1914 California gubernatorial election
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| Elections in California |
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The 1914 California gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1914. The election saw Hiram Johnson re-elected in 1914 as governor of California on the Progressive Party ticket, nearly tripling his vote total from the 1910 California gubernatorial election.
Johnson was first elected governor in 1910 as a member of the Republican Party. Dissatisfaction with the conservatism of the William Howard Taft administration led many Republicans to join former President Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party. Johnson then ran as the Progressive Party's vice-presidential nominee in the 1912 presidential election. Despite losing the election, and winning California by fewer than 200 votes, Johnson was supremely popular in California.
Hiram Johnson became the first governor of California to be reelected since John Bigler in 1853, although he would not serve out his second term, resigning in 1917 to assume the United States Senate seat he had won in 1916. This was the first gubernatorial election in which Kern County, Glenn County, Lake County,[a] and Madera County did not back the Democratic candidate. It was also the first gubernatorial election since 1855 in which Colusa County, Mariposa County, and Merced County were not carried by a Democrat. This election ushered in a four decade period of Republican dominance in the state's gubernatorial races that was only interrupted once in 1938.
Progressive Party primary
[edit]Early in 1914, it was not immediately clear if Hiram Johnson would run for reelection as governor, run for the upcoming senate seat, or retire from public office.[1] On January 6, 1914 Johnson announced that he would indeed run for reelection under the banner of the Bull Moose Party.[2] Following this announcement, Hiram Johnson and other members of the Bull Moose Party began a massive voter registration campaign, to get potential voters to register as Progressives.[3]
Johnson officially kicked off his campaign in Los Angeles, where he gave a speech to a large crowd at the Simpson Auditorium.[4] There was no party competition against the popular Hiram Johnson, as he ran for governor unopposed and secured his nomination on August 26, 1914.[5]
Republican primary
[edit]Early in the year, John D. Fredericks announced that he was willing to run for governor, but qualified the statement by stating that he was willing to acquiesce to another qualified candidate.[6] The Republican party would fight an uphill battle due to losing the popular Hiram Johnson to the Progressive party. Republican stalwarts met at Santa Barbara in February of 1914, to discuss their strategy for the upcoming elections. Phillip A. Stanton and Leroy Wright lead the meeting, which was sponsored by Rudolph Spreckels.[7]
Fredericks would spend over $14,000 dollars on his primary campaign, a considerably large amount compared to his primary opponents. 12,000 of those dollars were contributed from outside sources.[8]
General election campaign
[edit]While the campaigns were traveling across the state to appeal to the voters, there were efforts behind the scenes to stop several candidates from appearing on the general election ballots entirely due to a quirk in the laws regarding California's primary system.
The state Attorney General Ulysses S. Webb, was asked by Frank C. Jordan, the Secretary of State to clarify whether candidates can be on the November ballot, if they lose a primary election. Webb ruled that
"If a registered Progressive, seeking Republican and Democratic nominations, obtains the Progressive nomination, his name will go on the ballot, according to Webb's ruling, even though be loses the Republican and Democratic nominations. On the other hand, if he should lose the Progressive and gain both of the other nominations, he is out of the running and cannot even be an independent candidate.[9]"
As a result, members of the Republican Party threatened to file suit against the State if they allowed any progressive to run in the general election if they lost another party's primary, as the law indicated, "a candidate losing any party nomination shall not get on the November ballot."[10]
This greatly concerned members of the Progressive Party, many of whom cross-filed as Republicans, such as John Eshleman and Friend W. Richardson.[11]
General election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive | Hiram W. Johnson (incumbent) | 460,495 | 49.69% | +3.75% | |
| Republican | John D. Fredericks | 271,990 | 29.35% | −16.59% | |
| Democratic | John B. Curtin | 116,121 | 12.53% | −27.61% | |
| Socialist | Noble A. Richardson | 50,716 | 5.47% | −6.92% | |
| Prohibition | Clinton P. Moore | 27,345 | 2.95% | +1.45% | |
| Scattering | 22 | 0.00% | |||
| Majority | 188,505 | 20.34% | |||
| Total votes | 926,689 | 100.00% | |||
| Progressive hold | Swing | +14.55% | |||
Results by county
[edit]| County | Hiram W. Johnson Progressive |
John D. Fredericks Republican |
John B. Curtin Democratic |
Noble A. Richardson Socialist |
Clinton P. Moore Prohibition |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast[12] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 47,320 | 53.73% | 25,612 | 29.08% | 7,968 | 9.05% | 5,800 | 6.59% | 1,378 | 1.56% | 0 | 0.00% | 21,708 | 24.65% | 88,078 |
| Alpine | 31 | 32.63% | 42 | 44.21% | 17 | 17.89% | 4 | 4.21% | 1 | 1.05% | 0 | 0.00% | -11 | -11.58% | 95 |
| Amador | 1,311 | 37.88% | 1,041 | 30.08% | 929 | 26.84% | 105 | 3.03% | 75 | 2.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 270 | 7.80% | 3,461 |
| Butte | 6,209 | 48.82% | 3,357 | 26.39% | 1,898 | 14.92% | 729 | 5.73% | 525 | 4.13% | 1 | 0.01% | 2,852 | 22.42% | 12,719 |
| Calaveras | 1,291 | 36.85% | 990 | 28.26% | 935 | 26.69% | 208 | 5.94% | 79 | 2.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 301 | 8.59% | 3,503 |
| Colusa | 1,229 | 34.34% | 866 | 24.20% | 1,208 | 33.75% | 140 | 3.91% | 136 | 3.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 21[b] | 0.59% | 3,579 |
| Contra Costa | 6,966 | 54.86% | 3,050 | 24.02% | 1,657 | 13.05% | 865 | 6.81% | 160 | 1.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,916 | 30.84% | 12,698 |
| Del Norte | 493 | 43.44% | 355 | 31.28% | 168 | 14.80% | 81 | 7.14% | 38 | 3.35% | 0 | 0.00% | 138 | 12.16% | 1,135 |
| El Dorado | 1.155 | 36.74% | 992 | 31.55% | 743 | 23.63% | 187 | 5.95% | 66 | 2.10% | 1 | 0.03% | 163 | 5.18% | 3,144 |
| Fresno | 14,095 | 50.81% | 4,964 | 17.90% | 5,566 | 20.07% | 2,085 | 7.52% | 1,029 | 3.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 8,529[b] | 30.75% | 27,739 |
| Glenn | 1,529 | 43.31% | 1,080 | 30.59% | 633 | 17.93% | 137 | 3.88% | 147 | 4.16% | 4 | 0.11% | 449 | 12.72% | 3,530 |
| Humboldt | 6,202 | 52.87% | 3,696 | 31.51% | 830 | 7.08% | 869 | 7.41% | 133 | 1.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,506 | 21.36% | 11,730 |
| Imperial | 3,461 | 55.13% | 1,255 | 19.99% | 873 | 13.91% | 437 | 6.96% | 252 | 4.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,206 | 35.14% | 6,278 |
| Inyo | 876 | 40.07% | 601 | 27.49% | 258 | 11.80% | 378 | 17.29% | 73 | 3.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 275 | 12.58% | 2,186 |
| Kern | 7,590 | 48.84% | 3,807 | 24.49% | 3,178 | 20.45% | 771 | 4.96% | 196 | 1.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,783 | 24.34% | 15,542 |
| Kings | 1,862 | 32.38% | 2,092 | 36.38% | 1,133 | 19.70% | 353 | 6.14% | 311 | 5.41% | 0 | 0.00% | -230 | -4.00% | 5,751 |
| Lake | 612 | 24.33% | 900 | 35.79% | 587 | 23.34% | 283 | 11.25% | 133 | 5.29% | 0 | 0.00% | -288 | -11.45% | 2,515 |
| Lassen | 1,133 | 45.93% | 602 | 24.40% | 400 | 16.21% | 217 | 8.80% | 115 | 4.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 531 | 21.52% | 2,467 |
| Los Angeles | 119,824 | 53.58% | 65,484 | 29.28% | 18,331 | 8.20% | 11,129 | 4.98% | 8,879 | 3.97% | 5 | 0.00% | 54,340 | 24.30% | 223,652 |
| Madera | 1,358 | 38.83% | 712 | 20.36% | 1,093 | 31.26% | 203 | 5.80% | 131 | 3.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 265[b] | 7.58% | 3,497 |
| Marin | 4,065 | 48.04% | 3,071 | 36.29% | 871 | 10.29% | 412 | 4.87% | 43 | 0.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 994 | 11.75% | 8,462 |
| Mariposa | 638 | 41.70% | 229 | 14.97% | 557 | 36.41% | 59 | 3.86% | 47 | 3.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 81[b] | 5.29% | 1,530 |
| Mendocino | 3,087 | 38.45% | 2,681 | 33.39% | 1,585 | 19.74% | 504 | 6.28% | 172 | 2.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 406 | 5.06% | 8,029 |
| Merced | 2,297 | 39.45% | 1,402 | 24.08% | 1,470 | 25.25% | 406 | 6.97% | 247 | 4.24% | 0 | 0.00% | 827[b] | 14.20% | 5,822 |
| Modoc | 930 | 40.75% | 532 | 23.31% | 609 | 26.69% | 137 | 6.00% | 74 | 3.24% | 0 | 0.00% | 321 | 14.07% | 2,282 |
| Mono | 187 | 41.74% | 123 | 27.46% | 71 | 15.85% | 54 | 12.05% | 13 | 2.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 64 | 14.29% | 448 |
| Monterey | 3,531 | 43.67% | 2,697 | 33.36% | 1,313 | 16.24% | 273 | 3.38% | 271 | 3.35% | 0 | 0.00% | 834 | 10.32% | 8,085 |
| Napa | 3,234 | 41.13% | 3,077 | 39.13% | 1,098 | 13.96% | 316 | 4.02% | 138 | 1.76% | 0 | 0.00% | 157 | 2.00% | 7,863 |
| Nevada | 2,830 | 53.70% | 949 | 18.01% | 1,101 | 20.89% | 295 | 5.60% | 95 | 1.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,729[b] | 32.81% | 5,270 |
| Orange | 7,304 | 41.72% | 6,096 | 34.82% | 2.184 | 12.47% | 815 | 4.66% | 1,109 | 6.33% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,208 | 6.90% | 17,508 |
| Placer | 3,846 | 59.03% | 1,416 | 21.73% | 705 | 10.82% | 375 | 5.76% | 173 | 2.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,430 | 37.30% | 6,515 |
| Plumas | 1,042 | 52.36% | 527 | 26.48% | 232 | 11.66% | 156 | 7.84% | 33 | 1.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 515 | 25.88% | 1,990 |
| Riverside | 6,337 | 48.87% | 4,026 | 31.05% | 1,146 | 8.84% | 754 | 5.81% | 705 | 5.44% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,311 | 17.82% | 12,968 |
| Sacramento | 16,954 | 58.00% | 8,661 | 29.63% | 2,284 | 7.81% | 965 | 3.30% | 367 | 1.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 8,293 | 28.37% | 29,231 |
| San Benito | 1,234 | 40.77% | 1,184 | 39.11% | 454 | 15.00% | 101 | 3.34% | 54 | 1.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 50 | 1.65% | 3,027 |
| San Bernardino | 8,787 | 41.07% | 7,634 | 35.68% | 2,096 | 9.80% | 1,367 | 6.39% | 1,510 | 7.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,153 | 5.39% | 21,394 |
| San Diego | 14,152 | 40.49% | 14,365 | 41.10% | 2,864 | 8.19% | 1,879 | 5.38% | 1,694 | 4.85% | 1 | 0.00% | -213 | -0.61% | 34,955 |
| San Francisco | 72,257 | 54.70% | 36,606 | 27.71% | 16,167 | 12.24% | 6,346 | 4.80% | 723 | 0.55% | 4 | 0.00% | 35,651 | 26.99% | 132,103 |
| San Joaquin | 8,898 | 44.48% | 5,759 | 28.79% | 3,848 | 19.24% | 805 | 4.02% | 694 | 3.47% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,139 | 15.69% | 20,004 |
| San Luis Obispo | 3,303 | 48.48% | 1,890 | 27.74% | 982 | 14.41% | 457 | 6.71% | 181 | 2.66% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,413 | 20.74% | 6,813 |
| San Mateo | 5,208 | 54.76% | 2,839 | 29.85% | 1,002 | 10.54% | 392 | 4.12% | 69 | 0.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,369 | 24.91% | 9,510 |
| Santa Barbara | 3,952 | 42.42% | 2,760 | 29.63% | 1,675 | 17.98% | 547 | 5.87% | 382 | 4.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,192 | 12.80% | 9,316 |
| Santa Clara | 14,267 | 47.05% | 10,792 | 35.59% | 3,337 | 11.01% | 1,108 | 3.65% | 813 | 2.68% | 4 | 0.01% | 3,475 | 11.46% | 30,321 |
| Santa Cruz | 4,232 | 45.23% | 2,814 | 30.07% | 1,417 | 15.14% | 540 | 5.77% | 354 | 3.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,418 | 15.15% | 9,357 |
| Shasta | 2,711 | 45.68% | 1,567 | 26.40% | 811 | 13.66% | 640 | 10.78% | 206 | 3.47% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,144 | 19.28% | 5,935 |
| Sierra | 568 | 46.33% | 410 | 33.44% | 149 | 12.15% | 72 | 5.87% | 27 | 2.20% | 0 | 0.00% | 158 | 12.89% | 1,226 |
| Siskiyou | 2,663 | 41.66% | 1,747 | 27.33% | 1,342 | 20.99% | 483 | 7.56% | 157 | 2.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 916 | 14.33% | 6,392 |
| Solano | 5,467 | 51.05% | 2,837 | 26.49% | 1,679 | 15.68% | 544 | 5.08% | 183 | 1.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,630 | 24.56% | 10,710 |
| Sonoma | 7,693 | 40.36% | 6,945 | 36.44% | 2,967 | 15.57% | 1,030 | 5.40% | 426 | 2.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 748 | 3.92% | 19,061 |
| Stanislaus | 5,245 | 43.74% | 2,201 | 18.36% | 2,530 | 21.10% | 876 | 7.31% | 1,138 | 9.49% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,715[b] | 22.64% | 11,990 |
| Sutter | 1,083 | 34.33% | 1,463 | 46.37% | 397 | 12.58% | 97 | 3.07% | 114 | 3.61% | 1 | 0.03% | -380 | -12.04% | 3,155 |
| Tehama | 2,108 | 41.29% | 1,229 | 24.07% | 1,084 | 21.23% | 394 | 7.72% | 290 | 5.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 879 | 17.22% | 5,105 |
| Trinity | 650 | 41.94% | 399 | 25.74% | 267 | 17.23% | 211 | 13.61% | 23 | 1.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 251 | 16.19% | 1,550 |
| Tulare | 6,480 | 42.56% | 3,479 | 22.85% | 3,349 | 22.00% | 1,369 | 8.99% | 547 | 3.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,001 | 19.71% | 15,224 |
| Tuolumne | 1,385 | 39.25% | 490 | 13.88% | 1,309 | 37.09% | 301 | 8.53% | 44 | 1.25% | 0 | 0.00% | 76[b] | 2.15% | 3,529 |
| Ventura | 2,787 | 41.58% | 2,649 | 39.53% | 824 | 12.29% | 295 | 4.40% | 146 | 2.18% | 1 | 0.01% | 138 | 2.06% | 6,702 |
| Yolo | 2,383 | 39.51% | 1,913 | 31.71% | 1,353 | 22.43% | 231 | 3.83% | 152 | 2.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 470 | 7.79% | 6,032 |
| Yuba | 2,153 | 54.15% | 1,033 | 25.98% | 587 | 14.76% | 129 | 3.24% | 74 | 1.86% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,120 | 28.17% | 3,976 |
| Total | 460,495 | 49.69% | 271,990 | 29.35% | 116,121 | 12.53% | 50,716 | 5.47% | 27,345 | 2.95% | 22 | 0.00% | 188,505 | 20.34% | 926,689 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Progressive
[edit]- Amador
- Calaveras
- Colusa
- El Dorado
- Glenn
- Inyo
- Kern
- Madera
- Mariposa
- Mendocino
- Merced
- Napa
- Placer
- Sacramento
- Siskiyou
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Tehama
- Tuolumne
- Yolo
- Yuba
Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican
[edit]Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "AUGURY OF SUCCESS". Napa Weekly Journal. January 2, 1914. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Johnson Out for Re-election FIGURES SHOW S.F. GAIN". San Francisco Call. January 6, 1914.
- ^ "Governor Johnson is going after the voters". Salinas Index Journal. January 3, 1914. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "JOHNSON FIRES THE FIRST GUN". Healdsburg Tribune. February 19, 1914. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "CURTIN, JOHNSON, FREDERICKS WILL HEAD LEADING TICKETS Race is Close Between Conley and Angellotti.— Phelan, Heney and Knowland for United States Senate.— Maddux and Ferguson for State Senate.— Ellis Wins Nomination for Member of Assembly". Livingston Chronicle. August 29, 1914. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "FREDERICKS IS WILLING Los Angeles Attorney Says He Is Ready to Make Republican Race for Governor". Riverside Daily Press. January 8, 1914. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "OLD GUARD CONTROLS AT SANTA BARBARA Leroy Wright and Phil Stanton Are Managing Republican Conference. Program Will Evidently Suit General Otis of Times Fine". Riverside Daily Press. February 7, 1914. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "FREDERICKS SPENT $14,896 TO GET G. O. P. NOMINATION Los Angeles Candidate Files Expense Account That Heads the Idst". San Mateo Leader. September 17, 1914. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "A MUDDLE OF THE PRIMARY LAW". Chico Record. August 20, 1914. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "A MUDDLE OF THE PRIMARY LAW". Chico Record. August 20, 1914. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "BULL MOOSE MAY LOSE CANDIDATES Primary Law May Bar From November Election Those Defeated in Any Party Fight. REPUBLICANS TO TEST LAW Courts Will Be Asked for Mandamus Writs to Keep Names Off Final Ballot". Sacramento Daily Union. August 15, 1914. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ a b California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote at the General Election held November 3, 1914 in the State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 8. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
