The 1906 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1906. James Gillet won the 1906 election and became the governor of California. This was the first election in which more votes were cast in Los Angeles County than in San Francisco, possibly as a result of the earthquake seven months earlier in San Francisco.
Background.
At the time of the election the governor of California was George Pardee. His term was relatively successful as he became a strong proponent of conservation, and provided assistance to the city of San Francisco, as it suffered through both the San Francisco plague of 1900–04, and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. This along with his efficient use of the state's bureaucracy made Pardee a popular figure. Despite Pardee's popularity, many in the Republican Party and the lobbyists for the Southern Pacific Railroad despised him for his views against the Southern Pacific, at a time when the railroad company was very influential in state politics. This hostility, plus theories that Republican voters were angry at his focus on issues in Northern California, and not Southern California, caused Pardee to lose the Republican nomination to James Gillett, at the Republican Party convention in Santa Cruz.
Democratic primary.
The 1902 California gubernatorial election was a close election that saw Democratic candidate Franklin Knight Lane lose the popular vote by only several thousand votes; an impressive feat given the Republican Party's dominance in state politics. Despite this, Lane did not run for the party's nomination, instead becoming a Commissioner of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Candidates who were considering runs at the beginning of the race were Theodore A. Bell, Meredith P. Snyder, and James Phelan, the former mayor of San Francisco. Bell had initially preferred running for his former congressional seat in California's 2nd congressional district, instead of running for governor. At the Democratic convention in Sacramento the names presented for governor were James D. Phelan, Thomas O. Toland, Theodore A. Bell, and Daniel Cole, among others. Theodore A. Bell would eventually be nominated by the Democratic party on September 12, 1906. At the convention the Democratic party adopted several wide-ranging policies including support for William Jennings Bryan, public ownership of utilities, support for antitrust legislation, maintaining the Chinese Exclusion Act, support for an 8-hour work day and women's suffrage.
Third party campaigns.
The Independence Party began in 1906, largely led by William Randolph Hearst and his supporters. The party held its first state convention in Oakland on September 6, 1906. It was there that it nominated William Langdon for governor. The party's platform was similar to the Democratic platform, in that they called for the direct election of senators, increased irrigation for farmers, maintaining the Chinese Exclusion Act, food safety laws, and public ownership of utilities.
The Socialist Party was active in California and held its convention in Oakland, California. It was there that the party nominated Austin Lewis for governor, and F.J. Wheat of Los Angeles for lieutenant governor. Austin Lewis was a lecturer, writer and attorney who had law offices in both San Francisco and Oakland. He would become known for his work trying to prove the innocence of Tom Mooney and Warren K. Billings in the Preparedness Day Bombing. Austin Lewis was a critic of both James Gillett and William Langdon, going so far as to say that "If you vote for Gillett your ballot counts one for the Southern Pacific railroad machine; If you vote for Hearst's puppet candidate you vote for nothing."
General election campaign.
Beginning in October the candidates began securing the nominations of their party and started campaigning to voters across the state. Early on Theodore Bell would engage in mudslinging, especially against William Langdon, who many at the time saw as a splinter campaign of the Democratic party. On the campaign trail, Theodore Bell would criticize James Gillett and William Langdon. He stated that Langdon's campaign was "simply an adjunct of the campaign of James Gillett", and implied that Gillett was a pawn of the Southern Pacific Railroad due to his acceptance of rail passes and lack of action on bills that would hurt the company. Bell also criticized William Randolph Hearst for his efforts to get himself elected Governor of New York, and his creation of the Independence League as many at the time including Bell thought this third party would take away votes from the Democratic party. On October 10, 1906, a prominent Republican banker named W.L. Porterfield went across party lines and endorsed Theodore Bell, going so far as to promise a subscription of one million dollars towards a new railroad that would connect San Pedro to an Eastern railroad. This showcased the dissatisfaction within the California Republican Party, over the Southern Pacific Railroad's influence over it.
Governor George Pardee endorsed James Gillett on September 28, 1906, addressing a fear of the State's Republican Party that Pardee might refuse to endorse Gillett or run a third-party campaign. Gillett held a large campaign rally in Sacramento on October 5, 1906. Thousands rallied to support him as he and other Republican leaders gathered to speak about their platform and Gillett's record on issues such as labor. Gillett continued to travel around the state after his major rally, giving talks in Marysville, Grass Valley, and Stockton to the working class people of California. In the weeks before the election multiple newspapers across the state were already calling the election with Gillett as the victor. Later in the campaign, James Gillett was endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt, who stated in his endorsement, "In my opinion, the Republicans of California are fortunate in the nomination of Mr. Gillett...That if elected, his administration will be a credit to the State I have no doubt." On November 5, 1906, the San Francisco Call called the election for Gillett once again, along with other newspapers throughout the state.
References.
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