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 County results Gillett: 30-40% 40–50% 50–60% 70-80% Bell: 30-40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70-80% Langdon: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1906 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1906.James Gillett won the 1906 election and became the governor of California.[1] This was the first election in which more votes were cast inLos Angeles County than inSan Francisco, possibly as a result of theearthquake seven months earlier in San Francisco.[a]
At the time of the election the governor of California wasGeorge Pardee. His term was relatively successful as he became a strong proponent ofconservation, and provided assistance to the city ofSan Francisco, as it suffered through both theSan Francisco plague of 1900–04, and the1906 San Francisco Earthquake. This along with his efficient use of the state's bureaucracy made Pardee a popular figure. Despite Pardee's popularity, many in the Republican Party and the lobbyists for theSouthern Pacific Railroad despised him for his views against the Southern Pacific, at a time when the railroad company was very influential in state politics.[2][3] This hostility, plus theories that Republican voters were angry at his focus on issues in Northern California, and not Southern California, caused Pardee to lose the nomination to James Gillett at the Republican convention inSanta Cruz.[4][5]
The1902 California gubernatorial election was a close race that saw Democratic candidateFranklin Knight Lane lose the popular vote by only several thousand votes; an impressive feat given the Republican Party's dominance in state politics. Despite this, Lane did not run for the party's nomination in 1906, instead becoming a member of theInterstate Commerce Commission. Candidates considering runs at the beginning of the race wereTheodore A. Bell,Meredith P. Snyder, andJames Phelan, the former mayor of San Francisco.[6] Bell initially had wanted to run for his former seat inCalifornia's 2nd congressional district, instead of for governor.[7] At the Democratic convention in Sacramento the names presented for governor were Phelan, Bell,Thomas O. Toland, and Daniel Cole, among others.[8] Bell would eventually be nominated by the Democrats on September 12, 1906.[9] At the convention the party adopted several wide-ranging policies including support forWilliam Jennings Bryan, public ownership of utilities, support forantitrust legislation, maintaining theChinese Exclusion Act, support for an 8-hour work day andwomen's suffrage.[10]
TheIndependence Party began in 1906, largely led byWilliam Randolph Hearst and his supporters. The party held its first state convention in Oakland on September 6, 1906. It was there that it nominatedWilliam Langdon for governor. The party's platform was similar to the Democratic platform, in that they called for the direct election of senators, increased irrigation for farmers, maintaining theChinese Exclusion Act, food safety laws, and public ownership of utilities.[11]
TheSocialist Party was active in California and held its convention inOakland. It was there that the party nominated Austin Lewis for governor, and F.J. Wheat ofLos Angeles for lieutenant governor.[12] Lewis was a lecturer, writer and attorney who had law offices in bothSan Francisco and Oakland. He would become known for his work trying to prove the innocence ofTom Mooney andWarren K. Billings in the 1916Preparedness Day Bombing.[13] Lewis was a critic of both Gillett and Langdon, going so far as to say that "If you vote for Gillett your ballot counts one for the Southern Pacific railroad machine; if you vote for Hearst's puppet candidate you vote for nothing."[14]
Carl Browne, a former leader in theWorkingmen's Party of California andCoxey's Army, attempted to form a political coalition between thePopulist andProhibition Parties with himself as their candidate for governor.[15] When this didn't work, he pledged his support to Langdon.[16]
By October the candidates had secured the nominations of their parties and started campaigning to voters across the state. Early on Bell would engage inmudslinging, especially against Langdon, whose campaign many at the time saw as a splinter effort of the Democratic Party.[17] On the campaign trail, Bell would criticize Gillett and Langdon. Bell stated that Langdon's campaign was "simply an adjunct of the campaign of James Gillett", and implied that Gillett was a pawn of the Southern Pacific Railroad due to his acceptance of rail passes and lack of action on bills that would hurt the company.[18] Bell also criticized William Randolph Hearst for his efforts to get himself electedGovernor of New York and his creation of theIndependence League, as many at the time, including Bell, thought this third party would take away votes from the Democrats.[19] On October 10, 1906, a prominent Republican banker, W.L. Porterfield, crossed party lines and endorsed Bell, going so far as to promise a subscription of one million dollars towards a new railroad that would connectSan Pedro to an Eastern railroad. This showcased the dissatisfaction within the California Republican Party about the Southern Pacific's influence over it.[20][21]
Governor Pardee endorsed James Gillett on September 28, 1906, allaying fears in the state's Republican Party that Pardee might refuse to endorse Gillett or run a third-party campaign.[22] Gillett held a large campaign rally inSacramento on October 5, 1906. Thousands rallied to support him as he and other Republican leaders gathered to speak about their platform and Gillett's record on issues such as labor.[23] Gillett continued to travel around the state after his major rally, giving talks inMarysville,Grass Valley[24] andStockton to theworking class people of California. In the weeks before the election multiple newspapers across the state were already calling the election for Gillett.[25] Later in the campaign, Gillett was endorsed by PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, who stated in his endorsement, "In my opinion, the Republicans of California are fortunate in the nomination of Mr. Gillett...That if elected, his administration will be a credit to the State I have no doubt."[26] On November 5, 1906, theSan Francisco Call called the election for Gillett once again, along with other newspapers throughout the state.[27]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James Gillett | 125,887 | 40.35% | −7.71% | |
| Democratic | Theodore Arlington Bell | 117,645 | 37.71% | −9.51% | |
| Independence | William Langdon | 45,008 | 14.43% | +14.43% | |
| Socialist | Austin Lewis | 16,036 | 5.14% | +1.99% | |
| Prohibition | James H. Blanchard | 7,355 | 2.36% | +0.83% | |
| Scattering | 44 | 0.01% | |||
| Majority | 8,242 | 2.64% | |||
| Total votes | 311,975 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | +1.80% | |||
| County | James N. Gillett Republican | Theodore A. Bell Democratic | William H. Langdon Independence | Austin Lewis Socialist | James H. Blanchard Prohibition | Scattering Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast[28] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 11,029 | 39.66% | 6,561 | 23.59% | 7,735 | 27.82% | 1,922 | 6.91% | 561 | 2.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,294[b] | 11.84% | 27,808 |
| Alpine | 52 | 76.47% | 14 | 20.59% | 2 | 2.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 38 | 55.88% | 68 |
| Amador | 889 | 38.35% | 1,181 | 50.95% | 211 | 9.10% | 22 | 0.95% | 15 | 0.65% | 0 | 0.00% | -292 | -12.60% | 2,318 |
| Butte | 2,057 | 37.91% | 2,753 | 50.74% | 289 | 5.33% | 246 | 4.53% | 80 | 1.47% | 1 | 0.02% | -696 | -12.83% | 5,426 |
| Calaveras | 1,159 | 44.66% | 922 | 35.53% | 402 | 15.49% | 97 | 3.74% | 12 | 0.46% | 3 | 0.12% | 237 | 9.13% | 2,595 |
| Colusa | 375 | 20.76% | 1,303 | 72.15% | 64 | 3.54% | 46 | 2.55% | 18 | 1.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -928 | -51.38% | 1,806 |
| Contra Costa | 2,158 | 41.70% | 1,693 | 32.71% | 1,001 | 19.34% | 286 | 5.53% | 35 | 0.68% | 2 | 0.04% | 465 | 8.99% | 5,175 |
| Del Norte | 383 | 49.36% | 302 | 38.92% | 37 | 4.77% | 48 | 6.19% | 6 | 0.77% | 0 | 0.00% | 81 | 10.44% | 776 |
| El Dorado | 831 | 36.18% | 1,245 | 54.20% | 99 | 4.31% | 103 | 4.48% | 19 | 0.83% | 0 | 0.00% | -414 | -18.02% | 2,297 |
| Fresno | 4,082 | 41.55% | 4,642 | 47.25% | 376 | 3.83% | 441 | 4.49% | 281 | 2.86% | 2 | 0.02% | -560 | -5.70% | 9,824 |
| Glenn | 375 | 25.92% | 992 | 68.56% | 59 | 4.08% | 8 | 0.55% | 13 | 0.90% | 0 | 0.00% | -617 | -42.64% | 1,447 |
| Humboldt | 3,633 | 56.30% | 2,420 | 37.50% | 94 | 1.46% | 242 | 3.75% | 64 | 0.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,213 | 18.80% | 6,453 |
| Inyo | 284 | 30.67% | 190 | 20.52% | 387 | 41.79% | 39 | 4.21% | 26 | 2.81% | 0 | 0.00% | -103 | -11.12% | 926 |
| Kern | 1,484 | 34.78% | 1,878 | 44.01% | 502 | 11.76% | 368 | 8.62% | 35 | 0.82% | 0 | 0.00% | -394 | -9.23% | 4,267 |
| Kings | 1,056 | 46.89% | 967 | 42.94% | 94 | 4.17% | 86 | 3.82% | 49 | 2.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 89 | 3.95% | 2,252 |
| Lake | 492 | 34.12% | 743 | 51.53% | 121 | 8.39% | 65 | 4.51% | 21 | 1.46% | 0 | 0.00% | -251 | -17.41% | 1,442 |
| Lassen | 391 | 40.90% | 484 | 50.63% | 52 | 5.44% | 26 | 2.72% | 3 | 0.31% | 0 | 0.00% | -93 | -9.73% | 956 |
| Los Angeles | 20,936 | 43.86% | 12,937 | 27.10% | 8,360 | 17.51% | 3,047 | 6.38% | 2,452 | 5.14% | 5 | 0.01% | 7,999 | 16.76% | 47,737 |
| Madera | 626 | 38.01% | 781 | 47.42% | 155 | 9.41% | 60 | 3.64% | 25 | 1.52% | 0 | 0.00% | -155 | -9.41% | 1,647 |
| Marin | 1,760 | 46.17% | 1,247 | 32.71% | 705 | 18.49% | 84 | 2.20% | 16 | 0.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 513 | 13.46% | 3,812 |
| Mariposa | 322 | 32.23% | 454 | 45.45% | 179 | 17.92% | 33 | 3.30% | 11 | 1.10% | 0 | 0.00% | -132 | -13.21% | 999 |
| Mendocino | 2,114 | 45.24% | 2,028 | 43.40% | 307 | 6.57% | 185 | 3.96% | 38 | 0.81% | 1 | 0.02% | 86 | 1.84% | 4,673 |
| Merced | 792 | 34.71% | 1,116 | 48.90% | 261 | 11.44% | 79 | 3.46% | 34 | 1.49% | 0 | 0.00% | -324 | -14.20% | 2,282 |
| Modoc | 486 | 40.91% | 658 | 55.39% | 22 | 1.85% | 10 | 0.84% | 9 | 0.76% | 3 | 0.25% | -172 | -14.48% | 1,188 |
| Mono | 193 | 47.65% | 169 | 41.73% | 26 | 6.42% | 17 | 4.20% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 24 | 5.93% | 405 |
| Monterey | 1,755 | 40.43% | 1,560 | 35.94% | 768 | 17.69% | 97 | 2.23% | 161 | 3.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 195 | 4.49% | 4,341 |
| Napa | 1,303 | 32.06% | 2,480 | 61.02% | 140 | 3.44% | 77 | 1.89% | 63 | 1.55% | 1 | 0.02% | -1,177 | -28.96% | 4,064 |
| Nevada | 1,239 | 34.12% | 1,983 | 54.61% | 255 | 7.02% | 104 | 2.86% | 50 | 1.38% | 0 | 0.00% | -744 | -20.49% | 3,631 |
| Orange | 2,566 | 47.38% | 1,629 | 30.08% | 544 | 10.04% | 318 | 5.87% | 359 | 6.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 937 | 17.30% | 5,416 |
| Placer | 1,255 | 38.87% | 1,729 | 53.55% | 125 | 3.87% | 50 | 1.55% | 68 | 2.11% | 2 | 0.06% | -474 | -14.68% | 3,229 |
| Plumas | 473 | 44.37% | 493 | 46.25% | 73 | 6.85% | 17 | 1.59% | 9 | 0.84% | 1 | 0.09% | -20 | -1.88% | 1,066 |
| Riverside | 2,093 | 48.74% | 1,156 | 26.92% | 393 | 9.15% | 377 | 8.78% | 273 | 6.36% | 2 | 0.05% | 937 | 21.82% | 4,294 |
| Sacramento | 3,345 | 30.54% | 7,074 | 64.58% | 147 | 1.34% | 328 | 2.99% | 59 | 0.54% | 1 | 0.01% | -3,729 | -34.04% | 10,954 |
| San Benito | 582 | 38.80% | 635 | 42.33% | 200 | 13.33% | 33 | 2.20% | 50 | 3.33% | 0 | 0.00% | -53 | -3.53% | 1,500 |
| San Bernardino | 3,165 | 45.34% | 2,080 | 29.80% | 936 | 13.41% | 420 | 6.02% | 379 | 5.43% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,085 | 15.54% | 6,980 |
| San Diego | 3,621 | 46.42% | 2,524[c] | 32.36% | 504 | 6.46% | 974 | 12.49% | 174 | 2.23% | 3 | 0.04% | 1,097 | 14.06% | 7,800 |
| San Francisco | 12,903 | 34.56% | 11,650 | 31.20% | 10,523 | 28.19% | 2,103 | 5.63% | 156 | 0.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,253 | 3.36% | 37,335 |
| San Joaquin | 3,160 | 42.33% | 3,474 | 46.53% | 512 | 6.86% | 204 | 2.73% | 116 | 1.55% | 0 | 0.00% | -314 | -4.21% | 7,466 |
| San Luis Obispo | 1,574 | 39.32% | 1,683 | 42.04% | 392 | 9.79% | 251 | 6.27% | 101 | 2.52% | 2 | 0.05% | -109 | -2.72% | 4,003 |
| San Mateo | 1,690 | 50.57% | 863 | 25.82% | 679 | 20.32% | 91 | 2.72% | 18 | 0.54% | 1 | 0.03% | 827 | 24.75% | 3,342 |
| Santa Barbara | 1,794 | 41.49% | 1,323 | 30.60% | 920 | 21.28% | 214 | 4.95% | 69 | 1.60% | 4 | 0.09% | 471 | 10.89% | 4,324 |
| Santa Clara | 5,714 | 45.98% | 3,805 | 30.62% | 1,978 | 15.92% | 490 | 3.94% | 437 | 3.52% | 4 | 0.03% | 1,909 | 15.36% | 12,428 |
| Santa Cruz | 1,696 | 37.17% | 1,760 | 38.57% | 635 | 13.92% | 261 | 5.72% | 209 | 4.58% | 2 | 0.04% | -64 | -1.40% | 4,563 |
| Shasta | 1,425 | 39.05% | 1,468 | 40.23% | 308 | 8.44% | 372 | 10.19% | 76 | 2.08% | 0 | 0.00% | -43 | -1.18% | 3,649 |
| Sierra | 459 | 39.95% | 592 | 51.52% | 58 | 5.05% | 38 | 3.31% | 2 | 0.17% | 0 | 0.00% | -133 | -11.58% | 1,149 |
| Siskiyou | 1,406 | 40.59% | 1,718 | 49.60% | 216 | 6.24% | 108 | 3.12% | 16 | 0.46% | 0 | 0.00% | -312 | -9.01% | 3,464 |
| Solano | 2,061 | 36.63% | 2,918 | 51.86% | 369 | 6.56% | 213 | 3.79% | 66 | 1.17% | 0 | 0.00% | -857 | -15.23% | 5,627 |
| Sonoma | 3,687 | 41.07% | 4,346 | 48.41% | 632 | 7.04% | 200 | 2.23% | 112 | 1.25% | 0 | 0.00% | -659 | -7.34% | 8,977 |
| Stanislaus | 1,197 | 39.12% | 1,350 | 44.12% | 253 | 8.27% | 62 | 2.03% | 197 | 6.44% | 1 | 0.03% | -153 | -5.00% | 3,060 |
| Sutter | 679 | 43.06% | 807 | 51.17% | 40 | 2.54% | 35 | 2.22% | 15 | 0.95% | 1 | 0.06% | -128 | -8.12% | 1,577 |
| Tehama | 877 | 35.36% | 1,281 | 51.65% | 117 | 4.72% | 163 | 6.57% | 42 | 1.69% | 0 | 0.00% | -404 | -16.29% | 2,480 |
| Trinity | 517 | 47.09% | 402 | 36.61% | 100 | 9.11% | 77 | 7.01% | 2 | 0.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 115 | 10.47% | 1,098 |
| Tulare | 1,513 | 30.45% | 2,654 | 53.41% | 325 | 6.54% | 377 | 7.59% | 99 | 1.99% | 1 | 0.02% | -1,141 | -22.96% | 4,969 |
| Tuolumne | 732 | 32.16% | 780 | 34.27% | 616 | 27.07% | 104 | 4.57% | 43 | 1.89% | 1 | 0.04% | -48 | -2.11% | 2,276 |
| Ventura | 1,449 | 47.14% | 875 | 28.46% | 549 | 17.86% | 152 | 4.94% | 49 | 1.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 574 | 18.67% | 3,074 |
| Yolo | 1,305 | 39.45% | 1,782 | 53.87% | 59 | 1.78% | 109 | 3.30% | 53 | 1.60% | 0 | 0.00% | -477 | -14.42% | 3,308 |
| Yuba | 693 | 35.50% | 1,091 | 55.89% | 102 | 5.23% | 57 | 2.92% | 9 | 0.46% | 0 | 0.00% | -398 | -20.39% | 1,952 |
| Total | 125,887 | 40.35% | 117,645 | 37.71% | 45,008 | 14.43% | 16,036 | 5.14% | 7,355 | 2.36% | 44 | 0.01% | 8,242 | 2.64% | 311,975 |
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