1970 California gubernatorial election

Summary

The 1970 California gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. The incumbent governor, Republican Ronald Reagan, won re-election over Democrat and Speaker of the Assembly Jesse Unruh. This would be the closest victory of Ronald Reagan's entire political career.

1970 California gubernatorial election

← 1966 November 3, 1970 1974 →
 
Nominee Ronald Reagan Jesse Unruh
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 3,439,174 2,938,607
Percentage 52.8% 45.1%

County results
Reagan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Unruh:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Elected Governor

Ronald Reagan
Republican

Democratic primary edit

Candidates edit

Results edit

Democratic primary results[4]: 51 
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jesse M. Unruh 1,602,690 64.03
Democratic Sam Yorty 659,494 26.35
Democratic George Wagner 44,118 1.76
Democratic Florence Douglas 43,456 1.74
Democratic Walter Clarke Buchanan 40,192 1.61
Democratic Eddie Ramirez 31,092 1.24
Democratic Joseph Ramos 25,874 1.03
Democratic Raymond Haight 20,328 0.81
Democratic Harry May 19,471 0.78
Democratic Jack Clapper 16,142 0.65
Democratic Samuel Reeve (write-in) 3 0.00
Total votes 2,502,860 100.00

Other primaries edit

American Independent Party edit

Candidate # of votes[4]: 51  % of votes
William K. Shearer 14,069 61.5
Keith H. Greene 8,827 38.6

Peace and Freedom Party edit

Candidate # of votes[4]: 52  % of votes
Ricardo Romo 6,214 63.5
Warren A. Nielsen 3,569 36.5

General election results edit

1970 gubernatorial election, California[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ronald Reagan (incumbent) 3,439,174 52.83
Democratic Jesse M. Unruh 2,938,607 45.14
Peace and Freedom Ricardo Romo 65,954 1.01
American Independent William K. Shearer 65,847 1.01
Invalid or blank votes 123,851 1.87
Total votes 6,633,433 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}} 54.50
Republican hold

Results by county edit

County results[4]: 43 
County Reagan Votes Unruh Votes Others Votes
Mono 73.09% 1,350 24.91% 460 2.00% 37
Orange 66.89% 308,982 31.48% 145,420 1.63% 7,538
Alpine 66.34% 203 29.08% 89 4.58% 14
Sutter 64.48% 9,084 34.15% 4,811 1.38% 194
Inyo 63.50% 4,006 34.90% 2,202 1.60% 101
Calaveras 63.10% 3,499 35.11% 1,947 1.79% 99
Butte 62.82% 22,656 34.82% 12,558 2.35% 849
San Diego 60.11% 253,378 37.51% 158,098 2.38% 10,047
Santa Barbara 60.10% 51,523 37.56% 32,202 2.33% 2,000
San Benito 59.54% 3,134 37.86% 1,993 2.60% 137
Nevada 59.45% 6,756 39.09% 4,442 1.46% 166
Modoc 59.40% 1,760 38.41% 1,138 2.19% 65
Glenn 59.37% 3,805 38.73% 2,482 1.90% 122
Ventura 58.64% 63,790 38.93% 42,350 2.44% 2,651
Sonoma 58.60% 44,823 39.16% 29,953 2.24% 1,711
Imperial 58.47% 10,636 38.51% 7,006 3.02% 550
Lake 58.18% 5,317 40.30% 3,683 1.52% 139
Santa Cruz 58.07% 26,679 39.58% 18,186 2.35% 1,079
Colusa 57.69% 2,302 40.78% 1,627 1.53% 61
Tulare 57.69% 27,564 40.45% 19,327 1.86% 888
Mariposa 57.46% 1,568 40.71% 1,111 1.83% 50
Del Norte 57.13% 2,755 41.00% 1,977 1.87% 90
Monterey 56.63% 33,691 41.19% 24,508 2.18% 1,297
Riverside 56.60% 81,768 41.13% 59,425 2.27% 3,273
El Dorado 56.59% 7,932 41.51% 5,818 1.90% 267
San Bernardino 56.57% 107,219 40.66% 77,069 2.76% 5,240
Marin 56.56% 43,092 41.38% 31,525 2.06% 1,571
San Luis Obispo 55.84% 18,301 41.98% 13,758 2.19% 717
Napa 55.29% 16,844 42.73% 13,018 1.98% 603
San Joaquin 55.25% 50,631 43.10% 39,495 1.65% 1,515
Kern 55.19% 54,216 42.52% 41,768 2.28% 2,244
Yuba 54.74% 5,305 43.93% 4,258 1.33% 129
San Mateo 54.31% 109,356 43.74% 88,069 1.96% 3,941
Tuolumne 53.74% 4,567 44.46% 3,779 1.80% 153
Mendocino 53.33% 9,134 44.46% 7,614 2.21% 378
Contra Costa 53.15% 106,965 45.30% 91,156 1.55% 3,123
Amador 53.12% 2,866 45.32% 2,445 1.56% 84
Tehama 52.46% 5,500 45.97% 4,819 1.57% 165
Santa Clara 51.47% 172,562 46.10% 154,570 2.43% 8,158
Humboldt 51.12% 16,778 46.41% 15,232 2.47% 810
Los Angeles 50.74% 1,173,161 47.40% 1,095,899 1.87% 43,203
Trinity 50.21% 1,643 47.34% 1,549 2.44% 80
Merced 49.64% 12,117 48.50% 11,840 1.86% 454
Siskiyou 49.58% 6,092 48.18% 5,920 2.25% 276
Placer 49.37% 13,886 48.89% 13,751 1.75% 491
Kings 49.11% 8,068 49.52% 8,134 1.37% 225
Madera 48.94% 6,205 49.72% 6,304 1.33% 169
Fresno 48.74% 60,644 49.67% 61,801 1.59% 1,979
Solano 48.43% 21,939 47.64% 21,583 3.93% 1,780
Sierra 46.92% 617 51.25% 674 1.83% 24
Sacramento 46.04% 105,523 52.52% 120,365 1.44% 3,303
Stanislaus 45.07% 29,157 53.34% 34,510 1.59% 1,031
Plumas 44.97% 2,280 52.82% 2,678 2.21% 112
Lassen 44.93% 2,494 52.44% 2,911 2.63% 146
Shasta 43.93% 11,864 54.22% 14,643 1.85% 499
Alameda 43.05% 162,727 54.68% 206,693 2.27% 8,566
San Francisco 41.97% 106,606 55.44% 140,829 2.59% 6,583
Yolo 41.01% 12,344 56.92% 17,135 2.07% 624

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Obituary for Florence Vallejos Douglas". Escondido Times-Advocate. April 6, 1982. p. 19.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Fallows, James (December 15, 2009). "Raymond Haight Jr". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 5, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Ramos, George (July 31, 2000). "Heart of the Eastside". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 5, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c d Scammon, Ricard M. (1972). America Votes 9: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. ISBN 0-87187-033-9.
  5. ^ Anderson, Totton J.; Bell, Charles G. (June 1971). "The 1970 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 24 (2): 252–273. doi:10.2307/446870. JSTOR 446870.
  6. ^ "1970 Gubernatorial General Election Results – California". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved December 5, 2015.

External links edit

  • California Elections Page
  • Reagan's Heritage Archived 2006-07-08 at the Wayback Machine