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 County results Brown: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Knowland: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1958 California gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 4. Incumbent governorGoodwin Knight initially ran for re-election to a third term, but eventually withdrew and ran forelection to the Senate. Incumbent senatorWilliam Knowland switched places with Knight to run for governor, but was defeated in a landslide by DemocraticAttorney GeneralPat Brown, who won the first of his two terms asgovernor of California.
Knowland's decision to run for governor came in spite of strong opposition from Knight, who had wanted to run for re-election rather than for the Senate. Knowland's use of heavy-handed tactics to force Knight from the race, along with labor mobilization againstProposition 18, was a major factor in the Democratic landslide in California in 1958.[1][2]
Primary elections were held on June 3, 1958.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. "Pat" Brown | 1,890,622 | 82.62% | |
| Republican | William F. Knowland | 313,385 | 13.69% | |
| Democratic | Donald Donaldson | 84,449 | 3.69% | |
| Total votes | 2,288,456 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William F. Knowland | 1,290,106 | 77.48% | |
| Democratic | Edmund G. "Pat" Brown | 374,879 | 22.52% | |
| Total votes | 1,664,985 | 100.00% | ||
California was considered a Republican stronghold in the post-World War II era, electing Republican governorsEarl Warren andGoodwin Knight, as well as senatorsRichard Nixon, Knowland, andThomas Kuchel. Knowland was a prestigious two-term Senator who had served as Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader. His seat was considered safe going into the 1958 midterm elections, but he stunned everyone when he announced his intention to run for governor instead of re-election to the Senate. This was especially surprising because California had a relatively popular Republican governor inGoodwin Knight who was also expected to be re-elected. Knowland coerced Knight into a "backroom deal" in which Knowland and Knight would "trade places", with Knight running for Knowland's Senate seat. Knight really had no desire to be Senator and in later years lamented how Knowland "strongarmed" him into the switch. Knowland thought being governor would enhance his chances of challenging another Californian,Richard Nixon, for the 1960 Republican presidential nomination. For their part, the Democrats nominated popular state Attorney GeneralPat Brown, who was the only Democrat that held a statewide office in a Republican leaning state. As it turned out, the Knowland-Knight switch was not popular with California voters. Brown steadily gained in the polls and defeated Knowland for governor, and Knight lost to CongressmanClair Engle in the Senate race.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Pat Brown | 3,140,076 | 59.75% | +16.59% | |
| Republican | William F. Knowland | 2,110,911 | 40.16% | −16.67% | |
| Independent | William P. Gale (write-in) | 2,301 | 0.04% | ||
| Independent | L. A. Delaney (write-in) | 505 | 0.01% | ||
| Independent | Herbert Steiner (write-in) | 239 | 0.00% | ||
| Scattering | 1,745 | 0.03% | |||
| Majority | 1,029,165 | 19.58% | |||
| Total votes | 5,255,777 | 100.00% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | +33.26% | |||
Brown's landslide victory ended many streaks of Republican dominance in various counties throughout the state. Brown was the first Democrat to ever winImperial County andRiverside County in a gubernatorial election. Meanwhile, this was the first election since1859 in whichHumboldt County voted for a Democratic candidate; the first since1882 in whichMarin County andSan Mateo County voted for a Democratic candidate; the first since1902 in whichMonterey County voted for a Democratic candidate; the first since1906 in whichNevada County,San Benito County,San Luis Obispo County,Santa Cruz County, andSutter County voted for a Democratic candidate; and the first since1910 in whichCalaveras County,Colusa County,Glenn County,Lake County,Mendocino County,Napa County,Sonoma County,Tehama County voted for a Democratic candidate. Brown also won the largest share for a Democrat inAlpine County since 1882 and inOrange County since the latter's establishment in 1889. Those two counties, along withMono County andSanta Barbara County were the most historically reliably Republican counties that Brown failed to flip.[a]
Conversely, as of 2024, this election is also the last time that a Democrat has carriedGlenn County,Inyo County,Sutter County, andTulare County. Moreover, a Democratic candidate has only carriedButte County,Calaveras County, andMariposa County in one election since 1958.[b]
| County | Edmund G. Brown Democratic | William F. Knowland Republican | William P. Gale Write-in | All Others[c] Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 228,105 | 64.84% | 123,372 | 35.07% | 129 | 0.04% | 197[d] | 0.06% | 104,733 | 29.77% | 351,803 |
| Alpine | 77 | 43.50% | 100 | 56.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -23 | -12.99% | 177 |
| Amador | 2,665 | 64.23% | 1,483 | 35.74% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.02% | 1,182 | 28.49% | 4,149 |
| Butte | 16,886 | 55.23% | 13,677 | 44.74% | 10 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,209 | 10.50% | 30,573 |
| Calaveras | 3,067 | 58.99% | 2,088 | 40.16% | 44 | 0.85% | 0 | 0.00% | 979 | 18.83% | 5,199 |
| Colusa | 2,924 | 64.04% | 1,642 | 35.96% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,282 | 28.08% | 4,566 |
| Contra Costa | 95,128 | 65.14% | 50,812 | 34.79% | 0 | 0.00% | 104 | 0.07% | 44,316 | 30.34% | 146,044 |
| Del Norte | 3,368 | 62.05% | 2,060 | 37.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,308 | 24.10% | 5,428 |
| El Dorado | 5,720 | 66.43% | 2,889 | 33.55% | 0 | 0.00% | 1[e] | 0.01% | 2,831 | 32.88% | 8,610 |
| Fresno | 72,692 | 66.84% | 35,747 | 32.87% | 322 | 0.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 36,945 | 33.97% | 108,761 |
| Glenn | 4,190 | 61.46% | 2,625 | 38.51% | 1 | 0.01% | 1 | 0.01% | 1,565 | 22.96% | 6,817 |
| Humboldt | 21,013 | 62.12% | 12,799 | 37.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 14[f] | 0.04% | 8,214 | 24.28% | 33,826 |
| Imperial | 8,580 | 51.93% | 7,943 | 48.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 637 | 3.86% | 16,523 |
| Inyo | 2,780 | 53.92% | 2,374 | 46.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.04% | 406 | 7.87% | 5,156 |
| Kern | 52,587 | 62.87% | 30,889 | 36.93% | 22 | 0.03% | 140[g] | 0.17 | 21,698 | 25.94% | 83,638 |
| Kings | 9,227 | 68.33% | 4,264 | 31.58% | 5 | 0.04% | 7 | 0.05% | 4,963 | 36.75% | 13,503 |
| Lake | 3,411 | 55.72% | 2,711 | 44.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 700 | 11.43% | 6,122 |
| Lassen | 3,553 | 69.68% | 1,545 | 30.30% | 1 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,008 | 39.38% | 5,099 |
| Los Angeles | 1,254,226 | 57.91% | 909,429 | 41.99% | 1,120 | 0.05% | 996[h] | 0.05% | 344,797 | 15.92% | 2,165,771 |
| Madera | 8,133 | 68.95% | 3,663 | 31.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,470 | 37.89% | 11,796 |
| Marin | 29,096 | 55.98% | 22,832 | 43.93% | 21 | 0.04% | 26 | 0.05% | 6,264 | 12.05% | 51,975 |
| Mariposa | 1,437 | 58.01% | 1,040 | 41.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 397 | 16.03% | 2,477 |
| Mendocino | 10,759 | 63.71% | 6,116 | 36.22% | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.08% | 4,643 | 27.49% | 16,888 |
| Merced | 15.430 | 67.79% | 7,328 | 32.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.02% | 8,102 | 35.59% | 22,762 |
| Modoc | 2,010 | 62.77% | 1,192 | 37.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 818 | 25.55% | 3,202 |
| Mono | 461 | 44.41% | 577 | 55.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -116 | -11.18% | 1,038 |
| Monterey | 26,676 | 56.12% | 20,853 | 43.87% | 8 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 5,823 | 12.25% | 47,537 |
| Napa | 14,544 | 60.95% | 9,309 | 39.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 9 | 0.04% | 5,235 | 21.94% | 23,862 |
| Nevada | 5,035 | 58.20% | 3,601 | 41.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 15 | 0.17% | 1,434 | 16.58% | 8,651 |
| Orange | 85,364 | 46.30% | 98,729 | 53.55% | 0 | 0.00% | 259 | 0.14% | -13,365 | -7.25% | 184,352 |
| Placer | 13,422 | 68.75% | 6,093 | 31.21% | 9 | 0.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 7,329 | 37.54% | 19,524 |
| Plumas | 3,714 | 74.16% | 1,277 | 25.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 17 | 0.34% | 2,437 | 48.66% | 5,088 |
| Riverside | 46,611 | 52.65% | 41,824 | 47.24% | 70 | 0.08% | 24[i] | 0.03% | 4,787 | 5.41% | 88,529 |
| Sacramento | 107,679 | 70.95% | 44,027 | 29.01% | 52 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 63,652 | 41.94% | 151,758 |
| San Benito | 3,213 | 59.53% | 2,182 | 40.43% | 2 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,031 | 19.10% | 5,397 |
| San Bernardino | 86,882 | 58.33% | 61,891 | 41.55% | 124 | 0.08% | 48 | 0.03% | 24,991 | 16.78% | 148,945 |
| San Diego | 150,925 | 51.71% | 140,734 | 48.22% | 140 | 0.05% | 73[j] | 0.03% | 10,191 | 3.49% | 291,872 |
| San Francisco | 219,413 | 70.79% | 90,430 | 29.17% | 66 | 0.02% | 60[k] | 0.02% | 128,983 | 41.61% | 309,969 |
| San Joaquin | 48,284 | 62.58% | 28,807 | 37.34% | 33 | 0.04% | 32 | 0.04% | 19,477 | 25.24% | 77,156 |
| San Luis Obispo | 15,315 | 56.78% | 11,646 | 43.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.05% | 3.669 | 13.60% | 26,974 |
| San Mateo | 97,475 | 61.76% | 60,215 | 38.15% | 55 | 0.03% | 83[l] | 0.05% | 37,260 | 23.61% | 157,828 |
| Santa Barbara | 23,440 | 49.43% | 23,849 | 50.50% | 12 | 0.03% | 21[m] | 0.04% | -509 | -1.08% | 47,222 |
| Santa Clara | 108,732 | 59.50% | 73,874 | 40.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 142 | 0.08% | 34,858 | 19.07% | 182,748 |
| Santa Cruz | 17,635 | 51.58% | 16,528 | 48.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 25[n] | 0.07% | 1,107 | 3.24% | 34,188 |
| Shasta | 14,024 | 71.24% | 5,645 | 28.68% | 10 | 0.05% | 6 | 0.03% | 8,379 | 42.57% | 19,685 |
| Sierra | 826 | 64.89% | 447 | 35.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 379 | 29.77% | 1,273 |
| Siskiyou | 8,747 | 67.34% | 4,233 | 32.59% | 10 | 0.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,514 | 34.75% | 12,990 |
| Solano | 27,429 | 69.79% | 11,847 | 30.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 27 | 0.07% | 15,582 | 39.65% | 39,303 |
| Sonoma | 30,841 | 57.04% | 23,216 | 42.94% | 0 | 0.00% | 14 | 0.03% | 7,625 | 14.10% | 54,071 |
| Stanislaus | 31,984 | 62.50% | 19,168 | 37.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 23 | 0.04% | 12,816 | 25.04% | 51,175 |
| Sutter | 5,032 | 50.10% | 5,009 | 49.87% | 3 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 23 | 0.23% | 10,044 |
| Tehama | 5,860 | 63.50% | 3,368 | 36.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,492 | 27.00% | 9,228 |
| Trinity | 2,315 | 69.37% | 1,014 | 30.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 8 | 0.24% | 1,301 | 38.99% | 3,337 |
| Tulare | 25,668 | 58.19% | 18,407 | 41.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 35 | 0.08% | 7,261 | 16.46% | 44,110 |
| Tuolumne | 4,771 | 66.66% | 2,374 | 33.17% | 12 | 0.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,397 | 33.49% | 7,157 |
| Ventura | 32,789 | 61.63% | 20,368 | 38.28% | 20 | 0.04% | 24[o] | 0.05% | 12,421 | 23.35% | 53,201 |
| Yolo | 13,014 | 70.27% | 5,485 | 29.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 20 | 0.11% | 7,529 | 40.66% | 18,519 |
| Yuba | 4,992 | 60.43% | 3,264 | 39.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 0.06% | 1,728 | 20.92% | 8,261 |
| Total | 3,140,076 | 59.75% | 2,110,911 | 40.16% | 2,301 | 0.04% | 2,489 | 0.05% | 1,029,165 | 19.58% | 5,255,777 |
