The 1910 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1910. It saw RepublicanHiram Johnson elected as the state's governor. Johnson won the election with 45.9% of the popular vote, and became the 23rd governor of California. This was the first gubernatorial election in which Fresno County, Modoc County, San Benito County, Stanislaus County, and Tulare County voted for a Republican candidate. These Republican flips of traditionally (at the time) Democratic counties foreshadowed the future Republican dominance of California gubernatorial elections that began in the next election.
Background
The governor of California at the time of this election was Republican James Gillett. Gillett's nomination to top of the Republican ticket was controversial in 1906, and during the campaign he was consistently accused of being in the pocket of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Despite this, he served a term as governor and accomplished several things, including being a leader in the creation of the state's highway system, and developing parole guidelines for prisoners.[1] However, he was suffering financially while being governor, and decided not to seek a second term. He instead opted to pursue a career in law.[2]
Democratic primary
The three main candidates for the Democratic nomination were former runner up and congressman Theodore Arlington Bell, former congressman Thomas J. Geary, and State Senator John B. Sanford.[3] On March 10, 1910 Theodore Bell announced his candidacy for governor in San Francisco. Bell also announced that he was running on an anti-railroad platform.[4] On May 28,1910, Bell visited the town of Hanford, California, where he was interviewed by a reporter. In the interview he blamed the Independence Party and William Langdon for splitting the Democratic vote in his loss of the 1906 California gubernatorial election. He also stated he did not believe that anyone would seriously challenge him for the Democratic nomination.[5] Bell was proven correct when it was reported that the California Democratic Committee was not seeing any contests for the major state nominations.[6] On August 16, 1910 both the Democratic and Republican parties held their primary elections. Bell won the nomination for governor of California, and Timothy Spellacy won as the choice for lieutenant governor.[7]
Republican primary
For the entire month of January, it was not clear that Governor James Gillett would seek renomination, but his intentions were made clear on January 30, when he announced through a published letter to the California Republican Party, that he would not seek the nomination because, "It is for the best interest of myself and family that I should again resume the practice of my profession, and I can not well afford to continue in the office of governor for another, period of four years."[8]
After Gillett's announcement there were multiple candidates willing to contend for the Republican nomination. The most prominent of these men were Charles F. Curry the secretary of state for California, and an early favorite in the race. Curry was so confident in himself that he even called the primary election and governorship for himself on the day that Gillett's announcement was made.[9] In addition to Curry, Frank K. Mott, the mayor of Oakland, and Francis J. Heney a prosecutor and former attorney general in Arizona were all considering runs. Hiram Johnson, Chester Rowell, and William R. Davis all announced that they were not seeking the nomination.[10]
The Lincoln-Roosevelt League, a faction representing progressive elements of the Republican Party struggled to nominate a candidate for office. The league initially tried to force Hiram Johnson to accept the nomination, but he turned it down. The league was then split on either nominating Charles M. Belshaw, and William Rude Davis, a former mayor of Oakland.[11] In early February, it was reported that Frank K. Mott and Charles Belshaw were the only candidates that the league were considering for governor, and that the League was still split between its two factions, in regards to who between should receive the league's blessing.[12] On February 20, it was announced that despite turning down the nomination multiple times, Hiram Johnson would run under the banner of the Lincoln-Roosevelt League.[13] In his announcement he stated
"It seems to be my turn to make the sacrifice and I am going to make it. For two months the utmost pressure has been brought to bear upon me. I had steadfastly refused to become a candidate, but it was placed before me in such a fashion that I was forced to fail in my duty or accept. So I am going ahead, making the fight as a progressive republican on the Roosevelt Lines. I am going to make this fight an endeavor to return the government of California, to the people and take it away from the political bureau of the Southern Pacific railway company. If nothing else can be accomplished, we can teach the people the lesson talked by our last president and that is being talked today to the people of the United States by La Follette."[14]
Shortly after Johnson's announcement, former governor George Pardee and member of the Lincoln-Roosevelt League supported Hiram Johnson for the governorship.[15] Hiram Johnson began making plans for his tour of the state in late February, stating that he would visit every part of California, even those areas that had less population.[16] Hiram Johnson launched his campaign in Southern California, where he visited cities such as Long Beach and Los Angeles. He inspected the Harbor of Los Angeles and gave an informal reception in the city.[17]Albert Joseph Wallace was chosen to be Hiram Johnson's running mate. Wallace was previously the Chairman of the Finance Committee for Los Angeles City Council.[18]
The non reform faction of the Republican party was vastly unpopular, as the Lincoln-Roosevelt League represented a change to the status quo. Charles Curry, Alden Anderson, and Phillip A. Stanton, the three leading non-reformist candidates struggled to gain momentum against Hiram Johnson, who was becoming popular across the state.[19] Johnson even received support from Hispanic Americans, as evidence by the endorsement of Alfonso E. Garcia, president of the Hispano-American Republican league.[20]
Johnson and the other Republican candidates continued to travel the state for months ahead of the August 16 primary election. Johnson in particular traveled up and down California, gathering huge crowds in cities throughout the state, while non reformist Republicans also fought for support and attention. The new primary laws in the state were cause of great concern for the candidates, as they urged "Decline to State" voters to switch their registration to the Republican Party in order to vote in the primary.[21] By the time of the primary election, newspapers across the state were calling the nomination for Hiram Johnson.[22][23]
Sample ballot for the Republican Party primary in Sacramento, California. 1910
Third Party Campaigns
Simone P. Meads was nominated by the Prohibition Party for governor in September 1910 at the party's convention in San Jose, California[24] Meads was a public school teacher and principal for multiple schools in Oakland. In addition to being a teacher, Meads was also a published author, writing several books about life in Oakland, and educational teaching materials.[25] In addition to the prohibition of alcohol, the party also supported the public ownership of utilities, women's suffrage, and the implementation of referendum, reform, and recall ballot measures.[26]
Jackson Stitt Wilson was an avid Christian socialist who was a delegate to conventions of the Socialist Party in 1904 and 1910. California's Socialist Party nominated him for governor at their convention, and he received word of their choice by telegram. He began his campaign in Los Angeles, and would travel the state in a red colored automobile nicknamed the "Red Special".[27] The name of Wilson's automobile was a direct reference to Eugene Debs' train that he traveled on during the 1908 Presidential Election, also known as the "Red Special".[28] Wilson was widely regarded as a famous orator, and in beginning of his campaign he challenged other candidates in the race to debate him. To assist the campaign, Eugene Debs visited the state and campaigned for the benefit of Wilson over a period of two weeks.[29]
General Election
After both the Democratic and Republican parties held their primaries on August 16, Theodore Bell and Hiram Johnson would be the top two choices for the governorship.[30] While both candidates would continue traveling across the state to garner attention and votes, many papers from across California were already predicting that Hiram Johnson would be elected governor of California.[31]
Theodore Bell had originally run in 1906 as an anti Southern Pacific politician, who wanted to wipe corporate influence out of politics in California. Bell had continued with this same platform in 1910.[32] However, with the nomination of Hiram Johnson, he struggled to gain votes and distinguish himself from the increasingly popular candidate, who was also against corporate influence and the control of the Southern Pacific Railroad.[33]
Other than dismantling the Southern Pacific Railroad's influence on California politics, the candidates rarely discussed other issues. One of the few issues they did expand upon was the exclusion of Japanese and Chinese immigrants to California. On March 20, 1910 the Asiatic Exclusion League invited candidates to speak their minds on the "Japanese Question" (the removal of Japanese immigrants from California). Candidates from both parties responded, with Theodore Bell, Frank McGowen, and Charles F. Curry, making an appearance. Alden Anderson sent condolences that he couldn't appear, and Hiram Johnson ignored the invitation. All the candidates at the conference except Bell, made strong declarations that they would "Fight with the league".[34]
Bell would later make his position clear on the topic, when he made a speech in Watsonville, stating that he wanted to "prevent the invasion of the- yellow, brown and Hindu hordes." Bell would also go on to state the following
"I shall also stand for a state law to prevent Asiatics from gaining ownership of land in this state and, thirdly, I purpose to make it impossible for Asiatics to sit in the same schools with your child and my child. I don't care whether it loses me a vote or not, but I'm against the whole bunch of them. I want to see this country for white men and populated by people willing to go out and fight for our flag."[35]
Hiram Johnson did make general statements about Asiatic exclusion during the campaign, as he expressed regret over not being able to attend a meeting of the Asiatic Exclusion League,[36] however his feelings on the matter would later be made clear in 1913, when as governor he signed the California Alien Land Law of 1913 into law.
Towards the end of the campaign, Bell and Johnson began attacking each other for each of their prior relationships with the Southern Pacific Railroad and other corporate entities.[37] Days before the election, the Southern Pacific Railroad allegedly ordered their employees to vote for Theodore Bell, which caused many to believe the claims that Bell was actually supported by and would theoretically be lenient on William Randolph Hearst, Abe Ruef, and Patrick Calhoun.[38] In the final days of the campaign, newspapers predicted that Hiram Johnson would win the election.[39]
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