The 1914 California gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1914. Incumbent governor Hiram Johnson was easily re-elected on the Progressive Party ticket over Republican prosecutor John D. Fredericks, Democratic state senator John Curtin, and Socialist author Noble Richardson.
Johnson became the first governor of California to win re-election since John Bigler in 1853. This was the first gubernatorial election in which each of Kern, Glenn, Lake, and Madera counties did not back the Democratic Party candidate and the first since 1855 in which each of Colusa, Mariposa, and Merced counties were not carried by a Democrat.
Johnson would not serve out his second term, resigning after his successful campaign for United States Senate in 1916. This election ushered in a four decade period of Republican dominance in the state's gubernatorial races that was only interrupted once in 1938.
Background
Hiram Johnson was first elected governor in 1910 as a member of the Republican Party. However, dissatisfaction with the William Howard Taft administration led many Republicans to support Theodore Roosevelt for the 1912 Republican nomination. Facing defeat at the 1912 Republican National Convention, Roosevelt defected to run under a new Bull Moose Party banner, selecting Johnson as his vice-presidential running mate. In California, Roosevelt and Johnson ran on the Republican ticket and carried the state by fewer than 200 votes. Johnson was supremely popular in California.
Early in 1914, it was not immediately clear if Johnson would run for reelection as governor, run for the United States Senate, or retire from public office. On January 6, 1914, Johnson announced that he would stand for re-election as governor under the banner of the Bull Moose Party. Following this announcement, Hiram Johnson and other members of the party began a massive voter registration campaign, to get potential voters to register as Progressives.
Republican primary
Candidates
- John D. Fredericks, Los Angeles County District Attorney since 1903
- Arthur Hathaway Hewitt, former Speaker of the California State Assembly (1911) and assemblyman from Yuba City (1908–11)
Declined
- Henry T. Gage, former governor (1899–1903) and U.S. minister to Portugal (1910)
- James C. Needham, former U.S. representative from Modesto (1899–1913)
Campaign
Early in the year, Los Angeles district attorney John D. Fredericks announced that he was willing to run for governor but qualified the statement by stating that he was willing to stand aside for another qualified candidate. The party faced an uphill battle following Johnson's defection to the Progressive Party. In February, Republican stalwarts met at Santa Barbara to discuss their strategy for the upcoming elections. Phillip A. Stanton and Leroy Wright lead the meeting, which was sponsored by Rudolph Spreckels. At the meeting, Republican leadership resolved to "reconstruct" the party after its 1912 split. Republicans also showed hostility towards California's direct primary law at the meeting and discussed possible candidates for governor including Fredericks, James C. Needham, and Henry Gage. On February 26, Arthur Hewitt declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination.
Fredericks spent over $14,000 on his primary campaign, a considerable amount compared to his primary opponents. Sources outside of California contributed $12,000.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- John Curtin, state senator from Tuolumne County since 1899
- Fred H. Hall, former assemblyman from Bakersfield (1911–13)
Declined
- John B. Sanford, state senator from Ukiah
Campaign
In early 1914, the two candidates who were rumored to be aiming for the democratic nomination were John B. Curtin, a state senator from Sonora, and State Senator John B. Sanford of Ukiah. On February 7, 1914, Curtin made his intentions clear when he announced he was seeking the governorship. Later that month, Fred H. Hall of Bakersfield also entered the race, announcing his candidacy on February 28.
Curtin began his primary campaign in the city of Stockton on May 22, 1914. He would later announce his personal platform and political beliefs that he campaigned under. He advocated for the direct election of appointed state positions, such as Directors and Commissioners of state government offices. Additionally, Curtin advocated for state funding of elementary schooling as opposed to county funding, water conservation for farm irrigation purposes, the abolishment of "useless" government positions, and "an economical administration of the affairs of the state".
General election
Candidates
- John Curtin, state senator from Tuolumne County since 1899 (Democratic)
- John D. Fredericks, Los Angeles County District Attorney since 1903 (Republican)
- Hiram Johnson, incumbent governor since 1911 (Bull Moose)
- Clinton P. Moore (Prohibition)
- Noble A. Richardson, writer (Socialist)
Noble A. Richardson, a writer, won the Socialist primary unopposed. Throughout the primary and general election campaign periods, he toured the state and gave speeches to several socialist gatherings which called attention to his campaign.
Campaign
Johnson officially kicked off his campaign in Los Angeles, where he gave a speech to a large crowd at the Simpson Auditorium. He had no party opposition and secured his nomination on August 26, 1914, allowing him to focus on the general election. On September 15, the Progressive Party held their convention in Sacramento, where they adopted a platform supporting a protective tariff, non-partisan elections, and the continuation of the work done by Johnson in his previous term.
While the campaigns were traveling across the state to appeal to the voters, there were efforts behind the scenes to remove several Progressive candidates from appearing on the general election ballots. Secretary of State Frank C. Jordan asked California Attorney General Ulysses S. Webb to clarify whether candidates can be on the November ballot if they had lost a primary election. Webb responded:
"If a registered Progressive, seeking Republican and Democratic nominations, obtains the Progressive nomination, his name will go on the ballot, according to Webb's ruling, even though be loses the Republican and Democratic nominations. On the other hand, if he should lose the Progressive and gain both of the other nominations, he is out of the running and cannot even be an independent candidate."
As a result, members of the Republican Party threatened to file suit against the state if any progressive were allowed to run in the general election after losing another party's primary, as the law indicated, "a candidate losing any party nomination shall not get on the November ballot."
This greatly concerned members of the Progressive Party, many of whom had cross-filed as Republicans, such as John Eshleman and Friend W. Richardson.
Results
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Progressive
- Amador
- Calaveras
- Colusa
- El Dorado
- Glenn
- Inyo
- Kern
- Madera
- Mariposa
- Mendocino
- Merced
- Napa
- Placer
- Sacramento
- Siskiyou
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Tehama
- Tuolumne
- Yolo
- Yuba
Counties that flipped from Progressive to Republican
- Alpine
- Kings
- San Diego
- Sutter
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican