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 County results Congressional district resultsBrown: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Flournoy: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1974 California gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent governorRonald Reagan retired after two terms.Jerry Brown, the Secretary of State and son of former governorPat Brown, defeatedHouston Flournoy.
Primary elections were held on June 4. Flournoy won the Republican primary over lieutenant governorEd Reinecke. Brown won a plurality of the Democratic vote over a field of candidates including San Francisco mayor Joseph Alioto, assembly speaker Bob Moretti
This is the first election since1958 not to feature an incumbent governor or to feature presidentsRichard Nixon orRonald Reagan as the Republican nominee. With Brown’s election, California had a Democratic Governor and two Democratic Senators (John V. Tunney andAlan Cranston) for the first time since the Civil War.This is the earliest California gubernatorial election to feature a major party candidate who is still alive as of 2025.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Houston I. Flournoy | 1,164,015 | 62.96% | |
| Republican | Ed Reinecke | 556,259 | 30.09% | |
| Republican | James Ware | 36,784 | 1.99% | |
| Republican | Glenn Mitchel | 31,518 | 1.70% | |
| Republican | J. F. Stay | 29,297 | 1.58% | |
| Republican | William Nelson | 22,597 | 1.22% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 8,355 | 0.45% | |
| Total votes | 1,848,825 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. Brown Jr. | 1,085,752 | 37.86% | |
| Democratic | Joseph Alioto | 544,007 | 18.97% | |
| Democratic | Bob Moretti | 478,469 | 16.68% | |
| Democratic | William M. Roth | 293,686 | 10.24% | |
| Democratic | Jerome R. Waldie | 227,489 | 7.93% | |
| Democratic | Baxter Ward | 79,745 | 2.78% | |
| Democratic | Herbert Hafif | 77,505 | 2.70% | |
| Democratic | Alex A. Aloia | 18,400 | 0.64% | |
| Democratic | Conie R. Robertson | 11,493 | 0.40% | |
| Democratic | George Henry Wagner | 8,955 | 0.31% | |
| Democratic | Jim Wedworth | 7,973 | 0.28% | |
| Democratic | Joseph Francis Brouillette | 7,906 | 0.28% | |
| Democratic | John Hancock Abbott | 6,961 | 0.24% | |
| Democratic | Josephum S. Ramos | 6,721 | 0.23% | |
| Democratic | Eileen Anderson | 6,666 | 0.23% | |
| Democratic | Chris Musun | 3,495 | 0.12% | |
| Democratic | Russ Priebe | 1,427 | 0.05% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 1,349 | 0.05% | |
| Total votes | 2,867,999 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Independent | Edmon V. Kasier | 12,408 | 95.15% | |
| American Independent | Scattering | 633 | 4.85% | |
| Total votes | 13,041 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace and Freedom | Elizabeth Keathley | 2,111 | 28.06% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Lester Higby | 1,855 | 24.65% | |
| Peace and Freedom | C. T. Weber | 1,822 | 24.22% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Trudy Saposhnek | 1,417 | 18.83% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Scattering | 319 | 4.24% | |
| Total votes | 7,524 | 100.00% | ||
Brown had statewide name recognition, benefited from the fact Democrats outnumbered Republicans in California, and maintained a lead in most of the early polls. Flournoy began to gain in the polls as the election approached, but Brown won, although by a much smaller margin than predicted. Coincidentally, when Brown ran forSecretary of State four years earlier, he defeated James Flournoy – no relation to Houston – in a very close election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Edmund G. Brown Jr. | 3,131,648 | 50.12% | +4.98% | |
| Republican | Houston I. Flournoy | 2,952,954 | 47.26% | −5.57% | |
| American Independent | Edmon V. Kaiser | 83,869 | 1.34% | +0.33% | |
| Peace and Freedom | Elizabeth Keathley | 75,004 | 1.20% | +0.19% | |
| Scattering | 4,595 | 0.07% | |||
| Majority | 178,694 | 2.86% | |||
| Total votes | 6,248,070 | 100.00% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | +10.56% | |||
| County | Edmund G. Brown Jr. Democratic | Houston I. Flournoy Republican | Edmon V. Kaiser American Independent | Elizabeth Keathley Peace & Freedom | Margin | Total votes cast[a][2] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 200,165 | 60.15% | 123,656 | 37.16% | 3,588 | 1.08% | 5,341 | 1.61% | 76,509 | 22.99% | 332,750 |
| Alpine | 185 | 44.90% | 212 | 51.46% | 5 | 1.21% | 10 | 2.43% | -27 | -6.55% | 412 |
| Amador | 3,198 | 46.48% | 3,483 | 50.63% | 141 | 2.05% | 58 | 0.84% | -285 | -4.14% | 6,880 |
| Butte | 17,007 | 41.47% | 22,499 | 54.86% | 859 | 2.09% | 643 | 1.57% | -5,492 | -13.39% | 41,008 |
| Calaveras | 2,702 | 41.25% | 3,709 | 56.63% | 87 | 1.33% | 52 | 0.79% | -1,007 | -15.37% | 6,550 |
| Colusa | 1,884 | 42.16% | 2,503 | 56.01% | 54 | 1.21% | 28 | 0.63% | -619 | -13.85% | 4,469 |
| Contra Costa | 97,038 | 48.31% | 99,470 | 49.52% | 2,372 | 1.18% | 1,975 | 0.98% | -2,432 | -1.21% | 200,855 |
| Del Norte | 2,149 | 51.60% | 1,921 | 46.12% | 54 | 1.30% | 41 | 0.98% | 228 | 5.47% | 4,165 |
| El Dorado | 8,076 | 46.09% | 8,922 | 50.92% | 342 | 1.95% | 183 | 1.04% | -846 | -4.83% | 17,523 |
| Fresno | 61,596 | 52.41% | 53,308 | 45.36% | 1,337 | 1.14% | 1,277 | 1.09% | 8,288 | 7.05% | 117,518 |
| Glenn | 2,645 | 40.86% | 3,675 | 56.77% | 115 | 1.78% | 39 | 0.60% | -1,030 | -15.91% | 6,474 |
| Humboldt | 22,805 | 58.66% | 14,958 | 38.48% | 319 | 0.82% | 792 | 2.04% | 7,847 | 20.19% | 38,875 |
| Imperial | 9,033 | 49.04% | 9,011 | 48.92% | 203 | 1.10% | 171 | 0.93% | 22 | 0.12% | 18,418 |
| Inyo | 2,417 | 41.54% | 3,238 | 55.65% | 106 | 1.82% | 58 | 1.00% | -821 | -14.11% | 5,819 |
| Kern | 44,828 | 48.29% | 45,775 | 49.31% | 1,616 | 1.74% | 621 | 0.67% | -947 | -1.02% | 92,840 |
| Kings | 7,444 | 52.11% | 6,540 | 45.78% | 163 | 1.14% | 138 | 0.97% | 904 | 6.33% | 14,285 |
| Lake | 4,733 | 45.71% | 5,381 | 51.97% | 159 | 1.54% | 81 | 0.78% | -648 | -6.26% | 10,354 |
| Lassen | 3,111 | 57.13% | 2,165 | 39.76% | 117 | 2.15% | 52 | 0.96% | 946 | 17.37% | 5,445 |
| Los Angeles | 1,059,533 | 52.84% | 898,808 | 44.82% | 24,601 | 1.23% | 22,223 | 1.11% | 160,725 | 8.02% | 2,005,165 |
| Madera | 5,584 | 51.17% | 5,137 | 47.08% | 124 | 1.14% | 67 | 0.61% | 447 | 4.10% | 10,912 |
| Marin | 36,384 | 45.84% | 40,619 | 51.18% | 905 | 1.14% | 1,456 | 1.83% | -4,235 | -5.34% | 79,364 |
| Mariposa | 1,658 | 45.28% | 1,893 | 51.69% | 66 | 1.80% | 45 | 1.23% | -235 | -6.42% | 3,662 |
| Mendocino | 9,158 | 50.31% | 8,373 | 46.00% | 312 | 1.71% | 360 | 1.98% | 785 | 4.31% | 18,203 |
| Merced | 12,779 | 51.89% | 11,339 | 46.05% | 318 | 1.29% | 189 | 0.77% | 1,440 | 5.85% | 24,625 |
| Modoc | 1,395 | 44.16% | 1,705 | 53.97% | 41 | 1.30% | 18 | 0.57% | -310 | -9.81% | 3,159 |
| Mono | 817 | 39.45% | 1,161 | 56.06% | 55 | 2.66% | 38 | 1.83% | -344 | -16.61% | 2,071 |
| Monterey | 28,832 | 46.09% | 32,218 | 51.50% | 748 | 1.20% | 764 | 1.22% | -3,386 | -5.41% | 62,562 |
| Napa | 15,200 | 47.44% | 16,048 | 50.09% | 441 | 1.38% | 350 | 1.09% | -848 | -2.65% | 32,039 |
| Nevada | 5,225 | 41.00% | 7,101 | 55.72% | 249 | 1.95% | 169 | 1.33% | -1,876 | -14.72% | 12,744 |
| Orange | 212,638 | 40.60% | 297,870 | 56.87% | 8,198 | 1.57% | 5,090 | 0.97% | -85,232 | -16.27% | 523,796 |
| Placer | 15,744 | 50.50% | 14,510 | 46.54% | 566 | 1.82% | 358 | 1.15% | 1,234 | 3.96% | 31,178 |
| Plumas | 3,031 | 55.77% | 2,279 | 41.93% | 66 | 1.21% | 59 | 1.09% | 752 | 13.84% | 5,435 |
| Riverside | 70,515 | 47.93% | 73,102 | 49.69% | 2,115 | 1.44% | 1,374 | 0.93% | -2,587 | -1.76% | 147,106 |
| Sacramento | 117,711 | 51.62% | 104,595 | 45.86% | 2,812 | 1.23% | 2,934 | 1.29% | 13,116 | 5.75% | 228,052 |
| San Benito | 2,722 | 45.05% | 3,199 | 52.95% | 60 | 0.99% | 61 | 1.01% | -477 | -7.89% | 6,042 |
| San Bernardino | 87,133 | 49.85% | 82,611 | 47.27% | 3,624 | 2.07% | 1,413 | 0.81% | 4,522 | 2.59% | 174,782 |
| San Diego | 196,930 | 42.82% | 249,444 | 54.24% | 7,999 | 1.74% | 5,501 | 1.20% | -52,514 | -11.42% | 459,874 |
| San Francisco | 136,896 | 61.81% | 78,759 | 35.56% | 1,806 | 0.82% | 4,009 | 1.81% | 58,137 | 26.25% | 221,470 |
| San Joaquin | 38,429 | 45.69% | 43,744 | 52.01% | 1,284 | 1.53% | 643 | 0.76% | -5,315 | -6.32% | 84,100 |
| San Luis Obispo | 19,429 | 47.82% | 20,300 | 49.96% | 394 | 0.97% | 510 | 1.26% | -871 | -2.14% | 40,633 |
| San Mateo | 91,808 | 49.62% | 88,235 | 47.69% | 2,622 | 1.42% | 2,361 | 1.28% | 3,573 | 1.93% | 185,026 |
| Santa Barbara | 42,221 | 45.99% | 47,263 | 51.48% | 854 | 0.93% | 1,470 | 1.60% | -5,042 | -5.49% | 91,808 |
| Santa Clara | 166,760 | 50.63% | 153,761 | 46.69% | 4,628 | 1.41% | 4,201 | 1.28% | 12,999 | 3.95% | 329,350 |
| Santa Cruz | 28,600 | 48.67% | 27,750 | 47.23% | 822 | 1.40% | 1,587 | 2.70% | 850 | 1.45% | 58,789 |
| Shasta | 15,764 | 55.51% | 11,716 | 41.25% | 637 | 2.24% | 284 | 1.00% | 4,048 | 14.25% | 28,401 |
| Sierra | 629 | 52.99% | 513 | 43.22% | 26 | 2.19% | 19 | 1.60% | 116 | 9.77% | 1,187 |
| Siskiyou | 6,515 | 53.93% | 5,229 | 43.28% | 201 | 1.66% | 136 | 1.13% | 1,286 | 10.64% | 12,081 |
| Solano | 24,955 | 54.43% | 19,524 | 42.58% | 591 | 1.29% | 781 | 1.70% | 5,431 | 11.84% | 45,851 |
| Sonoma | 40,756 | 48.48% | 40,339 | 47.98% | 1,077 | 1.28% | 1,898 | 2.26% | 417 | 0.50% | 84,070 |
| Stanislaus | 27,931 | 47.97% | 29,186 | 50.13% | 673 | 1.16% | 430 | 0.74% | -1,255 | -2.16% | 58,220 |
| Sutter | 5,141 | 39.32% | 7,642 | 58.45% | 182 | 1.39% | 110 | 0.84% | -2,501 | -19.13% | 13,075 |
| Tehama | 5,618 | 49.73% | 5,373 | 47.56% | 219 | 1.94% | 87 | 0.77% | 245 | 2.17% | 11,297 |
| Trinity | 1,762 | 51.24% | 1,519 | 44.17% | 104 | 3.02% | 54 | 1.57% | 243 | 7.07% | 3,439 |
| Tulare | 20,589 | 44.93% | 24,103 | 52.60% | 692 | 1.51% | 440 | 0.96% | -3,514 | -7.67% | 45,824 |
| Tuolumne | 4,165 | 40.16% | 5,952 | 57.39% | 162 | 1.56% | 93 | 0.90% | -1,787 | -17.23% | 10,372 |
| Ventura | 56,189 | 47.20% | 60,122 | 50.50% | 1,554 | 1.31% | 1,184 | 0.99% | -3,933 | -3.30% | 119,049 |
| Yolo | 18,249 | 54.00% | 14,734 | 43.60% | 230 | 0.68% | 579 | 1.71% | 3,515 | 10.40% | 33,792 |
| Yuba | 5,237 | 51.04% | 4,752 | 46.32% | 173 | 1.69% | 98 | 0.96% | 485 | 4.73% | 10,260 |
| Total | 3,131,648 | 50.12% | 2,952,954 | 47.26% | 83,869 | 1.34% | 75,004 | 1.20% | 178,694 | 2.86% | 6,248,070 |
