Related	Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act Presidential Townhouse
Staff	Colonel Jack Brennan (aide de camp) Manolo Sanchez (valet) Rose Mary Woods (secretary)
Family	Thelma "Pat" Ryan Nixon (wife) Tricia Nixon Cox (daughter) Julie Nixon Eisenhower (daughter) Frank Nixon (father) Hannah Nixon (mother) Donald Nixon (brother) Edward Nixon (brother) Donald A. Nixon (nephew) Christopher Nixon Cox (grandson) Jennie Eisenhower (granddaughter)
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