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 County results Olson: 40–50% 50–60% Merriam: 40–50% 50–60% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1938 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938.Culbert L. Olson defeated incumbent governorFrank F. Merriam to become the firstDemocrat electedGovernor of California sinceJames Budd in1894. Merriam had angered the left and the right throughout his tenure as governor, leading a significant swing in favor of the Democratic party.
Olson was the first Democrat sinceGeorge Stoneman in1882 to receive an absolute majority of the vote. For the first time since 1882,Alameda County,Los Angeles County, andVentura County were carried by a Democrat andSan Diego County backed a Democrat for governor for the first time since1879. California would not elect a Democrat as governor again until1958. This was the last time untilGray Davis in1998 that a Democrat who was not a member of the Brown family won the governorship.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 405,362 | 54.85% | |
| Republican | George J. Hatfield | 169,278 | 22.91% | |
| Republican | Raymond L. Haight | 124,102 | 16.79% | |
| Republican | Francis Michael O'Connor | 18,642 | 2.52% | |
| Republican | John F. Dockweiler (write-in) | 8,966 | 1.21% | |
| Republican | Z. S. Leymel | 8,184 | 1.11% | |
| Republican | Culbert L. Olson (write-in) | 4,469 | 0.60% | |
| Total votes | 739,003 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Culbert L. Olson | 483,483 | 41.97% | |
| Democratic | John F. Dockweiler | 218,342 | 18.96% | |
| Democratic | Daniel C. Murphy | 137,740 | 11.96% | |
| Democratic | Raymond L. Haight | 125,012 | 10.85% | |
| Democratic | Herbert C. Legg | 80,586 | 7.00% | |
| Democratic | J. F. T. O'Connor | 71,999 | 6.25% | |
| Democratic | William H. Neblett | 21,219 | 1.84% | |
| Democratic | Teodoro Antonio Tomasini | 10,142 | 0.88% | |
| Democratic | Frank F. Merriam (write-in) | 3,340 | 0.29% | |
| Total votes | 1,151,863 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsend Party | Frank F. Merriam (write-in)[a] | 5,350 | 64.82% | |
| Townsend Party | John F. Dockweiler (write-in) | 1,471 | 17.82% | |
| Townsend Party | Culbert L. Olson (write-in) | 1,432 | 17.35% | |
| Total votes | 8,253 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Progressive Party | Raymond L. Haight | 4,569 | 57.76% | |
| California Progressive Party | Culbert L. Olson | 3,271 | 40.09% | |
| California Progressive Party | William E. Riker | 170 | 2.15% | |
| Total votes | 7,910 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth | Robert Noble | 274 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 274 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Culbert L. Olson | 1,391,734 | 52.49% | +14.74% | |
| Republican | Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) | 1,171,019 | 44.17% | −4.71% | |
| Progressive Party (United States, 1924-46) | Raymond L. Haight | 64,418 | 2.43% | −10.56% | |
| Commonwealth | Robert Noble | 23,787 | 0.90% | +0.90% | |
| Scattering | 505 | 0.02% | |||
| Majority | 220,715 | 8.32% | |||
| Total votes | 2,651,463 | 100.00% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | +19.45% | |||
| County | Culbert L. Olson Democratic | Frank F. Merriam Republican | Raymond L. Haight Progressive | Robert Noble Commonwealth | Scattering Write-in | Margin | Total votes cast[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 109,010 | 49.48% | 106,694 | 48.43% | 3,825 | 1.74% | 753 | 0.34% | 39 | 0.02% | 2,316 | 1.05% | 220,321 |
| Alpine | 29 | 18.95% | 110 | 71.90% | 14 | 9.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -81 | -52.94% | 153 |
| Amador | 1,803 | 52.47% | 1,486 | 43.25% | 132 | 3.84% | 15 | 0.44% | 0 | 0.00% | 317 | 9.23% | 3,436 |
| Butte | 8,408 | 48.45% | 8,249 | 47.53% | 542 | 3.12% | 155 | 0.89% | 0 | 0.00% | 159 | 0.92% | 17,354 |
| Calaveras | 1,818 | 46.44% | 1,866 | 47.66% | 207 | 5.29% | 24 | 0.61% | 0 | 0.00% | -48 | -1.23% | 3,915 |
| Colusa | 1,768 | 41.11% | 2,339 | 54.38% | 168 | 3.91% | 26 | 0.60% | 0 | 0.00% | -571 | -13.28% | 4,301 |
| Contra Costa | 23,782 | 56.82% | 17,096 | 40.84% | 835 | 1.99% | 139 | 0.33% | 4 | 0.01% | 6,686 | 15.97% | 41,856 |
| Del Norte | 1,092 | 43.58% | 1,325 | 52.87% | 73 | 2.91% | 16 | 0.64% | 0 | 0.00% | -233 | -9.30% | 2,506 |
| El Dorado | 3,375 | 57.23% | 2,079 | 35.26% | 402 | 6.82% | 41 | 0.70% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,296 | 21.98% | 5,897 |
| Fresno | 32,937 | 55.52% | 22,728 | 38.31% | 3,370 | 5.68% | 294 | 0.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 10,209 | 17.21% | 59,329 |
| Glenn | 2,068 | 39.88% | 2,924 | 56.39% | 168 | 3.24% | 25 | 0.48% | 0 | 0.00% | -856 | -16.51% | 5,185 |
| Humboldt | 8,795 | 46.00% | 9,617 | 50.30% | 571 | 2.99% | 137 | 0.72% | 0 | 0.00% | -822 | -4.30% | 19,120 |
| Imperial | 5,495 | 45.47% | 6,259 | 51.79% | 203 | 1.68% | 129 | 1.07% | 0 | 0.00% | -764 | -6.32% | 12,086 |
| Inyo | 1,184 | 42.44% | 1,456 | 52.19% | 135 | 4.84% | 15 | 0.54% | 0 | 0.00% | -272 | -9.75% | 2,790 |
| Kern | 25,392 | 58.66% | 16,116 | 37.23% | 1,332 | 3.08% | 448 | 1.03% | 1 | 0.00% | 9,276 | 21.43% | 43,289 |
| Kings | 5,545 | 53.35% | 4,395 | 42.28% | 359 | 3.45% | 92 | 0.89% | 3 | 0.03% | 1,150 | 11.06% | 10,394 |
| Lake | 1,571 | 37.72% | 2,438 | 58.54% | 91 | 2.18% | 65 | 1.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -867 | -20.82% | 4,165 |
| Lassen | 2,764 | 48.53% | 2,624 | 46.08% | 258 | 4.53% | 49 | 0.86% | 0 | 0.00% | 140 | 2.46% | 5,695 |
| Los Angeles | 612,499 | 55.76% | 446,069 | 40.61% | 24,958 | 2.27% | 14,552 | 1.32% | 339 | 0.03% | 166,430 | 15.15% | 1,098,417 |
| Madera | 4,148 | 57.11% | 2,805 | 38.62% | 273 | 3.76% | 37 | 0.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,343 | 18.49% | 7,263 |
| Marin | 8,340 | 43.46% | 10,445 | 54.42% | 351 | 1.83% | 52 | 0.27% | 4 | 0.02% | -2,105 | -10.97% | 19,192 |
| Mariposa | 1,362 | 54.50% | 1,043 | 41.74% | 59 | 2.36% | 35 | 1.40% | 0 | 0.00% | 319 | 12.77% | 2,499 |
| Mendocino | 5,355 | 45.92% | 5,897 | 50.57% | 286 | 2.45% | 123 | 1.05% | 0 | 0.00% | -542 | -4.65% | 11,661 |
| Merced | 8,303 | 54.05% | 6,367 | 41.45% | 547 | 3.56% | 140 | 0.91% | 4 | 0.03% | 1,936 | 12.60% | 15,361 |
| Modoc | 1,472 | 48.26% | 1,416 | 46.43% | 132 | 4.33% | 30 | 0.98% | 0 | 0.00% | 56 | 1.84% | 3,050 |
| Mono | 445 | 47.39% | 446 | 47.50% | 42 | 4.47% | 6 | 0.64% | 0 | 0.00% | -1 | -0.11% | 939 |
| Monterey | 9,736 | 44.82% | 11,436 | 52.65% | 428 | 1.97% | 122 | 0.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,700 | -7.83% | 21,722 |
| Napa | 4,786 | 42.03% | 6,275 | 55.10% | 261 | 2.29% | 65 | 0.57% | 1 | 0.01% | -1,489 | -13.08% | 11,388 |
| Nevada | 3,494 | 43.84% | 4,052 | 50.84% | 379 | 4.76% | 45 | 0.56% | 0 | 0.00% | -558 | -7.00% | 7,970 |
| Orange | 24,257 | 43.27% | 29,774 | 53.11% | 1,166 | 2.08% | 863 | 1.54% | 4 | 0.01% | -5,517 | -9.84% | 56,064 |
| Placer | 6,653 | 58.92% | 3,834 | 33.96% | 747 | 6.62% | 57 | 0.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,819 | 24.97% | 11,291 |
| Plumas | 2,373 | 56.25% | 1,607 | 38.09% | 198 | 4.69% | 41 | 0.97% | 0 | 0.00% | 766 | 18.16% | 4,219 |
| Riverside | 17,026 | 45.93% | 18,895 | 50.97% | 737 | 1.99% | 409 | 1.10% | 2 | 0.01% | -1,869 | -5.04% | 37,069 |
| Sacramento | 32,885 | 54.07% | 25,836 | 42.48% | 1,921 | 3.16% | 174 | 0.29% | 5 | 0.01% | 7,049 | 11.59% | 60,821 |
| San Benito | 1,910 | 42.25% | 2,466 | 54.55% | 124 | 2.74% | 21 | 0.46% | 0 | 0.00% | -556 | -12.30% | 4,521 |
| San Bernardino | 30,696 | 51.47% | 27,515 | 46.14% | 1,001 | 1.68% | 409 | 0.69% | 13 | 0.02% | 3,181 | 5.33% | 59,634 |
| San Diego | 54,552 | 52.84% | 45,891 | 44.45% | 1,749 | 1.69% | 1,039 | 1.01% | 2 | 0.00% | 8,661 | 8.39% | 103,233 |
| San Francisco | 132,346 | 53.36% | 111,046 | 44.77% | 3,843 | 1.55% | 781 | 0.31% | 19 | 0.01% | 21,300 | 8.59% | 248,035 |
| San Joaquin | 22,340 | 50.34% | 20,990 | 47.30% | 895 | 2.02% | 147 | 0.33% | 5 | 0.01% | 1,350 | 3.04% | 44,377 |
| San Luis Obispo | 6,660 | 45.91% | 7,046 | 48.57% | 608 | 4.19% | 192 | 1.32% | 0 | 0.00% | -386 | -2.66% | 14,506 |
| San Mateo | 20,723 | 47.85% | 21,579 | 49.82% | 801 | 1.85% | 200 | 0.46% | 8 | 0.02% | -856 | -1.98% | 43,311 |
| Santa Barbara | 10,870 | 41.81% | 14,325 | 55.10% | 689 | 2.65% | 107 | 0.41% | 5 | 0.02% | -3,455 | -13.29% | 25,996 |
| Santa Clara | 32,994 | 46.70% | 36,191 | 51.23% | 1,217 | 1.72% | 226 | 0.32% | 20 | 0.03% | -3,197 | -4.53% | 70,648 |
| Santa Cruz | 8,962 | 45.17% | 10,198 | 51.40% | 531 | 2.68% | 150 | 0.76% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,236 | -6.23% | 19,841 |
| Shasta | 4,994 | 56.26% | 3,445 | 38.81% | 344 | 3.88% | 94 | 1.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,549 | 17.45% | 8,877 |
| Sierra | 719 | 49.72% | 565 | 39.07% | 149 | 10.30% | 13 | 0.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 154 | 10.65% | 1,446 |
| Siskiyou | 5,882 | 48.97% | 5,146 | 42.84% | 794 | 6.61% | 190 | 1.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 736 | 6.13% | 12,012 |
| Solano | 9,037 | 50.92% | 8,051 | 45.36% | 586 | 3.30% | 74 | 0.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 986 | 5.56% | 17,748 |
| Sonoma | 12,207 | 42.25% | 15,582 | 53.93% | 957 | 3.31% | 140 | 0.48% | 9 | 0.03% | -3,375 | -11.68% | 28,895 |
| Stanislaus | 12,730 | 47.34% | 12,333 | 45.86% | 1,598 | 5.94% | 226 | 0.84% | 6 | 0.02% | 397 | 1.48% | 26,893 |
| Sutter | 3,093 | 43.97% | 3,691 | 52.47% | 224 | 3.18% | 27 | 0.38% | 0 | 0.00% | -598 | -8.50% | 7,035 |
| Tehama | 2,740 | 44.99% | 2,882 | 47.32% | 427 | 7.01% | 41 | 0.67% | 0 | 0.00% | -142 | -2.33% | 6,090 |
| Trinity | 1,081 | 53.36% | 808 | 39.88% | 107 | 5.28% | 30 | 1.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 273 | 13.47% | 2,026 |
| Tulare | 16,162 | 50.29% | 14,571 | 45.34% | 1,113 | 3.46% | 283 | 0.88% | 8 | 0.02% | 1,591 | 4.95% | 32,137 |
| Tuolumne | 2,672 | 53.80% | 2,091 | 42.10% | 168 | 3.38% | 36 | 0.72% | 0 | 0.00% | 581 | 11.70% | 4,967 |
| Ventura | 11,264 | 49.31% | 10,647 | 46.61% | 789 | 3.45% | 139 | 0.61% | 2 | 0.01% | 617 | 2.70% | 22,841 |
| Yolo | 3,997 | 43.28% | 4,865 | 52.67% | 352 | 3.81% | 22 | 0.24% | 0 | 0.00% | -868 | -9.40% | 9,236 |
| Yuba | 3,133 | 48.65% | 3,097 | 48.09% | 182 | 2.83% | 26 | 0.40% | 2 | 0.03% | 36 | 0.56% | 6,440 |
| Total | 1,391,734 | 52.49% | 1,171,019 | 44.17% | 64,418 | 2.43% | 23,787 | 0.90% | 505 | 0.02% | 220,715 | 8.32% | 2,651,463 |
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