1934 California gubernatorial election
The 1934 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934. Held in the midst of the Great Depression, the 1934 election was amongst the most controversial in the state's political history, pitting conservative Republican Frank Merriam against former Socialist Party member turned Democrat Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle. A strong third party challenge came from Progressive Raymond L. Haight, a Los Angeles lawyer campaigning for the political center. Much of the campaign's emphasis was directed at Sinclair's EPIC movement, proposing interventionist reforms to cure the state's ailing economy. Merriam, who had recently assumed the governorship following the death of James Rolph, characterized Sinclair's proposal as a step towards communism.
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 County results Merriam: 30-40% 40–50% 50–60 60-70% 80-90% Sinclair: 30-40% 40–50% Haight: 30-40% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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Negative campaigning funded by the film industry was used against Sinclair to favor the Merriam campaign, as depicted in the 2020 American biographical drama film Mank.[1]
Democratic primary
Campaign
- George Creel, investigative journalist
- Forest Dowey
- William H. Evans
- Z. T. Malaby
- W. J. McNichols
- Upton Sinclair, author and perennial Socialist Party candidate
- James E. Waddell
- Justus S. Wardell, nominee for Governor in 1926
- Milton K. Young, nominee for Governor in 1930
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Upton Sinclair | 436,220 | 51.68% | |
| Democratic | George Creel | 288,106 | 34.13% | |
| Democratic | Justus S. Wardell | 48,965 | 5.80% | |
| Democratic | Milton K. Young | 41,609 | 4.93% | |
| Democratic | James E. Waddell | 12,515 | 1.48% | |
| Democratic | Z. T. Malaby | 4,476 | 0.53% | |
| Democratic | Forest Dowey | 4,260 | 0.51% | |
| Democratic | W. J. McNichols | 3,616 | 0.43% | |
| Democratic | William H. Evans | 2,433 | 0.29% | |
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) (write-in) | 1,035 | 0.12% | |
| Republican | Raymond L. Haight (write-in) | 882 | 0.10% | |
| Total votes | 844,117 | 100% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Raymond L. Haight, Los Angeles attorney
- Frank Merriam, incumbent Governor since June 1934
- C. C. Young, former Governor (1927–31)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 346,329 | 41.94% | |
| Republican | Clement C. Young | 231,431 | 28.03% | |
| Republican | John Quinn | 153,412 | 18.58% | |
| Republican | Raymond L. Haight | 84,977 | 10.29% | |
| Democratic | Upton Sinclair (write-in) | 9,651 | 1.17% | |
| Total votes | 825,800 | 100% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Samuel Adams Darcy, organizer of the Marine Workers Industrial Union and 1934 waterfront strike (Communist)
- Milen Dempster (Socialist)
- Raymond L. Haight, Los Angeles attorney (Commonwealth-Progressive)
- Frank Merriam, incumbent Governor since June 1934 (Republican)
- Upton Sinclair, author and perennial Socialist Party candidate (Democratic)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank Merriam (incumbent) | 1,138,629 | 48.87% | -23.35% | |
| Democratic | Upton Sinclair | 879,537 | 37.75% | +13.62% | |
| Progressive | Raymond L. Haight | 302,519 | 12.99% | N/A | |
| Communist | Samuel Adams Darcy | 5,826 | 0.25% | N/A | |
| Socialist | Milen Dempster | 2,947 | 0.13% | -3.52% | |
| Total votes | 2,329,458 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Results by county
| County | Merriam | Votes | Sinclair | Votes | Haight | Votes | Others | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings | 41.18% | 3,633 | 26.37% | 2,326 | 32.28% | 2,848 | 0.17% | 17 |
| Alpine | 87.29% | 158 | 7.18% | 13 | 5.52% | 10 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Mono | 63.11% | 520 | 28.40% | 234 | 7.77% | 64 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Orange | 53.72% | 27,099 | 27.94% | 14,092 | 18.13% | 9,142 | 0.21% | 105 |
| Inyo | 57.39% | 1,514 | 33.24% | 877 | 8.79% | 232 | 0.57% | 15 |
| Lake | 56.54% | 2,317 | 32.65% | 1,338 | 10.57% | 433 | 0.24% | 10 |
| Del Norte | 49.39% | 1,221 | 44.74% | 1,106 | 5.22% | 129 | 0.65% | 16 |
| San Benito | 65.25% | 2,931 | 27.85% | 1,251 | 6.59% | 296 | 0.31% | 14 |
| Sonoma | 57.41% | 15,329 | 30.58% | 8,164 | 11.50% | 3,070 | 0.51% | 136 |
| San Diego | 50.76% | 44,422 | 36.65% | 32,073 | 18.13% | 9,142 | 0.29% | 254 |
| Santa Cruz | 63.17% | 10,905 | 29.86% | 5,155 | 6.48% | 1,119 | 0.50% | 85 |
| Marin | 54.50% | 9,756 | 36.28% | 6,494 | 8.69% | 1,555 | 0.54% | 97 |
| Santa Clara | 60.06% | 37,156 | 31.17% | 19,281 | 8.43% | 5,215 | 0.33% | 209 |
| Humboldt | 50.95% | 9,179 | 35.79% | 6,448 | 12.61% | 2,271 | 0.65% | 117 |
| Riverside | 62.33% | 19,892 | 31.01% | 9,896 | 6.49% | 2,072 | 0.18% | 55 |
| San Mateo | 52.29% | 18,448 | 36.91% | 13,022 | 10.40% | 3,669 | 0.39% | 138 |
| Santa Barbara | 60.29% | 14,429 | 32.32% | 7,735 | 11.80% | 1,702 | 0.28% | 66 |
| Mariposa | 46.80% | 1,089 | 37.17% | 865 | 15.21% | 354 | 0.55% | 19 |
| Napa | 58.96% | 5,750 | 28.77% | 2,806 | 12.05% | 1,175 | 0.22% | 22 |
| Mendocino | 62.87% | 6,178 | 28.12% | 2,763 | 8.08% | 794 | 0.93% | 92 |
| Monterey | 61.53% | 11,083 | 31.01% | 5,585 | 7.13% | 1,285 | 0.33% | 60 |
| Tehama | 44.34% | 2,865 | 28.10% | 1,816 | 27.28% | 1,763 | 0.28% | 28 |
| Butte | 47.82% | 8,041 | 35.28% | 5,932 | 16.62% | 2,795 | 0.28% | 47 |
| San Bernardino | 56.76% | 30,285 | 35.90% | 19,157 | 7.07% | 3,774 | 0.27% | 143 |
| San Luis Obispo | 47.11% | 6,422 | 37.36% | 5,093 | 15.13% | 2,063 | 0.39% | 53 |
| Imperial | 52.01% | 7,253 | 40.42% | 5,637 | 7.18% | 1,001 | 0.39% | 55 |
| Sutter | 47.01% | 2,872 | 32.41% | 1,980 | 20.36% | 1,244 | 0.21% | 13 |
| Colusa | 55.70% | 2,584 | 42.24% | 1,709 | 18.56% | 861 | 0.32% | 15 |
| Glenn | 46.00% | 2,342 | 28.60% | 1,456 | 25.26% | 1,286 | 0.14% | 7 |
| Los Angeles | 47.45% | 457,755 | 42.02% | 405,331 | 10.20% | 98,348 | 0.33% | 3,202 |
| Nevada | 45.33% | 3,163 | 31.03% | 2,165 | 22.96% | 1,602 | 0.67% | 47 |
| San Joaquin | 46.64% | 17,612 | 36.33% | 13,720 | 16.56% | 6,255 | 0.47% | 174 |
| San Francisco | 50.91% | 115,047 | 38.88% | 87,850 | 9.51% | 21,499 | 0.69% | 1,581 |
| El Dorado | 33.37% | 1,744 | 32.17% | 1,681 | 33.79% | 1,766 | 0.67% | 35 |
| Modoc | 49.39% | 1,452 | 28.44% | 836 | 21.67% | 637 | 0.51% | 15 |
| Tulare | 37.46% | 9,850 | 26.12% | 6,867 | 36.18% | 9,512 | 0.24% | 65 |
| Calaveras | 45.83% | 1,524 | 37.05% | 1,232 | 16.63% | 553 | 0.48% | 16 |
| Ventura | 54.07% | 11,015 | 32.20% | 6,560 | 13.45% | 2,740 | 0.27% | 55 |
| Siskiyou | 39.19% | 4,202 | 32.77% | 3,514 | 27.54% | 2,953 | 0.50% | 53 |
| Kern | 48.59% | 14,798 | 37.26% | 11,348 | 13.78% | 4,197 | 0.37% | 111 |
| Contra Costa | 45.52% | 15,540 | 45.67% | 15,591 | 8.48% | 2,894 | 0.33% | 115 |
| Stanislaus | 34.46% | 7,853 | 27.47% | 6,260 | 37.70% | 8,592 | 0.36% | 83 |
| Alameda | 52.69% | 102,328 | 37.70% | 73,233 | 9.14% | 17,758 | 0.47% | 913 |
| Yolo | 46.44% | 4,087 | 18.70% | 1,646 | 34.56% | 3,041 | 0.30% | 26 |
| Sacramento | 35.75% | 19,360 | 33.81% | 18,310 | 30.09% | 16,291 | 0.35% | 187 |
| Yuba | 49.81% | 2,603 | 30.64% | 1,601 | 19.19% | 1,003 | 0.37% | 19 |
| Trinity | 40.21% | 889 | 44.91% | 993 | 13.93% | 308 | 0.95% | 21 |
| Sierra | 45.19% | 676 | 31.48% | 471 | 22.66% | 339 | 0.67% | 10 |
| Fresno | 30.46% | 15,338 | 30.80% | 15,509 | 38.33% | 19,296 | 0.40% | 204 |
| Solano | 44.57% | 6,728 | 33.87% | 5,112 | 21.24% | 3,206 | 0.32% | 48 |
| Merced | 35.21% | 4,123 | 31.83% | 3,727 | 31.83% | 3,727 | 1.13% | 132 |
| Tuolumne | 36.63% | 1,580 | 44.96% | 1,940 | 18.19% | 785 | 0.23% | 10 |
| Placer | 34.23% | 3,337 | 31.93% | 3,113 | 33.55% | 3,271 | 0.29% | 29 |
| Madera | 32.11% | 2,204 | 35.56% | 2,441 | 29.76% | 2,043 | 2.57% | 176 |
| Amador | 52.00% | 1,946 | 26.22% | 981 | 21.43% | 802 | 0.35% | 13 |
| Lassen | 33.09% | 1,697 | 39.44% | 2,023 | 26.94% | 1,382 | 0.53% | 27 |
| Shasta | 42.75% | 3,283 | 36.71% | 2,819 | 20.09% | 1,543 | 0.45% | 35 |
| Plumas | 36.63% | 1,213 | 37.03% | 1,226 | 25.91% | 858 | 0.42% | 14 |
References
- Mitchell, Greg. ‘Mank’ and Politics: What Really Happened in 1934 California. New York Times, Dec. 7, 2020.
- "California Democratic Primary, 1934".
- "California Republican Primary, 1934".
Further reading
- Antognini, Richard. "The Role of A.P. Giannini in the 1934 California Gubernatorial Election." Southern California Quarterly 57.1 (1975): 53–86. online
- Barger, Bob. "Raymond L. Haight and the Commonwealth Progressive Campaign of 1934" California Historical Society Quarterly 43 (September, 1964), pp 219–30. online
- Hill, Patricia Lucy. "Upton Sinclair and the 1934 California gubernatorial election." (MS thesis, Portland State University, 1978) online.
- Larsen, Charles E. "The Epic Campaign of 1934." Pacific Historical Review 27.2 (1958): 127–147. online
- Mitchell, Greg. The campaign of the century: Upton Sinclair's race for governor of California and the birth of media politics (Random House, 1992).
- Rising, George G. "An EPIC Endeavor: Upton Sinclair's 1934 California Gubernatorial Campaign." Southern California Quarterly 79.1 (1997): 101–124. online
- Singer, Donald L. "Upton Sinclair and the California Gubernatorial Campaign of 1934." Southern California Quarterly 56.4 (1974): 375–406. online
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