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1934 California gubernatorial election

The 1934 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934. Held in the midst of the Great Depression, the 1934 election was amongst the most controversial in the state's political history, pitting conservative Republican Frank Merriam against former Socialist Party member turned Democratic politician Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle. A strong third party challenge came from Progressive Raymond L. Haight, a Los Angeles lawyer campaigning for the political center. Much of the campaign's emphasis was directed at Sinclair's EPIC movement, proposing interventionist reforms to cure the state's ailing economy. Merriam, who had recently assumed the governorship following the death of James Rolph, characterized Sinclair's proposal as a step towards communism.

1934 California gubernatorial election
← 1930 November 6, 1934 1938 →
 
Nominee Frank Merriam Upton Sinclair Raymond L. Haight
Party Republican Democratic Progressive
Popular vote 1,138,620 879,537 302,519
Percentage 48.87% 37.75% 12.99%
County results
Merriam:      30-40%      40–50%      50–60      60-70%      80-90%
Sinclair:      30-40%      40–50%
Haight:      30-40%
Governor before election

Frank Merriam
Republican

Elected Governor

Frank Merriam
Republican

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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  • George Creel, investigative journalist
  • Forest Dowey
  • William H. Evans
  • Z. T. Malaby
  • W. J. McNichols
  • Upton Sinclair, author and perennial Socialist Party candidate
  • James E. Waddell
  • Justus S. Wardell, nominee for Governor in 1926
  • Milton K. Young, nominee for Governor in 1930

Results

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Sinclair won the Democratic nomination in what was considered a political upset.[1]

 
Primary results by county
  Sinclair
  •   Sinclair—70-80%
  •   Sinclair—60-70%
  •   Sinclair—50-60%
  •   Sinclair—40-50%
  •   Sinclair—30-40%
  Creel
  •   Creel—60–70%
  •   Creel—50-60%
  •   Creel—40–50%
  •   Creel—30-40%
Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Upton Sinclair 436,220 51.68%
Democratic George Creel 288,106 34.13%
Democratic Justus S. Wardell 48,965 5.80%
Democratic Milton K. Young 41,609 4.93%
Democratic James E. Waddell 12,515 1.48%
Democratic Z. T. Malaby 4,476 0.53%
Democratic Forest Dowey 4,260 0.50%
Democratic W. J. McNichols 3,616 0.43%
Democratic William H. Evans 2,433 0.29%
Democratic Frank F. Merriam (write-in) 1,035 0.12%
Democratic Raymond L. Haight (write-in) 882 0.10%
Total votes 844,117 100.00%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) 346,329 41.94%
Republican C. C. Young 231,431 28.03%
Republican John R. Quinn 153,412 18.58%
Republican Raymond L. Haight 84,977 10.29%
Republican Upton Sinclair (write-in) 9,651 1.17%
Total votes 825,800 100.00%

Minor party primaries

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Socialist

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Socialist primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Socialist Milen C. Dempster 2,521 100.00%
Total votes 2,521 100.00%

Commonwealth

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Commonwealth primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Commonwealth Raymond L. Haight 2,421 100.00%
Total votes 2,421 100.00%

Progressive

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Progressive primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
California Progressive Party Raymond L. Haight 1,344 100.00%
Total votes 1,344 100.00%

Prohibition

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Prohibition primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Prohibition Frank F. Merriam (write-in)[a] 963 76.43%
Prohibition Upton Sinclair (write-in) 297 23.57%
Total votes 1,260 100.00%

Communist

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Communist primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Communist Sam Darcy 1,072 100.00%
Total votes 1,072 100.00%

General election

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Campaign

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Negative campaigning funded by the film industry was used against Sinclair to favor the Merriam campaign, as depicted in the 2020 American biographical drama film Mank.[3] Hollywood studio bosses unanimously opposed Sinclair and their involvement in the campaign has been described as Hollywood's first intervention in electoral politics.[4] They pressured their employees to assist and vote for Merriam's campaign, and made false propaganda films attacking Sinclair, giving him no opportunity to respond.[5] Joseph M. Schenck threatened to move Twentieth Century Fox to Florida should Sinclair be elected.[6]

Louis B. Mayer's MGM and other film studios deducted a days pay from their employees to raise an anti-Sinclair fund that amounted to $500,000. Irving Thalberg was to lead MGM's anti-Sinclair campaign and the studio recruited Carey Wilson to create a series of anti-Sinclair propaganda films. These films, directed by Felix E. Feist, included fake newsreels of Sinclair supporters who were portrayed as bums and criminals. They were shown in Californian movie theaters, with one episode featuring hired actors as Sinclair supporters speaking with foreign accents.[7]

Big corporations in California were strongly opposed to Sinclair. Both Standard Oil of California and Pacific Mutual sent out a letter to their stockholders encouraging them to oppose Sinclair. Various corporations created front organisations to oppose his campaign, for instance the California Real Estate Association formed the 'Merriam for Governor Committee'.[8]

Upton Sinclair later stated that there was a "campaign of lying" against him during the campaign which was "ordered by the biggest businessmen in California and paid for with millions of dollars" that was carried out by newspapers, politicians, advertisers, and the film industry.[9] One survey of over 500 Californian newspapers found that over 90% supported Merriam, 5% supported Raymond Haight and the rest made no endorsement. The only newspaper surveyed which endorsed Sinclair was his own outlet Epic News.[6]

However, Sinclair did have support from some public figures. For instance the 'Author's League for Sinclair' was founded by Dorothy Thompson and Gene Fowler. Progressives like Charlie Chaplin,[10] Dorothy Parker, Donald Ogden Stewart, Lillian Hellman and Groucho Marx were also Sinclair supporters.[4]

Candidates

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Results

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1934 California gubernatorial election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Frank F. Merriam (incumbent) 1,138,620 48.87% −23.28%
Democratic Upton Sinclair 879,537 37.75% +13.64%
California Progressive Party Raymond L. Haight 302,519 12.99% +12.99%
Communist Sam Darcy 5,826 0.25% +0.25%
Socialist Milen C. Dempster 2,947 0.13% −3.52%
Scattering 273 0.01%
Majority 259,083 11.12%
Total votes 2,329,458 100.00%
Republican hold Swing -36.93%

Results by county

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County Frank F. Merriam
Republican 		Upton Sinclair
Democratic 		Raymond L. Haight
Progressive 		Sam Darcy
Communist 		Milen C. Dempster
Socialist 		Scattering
Write-in 		Margin Total votes cast[11]
# % # % # % # % # % # % # %
Alameda 102,328 52.68% 73,233 37.70% 17,758 9.14% 581 0.30% 291 0.15% 41 0.02% 29,095 14.98% 194,232
Alpine 158 87.29% 13 7.18% 10 5.52% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 145 80.11% 181
Amador 1,946 52.00% 981 26.22% 802 21.43% 9 0.24% 4 0.11% 0 0.00% 965 25.79% 3,742
Butte 8,041 47.82% 5,932 35.28% 2,795 16.62% 29 0.17% 18 0.11% 0 0.00% 2,109 12.54% 16,815
Calaveras 1,524 45.83% 1,232 37.05% 553 16.63% 8 0.24% 5 0.15% 3 0.09% 292 8.78% 3,325
Colusa 2,584 55.70% 861 18.56% 1,179 25.41% 8 0.17% 7 0.15% 0 0.00% 1,405[b] 30.29% 4,639
Contra Costa 15,540 45.52% 15,591 45.67% 2,894 8.48% 80 0.23% 28 0.08% 7 0.02% -51 -0.15% 34,140
Del Norte 1,221 49.39% 1,106 44.74% 129 5.22% 4 0.16% 12 0.49% 0 0.00% 115 4.65% 2,472
El Dorado 1,744 33.37% 1,681 32.17% 1,766 33.79% 23 0.44% 12 0.23% 0 0.00% -22 -0.42% 5,226
Fresno 15,338 30.46% 15,509 30.80% 19,296 38.33% 101 0.20% 101 0.20% 2 0.00% -3,787[c] -7.53% 50,347
Glenn 2,342 46.00% 1,456 28.60% 1,286 25.26% 2 0.04% 5 0.10% 0 0.00% 886 17.40% 5,091
Humboldt 9,179 50.95% 6,448 35.79% 2,271 12.61% 79 0.44% 38 0.21% 0 0.00% 2,731 15.16% 18,015
Imperial 7,253 52.01% 5,637 40.42% 1,001 7.18% 17 0.12% 38 0.27% 0 0.00% 1,616 11.59% 13,946
Inyo 1,514 57.39% 877 33.24% 232 8.79% 11 0.42% 4 0.15% 0 0.00% 637 24.15% 2,638
Kern 14,798 48.59% 11,348 37.26% 4,197 13.78% 49 0.16% 60 0.20% 2 0.01% 3.450 11.33% 30,454
Kings 3,633 41.18% 2,326 26.37% 2,848 32.28% 5 0.06% 9 0.10% 1 0.01% 785[b] 8.90% 8,822
Lake 2,317 56.54% 1,338 32.65% 433 10.57% 1 0.02% 9 0.22% 0 0.00% 979 23.89% 4,098
Lassen 1,697 33.09% 2,023 39.44% 1,382 26.94% 6 0.12% 21 0.41% 0 0.00% -326 -6.36% 5,129
Los Angeles 457,755 47.45% 405,331 42.02% 98,348 10.20% 2,238 0.23% 822 0.09% 142 0.01% 52,424 5.43% 964,636
Madera 2,204 32.84% 2,441 36.37% 2,043 30.44% 16 0.24% 8 0.12% 0 0.00% -237 -3.53% 6,712
Marin 9,756 54.50% 6,494 36.28% 1,555 8.69% 43 0.24% 49 0.27% 5 0.03% 3,262 18.22% 17,902
Mariposa 1,089 46.80% 865 37.17% 354 15.21% 7 0.30% 12 0.52% 0 0.00% 224 9.63% 2,327
Mendocino 6,178 62.87% 2,763 28.12% 794 8.08% 68 0.69% 23 0.23% 1 0.01% 3,415 34.75% 9,827
Merced 4,123 35.52% 3,727 32.10% 3,727 32.10% 18 0.16% 13 0.11% 1 0.01% 396 3.41% 11,609
Modoc 1,452 49.39% 836 28.44% 637 21.67% 5 0.17% 10 0.34% 0 0.00% 616 20.95% 2,940
Mono 520 63.11% 234 28.40% 64 7.77% 1 0.12% 5 0.61% 0 0.00% 286 34.71% 824
Monterey 11,083 61.53% 5,585 31.01% 1,285 7.13% 40 0.22% 16 0.09% 4 0.02% 5,498 30.52% 18,013
Napa 5,750 58.96% 2,806 28.77% 1,175 12.05% 11 0.11% 11 0.11% 0 0.00% 2,944 30.19% 9,753
Nevada 3,163 45.33% 2,165 31.03% 1,602 22.96% 28 0.40% 19 0.27% 0 0.00% 998 14.30% 6,977
Orange 27,099 53.73% 14,092 27.94% 9,142 18.13% 59 0.12% 42 0.08% 4 0.01% 13,007 25.79% 50,438
Placer 3,337 34.23% 3,113 31.93% 3,271 33.55% 16 0.16% 13 0.13% 0 0.00% 66[b] 0.68% 9,750
Plumas 1,213 36.64% 1,226 37.03% 858 25.91% 2 0.06% 12 0.36% 0 0.00% -13 -0.39% 3,311
Riverside 19,892 62.33% 9,896 31.01% 2,072 6.49% 31 0.10% 24 0.08% 0 0.00% 9,996 31.32% 31,915
Sacramento 19,360 35.75% 16,291 30.09% 18,310 33.81% 133 0.25% 51 0.09% 3 0.01% 1,050[b] 1.94% 54,148
San Benito 2,931 65.25% 1,251 27.85% 296 6.59% 6 0.13% 8 0.18% 0 0.00% 1,680 37.40% 4,492
San Bernardino 30,285 56.76% 19,157 35.90% 3,774 7.07% 80 0.15% 57 0.11% 6 0.01% 11,128 20.85% 53,359
San Diego 44,422 50.76% 32,073 36.65% 10,759 12.29% 185 0.21% 69 0.08% 0 0.00% 12,349 14.11% 87,508
San Francisco 115,047 50.91% 87,850 38.88% 21,499 9.51% 1,116 0.49% 433 0.19% 32 0.01% 27,197 12.04% 225,977
San Joaquin 17,612 46.64% 13,720 36.33% 6,255 16.56% 70 0.19% 104 0.28% 0 0.00% 3,892 10.31% 37,761
San Luis Obispo 6,422 47.11% 5,093 37.36% 2,063 15.13% 34 0.25% 19 0.14% 0 0.00% 1,329 9.75% 13,631
San Mateo 18,448 52.29% 13,022 36.91% 3,669 10.40% 92 0.26% 40 0.11% 6 0.02% 5,426 15.38% 35,277
Santa Barbara 14,429 60.29% 7,735 32.32% 1,702 7.11% 53 0.22% 11 0.05% 2 0.01% 6,694 27.97% 23,932
Santa Clara 37,156 60.06% 19,281 31.17% 5,215 8.43% 107 0.17% 100 0.16% 2 0.00% 17,875 28.90% 61,861
Santa Cruz 10,905 63.17% 5,155 29.86% 1,119 6.48% 74 0.43% 8 0.05% 3 0.02% 5,750 33.31% 17,264
Shasta 3,283 42.75% 2,819 36.71% 1,543 20.09% 7 0.09% 28 0.36% 0 0.00% 464 6.04% 7,680
Sierra 676 45.19% 471 31.48% 339 22.66% 2 0.13% 7 0.47% 1 0.07% 205 13.70% 1,496
Siskiyou 4,202 39.19% 3,514 32.77% 2,953 27.54% 16 0.15% 37 0.35% 0 0.00% 688 6.42% 10,722
Solano 6,728 44.57% 5,112 33.87% 3,206 21.24% 29 0.19% 19 0.13% 0 0.00% 1,616 10.71% 15,094
Sonoma 15,329 57.41% 8,164 30.58% 3,070 11.50% 90 0.34% 43 0.16% 3 0.01% 7,165 26.84% 26,699
Stanislaus 7,853 34.46% 6,260 27.47% 8,592 37.70% 18 0.08% 64 0.28% 1 0.00% -739 -3.24% 22,788
Sutter 2,872 47.01% 1,980 32.41% 1,244 20.36% 8 0.13% 5 0.08% 0 0.00% 892 14.60% 6,109
Tehama 2,865 44.34% 1,816 28.10% 1,763 27.28% 7 0.11% 11 0.17% 0 0.00% 1,049 16.23% 6,462
Trinity 889 40.21% 993 44.91% 308 13.93% 13 0.59% 8 0.36% 0 0.00% -104 -4.70% 2,211
Tulare 9,850 37.46% 6,867 26.12% 9,512 36.18% 46 0.17% 18 0.07% 1 0.00% 338[b] 1.29% 26,294
Tuolumne 1,580 36.62% 1,940 44.96% 785 18.19% 0 0.00% 10 0.23% 0 0.00% -360 -8.34% 4,315
Ventura 11,015 54.07% 6,560 32.20% 2,740 13.45% 29 0.14% 26 0.13% 0 0.00% 4,455 21.87% 20,370
Yolo 4,087 46.44% 1,646 18.70% 3,041 34.56% 12 0.14% 14 0.16% 0 0.00% 1,046[b] 11.89% 8,800
Yuba 2,603 49.81% 1,601 30.64% 1,003 19.19% 3 0.06% 16 0.31% 0 0.00% 1,002 19.17% 5,226
Total 1,138,620 48.87% 879,537 37.75% 302,519 12.99% 5,826 0.25% 2,947 0.13% 273 0.01% 259,083 11.12% 2,329,722

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Republican to Progressive

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Notes

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  1. ^ Was not listed under Prohibition in the general election
  2. ^ a b c d e f Margin over Haight
  3. ^ Margin over Sinclair

References

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  1. ^ Manchel, Frank (1990). Film Study An Analytical Bibliography · Volume 1. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 226.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote at Primary Election held on August 28, 1934 in the State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. pp. 5–7. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Greg. "'Mank' and Politics: What Really Happened in 1934 California". New York Times, Dec 7, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Saverio, Giovacchini (2001). Hollywood Modernism Film and Politics in the Age of the New Deal. Temple University Press. p. 44.
  5. ^ Cohen, Harvey G. (2015). "The Struggle to Fashion the NRA Code: The Triumph of Studio Power in 1933 Hollywood". Journal of American Studies. 50 (4): 1039–1066. doi:10.1017/S002187581500122X. ISSN 0021-8758. S2CID 147499614.
  6. ^ a b Singer, Donald L. (Winter 1974). "Upton Sinclair and the California Gubernatorial Campaign of 1934". Southern California Quarterly. 56 (4): 375–406. doi:10.2307/41171421. JSTOR 41171421.
  7. ^ Critchlow, Donald T. (2013). When Hollywood Was Right How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 26–27.
  8. ^ American Fascism and the New Deal The Associated Farmers of California and the Pro-Industrial Movement. Lexington Books. 2013. pp. 58–9.
  9. ^ Sinclair, Upton (2023). I, Candidate for Governor And How I Got Licked. University of California Press. p. 99.
  10. ^ Maland, Charles J. (2021). Chaplin and American Culture The Evolution of a Star Image. Princeton University Press. pp. 135–6.
  11. ^ a b California Secretary of State. Statement of Vote at General Election held on November 6, 1934 in the State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 5. Retrieved July 19, 2024.

Further reading

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  • Antognini, Richard. "The Role of A.P. Giannini in the 1934 California Gubernatorial Election." Southern California Quarterly 57.1 (1975): 53–86. online
  • Barger, Bob. "Raymond L. Haight and the Commonwealth Progressive Campaign of 1934" California Historical Society Quarterly 43 (September, 1964), pp 219–30. online
  • Hill, Patricia Lucy. "Upton Sinclair and the 1934 California gubernatorial election." (MS thesis, Portland State University, 1978) online.
  • Larsen, Charles E. "The Epic Campaign of 1934." Pacific Historical Review 27.2 (1958): 127–147. online
  • Mitchell, Greg. The campaign of the century: Upton Sinclair's race for governor of California and the birth of media politics (Random House, 1992).
  • Rising, George G. "An EPIC Endeavor: Upton Sinclair's 1934 California Gubernatorial Campaign." Southern California Quarterly 79.1 (1997): 101–124. online
  • Singer, Donald L. "Upton Sinclair and the California Gubernatorial Campaign of 1934." Southern California Quarterly 56.4 (1974): 375–406. online
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