1966 California gubernatorial election

The 1966 California gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1966. At that time, Governor Pat Brown, who belonged to the Democratic Party, was trying to be re-elected for another term. However, he was defeated by Ronald Reagan, a Republican and future President.

This election was significant because, as of 2026, it marked the last time an incumbent governor of California lost a re-election bid. One later governor was recalled from office in 2003, but this was through a different process. The contest between Brown and Reagan captured widespread public attention and reflected broader political shifts in the United States during that era.

Background

Incumbent governor Pat Brown had been elected twice and achieved many things, like building the state highway system. After winning again in 1962 against former vice president Richard Nixon, Brown was thought to be a possible running mate for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. But his popularity dropped because of civil disorders during the Watts riots and early student protests at the University of California, Berkeley, including the Free Speech Movement.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary for the 1966 California gubernatorial election had several candidates. The main contender was Pat Brown, who was the current governor. Other candidates included Dale Alexander, Wallace James Duffy, Ingram W. Goad, Carlton B. Goodlett, a publisher and activist, and Samuel William Yorty, the mayor of Los Angeles.

Republican primary

Results by County: Reagan-70–80% Reagan-60–70% Reagan-50–60% Reagan-40–50% Christopher—60–70% Christopher—50–60% Christopher—40–50%

The Republican primary had several candidates, including George Christopher, a former mayor of San Francisco, and Ronald Reagan, a well-known actor. During the campaign, some Republicans criticized Reagan for his conservative views. To keep the party united, a rule was made not to speak badly about fellow Republicans.

Polls showed that George Christopher was leading, but Pat Brown, the current governor, tried to help Reagan win by sharing negative information about Christopher. In the end, Reagan won the primary and went on to face Brown in the main election.

General election

Candidates

Pat Brown, the governor since 1959, represented the Democratic Party.
Ronald Reagan, a well-known actor, was the Republican candidate.
Bill Busick, a restaurant owner, ran as a write-in candidate.

Campaign

Ronald Reagan, a popular actor, became the Republican nominee and gained support quickly. He focused on promises to bring order and change, especially after student protests at Berkeley. Pat Brown tried to criticize Reagan but made a big mistake when he compared Reagan to a famous actor who had done something very wrong long ago. This mistake helped Reagan gain more support.

Reagan won the election by a large margin, receiving almost a million more votes than Brown. Brown only won in three smaller areas, while Reagan's support came from many places across California.

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

County	Ronald Reagan Republican		Edmund G. Brown Democratic		Scattering Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast
County	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total votes cast
Alameda	189,055	49.54%	190,968	50.04%	1,607	0.42%	-1,913	-0.50%	381,630
Alpine	148	65.78%	77	34.22%	0	0.00%	71	31.56%	225
Amador	2,985	58.29%	2,132	41.63%	4	0.08%	853	16.66%	5,121
Butte	25,443	67.48%	12,263	32.52%	0	0.00%	13,180	34.95%	37,706
Calaveras	3,810	67.72%	1,812	32.21%	4	0.07%	1,998	35.51%	5,626
Colusa	2,806	62.07%	1,713	37.89%	2	0.04%	1,093	24.18%	4,521
Contra Costa	107,543	54.79%	87,525	44.59%	1,217	0.62%	20,018	10.20%	196,285
Del Norte	3,409	63.96%	1,918	35.98%	3	0.06%	1,491	27.97%	5,330
El Dorado	9,189	62.97%	5,378	36.86%	25	0.17%	3,811	26.12%	14,592
Fresno	70,182	53.90%	59,869	45.98%	167	0.13%	10,313	7.92%	130,218
Glenn	4,676	66.33%	2,371	33.63%	3	0.04%	2,305	32.70%	7,050
Humboldt	19,210	57.16%	14,374	42.77%	23	0.07%	4,836	14.39%	33,607
Imperial	12,372	62.84%	7,307	37.12%	8	0.04%	5,065	25.73%	19,687
Inyo	3,961	66.14%	2,023	33.78%	5	0.08%	1,938	32.36%	5,989
Kern	64,716	62.62%	38,543	37.29%	96	0.09%	26,173	25.32%	103,355
Kings	9,957	55.77%	7,890	44.19%	7	0.04%	2,067	11.58%	17,854
Lake	5,499	63.01%	3,217	36.86%	11	0.13%	2,282	26.15%	8,727
Lassen	3,190	53.95%	2,723	46.05%	0	0.00%	467	7.90%	5,913
Los Angeles	1,389,995	57.18%	1,037,663	42.68%	3,435	0.14%	352,332	14.49%	2,431,093
Madera	7,490	54.13%	6,335	45.78%	12	0.09%	1,155	8.35%	13,837
Marin	40,411	57.02%	30,230	42.66%	227	0.32%	10,181	14.37%	70,868
Mariposa	1,811	61.45%	1,133	38.45%	3	0.10%	678	23.01%	2,947
Mendocino	10,161	59.76%	6,827	40.15%	15	0.09%	3,334	19.61%	17,003
Merced	14,103	52.98%	12,499	46.96%	16	0.06%	1,604	6.03%	26,618
Modoc	1,946	62.67%	1,156	37.23%	3	0.10%	790	25.44%	3,105
Mono	1,205	77.84%	343	22.16%	0	0.00%	862	55.68%	1,548
Monterey	35,944	60.96%	22,923	38.88%	96	0.16%	13,021	22.08%	58,963
Napa	17,740	59.45%	12,060	40.42%	40	0.13%	5,680	19.03%	29,840
Nevada	7,373	65.80%	3,823	34.12%	9	0.08%	3,550	31.68%	11,205
Orange	293,413	72.06%	113,275	27.82%	466	0.11%	180,138	44.24%	407,154
Placer	14,664	54.55%	12,187	45.33%	32	0.12%	2,477	9.21%	26,883
Plumas	2,658	49.15%	2,747	50.80%	3	0.06%	-89	-1.65%	5,408
Riverside	84,501	62.35%	50,112	36.98%	907	0.67%	34,389	25.38%	135,520
Sacramento	109,801	50.85%	105,861	49.03%	262	0.12%	3,940	1.82%	215,924
San Benito	3,565	60.96%	2,283	39.04%	0	0.00%	1,282	21.92%	5,848
San Bernardino	121,916	62.13%	74,120	37.77%	187	0.10%	47,796	24.36%	196,223
San Diego	252,070	63.76%	142,890	36.14%	398	0.10%	109,180	27.62%	395,358
San Francisco	114,796	41.06%	164,435	58.82%	341	0.12%	-49,639	-17.76%	279,572
San Joaquin	54,647	60.73%	35,281	39.21%	51	0.06%	19,366	21.52%	89,979
San Luis Obispo	21,528	62.52%	12,891	37.44%	13	0.04%	8,637	25.08%	34,432
San Mateo	107,498	53.63%	92,654	46.23%	276	0.14%	14,844	7.41%	200,428
Santa Barbara	50,284	63.21%	28,853	36.27%	414	0.52%	21,431	26.94%	79,551
Santa Clara	164,970	55.33%	132,793	44.54%	410	0.14%	32,177	10.79%	298,173
Santa Cruz	26,988	61.42%	16,913	38.49%	42	0.10%	10,075	22.93%	43,943
Shasta	15,155	54.76%	12,486	45.12%	32	0.12%	2,669	9.64%	27,673
Sierra	650	55.27%	526	44.73%	0	0.00%	124	10.54%	1,176
Siskiyou	7,057	54.17%	5,962	45.76%	9	0.07%	1,095	8.40%	13,028
Solano	23,187	50.11%	23,047	49.81%	39	0.08%	140	0.30%	46,273
Sonoma	41,516	60.57%	26,898	39.24%	126	0.18%	14,618	21.33%	68,540
Stanislaus	31,473	54.36%	26,418	45.63%	10	0.02%	5,055	8.73%	57,901
Sutter	9,828	70.43%	4,126	29.57%	0	0.00%	5,702	40.86%	13,954
Tehama	6,629	62.94%	3,891	36.94%	12	0.11%	2,738	26.00%	10,532
Trinity	2,050	62.23%	1,242	37.70%	2	0.06%	808	24.53%	3,294
Tulare	33,095	59.91%	22,109	40.02%	41	0.07%	10,986	19.89%	55,245
Tuolumne	4,845	58.16%	3,479	41.76%	6	0.07%	1,366	16.40%	8,330
Ventura	58,068	60.82%	37,224	38.99%	181	0.19%	20,844	21.83%	95,473
Yolo	13,073	49.97%	13,032	49.81%	57	0.22%	41	0.16%	26,162
Yuba	6,658	60.50%	4,344	39.47%	3	0.03%	2,314	21.03%	11,005
Total	3,742,913	57.55%	2,749,174	42.27%	11,358	0.17%	993,739	15.28%	6,503,445