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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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The1934 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934. Incumbent governorFrank Merriam was re-elected to a second term in office overUpton Sinclair andRaymond L. Haight. Held in the midst of theGreat Depression, the 1934 election was amongst the most controversial in the state's political history. Much of the campaign's emphasis was directed at Sinclair'sEnd Poverty in California movement, proposing interventionist reforms to cure the state's ailing economy. Merriam, who had recently assumed the governorship following the death ofJames Rolph, characterized Sinclair's proposal as a step towardscommunism.
Merriam had succeeded to the office upon the death ofJames Rolph on June 2. He won the Republican nomination for a full term in the primary over former governorC. C. Young, Los Angeles County supervisorJohn R. Quinn, and attorneyRaymond L. Haight. Merriam also won the endorsement of the Prohibition Party as a write-in candidate, while Haight was nominated by the Commonwealth and Progressive parties. In the Democratic primary, authorUpton Sinclair upset the party establishment by defeating eminent journalistGeorge Creel.
In the general election, Merriam received significant support from major Hollywood studio executives, who pioneered campaign film techniques in opposition to Sinclair. Anti-Sinclair films included depictions of his supporters as criminals and bums, and aired in California movie theatres with no opportunity for response. The effort has been described as Hollywood's first intervention in electoral politics and was later depicted in the 2020 filmMank. Sinclair was also opposed by major corporations and corporate interest groups, such asStandard Oil of California,Pacific Mutual, and the California Real Estate Association, and all major California newspapers. Ultimately, Merriam won by over 250,000 votes.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 346,329 | 41.94% | |
| Republican | C. C. Young | 231,431 | 28.03% | |
| Republican | John R. Quinn | 153,412 | 18.58% | |
| Republican | Raymond L. Haight | 84,977 | 10.29% | |
| Republican | Upton Sinclair (write-in) | 9,651 | 1.17% | |
| Total votes | 825,800 | 100.00% | ||
Sinclair won the Democratic nomination in what was considered apolitical upset.[2]
| 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 | 0.50% | |
| Democratic | W. J. McNichols | 3,616 | 0.43% | |
| Democratic | William H. Evans | 2,433 | 0.29% | |
| Democratic | Frank F. Merriam (write-in) | 1,035 | 0.12% | |
| Democratic | Raymond L. Haight (write-in) | 882 | 0.10% | |
| Total votes | 844,117 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist | Milen C. Dempster | 2,521 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 2,521 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth | Raymond L. Haight | 2,421 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 2,421 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Progressive Party | Raymond L. Haight | 1,344 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 1,344 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition | Frank F. Merriam (write-in)[a] | 963 | 76.43% | |
| Prohibition | Upton Sinclair (write-in) | 297 | 23.57% | |
| Total votes | 1,260 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist | Sam Darcy | 1,072 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 1,072 | 100.00% | ||
Negative campaigning funded by thefilm industry was used against Sinclair to favor the Merriam campaign.[3] Hollywood studio bosses unanimously opposed Sinclair and their involvement in the campaign has been described as Hollywood's first intervention in electoral politics.[4] They pressured their employees to assist and vote for Merriam's campaign, and made false propaganda films attacking Sinclair, giving him no opportunity to respond.[5]Joseph M. Schenck threatened to moveTwentieth Century Fox to Florida should Sinclair be elected.[6]
Louis B. Mayer'sMGM and other film studios deducted a day's pay from their employees to raise an anti-Sinclair fund that amounted to $500,000.Irving Thalberg was to lead MGM's anti-Sinclair campaign and the studio recruitedCarey Wilson to create a series of anti-Sinclair propaganda films. These films, directed byFelix E. Feist, included fake newsreels of Sinclair supporters who were portrayed as bums and criminals. They were shown in California movie theaters, with one episode featuring hired actors as Sinclair supporters speaking with foreign accents.[7] Supposedly when one actor objected to the films Thalberg replied "Nothing is unfair in politics".[8]
Big corporations in California were strongly opposed to Sinclair. BothStandard Oil of California and Pacific Mutual sent out a letter to their stockholders encouraging them to oppose Sinclair. Various corporations createdfront organizations to oppose his campaign, for instance the California Real Estate Association formed the 'Merriam for Governor Committee'.[9]
Sinclair later stated that there was a "campaign of lying" against him during the campaign which was "ordered by the biggest businessmen in California and paid for with millions of dollars" that was carried out by newspapers, politicians, advertisers, and the film industry.[10] One survey of over 500 California newspapers found that over 90% supported Merriam, 5% supported Raymond Haight and the rest made no endorsement. The only newspaper surveyed that endorsed Sinclair was his own outletEpic News.[6]
However, Sinclair did have support from some public figures. For instance, the 'Author's League for Sinclair' was founded byFrank Scully,Dorothy Thompson andGene Fowler. Progressives such asCharlie Chaplin,[11]Dorothy Parker,Donald Ogden Stewart,Lillian Hellman andGroucho Marx were also Sinclair supporters.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 1,138,620 | 48.87% | −23.28% | |
| Democratic | Upton Sinclair | 879,537 | 37.75% | +13.64% | |
| California Progressive Party | Raymond L. Haight | 302,519 | 12.99% | +12.99% | |
| Communist | Sam Darcy | 5,826 | 0.25% | +0.25% | |
| Socialist | Milen C. Dempster | 2,947 | 0.13% | −3.52% | |
| Scattering | 273 | 0.01% | |||
| Majority | 259,083 | 11.12% | |||
| Total votes | 2,329,458 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | -36.93% | |||
| County | Frank F. Merriam Republican | Upton Sinclair Democratic | Raymond L. Haight Commonwealth/Progressive | Sam Darcy Communist | Milen C. Dempster Socialist | Scattering Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast[12] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 102,328 | 52.68% | 73,233 | 37.70% | 17,758 | 9.14% | 581 | 0.30% | 291 | 0.15% | 41 | 0.02% | 29,095 | 14.98% | 194,232 |
| Alpine | 158 | 87.29% | 13 | 7.18% | 10 | 5.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 145 | 80.11% | 181 |
| Amador | 1,946 | 52.00% | 981 | 26.22% | 802 | 21.43% | 9 | 0.24% | 4 | 0.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 965 | 25.79% | 3,742 |
| Butte | 8,041 | 47.82% | 5,932 | 35.28% | 2,795 | 16.62% | 29 | 0.17% | 18 | 0.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,109 | 12.54% | 16,815 |
| Calaveras | 1,524 | 45.83% | 1,232 | 37.05% | 553 | 16.63% | 8 | 0.24% | 5 | 0.15% | 3 | 0.09% | 292 | 8.78% | 3,325 |
| Colusa | 2,584 | 55.70% | 861 | 18.56% | 1,179 | 25.41% | 8 | 0.17% | 7 | 0.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,405[b] | 30.29% | 4,639 |
| Contra Costa | 15,540 | 45.52% | 15,591 | 45.67% | 2,894 | 8.48% | 80 | 0.23% | 28 | 0.08% | 7 | 0.02% | -51 | -0.15% | 34,140 |
| Del Norte | 1,221 | 49.39% | 1,106 | 44.74% | 129 | 5.22% | 4 | 0.16% | 12 | 0.49% | 0 | 0.00% | 115 | 4.65% | 2,472 |
| El Dorado | 1,744 | 33.37% | 1,681 | 32.17% | 1,766 | 33.79% | 23 | 0.44% | 12 | 0.23% | 0 | 0.00% | -22 | -0.42% | 5,226 |
| Fresno | 15,338 | 30.46% | 15,509 | 30.80% | 19,296 | 38.33% | 101 | 0.20% | 101 | 0.20% | 2 | 0.00% | -3,787[c] | -7.53% | 50,347 |
| Glenn | 2,342 | 46.00% | 1,456 | 28.60% | 1,286 | 25.26% | 2 | 0.04% | 5 | 0.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 886 | 17.40% | 5,091 |
| Humboldt | 9,179 | 50.95% | 6,448 | 35.79% | 2,271 | 12.61% | 79 | 0.44% | 38 | 0.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,731 | 15.16% | 18,015 |
| Imperial | 7,253 | 52.01% | 5,637 | 40.42% | 1,001 | 7.18% | 17 | 0.12% | 38 | 0.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,616 | 11.59% | 13,946 |
| Inyo | 1,514 | 57.39% | 877 | 33.24% | 232 | 8.79% | 11 | 0.42% | 4 | 0.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 637 | 24.15% | 2,638 |
| Kern | 14,798 | 48.59% | 11,348 | 37.26% | 4,197 | 13.78% | 49 | 0.16% | 60 | 0.20% | 2 | 0.01% | 3.450 | 11.33% | 30,454 |
| Kings | 3,633 | 41.18% | 2,326 | 26.37% | 2,848 | 32.28% | 5 | 0.06% | 9 | 0.10% | 1 | 0.01% | 785[b] | 8.90% | 8,822 |
| Lake | 2,317 | 56.54% | 1,338 | 32.65% | 433 | 10.57% | 1 | 0.02% | 9 | 0.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 979 | 23.89% | 4,098 |
| Lassen | 1,697 | 33.09% | 2,023 | 39.44% | 1,382 | 26.94% | 6 | 0.12% | 21 | 0.41% | 0 | 0.00% | -326 | -6.36% | 5,129 |
| Los Angeles | 457,755 | 47.45% | 405,331 | 42.02% | 98,348 | 10.20% | 2,238 | 0.23% | 822 | 0.09% | 142 | 0.01% | 52,424 | 5.43% | 964,636 |
| Madera | 2,204 | 32.84% | 2,441 | 36.37% | 2,043 | 30.44% | 16 | 0.24% | 8 | 0.12% | 0 | 0.00% | -237 | -3.53% | 6,712 |
| Marin | 9,756 | 54.50% | 6,494 | 36.28% | 1,555 | 8.69% | 43 | 0.24% | 49 | 0.27% | 5 | 0.03% | 3,262 | 18.22% | 17,902 |
| Mariposa | 1,089 | 46.80% | 865 | 37.17% | 354 | 15.21% | 7 | 0.30% | 12 | 0.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 224 | 9.63% | 2,327 |
| Mendocino | 6,178 | 62.87% | 2,763 | 28.12% | 794 | 8.08% | 68 | 0.69% | 23 | 0.23% | 1 | 0.01% | 3,415 | 34.75% | 9,827 |
| Merced | 4,123 | 35.52% | 3,727 | 32.10% | 3,727 | 32.10% | 18 | 0.16% | 13 | 0.11% | 1 | 0.01% | 396 | 3.41% | 11,609 |
| Modoc | 1,452 | 49.39% | 836 | 28.44% | 637 | 21.67% | 5 | 0.17% | 10 | 0.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 616 | 20.95% | 2,940 |
| Mono | 520 | 63.11% | 234 | 28.40% | 64 | 7.77% | 1 | 0.12% | 5 | 0.61% | 0 | 0.00% | 286 | 34.71% | 824 |
| Monterey | 11,083 | 61.53% | 5,585 | 31.01% | 1,285 | 7.13% | 40 | 0.22% | 16 | 0.09% | 4 | 0.02% | 5,498 | 30.52% | 18,013 |
| Napa | 5,750 | 58.96% | 2,806 | 28.77% | 1,175 | 12.05% | 11 | 0.11% | 11 | 0.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,944 | 30.19% | 9,753 |
| Nevada | 3,163 | 45.33% | 2,165 | 31.03% | 1,602 | 22.96% | 28 | 0.40% | 19 | 0.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 998 | 14.30% | 6,977 |
| Orange | 27,099 | 53.73% | 14,092 | 27.94% | 9,142 | 18.13% | 59 | 0.12% | 42 | 0.08% | 4 | 0.01% | 13,007 | 25.79% | 50,438 |
| Placer | 3,337 | 34.23% | 3,113 | 31.93% | 3,271 | 33.55% | 16 | 0.16% | 13 | 0.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 66[b] | 0.68% | 9,750 |
| Plumas | 1,213 | 36.64% | 1,226 | 37.03% | 858 | 25.91% | 2 | 0.06% | 12 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | -13 | -0.39% | 3,311 |
| Riverside | 19,892 | 62.33% | 9,896 | 31.01% | 2,072 | 6.49% | 31 | 0.10% | 24 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 9,996 | 31.32% | 31,915 |
| Sacramento | 19,360 | 35.75% | 16,291 | 30.09% | 18,310 | 33.81% | 133 | 0.25% | 51 | 0.09% | 3 | 0.01% | 1,050[b] | 1.94% | 54,148 |
| San Benito | 2,931 | 65.25% | 1,251 | 27.85% | 296 | 6.59% | 6 | 0.13% | 8 | 0.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,680 | 37.40% | 4,492 |
| San Bernardino | 30,285 | 56.76% | 19,157 | 35.90% | 3,774 | 7.07% | 80 | 0.15% | 57 | 0.11% | 6 | 0.01% | 11,128 | 20.85% | 53,359 |
| San Diego | 44,422 | 50.76% | 32,073 | 36.65% | 10,759 | 12.29% | 185 | 0.21% | 69 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 12,349 | 14.11% | 87,508 |
| San Francisco | 115,047 | 50.91% | 87,850 | 38.88% | 21,499 | 9.51% | 1,116 | 0.49% | 433 | 0.19% | 32 | 0.01% | 27,197 | 12.04% | 225,977 |
| San Joaquin | 17,612 | 46.64% | 13,720 | 36.33% | 6,255 | 16.56% | 70 | 0.19% | 104 | 0.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,892 | 10.31% | 37,761 |
| San Luis Obispo | 6,422 | 47.11% | 5,093 | 37.36% | 2,063 | 15.13% | 34 | 0.25% | 19 | 0.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,329 | 9.75% | 13,631 |
| San Mateo | 18,448 | 52.29% | 13,022 | 36.91% | 3,669 | 10.40% | 92 | 0.26% | 40 | 0.11% | 6 | 0.02% | 5,426 | 15.38% | 35,277 |
| Santa Barbara | 14,429 | 60.29% | 7,735 | 32.32% | 1,702 | 7.11% | 53 | 0.22% | 11 | 0.05% | 2 | 0.01% | 6,694 | 27.97% | 23,932 |
| Santa Clara | 37,156 | 60.06% | 19,281 | 31.17% | 5,215 | 8.43% | 107 | 0.17% | 100 | 0.16% | 2 | 0.00% | 17,875 | 28.90% | 61,861 |
| Santa Cruz | 10,905 | 63.17% | 5,155 | 29.86% | 1,119 | 6.48% | 74 | 0.43% | 8 | 0.05% | 3 | 0.02% | 5,750 | 33.31% | 17,264 |
| Shasta | 3,283 | 42.75% | 2,819 | 36.71% | 1,543 | 20.09% | 7 | 0.09% | 28 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 464 | 6.04% | 7,680 |
| Sierra | 676 | 45.19% | 471 | 31.48% | 339 | 22.66% | 2 | 0.13% | 7 | 0.47% | 1 | 0.07% | 205 | 13.70% | 1,496 |
| Siskiyou | 4,202 | 39.19% | 3,514 | 32.77% | 2,953 | 27.54% | 16 | 0.15% | 37 | 0.35% | 0 | 0.00% | 688 | 6.42% | 10,722 |
| Solano | 6,728 | 44.57% | 5,112 | 33.87% | 3,206 | 21.24% | 29 | 0.19% | 19 | 0.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,616 | 10.71% | 15,094 |
| Sonoma | 15,329 | 57.41% | 8,164 | 30.58% | 3,070 | 11.50% | 90 | 0.34% | 43 | 0.16% | 3 | 0.01% | 7,165 | 26.84% | 26,699 |
| Stanislaus | 7,853 | 34.46% | 6,260 | 27.47% | 8,592 | 37.70% | 18 | 0.08% | 64 | 0.28% | 1 | 0.00% | -739 | -3.24% | 22,788 |
| Sutter | 2,872 | 47.01% | 1,980 | 32.41% | 1,244 | 20.36% | 8 | 0.13% | 5 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 892 | 14.60% | 6,109 |
| Tehama | 2,865 | 44.34% | 1,816 | 28.10% | 1,763 | 27.28% | 7 | 0.11% | 11 | 0.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,049 | 16.23% | 6,462 |
| Trinity | 889 | 40.21% | 993 | 44.91% | 308 | 13.93% | 13 | 0.59% | 8 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | -104 | -4.70% | 2,211 |
| Tulare | 9,850 | 37.46% | 6,867 | 26.12% | 9,512 | 36.18% | 46 | 0.17% | 18 | 0.07% | 1 | 0.00% | 338[b] | 1.29% | 26,294 |
| Tuolumne | 1,580 | 36.62% | 1,940 | 44.96% | 785 | 18.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 0.23% | 0 | 0.00% | -360 | -8.34% | 4,315 |
| Ventura | 11,015 | 54.07% | 6,560 | 32.20% | 2,740 | 13.45% | 29 | 0.14% | 26 | 0.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,455 | 21.87% | 20,370 |
| Yolo | 4,087 | 46.44% | 1,646 | 18.70% | 3,041 | 34.56% | 12 | 0.14% | 14 | 0.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,046[b] | 11.89% | 8,800 |
| Yuba | 2,603 | 49.81% | 1,601 | 30.64% | 1,003 | 19.19% | 3 | 0.06% | 16 | 0.31% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,002 | 19.17% | 5,226 |
| Total | 1,138,620 | 48.87% | 879,537 | 37.75% | 302,519 | 12.99% | 5,826 | 0.25% | 2,947 | 0.13% | 273 | 0.01% | 259,083 | 11.12% | 2,329,722 |
Hollywood involvement in the campaign against Sinclair was depicted in the 2020 Americanbiographical drama filmMank.[3]
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