California gubernatorial election, 1966
Encyclopedia
The California gubernatorial election, 1966 was held on November 8, 1966. The election was a contest between incumbent Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

 Pat Brown
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967, and the father of current Governor of California Jerry Brown.-Background:...

, the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 candidate, and actor Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 candidate. Reagan mobilized conservative voters and defeated Brown in a landslide.

Democratic

Candidate # of votes % of votes
Pat Brown
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967, and the father of current Governor of California Jerry Brown.-Background:...

1,355,262 51.9
Sam Yorty 981,088 37.6
Carlton Benjamin Goodlett 95,476 3.7
Wallace J. Duffy 77,029 3.0
Dale Alexander 43,453 1.7
Ingram W. Goad 18,088 0.7

Election background

Incumbent Edmund G. (Pat) Brown had been a relatively popular Democrat in what was, at the time, a Republican leaning state. After his re-election victory over Richard Nixon in 1962, he was strongly considered to be Lyndon Johnson's running mate in 1964, a spot that eventually went to Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...

. However, Brown's popularity began to sag amidst the civil disorders of the Watts Riots
Watts Riots
The Watts Riots or the Watts Rebellion was a civil disturbance in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests...

 and the early anti-Vietnam war demonstrations at U.C. Berkeley. His decision to seek a 3rd term as governor (after promising earlier that he would not do so) also hurt his popularity. His sagging popularity was evidenced by a tough battle in the Democaratic primary - normally not a concern for an incumbent. Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty received 38% of the primary vote while Brown barely received 52%, a very low number for an incumbent in a primary election.

The Republicans seized upon Brown's sudden unpopularity by nominating a well known and charismatic political outsider - actor Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

. With Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 working tirelessly behind the scenes and Reagan trumpeting his law and order campaign message, Reagan received almost 2/3 of the primary vote over George Christopher, the moderate Republican former mayor of San Francisco, and went into the general election with a great deal of momentum. At first Brown ran a low key campaign, stating that running the state was his biggest priority. As Reagan's lead in the polls increased, Brown began to panic and made a gaffe when he told a group of school children that an actor, John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...

, had killed Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. The comparison of Reagan to Booth did not go over well and led to a further decline of the Brown campaign. Come election day, Reagan was ahead in the polls and favored to win a relatively close election. However, Reagan won in a landslide; his nearly 1 million vote plurality surprised even his most die hard supporters.

Republican

Candidate # of votes % of votes
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

1,417,623 64.6
George Christopher 675,683 30.8
Warren Dorn 44,812 2.0
William Penn Patrick
William Penn Patrick
William Penn Patrick was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the owner of Holiday Magic, Leadership Dynamics, and Mind Dynamics. Patrick was a proponent of the sour grapes philosophy, and has been widely quoted as stating: "Those who condemn wealth are those who have none and see no...

40,887 1.9
Joseph Maxwell 7,052 0.3

General election results

Results by county

County Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

Votes Brown
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967, and the father of current Governor of California Jerry Brown.-Background:...

Votes
Mono
Mono County, California
Mono County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California, to the east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,202, up from 12,853 at the 2000 census...

77.84% 1,205 22.16% 343
Orange
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

72.15% 293,413 27.85% 113,275
Sutter
Sutter County, California
Sutter County is a county located along the Sacramento River in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of state capital Sacramento. Sutter County is part of the Greater Sacramento CSA....

70.43% 9,828 29.57% 4,126
Calaveras
Calaveras County, California
Calaveras County is a county located in the Gold Country of the U.S. state of California. Calaveras is the Spanish word for skulls; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga. As of the 2010 census, the county had a...

67.77% 3,810 32.23% 1,812
Butte
Butte County, California
Butte County is a county located in the Central Valley of the US state of California, north of the state capital of Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 220,000. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."Butte County is watered by the...

67.48% 25,443 32.52% 12,263
Glenn
Glenn County, California
Glenn County is in the California Central Valley. As of 2010, it had a population of 28,122. The county seat is the city of Willows.-History:Glenn County was formed in 1891 from parts of Colusa County. It was named for Dr. Hugh J...

66.35% 4,676 33.65% 2,371
Inyo
Inyo County, California
-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...

66.19% 3,961 33.81% 2,023
Nevada
Nevada County, California
Nevada County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of California, in the Mother Lode country. As of 2010 its population was 98,764. The county seat is Nevada City.-History:Nevada County was created in 1851 from parts of Yuba County....

65.85% 7,373 34.15% 3,823
Alpine
Alpine County, California
Alpine County is the smallest county, by population, in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010, it had a population of 1,175, all rural. There are no incorporated cities in the county. The county seat is Markleeville...

65.78% 148 34.22% 77
Del Norte
Del Norte County, California
Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California on the Pacific adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 28,610. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. Del Norte is the abbreviated...

63.99% 3,409 36.01% 1,918
San Diego
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...

63.82% 252,070 36.18% 142,890
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...

63.54% 50,284 36.46% 28,853
Lake
Lake County, California
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...

63.09% 5,499 36.91% 3,217
El Dorado
El Dorado County, California
El Dorado County is a county located in the historic Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills of the U.S. state of California. The 2010 population was 181,058. The El Dorado county seat is in Placerville....

63.08% 9,189 36.92% 5,378
Tehama
Tehama County, California
Tehama County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is bisected by the Sacramento River. As of 2010 its population was 63,463, up from 56,039 as of 2000. The county seat is Red Bluff.-History:...

63.01% 6,629 36.99% 3,891
Imperial
Imperial County, California
Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area, which encompasses all of Imperial County. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the...

62.87% 12,372 37.13% 7,307
Riverside
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

62.77% 84,501 37.23% 50,112
Modoc
Modoc County, California
Modoc County is a county located in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California, bounded by the state of Oregon to the north and the state of Nevada to the east. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,686, up from 9,449 at the 2000 census. The current county seat is Alturas, the...

62.73% 1,946 37.27% 1,156
Kern
Kern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...

62.67% 64,716 37.33% 38,543
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...

62.55% 21,528 37.45% 12,891
Trinity
Trinity County, California
Trinity County is a large, rugged and mountainous, heavily forested county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California, along the Trinity River and within the Salmon/Klamath Mountains. It covers an area of over two million acres , and as of the 2010 census its population...

62.27% 2,050 37.73% 1,242
San Bernardino
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

62.19% 121,916 37.81% 74,120
Colusa
Colusa County, California
Colusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, its population was 21,419. The county seat is Colusa.-History:...

62.09% 2,806 37.91% 1,713
Mariposa
Mariposa County, California
Mariposa County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It lies north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,251 up from 17,130 at the 2000 census...

61.51% 1,811 38.49% 1,133
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...

61.47% 26,988 38.53% 16,913
Monterey
Monterey County, California
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...

61.06% 35,944 38.94% 22,923
San Benito
San Benito County, California
San Benito County is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of San Jose. As of 2010 the population was 55,269. The county seat is Hollister, which includes nearly two-thirds of the county's population. El Camino Real passes through the county and...

60.96% 3,565 39.04% 2,283
Ventura
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...

60.94% 58,068 39.06% 37,224
San Joaquin
San Joaquin County, California
San Joaquin County is a county located in Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 685,306. The county seat is Stockton.-History:...

60.77% 54,647 39.23% 35,281
Sonoma
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

60.68% 41,516 39.32% 26,898
Yuba
Yuba County, California
Yuba County is a county located in the U.S. state of California's Central Valley, north of Sacramento, along the Feather River. As of the 2010 census, its population was 72,155. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is part of the Greater Sacramento area.-History:Yuba County was one of the...

60.52% 6,658 39.48% 4,344
Tulare
Tulare County, California
Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...

59.95% 33,095 40.05% 22,109
Mendocino
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...

59.81% 10,161 40.19% 6,827
Napa
Napa County, California
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....

59.53% 17,740 40.47% 12,060
Amador
Amador County, California
Amador County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 38,091. The county seat is Jackson.Amador County bills itself as "The Heart of the Mother Lode" and lies within the Gold Country...

58.33% 2,985 41.67% 2,132
Tuolumne
Tuolumne County, California
Tuolumne County is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. The northern half of Yosemite National Park is located in the eastern part of the county. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,365, up from 54,501 at the 2000 census...

58.21% 4,845 41.79% 3,479
Los Angeles
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...

57.26% 1,389,995 42.74% 1,037,663
Marin
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...

57.21% 40,411 42.79% 30,230
Humboldt
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

57.20% 19,210 42.80% 14,374
Kings
Kings County, California
Kings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...

55.79% 9,957 44.21% 7,890
Santa Clara
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...

55.40% 164,970 44.60% 132,793
Sierra
Sierra County, California
Sierra County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada. As of the 2010 census the population was 3,240, down from 3,555 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Downieville....

55.27% 650 44.73% 526
Contra Costa
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...

55.13% 107,543 44.87% 87,525
Shasta
Shasta County, California
Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...

54.83% 15,155 45.17% 12,486
Placer
Placer County, California
Placer County is a county located in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions of the U.S. state of California, in what is known as the Gold Country. It stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada border. Because of the expansion of the Greater Sacramento,...

54.61% 14,664 45.39% 12,187
Stanislaus
Stanislaus County, California
Stanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the...

54.37% 31,473 45.63% 26,418
Siskiyou
Siskiyou County, California
Siskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. Yreka is the county seat. Because of its substantial natural beauty, outdoor recreation opportunities, and Gold Rush era history, it is an important...

54.21% 7,057 45.79% 5,962
Madera
Madera County, California
Madera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865...

54.18% 7,490 45.82% 6,335
Fresno
Fresno County, California
Fresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...

53.96% 70,182 46.04% 59,869
Lassen
Lassen County, California
Lassen County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,895, up from 33,828 at the 2000 census...

53.95% 3,190 46.05% 2,723
San Mateo
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...

53.71% 107,498 46.29% 92,654
Merced
Merced County, California
Merced County , is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of Fresno and southeast of San Jose. As of the 2010 census, the population was 255,793, up from 210,554 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Merced...

53.01% 14,103 46.99% 12,499
Sacramento
Sacramento County, California
Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788....

50.91% 109,801 49.09% 105,861
Solano
Solano County, California
Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010...

50.15% 23,187 49.85% 23,047
Yolo
Yolo County, California
Yolo County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, bordered by the other counties of Sacramento, Solano, Napa, Lake, Colusa, and Sutter. The city of Woodland is its county seat, though Davis is its largest city....

50.08% 13,073 49.92% 13,032
Alameda
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...

49.75% 189,055 50.25% 190,968
Plumas
Plumas County, California
Plumas County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. The county gets its name from the Spanish words for the Feather River , which flows through the county. As of the 2010 census, the population 20,007, down from 20,824 at the 2000 census...

49.18% 2,658 50.82% 2,747
San Francisco 41.11% 114,796 58.89% 164,435

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