1934 California gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	1934 California gubernatorial election
Country:	California
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Flag Image:	Flag of California (1924–1953).pngborder
Previous Election:	1930 California gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	1930
Next Election:	1938 California gubernatorial election
Next Year:	1938
Election Date:	November 6, 1934
Image1:	Governor_Frank_Merriam_votes_at_a_polling_place,_California,_1934-1939_(cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Frank Merriam
Party1:	California Republican Party
Popular Vote1:	1,138,620
Percentage1:	48.87%
Nominee2:	Upton Sinclair
Party2:	California Democratic Party
Popular Vote2:	879,537
Percentage2:	37.75%
Image3:	Raymond Haight, 1930s.jpg
Nominee3:	Raymond L. Haight
Party3:	California Progressive Party
Popular Vote3:	302,519
Percentage3:	12.99%
Map Size:	350px
Governor
Before Election:	Frank Merriam
After Election:	Frank Merriam
Before Party:	California Republican Party
After Party:	California Republican Party

The 1934 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934. Held in the midst of the Great Depression, the 1934 election was amongst the most controversial in the state's political history, pitting conservative Republican Frank Merriam against former Socialist Party member turned Democratic politician Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle. A strong third party challenge came from Progressive Raymond L. Haight, a Los Angeles lawyer campaigning for the political center. Much of the campaign's emphasis was directed at Sinclair's EPIC movement, proposing interventionist reforms to cure the state's ailing economy. Merriam, who had recently assumed the governorship following the death of James Rolph, characterized Sinclair's proposal as a step towards communism.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• George Creel, investigative journalist
• Forest Dowey
• William H. Evans
• Z. T. Malaby
• W. J. McNichols
• Upton Sinclair, author and perennial Socialist Party candidate
• James E. Waddell
• Justus S. Wardell, nominee for Governor in 1926
• Milton K. Young, nominee for Governor in 1930

Results

Sinclair won the Democratic nomination in what was considered a political upset.^[1]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Raymond L. Haight, Los Angeles attorney
• Frank Merriam, incumbent Governor since June 1934
• John R. Quinn, member, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
• C. C. Young, former Governor (1927–31)

Results

Minor party primaries

Communist

General election

Campaign

Negative campaigning funded by the film industry was used against Sinclair to favor the Merriam campaign, as depicted in the 2020 American biographical drama film Mank.^[2] Hollywood studio bosses unanimously opposed Sinclair and their involvement in the campaign has been described as Hollywood's first intervention in electoral politics.^[3] They pressured their employees to assist and vote for Merriam's campaign, and made false propaganda films attacking Sinclair, giving him no opportunity to respond.^[4] Joseph M. Schenck threatened to move Twentieth Century Fox to Florida should Sinclair be elected.^[5]

Louis B. Mayer's MGM and other film studios deducted a days pay from their employees to raise an anti-Sinclair fund that amounted to $500,000. Irving Thalberg was to lead MGM's anti-Sinclair campaign and the studio recruited Carey Wilson to create a series of anti-Sinclair propaganda films. These films, directed by Felix E. Feist, included fake newsreels of Sinclair supporters who were portrayed as bums and criminals. They were shown in Californian movie theaters, with one episode featuring hired actors as Sinclair supporters speaking with foreign accents.^[6]

Big corporations in California were strongly opposed to Sinclair. Both Standard Oil of California and Pacific Mutual sent out a letter to their stockholders encouraging them to oppose Sinclair. Various corporations created front organisations to oppose his campaign, for instance the California Real Estate Association formed the 'Merriam for Governor Committee'.^[7]

Upton Sinclair later stated that there was a "campaign of lying" against him during the campaign which was "ordered by the biggest businessmen in California and paid for with millions of dollars" that was carried out by newspapers, politicians, advertisers, and the film industry.^[8] One survey of over 500 Californian newspapers found that over 90% supported Merriam, 5% supported Raymond Haight and the rest made no endorsement. The only newspaper surveyed which endorsed Sinclair was his own outlet Epic News.^[5]

Although Sinclair did have some support from public figures. For instance the 'Author's League for Sinclair' was founded by Dorothy Thompson and Gene Fowler. Progressives like Charlie Chaplin,^[9] Dorothy Parker, Donald Ogden Stewart, Lillian Hellman and Groucho Marx were also Sinclair supporters.^[3]

Candidates

• Sam Darcy, organizer of the Marine Workers Industrial Union and 1934 waterfront strike (Communist)
• Milen C. Dempster (Socialist)
• Raymond L. Haight, Los Angeles attorney (Commonwealth-Progressive)
• Frank F. Merriam, incumbent Governor since June 1934 (Republican)
• Upton Sinclair, author and perennial Socialist Party candidate (Democratic)

Results

Results by county

County	Frank F. Merriam Republican		Upton Sinclair Democratic		Raymond L. Haight Progressive		Sam Darcy Communist		Milen C. Dempster Socialist		Scattering Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Alameda		102,328		52.68%		73,233		37.70%	17,758	9.14%		581		0.30%		291		0.15%		41		0.02%		29,095		14.98%		194,232
	Alpine		158		87.29%		13		7.18%	10	5.52%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		0		0.00%		145		80.11%		181
	Amador		1,946		52.00%		981		26.22%	802	21.43%		9		0.24%		4		0.11%		0		0.00%		965		25.79%		3,742
	Butte		8,041		47.82%		5,932		35.28%	2,795	16.62%		29		0.17%		18		0.11%		0		0.00%		2,109		12.54%		16,815
	Calaveras		1,524		45.83%		1,232		37.05%	553	16.63%		8		0.24%		5		0.15%		3		0.09%		292		8.78%		3,325
	Colusa		2,584		55.70%		861		18.56%	1,179	25.41%		8		0.17%		7		0.15%		0		0.00%		1,405		30.29%		4,639
	Contra Costa		15,540		45.52%		15,591		45.67%	2,894	8.48%		80		0.23%		28		0.08%		7		0.02%		-51		-0.15%		34,140
	Del Norte		1,221		49.39%		1,106		44.74%	129	5.22%		4		0.16%		12		0.49%		0		0.00%		115		4.65%		2,472
El Dorado		1,744		33.37%		1,681		32.17%	1,766	33.79%		23		0.44%		12		0.23%		0		0.00%	bgcolor="#5FD170"	-22	bgcolor="#5FD170"	-0.42%	5,226
Fresno		15,338		30.46%		15,509		30.80%	19,296	38.33%		101		0.20%		101		0.20%		2		0.00%	bgcolor="#5FD170"	-3,787	bgcolor="#5FD170"	-7.53%	50,347
	Glenn		2,342		46.00%		1,456		28.60%	1,286	25.26%		2		0.04%		5		0.10%		0		0.00%		886		17.40%		5,091
	Humboldt		9,179		50.95%		6,448		35.79%	2,271	12.61%		79		0.44%		38		0.21%		0		0.00%		2,731		15.16%		18,015
	Imperial		7,253		52.01%		5,637		40.42%	1,001	7.18%		17		0.12%		38		0.27%		0		0.00%		1,616		11.59%		13,946
	Inyo		1,514		57.39%		877		33.24%	232	8.79%		11		0.42%		4		0.15%		0		0.00%		637		24.15%		2,638
	Kern		14,798		48.59%		11,348		37.26%	4,197	13.78%		49		0.16%		60		0.20%		2		0.01%		3.450		11.33%		30,454
	Kings		3,633		41.18%		2,326		26.37%	2,848	32.28%		5		0.06%		9		0.10%		1		0.01%		785		8.90%		8,822
	Lake		2,317		56.54%		1,338		32.65%	433	10.57%		1		0.02%		9		0.22%		0		0.00%		979		23.89%		4,098
	Lassen		1,697		33.09%		2,023		39.44%	1,382	26.94%		6		0.12%		21		0.41%		0		0.00%		-326		-6.36%		5,129
	Los Angeles		457,755		47.45%		405,331		42.02%	98,348	10.20%		2,238		0.23%		822		0.09%		142		0.01%		52,424		5.43%		964,636
	Madera		2,204		32.84%		2,441		36.37%	2,043	30.44%		16		0.24%		8		0.12%		0		0.00%		-237		-3.53%		6,712
	Marin		9,756		54.50%		6,494		36.28%	1,555	8.69%		43		0.24%		49		0.27%		5		0.03%		3,262		18.22%		17,902
	Mariposa		1,089		46.80%		865		37.17%	354	15.21%		7		0.30%		12		0.52%		0		0.00%		224		9.63%		2,327
	Mendocino		6,178		62.87%		2,763		28.12%	794	8.08%		68		0.69%		23		0.23%		1		0.01%		3,415		34.75%		9,827
	Merced		4,123		35.52%		3,727		32.10%	3,727	32.10%		18		0.16%		13		0.11%		1		0.01%		396		3.41%		11,609
	Modoc		1,452		49.39%		836		28.44%	637	21.67%		5		0.17%		10		0.34%		0		0.00%		616		20.95%		2,940
	Mono		520		63.11%		234		28.40%	64	7.77%		1		0.12%		5		0.61%		0		0.00%		286		34.71%		824
	Monterey		11,083		61.53%		5,585		31.01%	1,285	7.13%		40		0.22%		16		0.09%		4		0.02%		5,498		30.52%		18,013
	Napa		5,750		58.96%		2,806		28.77%	1,175	12.05%		11		0.11%		11		0.11%		0		0.00%		2,944		30.19%		9,753
	Nevada		3,163		45.33%		2,165		31.03%	1,602	22.96%		28		0.40%		19		0.27%		0		0.00%		998		14.30%		6,977
	Orange		27,099		53.73%		14,092		27.94%	9,142	18.13%		59		0.12%		42		0.08%		4		0.01%		13,007		25.79%		50,438
	Placer		3,337		34.23%		3,113		31.93%	3,271	33.55%		16		0.16%		13		0.13%		0		0.00%		66		0.68%		9,750
	Plumas		1,213		36.64%		1,226		37.03%	858	25.91%		2		0.06%		12		0.36%		0		0.00%		-13		-0.39%		3,311
	Riverside		19,892		62.33%		9,896		31.01%	2,072	6.49%		31		0.10%		24		0.08%		0		0.00%		9,996		31.32%		31,915
	Sacramento		19,360		35.75%		16,291		30.09%	18,310	33.81%		133		0.25%		51		0.09%		3		0.01%		1,050		1.94%		54,148
	San Benito		2,931		65.25%		1,251		27.85%	296	6.59%		6		0.13%		8		0.18%		0		0.00%		1,680		37.40%		4,492
	San Bernardino		30,285		56.76%		19,157		35.90%	3,774	7.07%		80		0.15%		57		0.11%		6		0.01%		11,128		20.85%		53,359
	San Diego		44,422		50.76%		32,073		36.65%	10,759	12.29%		185		0.21%		69		0.08%		0		0.00%		12,349		14.11%		87,508
	San Francisco		115,047		50.91%		87,850		38.88%	21,499	9.51%		1,116		0.49%		433		0.19%		32		0.01%		27,197		12.04%		225,977
	San Joaquin		17,612		46.64%		13,720		36.33%	6,255	16.56%		70		0.19%		104		0.28%		0		0.00%		3,892		10.31%		37,761
	San Luis Obispo		6,422		47.11%		5,093		37.36%	2,063	15.13%		34		0.25%		19		0.14%		0		0.00%		1,329		9.75%		13,631
	San Mateo		18,448		52.29%		13,022		36.91%	3,669	10.40%		92		0.26%		40		0.11%		6		0.02%		5,426		15.38%		35,277
	Santa Barbara		14,429		60.29%		7,735		32.32%	1,702	7.11%		53		0.22%		11		0.05%		2		0.01%		6,694		27.97%		23,932
	Santa Clara		37,156		60.06%		19,281		31.17%	5,215	8.43%		107		0.17%		100		0.16%		2		0.00%		17,875		28.90%		61,861
	Santa Cruz		10,905		63.17%		5,155		29.86%	1,119	6.48%		74		0.43%		8		0.05%		3		0.02%		5,750		33.31%		17,264
	Shasta		3,283		42.75%		2,819		36.71%	1,543	20.09%		7		0.09%		28		0.36%		0		0.00%		464		6.04%		7,680
	Sierra		676		45.19%		471		31.48%	339	22.66%		2		0.13%		7		0.47%		1		0.07%		205		13.70%		1,496
	Siskiyou		4,202		39.19%		3,514		32.77%	2,953	27.54%		16		0.15%		37		0.35%		0		0.00%		688		6.42%		10,722
	Solano		6,728		44.57%		5,112		33.87%	3,206	21.24%		29		0.19%		19		0.13%		0		0.00%		1,616		10.71%		15,094
	Sonoma		15,329		57.41%		8,164		30.58%	3,070	11.50%		90		0.34%		43		0.16%		3		0.01%		7,165		26.84%		26,699
Stanislaus		7,853		34.46%		6,260		27.47%	8,592	37.70%		18		0.08%		64		0.28%		1		0.00%	bgcolor="#5FD170"	-739	bgcolor="#5FD170"	-3.24%	22,788
	Sutter		2,872		47.01%		1,980		32.41%	1,244	20.36%		8		0.13%		5		0.08%		0		0.00%		892		14.60%		6,109
	Tehama		2,865		44.34%		1,816		28.10%	1,763	27.28%		7		0.11%		11		0.17%		0		0.00%		1,049		16.23%		6,462
	Trinity		889		40.21%		993		44.91%	308	13.93%		13		0.59%		8		0.36%		0		0.00%		-104		-4.70%		2,211
	Tulare		9,850		37.46%		6,867		26.12%	9,512	36.18%		46		0.17%		18		0.07%		1		0.00%		338		1.29%		26,294
	Tuolumne		1,580		36.62%		1,940		44.96%	785	18.19%		0		0.00%		10		0.23%		0		0.00%		-360		-8.34%		4,315
	Ventura		11,015		54.07%		6,560		32.20%	2,740	13.45%		29		0.14%		26		0.13%		0		0.00%		4,455		21.87%		20,370
	Yolo		4,087		46.44%		1,646		18.70%	3,041	34.56%		12		0.14%		14		0.16%		0		0.00%		1,046		11.89%		8,800
	Yuba		2,603		49.81%		1,601		30.64%	1,003	19.19%		3		0.06%		16		0.31%		0		0.00%		1,002		19.17%		5,226
Total	1,138,620	48.87%	879,537	37.75%	302,519	12.99%	5,826	0.25%	2,947	0.13%	273	0.01%	259,083	11.12%	2,329,722

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Contra Costa
• Lassen
• Madera
• Plumas
• Trinity
• Tuolumne

Counties that flipped from Republican to Progressive

• El Dorado
• Fresno
• Stanislaus

Further reading

• Antognini, Richard. "The Role of A.P. Giannini in the 1934 California Gubernatorial Election." Southern California Quarterly 57.1 (1975): 53–86. online
• Barger, Bob. "Raymond L. Haight and the Commonwealth Progressive Campaign of 1934" California Historical Society Quarterly 43 (September, 1964), pp 219–30. online
• Hill, Patricia Lucy. "Upton Sinclair and the 1934 California gubernatorial election." (MS thesis, Portland State University, 1978) online.
• Larsen, Charles E. "The Epic Campaign of 1934." Pacific Historical Review 27.2 (1958): 127–147. online
• Mitchell, Greg. The campaign of the century: Upton Sinclair's race for governor of California and the birth of media politics (Random House, 1992).
• Rising, George G. "An EPIC Endeavor: Upton Sinclair's 1934 California Gubernatorial Campaign." Southern California Quarterly 79.1 (1997): 101–124. online
• Singer, Donald L. "Upton Sinclair and the California Gubernatorial Campaign of 1934." Southern California Quarterly 56.4 (1974): 375–406. online

Notes and References

1. Book: Manchel . Frank . Film Study An Analytical Bibliography · Volume 1 . 1990 . Fairleigh Dickinson University Press . 226.
2. Mitchell, Greg. ‘Mank’ and Politics: What Really Happened in 1934 California. New York Times, Dec. 7, 2020.
3. Book: Saverio . Giovacchini . Hollywood Modernism Film and Politics in the Age of the New Deal . 2001 . Temple University Press . 44.
4. Cohen. Harvey G. . The Struggle to Fashion the NRA Code: The Triumph of Studio Power in 1933 Hollywood. Journal of American Studies. 50. 4. 2015. 1039–1066. 0021-8758. 10.1017/S002187581500122X. 147499614 .
5. Singer . Donald L. . Upton Sinclair and the California Gubernatorial Campaign of 1934 . Southern California Quarterly . Winter 1974 . 56 . 4 . 375–406 . 10.2307/41171421 . 41171421 .
6. Book: Critchlow . Donald T. . When Hollywood Was Right How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics . 2013 . Cambridge University Press . 26–27.
7. Book: American Fascism and the New Deal The Associated Farmers of California and the Pro-Industrial Movement . 2013 . Lexington Books . 58–9.
8. Book: Sinclair . Upton . I, Candidate for Governor And How I Got Licked . 2023 . University of California Press . 99.
9. Book: Maland . Charles J. . Chaplin and American Culture The Evolution of a Star Image . 2021 . Princeton University Press . 135–6.