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 County results Reagan: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Unruh: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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The 1970 California gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1970. The incumbent governor, Republican Ronald Reagan, won re-election over Democrat and Speaker of the Assembly Jesse Unruh. This would be the closest victory of Ronald Reagan's entire political career.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jesse M. Unruh | 1,602,690 | 64.03 | |
| Democratic | Sam Yorty | 659,494 | 26.35 | |
| Democratic | George Wagner | 44,118 | 1.76 | |
| Democratic | Florence Douglas | 43,456 | 1.74 | |
| Democratic | Walter Clarke Buchanan | 40,192 | 1.61 | |
| Democratic | Eddie Ramirez | 31,092 | 1.24 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Ramos | 25,874 | 1.03 | |
| Democratic | Raymond Haight | 20,328 | 0.81 | |
| Democratic | Harry May | 19,471 | 0.78 | |
| Democratic | Jack Clapper | 16,142 | 0.65 | |
| Democratic | Samuel Reeve (write-in) | 3 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 2,502,860 | 100.00 | ||
| Candidate | # of votes[4]: 51 | % of votes |
|---|---|---|
| William K. Shearer | 14,069 | 61.5 |
| Keith H. Greene | 8,827 | 38.6 |
| Candidate | # of votes[4]: 52 | % of votes |
|---|---|---|
| Ricardo Romo | 6,214 | 63.5 |
| Warren A. Nielsen | 3,569 | 36.5 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ronald Reagan (incumbent) | 3,439,174 | 52.83 | |
| Democratic | Jesse M. Unruh | 2,938,607 | 45.14 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Ricardo Romo | 65,954 | 1.01 | |
| American Independent | William K. Shearer | 65,847 | 1.01 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 123,851 | 1.87 | ||
| Total votes | 6,633,433 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | (({votes))} | 54.50 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| County | Reagan | Votes | Unruh | Votes | Others | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mono | 73.09% | 1,350 | 24.91% | 460 | 2.00% | 37 |
| Orange | 66.89% | 308,982 | 31.48% | 145,420 | 1.63% | 7,538 |
| Alpine | 66.34% | 203 | 29.08% | 89 | 4.58% | 14 |
| Sutter | 64.48% | 9,084 | 34.15% | 4,811 | 1.38% | 194 |
| Inyo | 63.50% | 4,006 | 34.90% | 2,202 | 1.60% | 101 |
| Calaveras | 63.10% | 3,499 | 35.11% | 1,947 | 1.79% | 99 |
| Butte | 62.82% | 22,656 | 34.82% | 12,558 | 2.35% | 849 |
| San Diego | 60.11% | 253,378 | 37.51% | 158,098 | 2.38% | 10,047 |
| Santa Barbara | 60.10% | 51,523 | 37.56% | 32,202 | 2.33% | 2,000 |
| San Benito | 59.54% | 3,134 | 37.86% | 1,993 | 2.60% | 137 |
| Nevada | 59.45% | 6,756 | 39.09% | 4,442 | 1.46% | 166 |
| Modoc | 59.40% | 1,760 | 38.41% | 1,138 | 2.19% | 65 |
| Glenn | 59.37% | 3,805 | 38.73% | 2,482 | 1.90% | 122 |
| Ventura | 58.64% | 63,790 | 38.93% | 42,350 | 2.44% | 2,651 |
| Sonoma | 58.60% | 44,823 | 39.16% | 29,953 | 2.24% | 1,711 |
| Imperial | 58.47% | 10,636 | 38.51% | 7,006 | 3.02% | 550 |
| Lake | 58.18% | 5,317 | 40.30% | 3,683 | 1.52% | 139 |
| Santa Cruz | 58.07% | 26,679 | 39.58% | 18,186 | 2.35% | 1,079 |
| Colusa | 57.69% | 2,302 | 40.78% | 1,627 | 1.53% | 61 |
| Tulare | 57.69% | 27,564 | 40.45% | 19,327 | 1.86% | 888 |
| Mariposa | 57.46% | 1,568 | 40.71% | 1,111 | 1.83% | 50 |
| Del Norte | 57.13% | 2,755 | 41.00% | 1,977 | 1.87% | 90 |
| Monterey | 56.63% | 33,691 | 41.19% | 24,508 | 2.18% | 1,297 |
| Riverside | 56.60% | 81,768 | 41.13% | 59,425 | 2.27% | 3,273 |
| El Dorado | 56.59% | 7,932 | 41.51% | 5,818 | 1.90% | 267 |
| San Bernardino | 56.57% | 107,219 | 40.66% | 77,069 | 2.76% | 5,240 |
| Marin | 56.56% | 43,092 | 41.38% | 31,525 | 2.06% | 1,571 |
| San Luis Obispo | 55.84% | 18,301 | 41.98% | 13,758 | 2.19% | 717 |
| Napa | 55.29% | 16,844 | 42.73% | 13,018 | 1.98% | 603 |
| San Joaquin | 55.25% | 50,631 | 43.10% | 39,495 | 1.65% | 1,515 |
| Kern | 55.19% | 54,216 | 42.52% | 41,768 | 2.28% | 2,244 |
| Yuba | 54.74% | 5,305 | 43.93% | 4,258 | 1.33% | 129 |
| San Mateo | 54.31% | 109,356 | 43.74% | 88,069 | 1.96% | 3,941 |
| Tuolumne | 53.74% | 4,567 | 44.46% | 3,779 | 1.80% | 153 |
| Mendocino | 53.33% | 9,134 | 44.46% | 7,614 | 2.21% | 378 |
| Contra Costa | 53.15% | 106,965 | 45.30% | 91,156 | 1.55% | 3,123 |
| Amador | 53.12% | 2,866 | 45.32% | 2,445 | 1.56% | 84 |
| Tehama | 52.46% | 5,500 | 45.97% | 4,819 | 1.57% | 165 |
| Santa Clara | 51.47% | 172,562 | 46.10% | 154,570 | 2.43% | 8,158 |
| Humboldt | 51.12% | 16,778 | 46.41% | 15,232 | 2.47% | 810 |
| Los Angeles | 50.74% | 1,173,161 | 47.40% | 1,095,899 | 1.87% | 43,203 |
| Trinity | 50.21% | 1,643 | 47.34% | 1,549 | 2.44% | 80 |
| Merced | 49.64% | 12,117 | 48.50% | 11,840 | 1.86% | 454 |
| Siskiyou | 49.58% | 6,092 | 48.18% | 5,920 | 2.25% | 276 |
| Placer | 49.37% | 13,886 | 48.89% | 13,751 | 1.75% | 491 |
| Kings | 49.11% | 8,068 | 49.52% | 8,134 | 1.37% | 225 |
| Madera | 48.94% | 6,205 | 49.72% | 6,304 | 1.33% | 169 |
| Fresno | 48.74% | 60,644 | 49.67% | 61,801 | 1.59% | 1,979 |
| Solano | 48.43% | 21,939 | 47.64% | 21,583 | 3.93% | 1,780 |
| Sierra | 46.92% | 617 | 51.25% | 674 | 1.83% | 24 |
| Sacramento | 46.04% | 105,523 | 52.52% | 120,365 | 1.44% | 3,303 |
| Stanislaus | 45.07% | 29,157 | 53.34% | 34,510 | 1.59% | 1,031 |
| Plumas | 44.97% | 2,280 | 52.82% | 2,678 | 2.21% | 112 |
| Lassen | 44.93% | 2,494 | 52.44% | 2,911 | 2.63% | 146 |
| Shasta | 43.93% | 11,864 | 54.22% | 14,643 | 1.85% | 499 |
| Alameda | 43.05% | 162,727 | 54.68% | 206,693 | 2.27% | 8,566 |
| San Francisco | 41.97% | 106,606 | 55.44% | 140,829 | 2.59% | 6,583 |
| Yolo | 41.01% | 12,344 | 56.92% | 17,135 | 2.07% | 624 |
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