1966 Californian General Election

1966 California General election

November 8, 1966

Nominee Ronald Reagan Nanoka Kiba Ayumu Kasuga Party Republican Democratic Labour Popular vote 3,742,913 2,749,174 221 Percentage 57.5% 42.3% 4.3%

County results Reagan:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Kiba:      50–60%

Prime Minister before election Nanoka Kiba Democratic Elected Prime Minister Ronald Reagan Republican

General elections were held in California on 30 March 1966. The result was a comprehensive victory for the Republican Party under Ronald Reahan

The election marked a major strengthening of power for the ruling GOP , which gained a two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time. The main opposition the Labour Party slightly increased its share of the popular vote, but nevertheless saw its parliamentary representation considerably reduced. The number of House of Assembly seats for White voters in California had been increased from 150 to 160 by the Constitution Amendment Act of 1965. In addition, there were six seats for Californio voters from Baja California . There were also four seats reserved for Non Korean Asian representatives, who did not have to stand for re-election during 1966.

Election background

Kiba's decision to seek a third term as prime minister , violating an earlier promise not to do so, hurt her popularity. Her sagging popularity was evidenced by a tough battle in the Democratic primary, normally not a concern for an incumbent. Los Angeles Prime Minister Sam Yorty received nearly forty percent of the primary vote while Kiba only received fifty-two, a very low number for an incumbent in a primary election.

The Republicans seized upon Kiba's increasing unpopularity by nominating a well-known and charismatic political outsider, actor and union leader Ronald Reagan. With Richard Nixon , Shinobu Miyake , and William Knowland working tirelessly behind the scenes and Reagan trumpeting his law-and-order campaign message, Reagan received almost two thirds of the primary vote over Shutaro Mendo , the moderate Republican former mayor of San Francisco; his push towards the general election held great momentum. At first, Kiba ran a low-key campaign, stating that running the country was her biggest priority, but later began campaigning on the record of her eight years as Prime Minister. As Reagan's lead in the polls increased, Kiba began to panic and made a serious gaffe when she ran a television commercial in which she reminded a group of school children that a union leader (i.e., Lee Harvey Oswald ) had killed John F Kennedy—a crude character assassination based on Reagan's work as a unionist.[24] The comparison of Reagan to Oswald did not go over well, furthering the decline of Kiba's campaign.

General election results

1966 General Election, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Ronald Reagan	3,742,913	57.55
	Democratic	Nanoka Kiba (incumbent)	2,749,174	42.27
	Labour	Ayumu Kasuga	221	4.3
Turnout			6,503,445	100.00	+10.0

Results by county

County	Reagan	Votes	Brown	Votes
Mono	77.84%	1,205	22.16%	343
Orange	72.15%	293,413	27.85%	113,275
Sutter	70.43%	9,828	29.57%	4,126
Calaveras	67.77%	3,810	32.23%	1,812
Butte	67.48%	25,443	32.52%	12,263
Glenn	66.35%	4,676	33.65%	2,371
Inyo	66.19%	3,961	33.81%	2,023
Nevada	65.85%	7,373	34.15%	3,823
Alpine	65.78%	148	34.22%	77
Del Norte	63.99%	3,409	36.01%	1,918
San Diego	63.82%	252,070	36.18%	142,890
Santa Barbara	63.54%	50,284	36.46%	28,853
Lake	63.09%	5,499	36.91%	3,217
El Dorado	63.08%	9,189	36.92%	5,378
Tehama	63.01%	6,629	36.99%	3,891
Imperial	62.87%	12,372	37.13%	7,307
Riverside	62.77%	84,501	37.23%	50,112
Modoc	62.73%	1,946	37.27%	1,156
Kern	62.67%	64,716	37.33%	38,543
San Luis Obispo	62.55%	21,528	37.45%	12,891
Trinity	62.27%	2,050	37.73%	1,242
San Bernardino	62.19%	121,916	37.81%	74,120
Colusa	62.09%	2,806	37.91%	1,713
Mariposa	61.51%	1,811	38.49%	1,133
Santa Cruz	61.47%	26,988	38.53%	16,913
Monterey	61.06%	35,944	38.94%	22,923
San Benito	60.96%	3,565	39.04%	2,283
Ventura	60.94%	58,068	39.06%	37,224
San Joaquin	60.77%	54,647	39.23%	35,281
Sonoma	60.68%	41,516	39.32%	26,898
Yuba	60.52%	6,658	39.48%	4,344
Tulare	59.95%	33,095	40.05%	22,109
Mendocino	59.81%	10,161	40.19%	6,827
Napa	59.53%	17,740	40.47%	12,060
Amador	58.33%	2,985	41.67%	2,132
Tuolumne	58.21%	4,845	41.79%	3,479
Los Angeles	57.26%	1,389,995	42.74%	1,037,663
Marin	57.21%	40,411	42.79%	30,230
Humboldt	57.20%	19,210	42.80%	14,374
Kings	55.79%	9,957	44.21%	7,890
Santa Clara	55.40%	164,970	44.60%	132,793
Sierra	55.27%	650	44.73%	526
Contra Costa	55.13%	107,543	44.87%	87,525
Shasta	54.83%	15,155	45.17%	12,486
Placer	54.61%	14,664	45.39%	12,187
Stanislaus	54.37%	31,473	45.63%	26,418
Siskiyou	54.21%	7,057	45.79%	5,962
Madera	54.18%	7,490	45.82%	6,335
Fresno	53.96%	70,182	46.04%	59,869
Lassen	53.95%	3,190	46.05%	2,723
San Mateo	53.71%	107,498	46.29%	92,654
Merced	53.01%	14,103	46.99%	12,499
Sacramento	50.91%	109,801	49.09%	105,861
Solano	50.15%	23,187	49.85%	23,047
Yolo	50.08%	13,073	49.92%	13,032
Alameda	49.75%	189,055	50.25%	190,968
Plumas	49.18%	2,658	50.82%	2,747
San Francisco	41.11%	114,796	58.89%	164,435