1966 Californian General Election

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1966 California General election

← 1962 November 8, 1966 1970 →
  Ronald-Reagan-governor-California.jpg Offical Portrait of Nanoka Kiba.png 27890.jpg
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%

1966 California gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
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[1][2]
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
  1. Anderson, Totton J.; Lee, Eugene C. (June 1967). "The 1966 Election in California". The Western Political Quarterly. 20 (2): 535–554. doi:10.2307/446081. JSTOR 446081.
  2. [1] Template:Webarchive