California gubernatorial election, 1982

Infobox Election
election_name = California gubernatorial election, 1982
country = California
type = presidential
ongoing = no
previous_election = California gubernatorial election, 1978
previous_year = 1978
next_election = California gubernatorial election, 1986
next_year = 1986
election_date = November 2 1982


nominee1 = George Deukmejian
party1 = California Republican Party
popular_vote1 = 3,881,014
percentage1 = 49.28%


nominee2 = Tom Bradley
party2 = California Democratic Party
popular_vote2 = 3,787,669
percentage2 = 48.09%
map_

---

map_size = 350px
map_caption = Election results by county
title = Governor
before_election = Jerry Brown
before_party = California Democratic Party
after_election = George Deukmejian
after_party = California Republican Party

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.

Primary Election Summary

In the Democratic primary, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley easily defeated State Assemblyman John Garamendi. 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. He seemed on his way to victory when, in the last week of the campaign, he released a negative ad that appeared to indirectly tie Deukmejian to the Watergate Scandal of which he had nothing to do with. The ad was not well received and the polls indicated the race was getting closer. Still, on Election Day, most news agencies (notably CBS's Teichner Poll) tabbed Bradley as the winner. The pollsters underestimated the impact of the Armenian vote, especially from the Fresno area (generally a Republican stronghold). Also, the minor 3rd party candidates took away precious votes from Bradley. As Election Night wore on, the issue was still in doubt. A large late surge of absentee ballots (many from conservative Orange County and Deukmejian's home area of Long Beach) tipped the balance in his favor.

Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = California Republican Party
candidate = George Deukmejian
votes = 3,881,014
percentage = 49.28Election box candidate with party link no change
party = California Democratic Party
candidate = Tom Bradley
votes = 3,787,669
percentage = 48.09Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Libertarian Party of California
candidate = Dan P. Dougherty
votes = 81,076
percentage = 1.03Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Peace and Freedom Party (United States)
candidate = Elizabeth Martinez
votes = 70,327
percentage = 0.89Election box candidate with party link no change
party = American Independent Party
candidate = Jim Griffin
votes = 56,249
percentage = 0.71Election box total no change
votes = 7,876,515
percentage = 100.00Election box turnout no change
percentage = 70.00Election box gain with party link without swing
winner = California Republican Party
loser = California Democratic Party

Results by county

References

* http://www.joincalifornia.com/election/1982-11-02
* [http://www.unc.edu/~beyle/Expenditures/1982.doc 1982 Gubernatorial primary elections]