1970 California gubernatorial election explained

The 1970 California gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. The incumbent governor, Republican Ronald Reagan, won re-election over Democrat and Speaker of the Assembly Jesse Unruh. This would be the closest victory of Ronald Reagan's entire political career.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Walter R. Buchanan
• Jack W. Clapper
• Florence E. Douglas, mayor of Vallejo since 1955^[1]
• Raymond L. Haight Jr., high school history teacher, anti-war advocate, and son of Raymond Haight^[2]
• Harry F. May
• Eddie M. Ramirez, Boyle Heights (Los Angeles) pharmacist^[3]
• Joseph S. Ramos
• Jesse M. Unruh, former Speaker of the California Assembly (196169) and Assemblyman from Marina del Rey
• George H. Wagner
• Samuel William Yorty, mayor of Los Angeles since 1961

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Ronald Reagan, incumbent governor

Results

Other primaries

Peace and Freedom Party

General election results

Results by county

County	Ronald Reagan Republican		Jesse M. Unruh Democratic		Ricardo Romo Peace & Freedom		William K. Shearer American Independent		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Alameda		162,727		43.05%		206,693		54.68%		5,591		1.48%		2,975		0.79%		-43,966		-11.63%		377,986
	Alpine		203		66.34%		89		29.08%		4		1.31%		10		3.27%		114		37.25%		306
	Amador		2,866		53.12%		2,445		45.32%		28		0.52%		56		1.04%		421		7.80%		5,395
	Butte		22,656		62.82%		12,558		34.82%		429		1.19%		420		1.16%		10,098		28.00%		36,063
	Calaveras		3,499		63.10%		1,947		35.11%		44		0.79%		55		0.99%		1,552		27.99%		5,545
	Colusa		2,302		57.69%		1,627		40.78%		26		0.65%		35		0.88%		675		16.92%		3,990
	Contra Costa		106,965		53.15%		91,156		45.30%		1,323		0.66%		1,800		0.89%		15,809		7.86%		201,244
	Del Norte		2,755		57.13%		1,977		41.00%		37		0.77%		53		1.10%		778		16.13%		4,822
	El Dorado		7,932		56.59%		5,818		41.51%		65		0.46%		202		1.44%		2,114		15.08%		14,017
	Fresno		60,644		48.74%		61,801		49.67%		752		0.60%		1,227		0.99%		-1,157		-0.93%		124,424
	Glenn		3,805		59.37%		2,482		38.73%		39		0.61%		83		1.30%		1,323		20.64%		6,409
	Humboldt		16,778		51.12%		15,232		46.41%		400		1.22%		410		1.25%		1,546		4.71%		32,820
	Imperial		10,636		58.47%		7,006		38.51%		352		1.93%		198		1.09%		3,630		19.95%		18,192
	Inyo		4,006		63.50%		2,202		34.90%		43		0.68%		58		0.92%		1,804		28.59%		6,309
	Kern		54,216		55.19%		41,768		42.52%		534		0.54%		1,710		1.74%		12,448		12.67%		98,228
	Kings		8,068		49.11%		8,134		49.52%		107		0.65%		118		0.72%		-66		-0.40%		16,427
	Lake		5,317		58.18%		3,683		40.30%		46		0.50%		93		1.02%		1,634		17.88%		9,139
	Lassen		2,494		44.93%		2,911		52.44%		44		0.79%		102		1.84%		-417		-7.51%		5,551
	Los Angeles		1,173,161		50.74%		1,095,899		47.40%		21,891		0.95%		21,312		0.92%		77,262		3.34%		2,312,263
	Madera		6,205		48.94%		6,304		49.72%		73		0.58%		96		0.76%		-99		-0.78%		12,678
	Marin		43,092		56.56%		31,525		41.38%		939		1.23%		632		0.83%		11,567		15.18%		76,188
	Mariposa		1,568		57.46%		1,111		40.71%		14		0.51%		36		1.32%		457		16.75%		2,729
	Mendocino		9,134		53.33%		7,614		44.46%		126		0.74%		252		1.47%		1,520		8.88%		17,126
	Merced		12,117		49.64%		11,840		48.50%		247		1.01%		207		0.85%		277		1.13%		24,411
	Modoc		1,760		59.40%		1,138		38.41%		24		0.81%		41		1.38%		622		20.99%		2,963
	Mono		1,350		73.09%		460		24.91%		21		1.14%		16		0.87%		890		48.19%		1,847
	Monterey		33,691		56.63%		24,508		41.19%		722		1.21%		575		0.97%		9,183		15.43%		59,496
	Napa		16,844		55.29%		13,018		42.73%		161		0.53%		442		1.45%		3,826		12.56%		30,465
	Nevada		6,756		59.45%		4,442		39.09%		77		0.68%		89		0.78%		2,314		20.36%		11,364
	Orange		308,982		66.89%		145,420		31.48%		2,981		0.65%		4,557		0.99%		163,562		35.41%		461,940
	Placer		13,886		49.37%		13,751		48.89%		149		0.53%		342		1.22%		135		0.48%		28,128
	Plumas		2,280		44.97%		2,678		52.82%		27		0.53%		85		1.68%		-398		-7.85%		5,070
	Riverside		81,768		56.60%		59,425		41.13%		1,735		1.20%		1,538		1.06%		22,343		15.47%		144,466
	Sacramento		105,523		46.04%		120,365		52.52%		1,378		0.60%		1,925		0.84%		-14,842		-6.48%		229,191
	San Benito		3,134		59.54%		1,993		37.86%		90		1.71%		47		0.89%		1,141		21.68%		5,264
	San Bernardino		107,219		56.57%		77,069		40.66%		2,946		1.55%		2,294		1.21%		30,150		15.91%		189,528
	San Diego		253,378		60.11%		158,098		37.51%		4,161		0.99%		5,886		1.40%		95,280		22.60%		421,523
	San Francisco		106,606		41.97%		140,829		55.44%		3,958		1.56%		2,625		1.03%		-34,223		-13.47%		254,018
	San Joaquin		50,631		55.25%		39,495		43.10%		682		0.74%		833		0.91%		11,136		12.15%		91,641
	San Luis Obispo		18,301		55.84%		13,758		41.98%		292		0.89%		425		1.30%		4,543		13.86%		32,776
	San Mateo		109,356		54.31%		88,069		43.74%		1,820		0.90%		2,121		1.05%		21,287		10.57%		201,366
	Santa Barbara		51,523		60.10%		32,202		37.56%		1,362		1.59%		638		0.74%		19,321		22.54%		85,725
	Santa Clara		172,562		51.47%		154,570		46.10%		4,683		1.40%		3,475		1.04%		17,992		5.37%		335,290
	Santa Cruz		26,679		58.07%		18,186		39.58%		634		1.38%		445		0.97%		8,493		18.49%		45,944
	Shasta		11,864		43.93%		14,643		54.22%		156		0.58%		343		1.27%		-2,779		-10.29%		27,006
	Sierra		617		46.92%		674		51.25%		7		0.53%		17		1.29%		-57		-4.33%		1,315
	Siskiyou		6,092		49.58%		5,920		48.18%		96		0.78%		180		1.46%		172		1.40%		12,288
	Solano		21,939		48.43%		21,583		47.64%		774		1.71%		1,006		2.22%		356		0.79%		45,302
	Sonoma		44,823		58.60%		29,953		39.16%		830		1.09%		881		1.15%		14,870		19.44%		76,487
	Stanislaus		29,157		45.07%		34,510		53.34%		640		0.99%		391		0.60%		-5,353		-8.27%		64,698
	Sutter		9,084		64.48%		4,811		34.15%		76		0.54%		118		0.84%		4,273		30.33%		14,089
	Tehama		5,500		52.46%		4,819		45.97%		55		0.52%		110		1.05%		681		6.50%		10,484
	Trinity		1,643		50.21%		1,549		47.34%		15		0.46%		65		1.99%		94		2.87%		3,272
	Tulare		27,564		57.69%		19,327		40.45%		432		0.90%		456		0.95%		8,237		17.24%		47,779
	Tuolumne		4,567		53.74%		3,779		44.46%		88		1.04%		65		0.76%		788		9.27%		8,499
	Ventura		63,790		58.64%		42,350		38.93%		1,343		1.23%		1,308		1.20%		21,440		19.71%		108,791
	Yolo		12,344		41.01%		17,135		56.92%		338		1.12%		286		0.95%		-4,791		-15.92%		30,103
	Yuba		5,305		54.74%		4,258		43.93%		47		0.48%		82		0.85%		1,047		10.80%		9,692
Total	3,439,664	52.84%	2,938,607	45.14%	65,954	1.01%	65,847	1.01%	501,057	7.70%	6,510,072

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Fresno
• Kings
• Lassen
• Madera
• Sacramento
• Shasta
• Sierra
• Stanislaus
• Yolo

See also

• 1970 Folsom Prison strike

External links

• California Elections Page
• Reagan's Heritage

Notes and References

1. News: 6 Apr 1982 . Obituary for Florence Vallejos Douglas . Escondido Times-Advocate . 19.
2. News: Fallows . James . December 15, 2009 . Raymond Haight Jr. . March 5, 2024 . The Atlantic.
3. News: Ramos . George . July 31, 2000 . Heart of the Eastside . March 5, 2024 . Los Angeles Times.