1982 California gubernatorial election

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1982 California gubernatorial election

← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
 
Nominee George Deukmejian Tom Bradley
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 3,881,014 3,787,669
Percentage 49.28% 48.09%

County results

Deukmejian:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

Bradley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Jerry Brown
Democratic

Elected Governor

George Deukmejian
Republican

The 1982 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1982. The Republican nominee, Attorney General George Deukmejian, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown did not seek reelection to a third term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.

Primary election summary[edit]

In the Democratic primary, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley easily defeated State Senator John Garamendi and Mario G. Obledo. On the Republican side, it was a two-man race between Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb and Attorney General George Deukmejian. Deukmejian won the primary with nearly 55% of the vote.

General election[edit]

Early indications were that it would be a close race but as the campaign went on, Bradley slowly increased his lead in the polls. Despite this, the outcome was still in doubt as election night wore on. A large late surge of absentee ballots (many from conservative Orange County and Deukmejian's home area of Long Beach) helped tip the balance in his favor. The incorrect polling numbers led to the theory — later dubbed "the Bradley effect" — that a statistically significant number of voters had given inaccurate responses when questioned by pollsters.

1982 gubernatorial election, California
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George Deukmejian 3,881,014 49.28
Democratic Tom Bradley 3,787,669 48.09
Libertarian Dan P. Dougherty 81,076 1.03
Peace and Freedom Elizabeth Martinez 70,327 0.89
American Independent Jim Griffin 56,249 0.71
Total votes 7,876,515 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}} 50.45
Republican gain from Democratic

Results by county[edit]

County Deukmejian Votes Bradley Votes Others Votes
Modoc 68.83% 2,599 26.35% 995 4.82% 182
Glenn 67.49% 5,492 29.47% 2,398 3.05% 248
Inyo 63.87% 5,008 33.15% 2,599 2.98% 234
Sutter 63.33% 10,753 33.33% 5,660 3.34% 567
Colusa 62.95% 3,036 33.61% 1,621 3.44% 166
Calaveras 61.63% 6,277 34.37% 3,501 4.00% 407
Orange 61.44% 422,878 36.70% 252,572 1.87% 12,848
Amador 61.19% 6,251 35.66% 3,643 3.14% 321
San Joaquin 60.06% 65,583 36.63% 40,002 3.30% 3,607
Mono 59.58% 1,977 37.64% 1,249 2.77% 92
El Dorado 59.37% 20,591 37.48% 12,999 3.14% 1,090
Tehama 58.55% 9,628 37.30% 6,134 4.15% 683
Siskiyou 58.40% 9,457 37.11% 6,009 4.50% 728
Butte 58.13% 36,074 38.25% 23,734 3.62% 2,245
Shasta 57.61% 26,902 38.66% 18,053 3.73% 1,743
Tuolumne 56.84% 8,716 39.82% 6,107 3.34% 512
Nevada 56.80% 14,753 39.51% 10,262 3.69% 959
Tulare 56.69% 38,901 41.29% 28,330 2.02% 1,386
Lassen 56.64% 4,472 38.03% 3,003 5.33% 421
Mariposa 56.39% 3,255 40.26% 2,324 3.34% 193
Stanislaus 55.94% 43,639 41.38% 32,276 2.68% 2,093
Placer 55.47% 28,082 41.15% 20,832 3.38% 1,710
Kern 55.30% 70,095 42.44% 53,799 2.26% 2,859
Ventura 55.22% 99,130 42.39% 76,094 2.40% 4,300
Kings 54.64% 9,938 42.43% 7,718 2.93% 533
Madera 54.57% 10,334 41.66% 7,889 3.77% 714
Napa 54.20% 21,812 42.34% 17,042 3.46% 1,393
Trinity 53.95% 3,100 40.92% 2,351 5.13% 295
Yuba 53.77% 6,959 41.73% 5,400 4.50% 582
Plumas 53.53% 4,237 42.39% 3,355 4.08% 323
San Bernardino 53.29% 144,096 44.08% 119,185 2.63% 7,117
Riverside 53.27% 119,680 44.68% 100,370 2.05% 4,597
Lake 53.24% 8,867 42.89% 7,143 3.87% 644
San Luis Obispo 52.94% 33,457 44.96% 28,417 2.10% 1,327
San Diego 52.76% 330,037 44.62% 279,113 2.62% 16,366
Alpine 52.66% 218 44.69% 185 2.66% 11
Merced 52.62% 17,477 44.10% 14,649 3.28% 1,090
Fresno 52.59% 80,171 45.01% 68,623 2.40% 3,659
Sacramento 52.35% 171,176 44.70% 146,167 2.95% 9,639
Imperial 51.40% 10,272 45.70% 9,133 2.91% 581
Del Norte 51.32% 3,355 44.88% 2,934 3.81% 249
Solano 50.31% 36,968 46.26% 33,997 3.43% 2,522
Contra Costa 49.83% 126,460 47.17% 119,712 3.00% 7,616
Santa Barbara 48.33% 55,682 49.62% 57,164 2.05% 2,357
Sierra 48.33% 914 47.96% 907 3.70% 70
Monterey 47.78% 37,493 48.81% 38,301 3.42% 2,681
Mendocino 46.82% 12,398 48.29% 12,786 4.89% 1,294
San Benito 46.67% 3,608 48.92% 3,782 4.41% 341
San Mateo 46.36% 99,527 50.48% 108,374 3.15% 6,768
Los Angeles 45.67% 1,024,946 52.27% 1,173,149 2.06% 46,141
Humboldt 45.38% 21,609 50.38% 23,991 4.25% 2,023
Sonoma 45.10% 55,968 51.20% 63,542 3.70% 4,597
Santa Clara 43.96% 180,232 52.87% 216,781 3.17% 13,004
Yolo 42.99% 19,227 54.00% 24,150 3.01% 1,345
Marin 42.83% 42,260 53.24% 52,534 3.93% 3,874
Santa Cruz 38.09% 29,545 57.09% 44,282 4.82% 3,738
Alameda 37.62% 145,964 58.91% 228,578 3.47% 13,480
San Francisco 30.43% 69,478 66.47% 151,769 3.10% 7,087

References[edit]