The 2018 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of California. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...

was ineligible to run for re-election for a third consecutive (and fifth non-consecutive) term due to

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s from the

Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original ...

. The race was between the incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

and businessman

John H. Cox John Herman Cox ( Kaplan; born July 15, 1955) is an American businessman, housing developer, and political activist, who has run for public office several times, mostly recently for Governor of California as the GOP candidate. Cox began his po ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, who qualified for the general election after placing first and second in the June 5, 2018, primary election. Newsom won in a landslide, with 62% of the vote, the biggest victory in a gubernatorial race in California since Earl Warren won re-election in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, and the biggest victory for a non-incumbent since

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

. The election also marked the first time

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

has voted for the Democratic candidate since Jerry Brown won it in 1978, and remains the last time as of 2022. This is the first time Democrats have won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state's history, with Newsom getting a record-high number of almost eight million votes. This election marked the first time since 2002 in which California voters elected a governor of the political party opposite of the one in control of the White House. Newsom assumed office on January 7, 2019.

Candidates

A primary election was held on June 5, 2018. Under California's non-partisan blanket primary law, all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of party. Voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two finishers – regardless of party – advance to the general election in November, regardless of whether a candidate manages to receive a majority of the votes cast in the primary election.

Democratic Party

Declared

* Akinyemi Agbede, mathematician * Juan M. Bribiesca, retired physician * Thomas Jefferson Cares, blockchain start-up CEO * John Chiang,

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-five individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Fiona M ...

Delaine Eastin Delaine Andree Eastin (born August 20, 1947) is an American politician and educator from California. A professor by education, she was the first and only woman to date to be elected California State Superintendent of Public Instruction (1995–200 ...

, former

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction The state superintendent of public instruction (SPI) of California is the nonpartisan (originally partisan) elected executive officer of the California Department of Education. The SPI directs all functions of the Department of Education, execu ...

* Robert Davidson Griffis, 2016 Libertarian candidate for president * Albert Caesar Mezzetti, former Manteca City Councilman *

, Lieutenant Governor of California *

Amanda Renteria Amanda Andrea Renteria (born November 15, 1974) is an American former body woman and CEO of the nonprofit organization Code for America. She previously worked as a political aide in the roles of National Political Director for Hillary Clinton ...

, national political director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and candidate for CA-21 in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Michael Shellenberger Michael D. Shellenberger (born June 16, 1971) is an American author and former public relations professional whose writing has focused on the intersection of politics, the environment, climate change and nuclear power, as well as more recently on ...

, founder of the

Breakthrough Institute The Breakthrough Institute is an environmental research center located in Oakland, California. Founded in 2007 by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, The institute is aligned with ecomodernist philosophy. The institute advocates for an emb ...

* Klement Tinaj, actor, martial artist, stuntman, and producer *

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillar ...

, former mayor of Los Angeles

Declined

* Xavier Becerra,

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Secti ...

( ran for re-election) *

Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun (born June 18, 1981) is an American entrepreneur, investor, and entertainment executive. Known as the manager for artists such as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, Demi Lovato, The Kid Laroi and other artists ...

, music manager * George Clooney, actor and activist *

Kevin de León Kevin Alexander Leon (born December 10, 1966), known professionally as Kevin de León and colloquially as KDL, is an American politician serving as the Los Angeles City Council member for district 14 since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

, President pro tempore of the California State Senate ( ran for the U.S. Senate) *

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and reelected in 2017. A fo ...

, Mayor of Los Angeles * Bob Iger, CEO of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American business executive, billionaire, and philanthropist. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is al ...

, Facebook COO *

Libby Schaaf Elizabeth Beckman Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician who has been Mayor of Oakland, California since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Oakland City Council. Schaaf won the November 4, 2 ...

Mayor of Oakland The city of Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of t ...

(ran for re-election) * Jackie Speier, U.S. Representative (ran for re-election) *

Tom Steyer Thomas Fahr Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and ...

, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, and environmentalist

Republican Party

Declared

Travis Allen Travis Ethan Allen (born September 14, 1973) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the California State Assembly. Allen was first elected in November 2012 to represent California's 72nd State Assembly district, which inc ...

, State Assemblyman *

, businessman * Yvonne Girard, US Military Veteran * Peter Y. Liu, entrepreneur, real estate agent, US Army veteran * Robert C. Newman II, businessman, psychologist, farmer * K. Pearce (write-in)

Withdrawn

Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective plac ...

, minister and retired NFL player *

David Hadley David Frederick Hadley (born November 14, 1964) is an American businessman and former politician, who served in the California State Assembly, representing the 66th Assembly District, which consists of most of the South Bay region of Los Angel ...

, former state assemblyman * Allen Ishida, former

Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...

Supervisor *

Doug Ose Douglas Arlo Ose (born June 27, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for California's 3rd congressional district from 1999 to 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. On March 16, 2021, Ose a ...

, former U.S. Representative

Declined

* Tim Donnelly, former state assemblyman, candidate for governor in

, and candidate for CA-08 in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

(running for CA-08) *

Kevin Faulconer Kevin Lee Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, California from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for th ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

* Ashley Swearengin, former mayor of

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in F ...

, venture capitalist

Libertarian Party

Declared

Zoltan Istvan Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, professionally known as Zoltan Istvan (born March 30, 1973), is an American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, political candidate, and futurist. Formerly a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, Istvan now wr ...

, Transhumanist Party nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

in 2016 * Nickolas Wildstar, political activist, rapper, and write-in candidate for governor in

Green Party

Declared

* Christopher Carlson, puppeteer * Veronika Fimbres (write-in) * Josh Jones, author, geologist, solar electric designer

Peace and Freedom Party

Declared

Gloria La Riva Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954) is an American perennial political candidate, and communist activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the Peace and Freedom Party. She was the PSL's nominee and the Peace and Freed ...

, activist and nominee for

Independent (No Party)

Declared

* Armando M. Arreola (write-in) * Shubham Goel (Later a contestant on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

's '' The Circle'') * Hakan "Hawk" Mikado * Desmond Silveira, engineer and former national committee member of the

American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian-democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state ...

* Arman Soltani (write-in) * Jeffrey Edward Taylor * Peter Crawford Valentino (write-in) * Johnny Wattenburg

Notes

Primary election

From the later half of 2017, Lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom was widely seen as the favored front runner for the top two primary. Businessman John Cox and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had both been running closely behind Newsom to obtain the second place spot. However soon in late 2017, as more prominent Democrats entered the race, Villaraigosa saw his polling numbers slip out of competition with Cox by the start of 2018. This had mainly left the race between Newsom and Cox, with a third place free for all between Allen and Villaraigosa.

Endorsements

Polling

;Graphical summary ;with Kevin Faulconer and Eric Garcetti

Results

Results by county

Blue represents counties won by Newsom. Earl Warren's re-election in

. In addition to winning the traditional Democratic strongholds of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, Los Angeles County,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, and

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, a census division in Saint John Parish Australia *New South Wales North Coast, a region Canada *The British Columbia Coast, primarily the communiti ...

, Newsom performed well in the traditionally swing Central Coast,

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

, and

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

, as well as narrowly winning traditionally Republican

– the latter voting for a Democrat for the first time in a gubernatorial election since

's first re-election in 1978. Cox did well in the state's more rural areas, even flipping Stanislaus County; Stanislaus is the only county that voted for Brown in 2014 but flipped to Cox in 2018. Cox also narrowly won

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

and

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

in the Inland Empire in addition to handily winning traditionally Republican

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

in the Central Valley. 2018 California gubernatorial election results map by congressional district

Results by county

Here are the results of the election by county. Blue represents counties won by Newsom. Red represents counties won by Cox. ;Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic *

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

(largest municipality: Anaheim) *

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

(largest municipality:

) ;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican * Stanislaus (largest municipality:

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

)

Voter demographics

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Candidates
at Ballotpedia ;Official campaign websites
John H. Cox (R) for Governor

Gavin Newsom (D) for Governor
{{2018 United States elections

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Gavin Newsom

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared

Declined

Republican Party

Declared

Withdrawn

Declined

Libertarian Party

Declared

Green Party

Declared

Peace and Freedom Party

Declared

Independent (No Party)

Declared

Notes

Primary election

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Results by county

Results by county

Voter demographics

See also

References

External links