1910 California gubernatorial election

1910 California gubernatorial election

November 8, 1910 (1910-11-08)

Nominee Hiram Johnson Theodore Arlington Bell Jackson Stitt Wilson Party Republican Democratic Socialist Popular vote 177,191 154,835 47,819 Percentage 45.9% 40.1% 12.4%

County results Johnson:      40–50%      50–60%      80–90% Bell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election James Gillett Republican Elected Governor Hiram Johnson Republican

The 1910 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1910. It saw Republican Hiram Johnson elected as the state's governor. Johnson won the election with 45.9% of the popular vote, and became the 23rd governor of California.

Background

The governor of California at the time of this election was Republican James Gillett. Gillett's nomination to top of the Republican ticket was controversial in 1906, and during the previous campaign he was consistently accused of being in the pocket of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Despite this, he served a term as governor and accomplished several things, including being a leader in the creation of the state's highway system, and developing parole guidelines for prisoners. Despite this he was suffering financially while being governor, and decided not to seek a second term. He instead opted to pursue a career in law.

Republican primary

For the entire month of January in 1910, it was not clear that Governor James Gillett would seek renomination, but his intentions were made clear on January 30, when he announced through a published letter to the California Republican Party, that he would not seek the nomination because, "It is for the best interest of myself and family that I should again resume the practice of my profession, and I can not well afford to continue in the office of governor for another, period of four years."

After Gillett's announcement there were multiple candidates willing to contend for the Republican nomination. The most prominent of these men were Charles F. Curry the secretary of state for California, and an early favorite in the race. Curry was so confident in himself, that he even called the primary election and governorship for himself on the day that Gillett's announcement was made. In addition to Curry, Frank K. Mott, the mayor of Oakland, and Francis J. Heney a prosecutor and former attorney general in Arizona. Hiram Johnson, Chester Rowell, and William R. Davis all announced that they were not seeking the nomination.

The Lincoln-Roosevelt League, a faction representing progressive elements of the Republican Party struggled to nominate a candidate for office. The league initially tried to force Hiram Johnson to accept the nomination, but he turned it down. The league was then split on either nominating Charles M. Belshaw, and William Rude Davis, a former mayor of Oakland. In early February, it was reported that Frank K. Mott and Charles Belshaw were the only candidates that the league were considering for governor, and that the League was still split between its two factions, in regards to who between should receive the league's blessing. On February 20, it was announced that despite turning down the nomination multiple times, Hiram Johnson would run under the banner of the Lincoln-Roosevelt League. In his announcement he stated

"It seems to be my turn to make the sacrifice and I am going to make it. For two months the utmost pressure has been brought to bear upon me. I had steadfastly refused to become a candidate, but it was placed before me in such a fashion that I was forced to fail in my duty or accept. So I am going ahead, making the fight as a progressive republican on the Roosevelt Lines. I am going to make this fight an endeavor to return the government of California, to the people and take it away from the political bureau of the Southern Pacific railway company. If nothing else can be accomplished, we can teach the people the lesson talked by our last president and that is being talked today to the people of the United States by La Follette."

Shortly after Johnson's announcement, former governor George Pardee and member of the Lincoln-Roosevelt League supported Hiram Johnson for the governorship.

Third Party Campaigns

Simone P. Meads was nominated by the Prohibition Party for governor in September of 1910 at the party's convention in San Jose, California Meads was a public school teacher and principal for multiple schools in Oakland. In addition to being a teacher, Meads was also a published author, writing several books about life in Oakland, and educational teaching materials. In addition to the prohibition of alcohol, the party also supported the public ownership of utilities, women's suffrage, and the implementation of referendum, reform, and recall ballot measures.

Jackson Stitt Wilson was an avid christian socialist who was a delegate to conventions of the Socialist Party in 1904 and 1910. California's Socialist Party nominated him for governor at their convention, and he received word of their choice by telegram. He began his campaign in Los Angeles, and would travel the state in a red colored automobile nicknamed the "Red Special". The name of Wilson's automobile was a direct reference to Eugene Debs' train that he traveled on during the 1908 Presidential Election, also known as the "Red Special". Wilson was widely regarded as a famous orator, and in beginning of his campaign he challenged other candidates in the race to debate him. To assist the campaign, Eugene Debs visited the state and campaigned for the benefit of Wilson over a period of two weeks.

General election results

1910 gubernatorial election, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Hiram W. Johnson	177,191	45.94%	+5.58%
	Democratic	Theodore Arlington Bell	154,835	40.14%	+2.42%
	Socialist	J. Stitt Wilson	47,819	12.40%	+7.26%
	Prohibition	Simeon P. Meads	5,807	1.51%	-0.85%
Total votes			385,652	100.0%
	Republican hold		Swing

References

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