1934 California gubernatorial election
The 1934 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934. Held in the midst of the Great Depression, the 1934 election was amongst the most controversial in the state's political history, pitting conservative Republican Frank Merriam against former Socialist Party member turned Democrat Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle. A strong third party challenge came from Progressive Raymond L. Haight, a Los Angeles lawyer campaigning for the political center. Much of the campaign's emphasis was directed at Sinclair's EPIC movement, proposing interventionist reforms to cure the state's ailing economy. Merriam, who had recently assumed the governorship following the death of James Rolph, characterized Sinclair's proposal as a step towards communism.Democratic primary
Republican primary
| County | Merriam | Votes | Sinclair | Votes | Haight | Votes | Others | Votes |
| Kings | 41.18% | 3,633 | 26.37% | 2,326 | 32.28% | 2,848 | 0.17% | 17 |
| Alpine | 87.29% | 158 | 7.18% | 13 | 5.52% | 10 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Mono | 63.11% | 520 | 28.40% | 234 | 7.77% | 64 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Orange | 53.72% | 27,099 | 27.94% | 14,092 | 18.13% | 9,142 | 0.21% | 105 |
| Inyo | 57.39% | 1,514 | 33.24% | 877 | 8.79% | 232 | 0.57% | 15 |
| Lake | 56.54% | 2,317 | 32.65% | 1,338 | 10.57% | 433 | 0.24% | 10 |
| Del Norte | 49.39% | 1,221 | 44.74% | 1,106 | 5.22% | 129 | 0.65% | 16 |
| San Benito | 65.25% | 2,931 | 27.85% | 1,251 | 6.59% | 296 | 0.31% | 14 |
| Sonoma | 57.41% | 15,329 | 30.58% | 8,164 | 11.50% | 3,070 | 0.51% | 136 |
| San Diego | 50.76% | 44,422 | 36.65% | 32,073 | 18.13% | 9,142 | 0.29% | 254 |
| Santa Cruz | 63.17% | 10,905 | 29.86% | 5,155 | 6.48% | 1,119 | 0.50% | 85 |
| Marin | 54.50% | 9,756 | 36.28% | 6,494 | 8.69% | 1,555 | 0.54% | 97 |
| Santa Clara | 60.06% | 37,156 | 31.17% | 19,281 | 8.43% | 5,215 | 0.33% | 209 |
| Humboldt | 50.95% | 9,179 | 35.79% | 6,448 | 12.61% | 2,271 | 0.65% | 117 |
| Riverside | 62.33% | 19,892 | 31.01% | 9,896 | 6.49% | 2,072 | 0.18% | 55 |
| San Mateo | 52.29% | 18,448 | 36.91% | 13,022 | 10.40% | 3,669 | 0.39% | 138 |
| Santa Barbara | 60.29% | 14,429 | 32.32% | 7,735 | 11.80% | 1,702 | 0.28% | 66 |
| Mariposa | 46.80% | 1,089 | 37.17% | 865 | 15.21% | 354 | 0.55% | 19 |
| Napa | 58.96% | 5,750 | 28.77% | 2,806 | 12.05% | 1,175 | 0.22% | 22 |
| Mendocino | 62.87% | 6,178 | 28.12% | 2,763 | 8.08% | 794 | 0.93% | 92 |
| Monterey | 61.53% | 11,083 | 31.01% | 5,585 | 7.13% | 1,285 | 0.33% | 60 |
| Tehama | 44.34% | 2,865 | 28.10% | 1,816 | 27.28% | 1,763 | 0.28% | 28 |
| Butte | 47.82% | 8,041 | 35.28% | 5,932 | 16.62% | 2,795 | 0.28% | 47 |
| San Bernardino | 56.76% | 30,285 | 35.90% | 19,157 | 7.07% | 3,774 | 0.27% | 143 |
| San Luis Obispo | 47.11% | 6,422 | 37.36% | 5,093 | 15.13% | 2,063 | 0.39% | 53 |
| Imperial | 52.01% | 7,253 | 40.42% | 5,637 | 7.18% | 1,001 | 0.39% | 55 |
| Sutter | 47.01% | 2,872 | 32.41% | 1,980 | 20.36% | 1,244 | 0.21% | 13 |
| Colusa | 55.70% | 2,584 | 42.24% | 1,709 | 18.56% | 861 | 0.32% | 15 |
| Glenn | 46.00% | 2,342 | 28.60% | 1,456 | 25.26% | 1,286 | 0.14% | 7 |
| Los Angeles | 47.45% | 457,755 | 42.02% | 405,331 | 10.20% | 98,348 | 0.33% | 3,202 |
| Nevada | 45.33% | 3,163 | 31.03% | 2,165 | 22.96% | 1,602 | 0.67% | 47 |
| San Joaquin | 46.64% | 17,612 | 36.33% | 13,720 | 16.56% | 6,255 | 0.47% | 174 |
| San Francisco | 50.91% | 115,047 | 38.88% | 87,850 | 9.51% | 21,499 | 0.69% | 1,581 |
| El Dorado | 33.37% | 1,744 | 32.17% | 1,681 | 33.79% | 1,766 | 0.67% | 35 |
| Modoc | 49.39% | 1,452 | 28.44% | 836 | 21.67% | 637 | 0.51% | 15 |
| Tulare | 37.46% | 9,850 | 26.12% | 6,867 | 36.18% | 9,512 | 0.24% | 65 |
| Calaveras | 45.83% | 1,524 | 37.05% | 1,232 | 16.63% | 553 | 0.48% | 16 |
| Ventura | 54.07% | 11,015 | 32.20% | 6,560 | 13.45% | 2,740 | 0.27% | 55 |
| Siskiyou | 39.19% | 4,202 | 32.77% | 3,514 | 27.54% | 2,953 | 0.50% | 53 |
| Kern | 48.59% | 14,798 | 37.26% | 11,348 | 13.78% | 4,197 | 0.37% | 111 |
| Contra Costa | 45.52% | 15,540 | 45.67% | 15,591 | 8.48% | 2,894 | 0.33% | 115 |
| Stanislaus | 34.46% | 7,853 | 27.47% | 6,260 | 37.70% | 8,592 | 0.36% | 83 |
| Alameda | 52.69% | 102,328 | 37.70% | 73,233 | 9.14% | 17,758 | 0.47% | 913 |
| Yolo | 46.44% | 4,087 | 18.70% | 1,646 | 34.56% | 3,041 | 0.30% | 26 |
| Sacramento | 35.75% | 19,360 | 33.81% | 18,310 | 30.09% | 16,291 | 0.35% | 187 |
| Yuba | 49.81% | 2,603 | 30.64% | 1,601 | 19.19% | 1,003 | 0.37% | 19 |
| Trinity | 40.21% | 889 | 44.91% | 993 | 13.93% | 308 | 0.95% | 21 |
| Sierra | 45.19% | 676 | 31.48% | 471 | 22.66% | 339 | 0.67% | 10 |
| Fresno | 30.46% | 15,338 | 30.80% | 15,509 | 38.33% | 19,296 | 0.40% | 204 |
| Solano | 44.57% | 6,728 | 33.87% | 5,112 | 21.24% | 3,206 | 0.32% | 48 |
| Merced | 35.21% | 4,123 | 31.83% | 3,727 | 31.83% | 3,727 | 1.13% | 132 |
| Tuolumne | 36.63% | 1,580 | 44.96% | 1,940 | 18.19% | 785 | 0.23% | 10 |
| Placer | 34.23% | 3,337 | 31.93% | 3,113 | 33.55% | 3,271 | 0.29% | 29 |
| Madera | 32.11% | 2,204 | 35.56% | 2,441 | 29.76% | 2,043 | 2.57% | 176 |
| Amador | 52.00% | 1,946 | 26.22% | 981 | 21.43% | 802 | 0.35% | 13 |
| Lassen | 33.09% | 1,697 | 39.44% | 2,023 | 26.94% | 1,382 | 0.53% | 27 |
| Shasta | 42.75% | 3,283 | 36.71% | 2,819 | 20.09% | 1,543 | 0.45% | 35 |
| Plumas | 36.63% | 1,213 | 37.03% | 1,226 | 25.91% | 858 | 0.42% | 14 |
