| Election Name: | 1978 California gubernatorial election |
| Country: | California |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1974 California gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1974 |
| Next Election: | 1982 California gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1978 |
| Image1: | Jerry Brown, SoS '72 (croppedcloser).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Jerry Brown |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 3,878,812 |
| Percentage1: | 56.05% |
| Nominee2: | Evelle Younger |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 2,526,534 |
| Percentage2: | 36.50% |
| Image3: | Ed Clark (cropped, 3x4).jpg |
| Nominee3: | Ed Clark |
| Party3: | Independent (United States) |
| Popular Vote3: | 377,960 |
| Percentage3: | 5.46% |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Jerry Brown |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Jerry Brown |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 1978 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 1978. The Democratic incumbent, Jerry Brown, defeated the Republican nominee Attorney General Evelle J. Younger and independent candidate Ed Clark in a landslide.
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, California Attorney General Evelle Younger (who was the only Republican elected to a statewide office in the post-Watergate Democratic onslaught in the 1974 California general election) defeated Ed Davis (State Senator and former Los Angeles Police Chief), Ken Maddy (State Senate Minority Leader from Fresno), and Pete Wilson (Mayor of San Diego). Incumbent Jerry Brown had only minor opposition in the Democratic Primary. The primary election included Proposition 13, the initiative authored by Howard Jarvis which sought to drastically reduce property taxes and change the way property taxes were calculated. Younger and most Republicans supported Proposition 13 while Brown and most Democrats opposed it. The initiative passed with 64.8% of the vote; it is still in effect, and many other states passed similar laws.
The primary battle left Younger short of money, while Brown had a much larger campaign fund and won reelection in a landslide.
Jerry Brown's landslide victory ended three of the remaining four very long streaks of Republican dominance in California counties. Brown was the first Democrat to ever carry Alpine County in a gubernatorial election since its establishment in 1864. The same was true for Orange County; it had always backed the Republican candidate since its establishment in 1889. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara County backed a Democratic candidate for the first time since 1882. After this election, the lone county with a long history of backing Republicans was Mono County, which had never backed a Democratic candidate since its founding in 1861 and would not vote Democratic until 1998.
Conversely, Jerry Brown remains the most recent Democrat to carry any of the following counties: Butte County, Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Fresno County, Kern County, Lassen County, Madera County, Mariposa County, Placer County, Plumas County, Shasta County, Sierra County, Siskiyou County, Tehama County, Tuolumne County, and Yuba County.
| County | Edmund G. Brown Jr. Democratic | Evelle J. Younger Republican | Ed Clark Independent | Marilyn Seals Peace & Freedom | Theresa F. Dietrich American Independent | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alameda | 217,746 | 63.81% | 88,619 | 25.97% | 24,336 | 7.13% | 7,375 | 2.16% | 3,141 | 0.92% | 129,127 | 37.84% | 341,217 | ||||||||||||||
| Alpine | 202 | 52.74% | 151 | 39.43% | 18 | 4.70% | 5 | 1.31% | 7 | 1.83% | 51 | 13.32% | 383 | ||||||||||||||
| Amador | 4,144 | 49.65% | 3,534 | 42.34% | 477 | 5.71% | 56 | 0.67% | 136 | 1.63% | 610 | 7.31% | 8,347 | ||||||||||||||
| Butte | 26,051 | 49.65% | 22,142 | 42.20% | 3,038 | 5.79% | 609 | 1.16% | 634 | 1.21% | 3,909 | 7.45% | 52,474 | ||||||||||||||
| Calaveras | 4,019 | 48.74% | 3,691 | 44.76% | 377 | 4.57% | 73 | 0.89% | 86 | 1.04% | 328 | 3.98% | 8,246 | ||||||||||||||
| Colusa | 1,958 | 45.01% | 2,005 | 46.09% | 314 | 7.22% | 37 | 0.85% | 36 | 0.83% | -47 | -1.08% | 4,350 | ||||||||||||||
| Contra Costa | 122,565 | 54.27% | 80,821 | 35.79% | 17,989 | 7.97% | 2,208 | 0.98% | 2,250 | 1.00% | 41,744 | 18.48% | 225,833 | ||||||||||||||
| Del Norte | 2,451 | 41.73% | 2,933 | 49.93% | 188 | 3.20% | 77 | 1.31% | 225 | 3.83% | -482 | -8.21% | 5,874 | ||||||||||||||
| El Dorado | 13,832 | 48.35% | 12,187 | 42.60% | 1,819 | 6.36% | 305 | 1.07% | 466 | 1.63% | 1,645 | 5.75% | 28,609 | ||||||||||||||
| Fresno | 71,657 | 55.67% | 50,950 | 39.58% | 3,653 | 2.84% | 1,135 | 0.88% | 1,324 | 1.03% | 20,707 | 16.09% | 128,719 | ||||||||||||||
| Glenn | 3,120 | 42.98% | 3,521 | 48.51% | 444 | 6.12% | 57 | 0.79% | 117 | 1.61% | -401 | -5.52% | 7,259 | ||||||||||||||
| Humboldt | 21,243 | 50.37% | 16,658 | 39.49% | 2,783 | 6.60% | 713 | 1.69% | 781 | 1.85% | 4,585 | 10.87% | 42,178 | ||||||||||||||
| Imperial | 8,385 | 46.05% | 8,629 | 47.39% | 870 | 4.78% | 157 | 0.86% | 167 | 0.92% | -244 | -1.34% | 18,208 | ||||||||||||||
| Inyo | 2,540 | 39.53% | 3,561 | 55.42% | 218 | 3.39% | 47 | 0.73% | 59 | 0.92% | -1,021 | -15.89% | 6,425 | ||||||||||||||
| Kern | 49,144 | 47.71% | 41,531 | 40.32% | 10,560 | 10.25% | 682 | 0.66% | 1,078 | 1.05% | 7,613 | 7.39% | 102,995 | ||||||||||||||
| Kings | 8,794 | 53.84% | 6,940 | 42.49% | 281 | 1.72% | 105 | 0.64% | 215 | 1.32% | 1,854 | 11.35% | 16,335 | ||||||||||||||
| Lake | 6,670 | 52.87% | 5,012 | 39.72% | 651 | 5.16% | 132 | 1.05% | 152 | 1.20% | 1,658 | 13.14% | 12,617 | ||||||||||||||
| Lassen | 3,377 | 50.34% | 2,849 | 42.47% | 324 | 4.83% | 57 | 0.85% | 102 | 1.52% | 528 | 7.87% | 6,709 | ||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles | 1,178,368 | 57.34% | 744,491 | 36.23% | 93,692 | 4.56% | 20,205 | 0.98% | 18,256 | 0.89% | 433,877 | 21.11% | 2,055,012 | ||||||||||||||
| Madera | 7,529 | 52.17% | 6,230 | 43.16% | 414 | 2.87% | 110 | 0.76% | 150 | 1.04% | 1,299 | 9.00% | 14,433 | ||||||||||||||
| Marin | 49,759 | 55.75% | 29,888 | 33.49% | 7,683 | 8.61% | 1,227 | 1.37% | 698 | 0.78% | 19,871 | 22.26% | 89,255 | ||||||||||||||
| Mariposa | 2,361 | 53.02% | 1,774 | 39.84% | 212 | 4.76% | 31 | 0.70% | 75 | 1.68% | 587 | 13.18% | 4,453 | ||||||||||||||
| Mendocino | 11,877 | 54.14% | 7,916 | 36.09% | 1,442 | 6.57% | 377 | 1.72% | 325 | 1.48% | 3,961 | 18.06% | 21,937 | ||||||||||||||
| Merced | 16,825 | 55.62% | 12,165 | 40.21% | 756 | 2.50% | 202 | 0.67% | 303 | 1.00% | 4,660 | 15.40% | 30,251 | ||||||||||||||
| Modoc | 1,235 | 40.28% | 1,616 | 52.71% | 137 | 4.47% | 27 | 0.88% | 51 | 1.66% | -381 | -12.43% | 3,066 | ||||||||||||||
| Mono | 1,042 | 44.82% | 1,164 | 50.06% | 76 | 3.27% | 18 | 0.77% | 25 | 1.08% | -122 | -5.25% | 2,325 | ||||||||||||||
| Monterey | 34,649 | 52.35% | 27,180 | 41.07% | 3,278 | 4.95% | 550 | 0.83% | 530 | 0.80% | 7,469 | 11.28% | 66,187 | ||||||||||||||
| Napa | 19,202 | 50.53% | 15,621 | 41.11% | 2,461 | 6.48% | 373 | 0.98% | 344 | 0.91% | 3,581 | 9.42% | 38,001 | ||||||||||||||
| Nevada | 9,016 | 45.36% | 8,365 | 42.09% | 2,236 | 11.25% | 123 | 0.62% | 136 | 0.68% | 651 | 3.28% | 19,876 | ||||||||||||||
| Orange | 299,577 | 48.68% | 272,076 | 44.21% | 34,903 | 5.67% | 3,845 | 0.62% | 4,976 | 0.81% | 27,501 | 4.47% | 615,377 | ||||||||||||||
| Placer | 20,384 | 51.12% | 15,563 | 39.03% | 3,342 | 8.38% | 268 | 0.67% | 321 | 0.80% | 4,821 | 12.09% | 39,878 | ||||||||||||||
| Plumas | 3,599 | 55.48% | 2,541 | 39.17% | 208 | 3.21% | 37 | 0.57% | 102 | 1.57% | 1,058 | 16.31% | 6,487 | ||||||||||||||
| Riverside | 101,377 | 54.23% | 75,564 | 40.42% | 6,982 | 3.74% | 1,235 | 0.66% | 1,772 | 0.95% | 25,813 | 13.81% | 186.930 | ||||||||||||||
| Sacramento | 139,821 | 54.91% | 88,445 | 34.74% | 21,137 | 8.30% | 2,862 | 1.12% | 2,349 | 0.92% | 51,376 | 20.18% | 254,614 | ||||||||||||||
| San Benito | 2,805 | 49.23% | 2,411 | 42.31% | 349 | 6.12% | 71 | 1.25% | 62 | 1.09% | 394 | 6.91% | 5,698 | ||||||||||||||
| San Bernardino | 115,082 | 54.01% | 86,638 | 40.66% | 7,151 | 3.36% | 1,402 | 0.66% | 2,822 | 1.32% | 28,444 | 13.35% | 213,095 | ||||||||||||||
| San Diego | 316,223 | 57.49% | 197,167 | 35.85% | 25,964 | 4.72% | 3,708 | 0.67% | 6,945 | 1.26% | 119,056 | 21.65% | 550,007 | ||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 156,601 | 69.46% | 51,429 | 22.81% | 11,577 | 5.13% | 4,400 | 1.95% | 1,458 | 0.65% | 105,172 | 46.65% | 225,465 | ||||||||||||||
| San Joaquin | 49,169 | 52.17% | 39,425 | 41.84% | 4,063 | 4.31% | 536 | 0.57% | 1,046 | 1.11% | 9,744 | 10.34% | 94,239 | ||||||||||||||
| San Luis Obispo | 25,695 | 51.20% | 21,689 | 43.22% | 1,772 | 3.53% | 552 | 1.10% | 478 | 0.95% | 4,006 | 7.98% | 50,186 | ||||||||||||||
| San Mateo | 113,402 | 56.18% | 69,131 | 34.25% | 15,072 | 7.47% | 2,565 | 1.27% | 1,678 | 0.83% | 44,271 | 21.93% | 201,848 | ||||||||||||||
| Santa Barbara | 59,933 | 56.68% | 38,656 | 36.56% | 4,763 | 4.50% | 1,521 | 1.44% | 858 | 0.81% | 21,277 | 20.12% | 105,731 | ||||||||||||||
| Santa Clara | 227,493 | 61.35% | 110,444 | 29.79% | 25,550 | 6.89% | 3,784 | 1.02% | 3,512 | 0.95% | 117,049 | 31.57% | 370,783 | ||||||||||||||
| Santa Cruz | 40,490 | 60.85% | 20,698 | 31.11% | 3,470 | 5.21% | 1,376 | 2.07% | 506 | 0.76% | 19,792 | 29.74% | 66,540 | ||||||||||||||
| Shasta | 19,432 | 55.26% | 12,698 | 36.11% | 2,256 | 6.42% | 276 | 0.78% | 501 | 1.42% | 6,734 | 19.15% | 35,163 | ||||||||||||||
| Sierra | 725 | 49.45% | 644 | 43.93% | 71 | 4.84% | 11 | 0.75% | 15 | 1.02% | 81 | 5.53% | 1,466 | ||||||||||||||
| Siskiyou | 6,851 | 51.11% | 5,747 | 42.88% | 497 | 3.71% | 113 | 0.84% | 196 | 1.46% | 1,104 | 8.24% | 13,404 | ||||||||||||||
| Solano | 34,513 | 58.05% | 20,176 | 33.94% | 3,670 | 6.17% | 535 | 0.90% | 558 | 0.94% | 14,337 | 24.12% | 59,452 | ||||||||||||||
| Sonoma | 56,920 | 54.29% | 37,584 | 35.85% | 7,506 | 7.16% | 1,855 | 1.77% | 981 | 0.94% | 19,336 | 18.44% | 104,846 | ||||||||||||||
| Stanislaus | 36,676 | 55.62% | 25,247 | 38.29% | 2,539 | 3.85% | 678 | 1.03% | 803 | 1.22% | 11,429 | 17.33% | 65,943 | ||||||||||||||
| Sutter | 6,357 | 44.09% | 6,871 | 47.65% | 1,003 | 6.96% | 77 | 0.53% | 111 | 0.77% | -514 | -3.56% | 14,419 | ||||||||||||||
| Tehama | 5,986 | 50.25% | 5,002 | 41.99% | 635 | 5.33% | 81 | 0.68% | 208 | 1.75% | 984 | 8.26% | 11,912 | ||||||||||||||
| Trinity | 2,215 | 50.39% | 1,769 | 40.24% | 298 | 6.78% | 44 | 1.00% | 70 | 1.59% | 446 | 10.15% | 4,396 | ||||||||||||||
| Tulare | 24,989 | 46.80% | 26,136 | 48.95% | 1,322 | 2.48% | 315 | 0.59% | 634 | 1.19% | -1,147 | -2.15% | 53,396 | ||||||||||||||
| Tuolumne | 6,772 | 51.09% | 5,757 | 43.44% | 478 | 3.61% | 103 | 0.78% | 144 | 1.09% | 1,015 | 7.66% | 13,254 | ||||||||||||||
| Ventura | 75,173 | 52.78% | 57,777 | 40.57% | 6,916 | 4.86% | 854 | 0.60% | 1,703 | 1.20% | 17,396 | 12.21% | 142,423 | ||||||||||||||
| Yolo | 24,357 | 59.39% | 12,703 | 30.97% | 3,064 | 7.47% | 593 | 1.45% | 298 | 0.73% | 11,654 | 28.41% | 41,015 | ||||||||||||||
| Yuba | 6,434 | 54.84% | 4,402 | 37.52% | 675 | 5.75% | 94 | 0.80% | 127 | 1.08% | 2,032 | 17.32% | 11,732 | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 3,878,812 | 56.03% | 2,526,534 | 36.50% | 377,960 | 5.46% | 70,864 | 1.02% | 67,103 | 0.97% | 1,352,278 | 19.53% | 6,922,378 | ||||||||||||||