1982 California gubernatorial election
County results
Deukmejian: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70%
Bradley: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
The 1982 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1982. The Republican nominee, Attorney General George Deukmejian , narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley . Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown did not seek reelection to a third term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014 .
Primary election summary
In the Democratic primary, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley easily defeated State Senator John Garamendi and Mario G. Obledo . On the Republican side, it was a two-man race between Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb and Attorney General George Deukmejian . Deukmejian won the primary with nearly 55% of the vote.
General election
Early indications were that it would be a close race but as the campaign went on, Bradley slowly increased his lead in the polls. Despite this, the outcome was still in doubt as election night wore on. A large late surge of absentee ballots (many from conservative Orange County and Deukmejian's home area of Long Beach ) helped tip the balance in his favor. The incorrect polling numbers led to the theory — later dubbed "the Bradley effect " — that a statistically significant number of voters had given inaccurate responses when questioned by pollsters.
Results by county
County
Deukmejian
Votes
Bradley
Votes
Others
Votes
Modoc 68.83%
2,599
26.35%
995
4.82%
182
Glenn 67.49%
5,492
29.47%
2,398
3.05%
248
Inyo 63.87%
5,008
33.15%
2,599
2.98%
234
Sutter 63.33%
10,753
33.33%
5,660
3.34%
567
Colusa 62.95%
3,036
33.61%
1,621
3.44%
166
Calaveras 61.63%
6,277
34.37%
3,501
4.00%
407
Orange 61.44%
422,878
36.70%
252,572
1.87%
12,848
Amador 61.19%
6,251
35.66%
3,643
3.14%
321
San Joaquin 60.06%
65,583
36.63%
40,002
3.30%
3,607
Mono 59.58%
1,977
37.64%
1,249
2.77%
92
El Dorado 59.37%
20,591
37.48%
12,999
3.14%
1,090
Tehama 58.55%
9,628
37.30%
6,134
4.15%
683
Siskiyou 58.40%
9,457
37.11%
6,009
4.50%
728
Butte 58.13%
36,074
38.25%
23,734
3.62%
2,245
Shasta 57.61%
26,902
38.66%
18,053
3.73%
1,743
Tuolumne 56.84%
8,716
39.82%
6,107
3.34%
512
Nevada 56.80%
14,753
39.51%
10,262
3.69%
959
Tulare 56.69%
38,901
41.29%
28,330
2.02%
1,386
Lassen 56.64%
4,472
38.03%
3,003
5.33%
421
Mariposa 56.39%
3,255
40.26%
2,324
3.34%
193
Stanislaus 55.94%
43,639
41.38%
32,276
2.68%
2,093
Placer 55.47%
28,082
41.15%
20,832
3.38%
1,710
Kern 55.30%
70,095
42.44%
53,799
2.26%
2,859
Ventura 55.22%
99,130
42.39%
76,094
2.40%
4,300
Kings 54.64%
9,938
42.43%
7,718
2.93%
533
Madera 54.57%
10,334
41.66%
7,889
3.77%
714
Napa 54.20%
21,812
42.34%
17,042
3.46%
1,393
Trinity 53.95%
3,100
40.92%
2,351
5.13%
295
Yuba 53.77%
6,959
41.73%
5,400
4.50%
582
Plumas 53.53%
4,237
42.39%
3,355
4.08%
323
San Bernardino 53.29%
144,096
44.08%
119,185
2.63%
7,117
Riverside 53.27%
119,680
44.68%
100,370
2.05%
4,597
Lake 53.24%
8,867
42.89%
7,143
3.87%
644
San Luis Obispo 52.94%
33,457
44.96%
28,417
2.10%
1,327
San Diego 52.76%
330,037
44.62%
279,113
2.62%
16,366
Alpine 52.66%
218
44.69%
185
2.66%
11
Merced 52.62%
17,477
44.10%
14,649
3.28%
1,090
Fresno 52.59%
80,171
45.01%
68,623
2.40%
3,659
Sacramento 52.35%
171,176
44.70%
146,167
2.95%
9,639
Imperial 51.40%
10,272
45.70%
9,133
2.91%
581
Del Norte 51.32%
3,355
44.88%
2,934
3.81%
249
Solano 50.31%
36,968
46.26%
33,997
3.43%
2,522
Contra Costa 49.83%
126,460
47.17%
119,712
3.00%
7,616
Santa Barbara 48.33%
55,682
49.62%
57,164
2.05%
2,357
Sierra 48.33%
914
47.96%
907
3.70%
70
Monterey 47.78%
37,493
48.81%
38,301
3.42%
2,681
Mendocino 46.82%
12,398
48.29%
12,786
4.89%
1,294
San Benito 46.67%
3,608
48.92%
3,782
4.41%
341
San Mateo 46.36%
99,527
50.48%
108,374
3.15%
6,768
Los Angeles 45.67%
1,024,946
52.27%
1,173,149
2.06%
46,141
Humboldt 45.38%
21,609
50.38%
23,991
4.25%
2,023
Sonoma 45.10%
55,968
51.20%
63,542
3.70%
4,597
Santa Clara 43.96%
180,232
52.87%
216,781
3.17%
13,004
Yolo 42.99%
19,227
54.00%
24,150
3.01%
1,345
Marin 42.83%
42,260
53.24%
52,534
3.93%
3,874
Santa Cruz 38.09%
29,545
57.09%
44,282
4.82%
3,738
Alameda 37.62%
145,964
58.91%
228,578
3.47%
13,480
San Francisco 30.43%
69,478
66.47%
151,769
3.10%
7,087
