1954 California gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	1954 California gubernatorial election
Country:	California
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1950 California gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	1950
Next Election:	1958 California gubernatorial election
Next Year:	1958
Election Date:	November 2, 1954
Image1:	Goodwin J. Knight, 31st Governor of California (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Goodwin Knight
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	2,290,519
Percentage1:	56.83%
Nominee2:	Richard Graves
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	1,739,368
Percentage2:	43.16%
Map Size:	240px
Governor
Before Election:	Goodwin Knight
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Goodwin Knight
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

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 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

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

Independent–Progressive primary

Candidates

• Cornell L. Galbrish (cross-filing)

Results

Galbrish was disqualified from the general election as he had not won his own party's nomination.

General election results

Results by county

County	Goodwin J. Knight Republican		Richard P. Graves Democratic		Scattering Write-in		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%
	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

Bibliography

• Barclay . Thomas S. . December 1954 . The 1954 Election in California . The Western Political Quarterly . 7 . 4 . 597–604 . University of Utah on behalf of the Western Political Science Association . 11 July 2023 . .

Notes and References

1. News: . 8 June 1989 . Richard P. Graves; Ran Against Gov. Knight in 1954 . Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles . 11 July 2023 .