The 1994 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, in the midst of that year's "Republican Revolution". Incumbent Republican Pete Wilson easily won re-election over his main challenger, Democratic State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, the daughter of Pat Brown and younger sister of Jerry Brown, both of whom had previously served as governor. Primaries were held on June 3, 1994.
Although Wilson initially trailed Brown in the polls as a result of the state's faltering economy, his signature opposition to affirmative action and state services for illegal immigrants (with the associated Proposition 187) eventually led to his win. Wilson won 25% of the African-American vote, a fairly strong performance for a Republican; however, he won only 25% of the Latino vote, a weak performance which was widely attributed to his support of Proposition 187. This was the first California gubernatorial election since 1974 in which the winner was of a different party from the incumbent president.
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Kathleen Brown, California Treasurer
- Mark Calney, Los Angeles resident
- John Garamendi, California Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Governor in 1982
- Tom Hayden, State Senator from Los Angeles
- Charles Pineda Jr., Sacramento criminal justice administrator
- Jonathan Trip, Burbank business consultant
Results
Minor party primaries
American Independent Party
Green Party
Libertarian Party
Peace and Freedom Party
General election
Candidates
- Kathleen Brown, California Treasurer (Democratic)
- Gloria Estela LaRiva, San Francisco political organizer and printer (Peace and Freedom)
- Jerome McCready, Castroville businessman (American Independent)
- Richard Rider, San Diego stockbroker and financial planner (Libertarian)
- Pete Wilson, incumbent Governor and former U.S. Senator (Republican)
Polling
Results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Notes
References
External links
Digitized political advertisements on California Revealed