1982 California gubernatorial election
The 1982 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1982. The Republican nominee, Attorney General George Deukmejian, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown did not seek reelection to a third term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.
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![]() County results Deukmejian: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% Bradley: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Primary election
editIn the Democratic primary, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley easily defeated State Senator John Garamendi and Mario G. Obledo. On the Republican side, it was a two-man race between Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb and Attorney General George Deukmejian. Deukmejian won the primary with nearly 55% of the vote.
Republican Party
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | George Deukmejian | 1,165,266 | 51.08% | |
Republican | Mike Curb | 1,020,935 | 44.76% | |
Republican | William H. R. Clark | 44,998 | 1.97% | |
Republican | Michael Arthur Hirt | 25,613 | 1.12% | |
Republican | James C. Mansfield | 24,303 | 1.07% | |
Total votes | 2,281,115 | 100.00% |
Democratic Party
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Tom Bradley | 1,726,985 | 61.08% | |
Democratic | John Garamendi | 712,161 | 25.19% | |
Democratic | Mario G. Obledo | 132,402 | 4.68% | |
Democratic | Frank L. Thomas | 51,158 | 1.81% | |
Democratic | Linda Irene Parnell | 45,607 | 1.61% | |
Democratic | Hugh G. Bagley | 40,335 | 1.43% | |
Democratic | John Hancock Abbott | 26,989 | 0.95% | |
Democratic | Ben Trevino | 19,220 | 0.68% | |
Democratic | Genevieve Grafe Marcus | 16,124 | 0.57% | |
Democratic | Raymond V. Liebenberg | 15,267 | 0.54% | |
Democratic | Jules Kimmett | 15,182 | 0.54% | |
Democratic | Josephum S. Ramos | 12,948 | 0.46% | |
Democratic | Allen Lee Seaman | 12,942 | 0.46% | |
Democratic | William A. Brown (write-in) | 28 | 0.00% | |
Total votes | 2,827,348 | 100.00% |
American Independent Party
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Independent | James C. Griffin | 16,818 | 100.00% | |
Total votes | 16,818 | 100.00% |
Libertarian Party
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Libertarian | Dan P. Dougherty | 13,565 | 100.00% | |
Total votes | 13,565 | 100.00% |
Peace and Freedom Party
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Peace and Freedom | Elizabeth Martinez | 4,353 | 55.07% | |
Peace and Freedom | Jan B. Tucker | 3,552 | 44.93% | |
Total votes | 7,905 | 100.00% |
General election
editEarly indications were that it would be a close race but as the campaign went on, Bradley slowly increased his lead in the polls. Despite this, the outcome was still in doubt as election night wore on. A large late surge of absentee ballots (many from conservative Orange County and Deukmejian's home area of Long Beach) helped tip the balance in his favor. The incorrect polling numbers led to the theory — later dubbed "the Bradley effect" — that a statistically significant number of voters had given inaccurate responses when questioned by pollsters.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | George Deukmejian | 3,881,014 | 49.27% | +12.77% | |
Democratic | Tom Bradley | 3,787,669 | 48.09% | −7.95% | |
Libertarian | Dan P. Dougherty | 81,076 | 1.03% | −4.43% | |
Peace and Freedom | Elizabeth Martinez | 70,327 | 0.89% | −0.13% | |
American Independent | Jim Griffin | 56,249 | 0.71% | −0.26% | |
Scattering | 363 | 0.00% | |||
Majority | 93,345 | 1.19% | |||
Total votes | 7,876,698 | 100.00% | |||
Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | +20.72% |
Results by county
editCounty | George Deukmejian Republican |
Tom Bradley Democratic |
Dan P. Dougherty Libertarian |
Elizabeth Martinez Peace & Freedom |
Jim Griffin American Independent |
Margin | Total votes cast[a][2] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Alameda | 145,964 | 37.62% | 225,578 | 58.91% | 4,477 | 1.15% | 5,845 | 1.51% | 3,158 | 0.81% | -82,614 | -21.29% | 388,022 |
Alpine | 218 | 52.66% | 185 | 44.69% | 1 | 0.24% | 3 | 0.72% | 7 | 1.69% | 33 | 7.97% | 414 |
Amador | 6,251 | 61.19% | 3,643 | 35.66% | 88 | 0.86% | 87 | 0.85% | 146 | 1.43% | 2,608 | 25.53% | 10,215 |
Butte | 36,074 | 58.13% | 23,734 | 38.25% | 793 | 1.28% | 813 | 1.31% | 639 | 1.03% | 12,340 | 19.89% | 62,053 |
Calaveras | 6,277 | 61.63% | 3,501 | 34.37% | 157 | 1.54% | 126 | 1.24% | 124 | 1.22% | 2,776 | 27.26% | 10,185 |
Colusa | 3,036 | 62.95% | 1,621 | 33.61% | 53 | 1.10% | 68 | 1.41% | 45 | 0.93% | 1,415 | 29.34% | 4,823 |
Contra Costa | 126,460 | 49.83% | 119,712 | 47.17% | 3,167 | 1.25% | 2,249 | 0.89% | 2,200 | 0.87% | 6,748 | 2.66% | 253,788 |
Del Norte | 3,355 | 51.32% | 2,934 | 44.88% | 72 | 1.10% | 107 | 1.64% | 70 | 1.07% | 421 | 6.44% | 6,538 |
El Dorado | 20,591 | 59.37% | 12,999 | 37.48% | 423 | 1.22% | 284 | 0.82% | 383 | 1.10% | 7,592 | 21.89% | 34,680 |
Fresno | 80,171 | 52.59% | 68,623 | 45.01% | 1,468 | 0.96% | 1,213 | 0.80% | 978 | 0.64% | 11,548 | 7.57% | 152,453 |
Glenn | 5,492 | 67.49% | 2,398 | 29.47% | 79 | 0.97% | 43 | 0.53% | 126 | 1.55% | 3,094 | 38.02% | 8,138 |
Humboldt | 21,609 | 45.38% | 23,991 | 50.38% | 622 | 1.31% | 748 | 1.57% | 653 | 1.37% | -2,382 | -5.00% | 47,623 |
Imperial | 10,272 | 51.40% | 9,133 | 45.70% | 140 | 0.70% | 204 | 1.02% | 237 | 1.19% | 1,139 | 5.70% | 19,986 |
Inyo | 5,008 | 63.87% | 2.599 | 33.15% | 88 | 1.12% | 65 | 0.83% | 81 | 1.03% | 2,409 | 30.72% | 7,841 |
Kern | 70,095 | 55.30% | 53,799 | 42.44% | 935 | 0.74% | 859 | 0.68% | 1,065 | 0.84% | 16,296 | 12.86% | 126,753 |
Kings | 9,938 | 54.64% | 7,718 | 42.43% | 140 | 0.77% | 176 | 0.97% | 217 | 1.19% | 2,220 | 12.21% | 18,189 |
Lake | 8,867 | 53.24% | 7,143 | 42.89% | 233 | 1.40% | 184 | 1.10% | 227 | 1.36% | 1,724 | 10.35% | 16,654 |
Lassen | 4,472 | 56.64% | 3,003 | 38.03% | 133 | 1.68% | 72 | 0.91% | 216 | 2.74% | 1,469 | 18.60% | 7,896 |
Los Angeles | 1,024,946 | 45.67% | 1,173,149 | 52.27% | 16,794 | 0.75% | 18,163 | 0.81% | 11,184 | 0.50% | -148,203 | -6.60% | 2,244,236 |
Madera | 10,334 | 54.57% | 7,889 | 41.66% | 312 | 1.65% | 152 | 0.80% | 250 | 1.32% | 2,445 | 12.91% | 18,937 |
Marin | 42,260 | 42.83% | 52,534 | 53.24% | 2,371 | 2.40% | 1,066 | 1.08% | 437 | 0.44% | -10,274 | -10.41% | 98,668 |
Mariposa | 3,255 | 56.39% | 2,324 | 40.26% | 64 | 1.11% | 60 | 1.04% | 69 | 1.20% | 931 | 16.13% | 5,772 |
Mendocino | 12.398 | 46.82% | 12,786 | 48.29% | 422 | 1.59% | 519 | 1.96% | 353 | 1.33% | -388 | -1.47% | 26,478 |
Merced | 17,477 | 52.62% | 14,649 | 44.10% | 467 | 1.41% | 261 | 0.79% | 362 | 1.09% | 2,828 | 8.51% | 33,216 |
Modoc | 2,599 | 68.83% | 995 | 26.35% | 64 | 1.69% | 34 | 0.90% | 84 | 2.22% | 1,604 | 42.48% | 3,776 |
Mono | 1,977 | 59.58% | 1,249 | 37.64% | 26 | 0.78% | 34 | 1.02% | 32 | 0.96% | 728 | 21.94% | 3,318 |
Monterey | 37,493 | 47.78% | 38,301 | 48.81% | 958 | 1.22% | 1,067 | 1.36% | 656 | 0.84% | -808 | -1.03% | 78,475 |
Napa | 21,812 | 54.20% | 17,042 | 42.34% | 494 | 1.23% | 454 | 1.13% | 445 | 1.11% | 4,770 | 11.85% | 40,247 |
Nevada | 14,753 | 56.80% | 10,262 | 39.51% | 499 | 1.92% | 234 | 0.90% | 226 | 0.87% | 4,491 | 17.29% | 25,974 |
Orange | 422,878 | 61.44% | 252,572 | 36.70% | 5,965 | 0.87% | 3,346 | 0.49% | 3,537 | 0.51% | 170,306 | 24.74% | 688,298 |
Placer | 28,082 | 55.47% | 20,832 | 41.15% | 737 | 1.46% | 425 | 0.84% | 548 | 1.08% | 7,250 | 14.32% | 50,624 |
Plumas | 4,237 | 53.53% | 3,355 | 42.39% | 161 | 2.03% | 61 | 0.77% | 101 | 1.28% | 882 | 11.14% | 7,915 |
Riverside | 119,680 | 53.27% | 100,370 | 44.68% | 1,524 | 0.68% | 1,538 | 0.68% | 1,535 | 0.68% | 19,310 | 8.60% | 224,647 |
Sacramento | 171,176 | 52.35% | 146,167 | 44.70% | 4,114 | 1.26% | 2,820 | 0.86% | 2,705 | 0.83% | 25,009 | 7.65% | 326,982 |
San Benito | 3,608 | 46.67% | 3,782 | 48.92% | 167 | 2.16% | 75 | 0.97% | 99 | 1.28% | -174 | -2.25% | 7,731 |
San Bernardino | 144,096 | 53.29% | 119,185 | 44.08% | 2,393 | 0.88% | 1,997 | 0.74% | 2,727 | 1.01% | 24,911 | 9.21% | 270,398 |
San Diego | 330,037 | 52.76% | 279,113 | 44.62% | 6,642 | 1.06% | 5,043 | 0.81% | 4,681 | 0.75% | 50,924 | 8.14% | 625,516 |
San Francisco | 69,478 | 30.43% | 151,769 | 66.47% | 2,829 | 1.24% | 3,218 | 1.41% | 1,040 | 0.46% | -82,291 | -36.04% | 228,334 |
San Joaquin | 65,583 | 60.06% | 40,002 | 36.63% | 1,348 | 1.23% | 994 | 0.91% | 1.265 | 1.16% | 25,581 | 23.43% | 109,192 |
San Luis Obispo | 33,457 | 52.94% | 28,417 | 44.96% | 556 | 0.88% | 383 | 0.61% | 388 | 0.61% | 5,040 | 7.97% | 63,201 |
San Mateo | 99,527 | 46.36% | 108,374 | 50.48% | 2,977 | 1.39% | 1,948 | 0.91% | 1,843 | 0.86% | -8,847 | -4.12% | 214,669 |
Santa Barbara | 55,682 | 48.33% | 57,164 | 49.62% | 988 | 0.86% | 801 | 0.70% | 568 | 0.49% | -1,482 | -1.29% | 115,203 |
Santa Clara | 180,232 | 43.96% | 216,781 | 52.87% | 5,983 | 1.46% | 3,858 | 0.94% | 3,163 | 0.77% | -36,549 | -8.91% | 410,017 |
Santa Cruz | 29,545 | 38.09% | 44,282 | 57.09% | 1,221 | 1.57% | 1,940 | 2.50% | 577 | 0.74% | -14,737 | -19.00% | 77,565 |
Shasta | 26,902 | 57.61% | 18,053 | 38.66% | 707 | 1.51% | 394 | 0.84% | 642 | 1.37% | 8,849 | 18.95% | 46,698 |
Sierra | 914 | 48.33% | 907 | 47.96% | 24 | 1.27% | 20 | 1.06% | 26 | 1.37% | 7 | 0.37% | 1,891 |
Siskiyou | 9,457 | 58.40% | 6,009 | 37.11% | 259 | 1.60% | 188 | 1.16% | 281 | 1.74% | 3,448 | 21.29% | 16,194 |
Solano | 36,968 | 50.31% | 33,997 | 46.26% | 979 | 1.33% | 706 | 0.96% | 837 | 1.14% | 2,971 | 4.04% | 73,487 |
Sonoma | 55,968 | 45.10% | 63,542 | 51.20% | 1,735 | 1.40% | 1,747 | 1.41% | 1,115 | 0.90% | -7,574 | -6.10% | 124,107 |
Stanislaus | 43,639 | 55.94% | 32,276 | 41.38% | 687 | 0.88% | 648 | 0.83% | 758 | 0.97% | 11,363 | 14.57% | 78,008 |
Sutter | 10,753 | 63.33% | 5,660 | 33.33% | 184 | 1.08% | 235 | 1.38% | 148 | 0.87% | 5,093 | 29.99% | 16,980 |
Tehama | 9,628 | 58.55% | 6,134 | 37.30% | 250 | 1.52% | 145 | 0.88% | 288 | 1.75% | 3,494 | 21.25% | 16,445 |
Trinity | 3,100 | 53.95% | 2,351 | 40.92% | 112 | 1.95% | 66 | 1.15% | 117 | 2.04% | 749 | 13.04% | 5,746 |
Tulare | 38,901 | 56.69% | 28,330 | 41.29% | 415 | 0.60% | 501 | 0.73% | 470 | 0.68% | 10,571 | 15.41% | 68,617 |
Tuolumne | 8,716 | 56.84% | 6,107 | 39.82% | 160 | 1.04% | 148 | 0.97% | 204 | 1.33% | 2,609 | 17.01% | 15,335 |
Ventura | 99,130 | 55.22% | 76,094 | 42.39% | 1,782 | 0.99% | 1,290 | 0.72% | 1,228 | 0.68% | 23,036 | 12.83% | 179,524 |
Yolo | 19,227 | 42.99% | 24,150 | 54.00% | 485 | 1.08% | 445 | 1.00% | 415 | 0.93% | -4,923 | -11.01% | 44,722 |
Yuba | 6,959 | 53.77% | 5,400 | 41.73% | 152 | 1.17% | 157 | 1.21% | 273 | 2.11% | 1,559 | 12.05% | 12,941 |
Total | 3,881,014 | 49.27% | 3,787,669 | 48.09% | 81,076 | 1.03% | 70,327 | 0.89% | 56,249 | 0.71% | 93,345 | 1.19% | 7,876,698 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
editNotes
edit- ^ County totals do not include the write-in votes, which are only given as statewide totals in the Statement Of Vote
References
edit- ^ a b c d e California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote Primary Election June 8, 1982. Sacramento, California. pp. 8–9. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- ^ a b California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote General Election, November 2, 1982. Sacramento, California. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2024.