1906 California gubernatorial election

Republican nomination

At the time of the election the governor of California was George Pardee. His term was relatively successful as he became a strong proponent of conservation, and provided assistance to the city of San Francisco, as it suffered through both the San Francisco plague of 1900–04, and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. This along with his efficient use of the state's bureaucracy made Pardee a popular figure. Despite Pardee's popularity, many in the Republican Party and the lobbyists for the Southern Pacific Railroad despised him for his views against the Southern Pacific, at a time when the railroad company was very influential in state politics. This hostility, plus theories that Republican voters were angry at his focus on issues in Northern California, and not Southern California, caused Pardee to lose the nomination to James Gillett at the Republican convention in Santa Cruz.

Democratic nomination

The 1902 California gubernatorial election was a close race that saw Democratic candidate Franklin Knight Lane lose the popular vote by only several thousand votes; an impressive feat given the Republican Party's dominance in state politics. Despite this, Lane did not run for the party's nomination in 1906, instead becoming a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Candidates considering runs at the beginning of the race were Theodore A. Bell, Meredith P. Snyder, and James Phelan, the former mayor of San Francisco. Bell initially had wanted to run for his former seat in California's 2nd congressional district, instead of for governor. At the Democratic convention in Sacramento the names presented for governor were Phelan, Bell, Thomas O. Toland, and Daniel Cole, among others. Bell would eventually be nominated by the Democrats on September 12, 1906. At the convention the party adopted several wide-ranging policies including support for William Jennings Bryan, public ownership of utilities, support for antitrust legislation, maintaining the Chinese Exclusion Act, support for an 8-hour work day and women's suffrage.

Third party campaigns

The Independence Party began in 1906, largely led by William Randolph Hearst and his supporters. The party held its first state convention in Oakland on September 6, 1906. It was there that it nominated William Langdon for governor. The party's platform was similar to the Democratic platform, in that they called for the direct election of senators, increased irrigation for farmers, maintaining the Chinese Exclusion Act, food safety laws, and public ownership of utilities.

The Socialist Party was active in California and held its convention in Oakland. It was there that the party nominated Austin Lewis for governor, and F.J. Wheat of Los Angeles for lieutenant governor. Lewis was a lecturer, writer and attorney who had law offices in both San Francisco and Oakland. He would become known for his work trying to prove the innocence of Tom Mooney and Warren K. Billings in the 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing. Lewis was a critic of both Gillett and Langdon, going so far as to say that "If you vote for Gillett your ballot counts one for the Southern Pacific railroad machine; if you vote for Hearst's puppet candidate you vote for nothing."

Carl Browne, a former leader in the Workingmen's Party of California and Coxey's Army, attempted to form a political coalition between the Populist and Prohibition Parties with himself as their candidate for governor. When this didn't work, he pledged his support to Langdon.

General election campaign

By October the candidates had secured the nominations of their parties and started campaigning to voters across the state. Early on Bell would engage in mudslinging, especially against Langdon, whose campaign many at the time saw as a splinter effort of the Democratic Party. On the campaign trail, Bell would criticize Gillett and Langdon. Bell stated that Langdon's campaign was "simply an adjunct of the campaign of James Gillett", and implied that Gillett was a pawn of the Southern Pacific Railroad due to his acceptance of rail passes and lack of action on bills that would hurt the company. Bell also criticized William Randolph Hearst for his efforts to get himself elected Governor of New York and his creation of the Independence League, as many at the time, including Bell, thought this third party would take away votes from the Democrats. On October 10, 1906, a prominent Republican banker, W.L. Porterfield, crossed party lines and endorsed Bell, going so far as to promise a subscription of one million dollars towards a new railroad that would connect San Pedro to an Eastern railroad. This showcased the dissatisfaction within the California Republican Party about the Southern Pacific's influence over it.

Governor Pardee endorsed James Gillett on September 28, 1906, allaying fears in the state's Republican Party that Pardee might refuse to endorse Gillett or run a third-party campaign. Gillett held a large campaign rally in Sacramento on October 5, 1906. Thousands rallied to support him as he and other Republican leaders gathered to speak about their platform and Gillett's record on issues such as labor. Gillett continued to travel around the state after his major rally, giving talks in Marysville, Grass Valley and Stockton to the working class people of California. In the weeks before the election multiple newspapers across the state were already calling the election for Gillett. Later in the campaign, Gillett was endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt, who stated in his endorsement, "In my opinion, the Republicans of California are fortunate in the nomination of Mr. Gillett...That if elected, his administration will be a credit to the State I have no doubt." On November 5, 1906, the San Francisco Call called the election for Gillett once again, along with other newspapers throughout the state.

General election results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Kings
• Mendocino
• Monterey
• San Francisco
• Trinity

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Amador
• Butte
• Lassen
• Napa
• Nevada
• Placer
• Plumas
• Sierra
• Sonoma
• Sutter
• Yuba

Counties that flipped from Republican to Independence

• Inyo

Notes

References

• Our Campaigns

References

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2. (January 3, 2011). "Gov. George Cooper Pardee".
3. "James Gillett 1907–1911". California State Library.
4. (4 October 1906). "HOW AND WHY GILLETT WON THE NOMINATION An Analysis of the Conditions and Causes that Led to the Victory of Humboldt's Favorite Son". Humboldt Times.
5. "The Direct Primary A Critical Step for California Progressivism". San Francisco State University.
6. (19 February 1906). "SAN FRANCISCO POLITICAL GOSSIP. Gillett’a Candidacy Booming-—Ex-Governor Gage Becoming Active—Democrats Who May Enter the Running.". Sacramento Daily Union.
7. (16 August 1906). "LAUNCH NAME OF DIGGS FOR GOVERNOR THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY DEMOCRATS TO START BOOM AT A BANQUET.". Colusa Daily Sun.
8. (10 September 1906). "DIGGS, PHELAN. BELL, COLE, ALVORD, TOLAND These Are the Men the Democrats Talk of for Governor—Still No Slate in Sight.". Sacramento Daily Union.
9. (12 September 1906). "DEMOCRATS WILL NOMINATE BELL FOR GOVERNOR TODAY Diggs Took All Strings from the Napa Man and Left Him Free to Announce His Candidacy. DIGGS STILL A CANDIDATE Suggested Planks For a Platform presented to and Discussed by the Resolutions Committee. PHELAN WILLING TO ACCEPT". Sacramento Daily Union.
10. (13 September 1906). "DEMOCRATS SELECT BELL AND TOLAND Adopt Platform of Great Length and Scope Repudiate Hearst’s League and Cheer for Bryan". San Diego Union and Daily Bee.
11. (7 September 1906). "INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE First State Convention Opens at Oakland and Nominates William Langdon of San Francisco for Governor.". Sacramento Daily Union.
12. (6 September 1906). "Page 3 Advertisements Column 5". Morning Tribune.
13. "Guide to the Austin Lewis Papers, 1913-1944". Bancroft Library.
14. (14 October 1906). "SOCIALIST SAYS VOTE FOR GILLETT COUNTS ONE FOR SOUTHERN PACIFIC". Los Angeles Herald.
15. (23 August 1906). "CARL BROWNE SEEKS COLD-WATER ALLIANCE". [[Los Angeles Evening Express]].
16. (21 October 1906). "ASSAILS BROWNE WITH MISSILES". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
17. (16 September 1906). "BELL PLANNING A MUDSLINGING LIGHT Powerful Democrats Admit That Bell’s Speech Accepting the Nomination Was Decidedly Demagogic". Marysville Daily Appeal.
18. (14 October 1906). "COW BELLS SOUND IN REDLANDS.". San Francisco Call.
19. (25 September 1906). "BELL SAYS HEARST IS NO DEMOCRAT.". San Francisco Call.
20. (11 October 1906). "PROMISE RAILROAD IF BELL IS ELECTED". Los Angeles Herald.
21. (11 October 1906). "PLEDGES SUPPORT TO BELL". Los Angeles Herald.
22. (28 September 1906). "GOVERNOR PARDEE IS FOR GILLETT.". Sacramento Daily Union.
23. (6 October 1906). "JAMES N. GILLETT ROYALLY RECEIVED • STRONG WORDS SPOKEN BY REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR GOVERNOR. Issues of the Campaign Are Plainly Enunciated by the Standard-Bearer of the Republican Party. HE HAS EVER STOOD THE FRIEND OF LABOR Great Crowds Gather at the Old Pavilion to Listen to Republican Doctrine by Republican Candidates.". Sacramento Daily Union.
24. (7 October 1906). "GILLETT TALKS TO MINING MEN.". San Francisco Call.
25. "Results 121 to 140 of 1,811 for Gillett".
26. (1 November 1906). "Roosevelt Endorses Gillett". Marin Journal.
27. (6 November 1906). "Gillett Is Assured a Sweeping Victory.". San Francisco Call.
28. California Secretary of State. "Statement of the Vote of California at the General Election, Held November 6, 1906". State Printing Office.