	Deukmejian was elected in 1982 to his first term as Governor of California, defeating Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb, a recording company owner, in the Republican primary. One of his early primary backers was former gubernatorial candidate Joe Shell of Bakersfield, California, a conservative who had opposed Richard M. Nixon in the 1962 primary. Upon his victory, "The New York Times" published, "The image that comes across of Mr. Deukmejian - a devoted family man, an Episcopal churchman, an ice cream lover - led one reporter to write, <nowiki>"</nowiki>California may have accidentally elected Iowa's Governor.<nowiki>"</nowiki>"