The 1938 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1938. Culbert L. Olson defeated incumbent governor Frank F. Merriam to become the first Democrat elected Governor of California since James Budd in 1894. Merriam had angered the left and the right throughout his tenure as governor, leading a significant swing in favor of the Democratic party.

Olson was the first Democrat since George Stoneman in 1882 to receive an absolute majority of the vote. For the first time since 1882, Alameda County, Los Angeles County, and Ventura County were carried by a Democrat and San Diego County backed a Democrat for governor for the first time since 1879. California would not elect a Democrat as governor again until 1958. This was the last time until Gray Davis in 1998 that a Democrat who was not a member of the Brown family won the governorship.

Republican primary

Candidates George J. Hatfield, lieutenant governor Z. S. Leymel, former mayor of Fresno Frank F. Merriam, incumbent governor Francis Michael O'Connor

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

John F. Dockweiler, U.S. Representative from Los Angeles Herbert C. Legg, Los Angeles County Supervisor Daniel C. Murphy William H. Neblett J. F. T. O'Connor, United States Comptroller of the Currency Culbert Olson, State Senator from Los Angeles Teodoro Antonio Tomasini

Results

Townsend Party primary

Results

Progressive primary

Candidates

Raymond L. Haight, Los Angeles attorney William E. Riker, white supremacist preacher

Commonwealth primary

Candidates

Robert Noble

Results

General election

Candidates

Raymond L. Haight, Los Angeles attorney (Progressive) Frank F. Merriam, incumbent governor since 1937 (Republican) Robert Noble (Commonwealth) Culbert Olson, State Senator from Los Angeles (Democratic)

Results

Results by county County Culbert L. OlsonDemocratic Frank F. MerriamRepublican Raymond L. HaightProgressive Robert NobleCommonwealth ScatteringWrite-in Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # %Alameda109,01049.48%106,69448.43%3,8251.74%7530.34%390.02%2,3161.05%220,321Alpine2918.95%11071.90%149.15%00.00%00.00%-81-52.94%153Amador1,80352.47%1,48643.25%1323.84%150.44%00.00%3179.23%3,436Butte8,40848.45%8,24947.53%5423.12%1550.89%00.00%1590.92%17,354Calaveras1,81846.44%1,86647.66%2075.29%240.61%00.00%-48-1.23%3,915Colusa1,76841.11%2,33954.38%1683.91%260.60%00.00%-571-13.28%4,301Contra Costa23,78256.82%17,09640.84%8351.99%1390.33%40.01%6,68615.97%41,856Del Norte1,09243.58%1,32552.87%732.91%160.64%00.00%-233-9.30%2,506El Dorado3,37557.23%2,07935.26%4026.82%410.70%00.00%1,29621.98%5,897Fresno32,93755.52%22,72838.31%3,3705.68%2940.50%00.00%10,20917.21%59,329Glenn2,06839.88%2,92456.39%1683.24%250.48%00.00%-856-16.51%5,185Humboldt8,79546.00%9,61750.30%5712.99%1370.72%00.00%-822-4.30%19,120Imperial5,49545.47%6,25951.79%2031.68%1291.07%00.00%-764-6.32%12,086Inyo1,18442.44%1,45652.19%1354.84%150.54%00.00%-272-9.75%2,790Kern25,39258.66%16,11637.23%1,3323.08%4481.03%10.00%9,27621.43%43,289Kings5,54553.35%4,39542.28%3593.45%920.89%30.03%1,15011.06%10,394Lake1,57137.72%2,43858.54%912.18%651.56%00.00%-867-20.82%4,165Lassen2,76448.53%2,62446.08%2584.53%490.86%00.00%1402.46%5,695Los Angeles612,49955.76%446,06940.61%24,9582.27%14,5521.32%3390.03%166,43015.15%1,098,417Madera4,14857.11%2,80538.62%2733.76%370.51%00.00%1,34318.49%7,263Marin8,34043.46%10,44554.42%3511.83%520.27%40.02%-2,105-10.97%19,192Mariposa1,36254.50%1,04341.74%592.36%351.40%00.00%31912.77%2,499Mendocino5,35545.92%5,89750.57%2862.45%1231.05%00.00%-542-4.65%11,661Merced8,30354.05%6,36741.45%5473.56%1400.91%40.03%1,93612.60%15,361Modoc1,47248.26%1,41646.43%1324.33%300.98%00.00%561.84%3,050Mono44547.39%44647.50%424.47%60.64%00.00%-1-0.11%939Monterey9,73644.82%11,43652.65%4281.97%1220.56%00.00%-1,700-7.83%21,722Napa4,78642.03%6,27555.10%2612.29%650.57%10.01%-1,489-13.08%11,388Nevada3,49443.84%4,05250.84%3794.76%450.56%00.00%-558-7.00%7,970Orange24,25743.27%29,77453.11%1,1662.08%8631.54%40.01%-5,517-9.84%56,064Placer6,65358.92%3,83433.96%7476.62%570.50%00.00%2,81924.97%11,291Plumas2,37356.25%1,60738.09%1984.69%410.97%00.00%76618.16%4,219Riverside17,02645.93%18,89550.97%7371.99%4091.10%20.01%-1,869-5.04%37,069Sacramento32,88554.07%25,83642.48%1,9213.16%1740.29%50.01%7,04911.59%60,821San Benito1,91042.25%2,46654.55%1242.74%210.46%00.00%-556-12.30%4,521San Bernardino30,69651.47%27,51546.14%1,0011.68%4090.69%130.02%3,1815.33%59,634San Diego54,55252.84%45,89144.45%1,7491.69%1,0391.01%20.00%8,6618.39%103,233San Francisco132,34653.36%111,04644.77%3,8431.55%7810.31%190.01%21,3008.59%248,035San Joaquin22,34050.34%20,99047.30%8952.02%1470.33%50.01%1,3503.04%44,377San Luis Obispo6,66045.91%7,04648.57%6084.19%1921.32%00.00%-386-2.66%14,506San Mateo20,72347.85%21,57949.82%8011.85%2000.46%80.02%-856-1.98%43,311Santa Barbara10,87041.81%14,32555.10%6892.65%1070.41%50.02%-3,455-13.29%25,996Santa Clara32,99446.70%36,19151.23%1,2171.72%2260.32%200.03%-3,197-4.53%70,648Santa Cruz8,96245.17%10,19851.40%5312.68%1500.76%00.00%-1,236-6.23%19,841Shasta4,99456.26%3,44538.81%3443.88%941.06%00.00%1,54917.45%8,877Sierra71949.72%56539.07%14910.30%130.90%00.00%15410.65%1,446Siskiyou5,88248.97%5,14642.84%7946.61%1901.58%00.00%7366.13%12,012Solano9,03750.92%8,05145.36%5863.30%740.42%00.00%9865.56%17,748Sonoma12,20742.25%15,58253.93%9573.31%1400.48%90.03%-3,375-11.68%28,895Stanislaus12,73047.34%12,33345.86%1,5985.94%2260.84%60.02%3971.48%26,893Sutter3,09343.97%3,69152.47%2243.18%270.38%00.00%-598-8.50%7,035Tehama2,74044.99%2,88247.32%4277.01%410.67%00.00%-142-2.33%6,090Trinity1,08153.36%80839.88%1075.28%301.48%00.00%27313.47%2,026Tulare16,16250.29%14,57145.34%1,1133.46%2830.88%80.02%1,5914.95%32,137Tuolumne2,67253.80%2,09142.10%1683.38%360.72%00.00%58111.70%4,967Ventura11,26449.31%10,64746.61%7893.45%1390.61%20.01%6172.70%22,841Yolo3,99743.28%4,86552.67%3523.81%220.24%00.00%-868-9.40%9,236Yuba3,13348.65%3,09748.09%1822.83%260.40%20.03%360.56%6,440Total1,391,73452.49%1,171,01944.17%64,4182.43%23,7870.90%5050.02%220,7158.32%2,651,463

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Alameda Amador Butte Kern Kings Los Angeles Mariposa Merced Modoc Placer Sacramento San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Tulare Ventura Yuba

Counties that flipped from Progressive to Democratic El Dorado Fresno Stanislaus

Notes

References