The 1962 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1962. The Democratic incumbent, Pat Brown, ran for re-election against former U.S. vice president and 1960 Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon. In his concession speech the following morning, Nixon accused the media of favoring his opponent Brown, stating that it was his "last press conference" and "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more." Six years later, Nixon was elected President of the United States, and ten years after this press conference, he was re-elected in a landslide.
Background.
Pat Brown was a relatively popular Democratic governor in California who was first elected in 1958. However, he was seen as vulnerable due to criticisms of indecision and occasional errors in policy.
In 1958, the Democratic Party had swept all but a single statewide office, and all of the incumbents were seeking reelection in 1962. Despite 1958's near-sweep by Democrats and the state having more registered Democrats than Republicans (4,289,997 registered Democrats on election day 1962 compared to 3,002,038 registered Republicans), at the time, California was generally considered a Republican stronghold, with Republican governors and senators from the end of World War II until the election of Democrat Clair Engle to the Senate in 1958, and Brown's election as governor the same year. The state had voted for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, and Nixon carried the state over John F. Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential election.
In 1962, with popular incumbent Senator Thomas Kuchel essentially guaranteed to win re-election, the Republican Party felt it could also gain the governorship and win the state back from the Democrats. They turned to former Vice President Richard Nixon, the biggest name at the time in the California Republican Party. Nixon had a record of winning statewide elections in California, having been elected Senator in 1950, carrying the state twice (in 1952 and 1956) as the vice presidential candidate on the ticket with Dwight D. Eisenhower, and carrying the state against Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. They also felt a convincing win could be a springboard for Nixon to challenge Kennedy again in 1964, since he narrowly lost to him in 1960.
Primary elections.
Primary elections were held on June 5, 1962.
Democratic primary.
Campaign.
Brown, a relatively popular incumbent, faced no serious opposition in the Democratic Party primary. In whole, the Democratic primaries for statewide offices showed a lack of strong division in the party, with the exception of William McKesson's unsuccessful challenge to incumbent Glenn M. Anderson in the race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.
Brown was endorsed by the liberal California Democratic Council, which put him on their slate of endorsed candidates at their convention, held January 26–28, 1962 in Fresno. Brown's camp made an effort of ensuring that none of the resolutions the council passed at their convention would provide fodder that a Republican general election opponent could use to embarrass Brown.
Brown's camp emphasized accomplishments of Brown's legislative record, including programs related to water and education. Public relations consultants played a role in reshaping Brown's image as a forceful and decisive leader.
Aftermath.
Brown won by a 5% margin. The day after the results were announced, a stunned and frustrated Nixon announced he was retiring from politics. He famously stated, "Just think how much you're going to be missing. You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore". The speech increased sympathy for Nixon among the public, but was also viewed at the time as the end of his political career. Brown told President Kennedy that, "I don't see how he can ever recover", a view that Kennedy shared.
Brown was the first Democratic Party governor reelected in California since 1853, and only the third governor of any party reelected since California extended gubernatorial terms to four-years in 1862 (after only Hiram Johnson and Earl Warren). In the coinciding California State Legislature elections, the Democratic Party retained control of the State Legislature, marking the first time in the 20th century that the Democratic Party would hold control of the state's legislature for longer than a four-year period. The party won 53.9% of the cumulative popular vote in the State Legislature elections. In the coinciding United States House of Representatives elections in the state, Democrats gained nine seats, while Republicans lost one (the state had gained eight new seats in reapportionment after the 1960 United States census), and won 51.8% of the state's cumulative votes in its congressional races. All of the state's incumbent congressmen sought reelection, with three Republican incumbents and one Democratic incumbent losing reelection. The Democrats won seven of the eight newly created congressional seats, while Republicans won one. Republican Senator Thomas Kuchel won reelection as expected in the coinciding United States Senate election, capturing an overwhelming share of the vote in that election.
Brown served out his second term, but failed to win a third term in 1966, losing reelection to future president Ronald Reagan.
Nixon later re-entered politics when he ran for president again in 1968; he won that election, and was later re-elected, but he resigned in disgrace in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal.
References.
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