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| Elections in California |
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The 1954 California gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1954. Incumbent Republican governor Goodwin Knight, who had ascended to the office after Earl Warren resigned to become Chief Justice of the United States the previous year, won a full term against Democrat Richard Graves.
Graves was the first Democrat to carry Yolo County since 1910; since 1954 it has been won by the Democratic candidate in all but three[a] elections. Knight remains the last Republican gubernatorial candidate to date to carry San Francisco.
Primary elections
Primary elections were held on June 8, 1954.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Richard P. Graves, former director of the League of California Cities[1]
- Goodwin J. Knight, incumbent Governor (cross-filing)
- Roderick J. Wilson
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard P. Graves | 860,846 | 50.62% | |
| Republican | Goodwin J. Knight | 718,695 | 42.26% | |
| Democratic | Roderick J. Wilson | 121,212 | 7.13% | |
| Total votes | 1,700,753 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Cornell L. Gabrish
- Richard P. Graves, former director of the League of California Cities (cross-filing)
- Goodwin J. Knight, incumbent Governor
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Goodwin J. Knight | 1,198,896 | 89.61% | |
| Democratic | Richard P. Graves | 112,919 | 8.44% | |
| Republican | Cornell L. Gabrish | 26,084 | 1.95% | |
| Total votes | 1,337,899 | 100.00% | ||
Independent–Progressive primary
Candidates
- Cornell L. Galbrish (cross-filing)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cornell L. Galbrish | 1,896 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 1,896 | 100.00% | ||
Galbrish was disqualified from the general election as he had not won his own party's nomination.
General election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Goodwin J. Knight (incumbent) | 2,290,519 | 56.83% | −8.02% | |
| Democratic | Richard P. Graves | 1,739,368 | 43.16% | +8.02% | |
| Scattering | 481 | 0.01% | |||
| Majority | 551,151 | 13.67% | |||
| Total votes | 4,030,368 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | -16.04% | |||
Results by county
| County | Goodwin J. Knight Republican |
Richard P. Graves Democratic |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast[3] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 143,007 | 49.93% | 143,350 | 50.05% | 52 | 0.02% | -343 | -0.12% | 286,409 |
| Alpine | 110 | 80.88% | 26 | 19.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 84 | 61.76% | 136 |
| Amador | 1,964 | 45.86% | 2,319 | 54.14% | 0 | 0.00% | -355 | -8.29% | 4,283 |
| Butte | 14,390 | 58.92% | 10,035 | 41.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,355 | 17.83% | 24,425 |
| Calaveras | 2,574 | 53.64% | 2,225 | 46.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 349 | 7.27% | 4,799 |
| Colusa | 2,337 | 57.76% | 1,709 | 42.24% | 0 | 0.00% | 628 | 15.52% | 4,046 |
| Contra Costa | 58,340 | 51.61% | 54,681 | 48.37% | 15 | 0.01% | 3,659 | 3.24% | 113,036 |
| Del Norte | 2,584 | 64.86% | 1,400 | 35.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,184 | 29.72% | 3,984 |
| El Dorado | 3,968 | 54.87% | 3,264 | 45.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 704 | 9.73% | 7,232 |
| Fresno | 44,581 | 49.12% | 46,168 | 50.87% | 2 | 0.00% | -1,587 | -1.75% | 90,751 |
| Glenn | 3,197 | 57.45% | 2,368 | 42.55% | 0 | 0.00% | 829 | 14.90% | 5,565 |
| Humboldt | 16,324 | 63.39% | 9,426 | 36.61% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,898 | 26.79% | 25,750 |
| Imperial | 7,664 | 58.25% | 5,494 | 41.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,170 | 16.49% | 13,158 |
| Inyo | 2,662 | 66.45% | 1,344 | 33.55% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,318 | 32.90% | 4,006 |
| Kern | 35,301 | 51.69% | 32,997 | 48.31% | 1 | 0.00% | 2,304 | 3.37% | 68,299 |
| Kings | 5,070 | 42.75% | 6,789 | 57.25% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,719 | -14.50% | 11,859 |
| Lake | 3,409 | 64.98% | 1,837 | 35.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,572 | 29.97% | 5,246 |
| Lassen | 2,597 | 45.30% | 3,136 | 54.70% | 0 | 0.00% | -539 | -9.40% | 5,733 |
| Los Angeles | 950,611 | 57.31% | 707,734 | 42.67% | 303 | 0.02% | 242,877 | 14.64% | 1,658,648 |
| Madera | 5,147 | 46.94% | 5,817 | 53.06% | 0 | 0.00% | -670 | -6.11% | 10,964 |
| Marin | 23,830 | 64.01% | 13,392 | 35.97% | 4 | 0.01% | 10,438 | 28.04% | 37,226 |
| Mariposa | 1,405 | 60.80% | 906 | 39.20% | 0 | 0.00% | 499 | 21.59% | 2,311 |
| Mendocino | 9,146 | 59.94% | 6,111 | 40.05% | 1 | 0.01% | 3,035 | 19.89% | 15,258 |
| Merced | 9,924 | 48.46% | 10,553 | 51.53% | 1 | 0.00% | -629 | -3.07% | 20,478 |
| Modoc | 1,763 | 54.70% | 1,460 | 45.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 303 | 9.40% | 3,223 |
| Mono | 602 | 76.20% | 188 | 23.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 414 | 52.41% | 790 |
| Monterey | 22,593 | 59.45% | 15,411 | 40.55% | 2 | 0.01% | 7,182 | 18.90% | 38,006 |
| Napa | 10,992 | 60.59% | 7,149 | 39.41% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,843 | 21.18% | 18,141 |
| Nevada | 4,376 | 57.13% | 3,284 | 42.87% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,092 | 14.26% | 7,660 |
| Orange | 63,148 | 69.65% | 27,511 | 30.34% | 7 | 0.01% | 35,637 | 39.31% | 90,666 |
| Placer | 7,459 | 46.97% | 8,420 | 53.03% | 0 | 0.00% | -961 | -6.05% | 15,879 |
| Plumas | 2,053 | 43.50% | 2,667 | 56.50% | 0 | 0.00% | -614 | -13.01% | 4,720 |
| Riverside | 39,047 | 63.22% | 22,706 | 36.77% | 6 | 0.01% | 16,341 | 26.46% | 61,759 |
| Sacramento | 55,277 | 49.61% | 56,137 | 50.38% | 12 | 0.01% | -860 | -0.77% | 111,426 |
| San Benito | 2,911 | 64.86% | 1,577 | 35.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,334 | 29.72% | 4,488 |
| San Bernardino | 60,417 | 58.39% | 43,058 | 41.61% | 5 | 0.00% | 17,359 | 16.78% | 103,480 |
| San Diego | 139,769 | 64.23% | 77,817 | 35.76% | 6 | 0.00% | 61,952 | 28.47% | 217,592 |
| San Francisco | 151,458 | 55.97% | 119,138 | 44.03% | 13 | 0.00% | 32,320 | 11.94% | 270,609 |
| San Joaquin | 36,111 | 55.99% | 28,384 | 44.01% | 6 | 0.01% | 7,727 | 11.98% | 64,501 |
| San Luis Obispo | 12,808 | 58.34% | 9,145 | 41.65% | 2 | 0.01% | 3,663 | 16.68% | 21,955 |
| San Mateo | 71,440 | 63.02% | 41,910 | 36.97% | 13 | 0.01% | 29,530 | 26.05% | 113,363 |
| Santa Barbara | 23,368 | 62.63% | 13,941 | 37.36% | 2 | 0.01% | 9,427 | 25.27% | 37,311 |
| Santa Clara | 72,695 | 58.25% | 52,088 | 41.74% | 9 | 0.01% | 20,607 | 16.51% | 124,792 |
| Santa Cruz | 19,008 | 64.17% | 10,613 | 35.83% | 1 | 0.00% | 8,395 | 28.34% | 29,622 |
| Shasta | 6,582 | 44.69% | 8,144 | 55.30% | 1 | 0.01% | -1,560 | -10.61% | 14,727 |
| Sierra | 579 | 49.15% | 599 | 50.85% | 0 | 0.00% | -20 | -1.70% | 1,178 |
| Siskiyou | 6,019 | 52.72% | 5,397 | 47.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 622 | 5.45% | 11,416 |
| Solano | 16,537 | 48.87% | 17,303 | 51.13% | 0 | 0.00% | -766 | -2.26% | 33,840 |
| Sonoma | 26,766 | 64.55% | 14,699 | 35.45% | 3 | 0.01% | 12,067 | 29.10% | 41,468 |
| Stanislaus | 21,487 | 50.77% | 20,828 | 49.22% | 4 | 0.01% | 659 | 1.56% | 42,319 |
| Sutter | 4,704 | 58.15% | 3,386 | 41.85% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,318 | 16.29% | 8,090 |
| Tehama | 4,566 | 59.20% | 3,147 | 40.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,419 | 18.40% | 7,713 |
| Trinity | 1,137 | 49.16% | 1,176 | 50.84% | 0 | 0.00% | -39 | -1.69% | 2,313 |
| Tulare | 21,491 | 54.64% | 17,842 | 45.36% | 1 | 0.00% | 3,649 | 9.28% | 39,334 |
| Tuolumne | 2,773 | 47.60% | 3,053 | 52.40% | 0 | 0.00% | -280 | -4.81% | 5,826 |
| Ventura | 19,926 | 53.33% | 17,434 | 46.66% | 4 | 0.01% | 2,492 | 6.67% | 37,364 |
| Yolo | 7,053 | 49.77% | 7,114 | 50.20% | 5 | 0.04% | -61 | -0.43% | 14,172 |
| Yuba | 3,462 | 49.30% | 3,561 | 50.70% | 0 | 0.00% | -99 | -1.41% | 7,023 |
| Total | 2,290,519 | 56.83% | 1,739,368 | 43.16% | 481 | 0.01% | 551,151 | 13.67% | 4,030,368 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Alameda
- Amador
- Fresno
- Kings
- Lassen
- Madera
- Merced
- Placer
- Plumas
- Sacramento
- Shasta
- Sierra
- Solano
- Trinity
- Tuolumne
- Yolo
- Yuba
Notes
References
- ^ "Richard P. Graves; Ran Against Gov. Knight in 1954". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. June 8, 1989. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
- ^ a b c California Secretary of State. State of California Statement of Vote Direct Primary Election June 8, 1954. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 4. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ a b California Secretary of State. State of California Statement of Vote General Election November 2, 1954. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 4. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
Bibliography
- Barclay, Thomas S. (December 1954). "The 1954 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 7 (4). University of Utah on behalf of the Western Political Science Association: 597–604. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
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