California gubernatorial election, 1998
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California gubernatorial election, 1998 was an election that occurred on November 3, 1998, resulting in the election of Gray Davis, the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Davis won the general election with almost 20% more than his nearest competitor, Republican Dan Lungren. Davis succeeded Pete Wilson who was term-limited out of office.
The 1998 California gubernatorial election featured the state's only gubernatorial blanket primary which was later struck down in United States Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones in 2000. The primary occurred on June 2, 1998. Davis defeated fellow democrats Jane Harman and Al Checchi for the democratic nomination. Davis received more votes than Dan Lungren who wasn't running against a well known opponent in the Republican primary. The primary set a record for spending in a California gubernatorial primary.
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[edit] Open primary
The Democratic field for the race became open when the states most well known and popular politician Dianne Feinstein decided in January 1998 not run for Governor despite a request from President Bill Clinton. She decided not run in the race because of the difficulty of campaigning and the "deteriorated" nature of California statewide campaigns and her desire to continue her work in the Senate.[1] Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Pannetta also decided not to run.[2]
Democrat airline executive and political newcomer was among the first to declare for the race. Gray Davis also declared around the same time. Congresswomen Jane Harman joined the contest in early April 1998. In early polling the three candidates were close with 12 points of each other, with Davis in last.[3] Herman spent 14.4 million in her race for Governor.[4] Checchi spent just under 39 million on his campaign.[4] The airline executive's campaign included numerous ads, one the included school children trying to pronounce his name and another with his wife speaking Spanish.[2] Checchi did not identify himself as a Democrat in most of his early campaign ads.[5] Harmon briefly overtook Checchi in state polls but declined after Checchi launched a series of negative campaign ads against her. [6] Many of Feinstein's top campaign advisors worked for Harmon during the Gubernatorial primary. Herman's campaign included a biographical ad of her at the 1960 Democratic convention.[2]
Davis ran on the campaign slogan "experience money can't buy" and he promised to make education his number one priority, which matched voters concerns in exit polls. Davis was third in polling until the final week of the campaign. All three major democratic candidates made eduction one of their top priorities in the campaigns.[6] Davis had trouble raising money during the early months of the campaign.[2] He did not run campaign ads early in the race as did Harman and Checchi.[2] Davis spent 9 million in total campaign funds in the primary.[4]Davis later criticized Checchi for giving money to Republicans Steve Forbes and Bob Dole in 1996.[2]
Lungren spent $7.7 million in the primary.[4] Davis would finish first in the primary followed by Lungren, Checchi, and Harman.
[edit] Primary results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gray Davis | Democratic | 2,083,396 | 34.74% |
| Al Checchi | Democratic | 748,828 | 12.49% |
| Jane Harman | Democratic | 741,251 | 12.36% |
| Charles "Chuck" Pineda Jr. | Democratic | 23,367 | 0.65% |
| Pia Jensen | Democratic | 12,403 | 0.34% |
| Michael Palitz | Democratic | 12,050 | 0.65% |
| Dan Lungren | Republican | 2,023,618 | 33.75% |
| Dennis Peron | Republican | 72,613 | 1.21% |
| James D. Crawford | Republican | 28,881 | 1.33% |
| Eduardo M. Rivera | Republican | 22,222 | 0.37% |
| Jeff Williams | Republican | 19,799 | 0.33% |
| Dan Hamburg | Green | 92,298 | 1.54% |
| Steve W. Kubby | Libertarian | 47,025 | 0.78% |
| Gloria Estela LaRiva | Peace and Freedom | 21,505 | 0.36% |
| Marsha Feinland | Peace and Freedom | 15,572 | 0.26% |
| Nathan E. Johnson | American Independent Party | 19,540 | 0.33% |
| Harold H. Bloomfield | Natural Law | 12,422 | 0.21% |
| Votes not Cast | 209,828 | 3.38% |
[edit] General election
Gray Davis won the general election by almost 20% over Dan Lungren. Davis outspent Lungren 28.6 million to 23.8 million.[4] Davis tried to portray Lungren as too conservative. In one debate, Lungren tried to political heir of Reagan. Davis attacked Lungren for voting no on a Safe Drinking Water Bill in the 1980's. Lungren attacked Davis for in the 1980's that allowed pupils to smoke on high school campuses. The policy differences between Davis and Lungren were substantial. Davis was pro-choice and Lungren was pro-life. Lungren favored giving children abstinence only education. Both candidates were Roman Catholic. Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Bob Kerrey made campaign stops in California on Davis's behalf.[7][8] Upon his victory, Davis promised he would focus his attention on education and would convene a special session of the legislature.[9] The race determined who would control reapportionment of congressional districts after the 2000 census. [6]
[edit] General Election Results
Final results from Secretary of State[1].
| 1998 gubernatorial election, California | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Gray Davis | 4,860,702 | 58.0 | +17.4 | |
| Republican | Dan Lungren | 3,218,030 | 38.4 | -16.8 | |
| Green | Dan Hamburg | 104,179 | 1.2 | ||
| Libertarian | Steve Kubby | 73,845 | 0.9 | -0.8 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Gloria Estela LaRiva | 59,218 | 0.7 | -0.2 | |
| American Independent | Nathan E. Johnson | 37,964 | 0.5 | -1.0 | |
| Natural Law | Harold H. Bloomfield | 31,237 | 0.4 | ||
| Total votes | 8,385,196 | 100.0% | |||
| Majority | 1,642,672 | 19.6 | +5.0 | ||
| Turnout | 8,621,121 | 41.4 | -5.6 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
[edit] External links
- Official Results from California Secretary of State
- Official results by county
- Candidate Statements
- Candidate Statements - primaries
- California Journal Article
[edit] References
- ^ No California Gubernatorial Bid For Sen. Feinstein
- ^ a b c d e f California Governor's Race Gets Tougher
- ^ Millionaires Battle In California Governor's Primary
- ^ a b c d e Spending in the 1998 Governor's race
- ^ The "Inside Politics" Interview: The California Governor's Race
- ^ a b c Lt. Governor Wins Primary in California
- ^ Lungren, Davis Feisty In Debate Democrat scoffs as GOP hopeful invokes Reagan
- ^ Lungren, Davis -- Deep Divide Over Abortion Candidates' religion is not common ground
- ^ Democrats' Sweep in California Could Have Lasting Impact
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