The 1974 California gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Governor Ronald Reagan retired after two terms. Jerry Brown, the secretary of state and son of former Governor Pat Brown, defeated Houston Flournoy.
Primary elections were held on June 4. Flournoy won the Republican primary over Lieutenant Governor Ed Reinecke. Brown won a plurality of the Democratic vote over a field of candidates that included San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto and Assembly Speaker Bob Moretti.
This was the first election since 1958 that did not feature either of the two future presidents Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan as the Republican nominee, nor any incumbent governor. With Brown's election, California had a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators (John V. Tunney and Alan Cranston) for the first time since the Civil War.
As of 2026, this is the earliest California gubernatorial election to feature a major party candidate who is still alive.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Houston Flournoy, California state controller
- Glenn Mitchel
- William Nelson
- Ed Reinecke, lieutenant governor of California
- J. F. Stay
- James Ware
Democratic primary
Candidates
- John Hancock Abbott
- Joseph Alioto, mayor of San Francisco
- Alex A. Aloia
- Eileen Anderson
- Joseph Francis Brouillette
- Jerry Brown, secretary of state of California and son of former Governor Pat Brown
- Herbert Hafif, Claremont personal injury attorney and restauranteur
- Bob Moretti, assemblyman from Van Nuys and speaker of the California State Assembly
- Chris Musun
- Russ Priebe
- Josephum S. Ramos
- Conie R. Robertson
- William M. Roth, former United States trade representative and regent of the University of California
- George Henry Wagner
- Jerome Waldie, U.S. representative from Antioch
- Baxter Ward, member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and candidate for mayor of Los Angeles in 1969
- Jim Wedworth
General election results
Candidates
- Jerry Brown, secretary of state of California and son of former Governor Pat Brown (Democratic)
- Houston Flournoy, California state controller (Republican)
- Edmon V. Kaiser (American Independent)
- Elizabeth Keathley (Peace and Freedom)
Campaign
Brown had statewide name recognition, benefited from the fact that Democrats outnumbered Republicans in California, and maintained a lead in most of the early polls. Flournoy began to gain in the polls as the election approached, but Brown won, although by a much smaller margin than predicted. Coincidentally, when Brown ran for Secretary of State four years earlier, he defeated James Flournoy – no relation to Houston – in a very close election.
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Del Norte
- Humboldt
- Imperial
- Los Angeles
- Mendocino
- Merced
- Placer
- San Bernardino
- San Mateo
- Santa Clara
- Santa Cruz
- Siskiyou
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Tehama
- Trinity
- Yuba
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican