2010 California gubernatorial election

California gubernatorial election, 2010

November 2, 2010

Nominee Meg Whitman Jerry Brown Party Republican Democratic

File:California Gubernatorial Election Results by County, 2010.svg County results

Governor before election Arnold Schwarzenegger Republican Elected Governor TBD

Template:FixBunching The 2010 California gubernatorial election will be held on November 2, 2010 to choose the Governor of California. The primary elections were held on June 8, 2010. Since constitutional office holders in California are prohibited from serving more than two terms in the same position, incumbent Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger is ineligible to run for reelection. The winning candidate will serve a four-year term from 2011 to 2015. The Cook Political Report and The New York Times rate the election as a toss-up, while The Rasmussen Reports rates it leans Republican.

Candidates

The following were certified by the California Secretary of State as candidates in the primary election for governor. Candidates who won their respective primaries and qualified for the general election are shown in bold.

American Independent

• Chelene Nightingale, a business owner
• Markham Robinson, an owner of a software firm

Democratic

• Jerry Brown, the current California Attorney General and former Governor of California
• Richard Aguirre, a businessman.
• Lowell Darling, an independent artist
• Vibert Greene, a mechanical engineer and CEO
• Charles Pineda, a parole board judge
• Peter Schurman, a non-profit organization consultant who dropped out of the race
• Nadia Smalley, a write-in candidate
• Joe Symmon, the president of a non-profit organization

Green

• 

• Laura Wells, a financial systems consultant
• S. Deacon Alexander, a student

Libertarian

• Dale Ogden, a business consultant and actuary

Peace and Freedom

• Carlos Alvarez, a retail worker
• Stewart Alexander, a political consultant and former vice presidential candidate for the Socialist Party USA
• Mohammad Arif, a businessman

Republican

• Meg Whitman, businesswoman and former chief executive officer of eBay
• Bill Chambers, railroad switchman
• Douglas Hughes, a retired business owner
• Ken Miller, a broadcasting executive
• Steven Mozena, a write-in candidate
• Lawrence Naritelli, an accountant and controller
• Robert Newman, a psychologist and farmer
• Steve Poizner, a businessman and the current Insurance Commissioner
• David Tully-Smith, a primary care physician

No Party Affiliation

• Alex Brittain (Write In)
• Royce D'Orazio (Write In)

Primary results

Key:	Withdrew prior to contest

American Independent

California American Independent gubernatorial primary, 2010

Candidate		Votes	%
Chelene Nightingale		24,000	58.1
Markham Robinson		17,327	41.9
Total votes		41,327	100
Voter turnout		10.4%

Democratic

Template:Election box former candidate no party no changeTemplate:Election box former candidate no party no change

California Democratic gubernatorial primary, 2010

Candidate		Votes	%
Jerry Brown		2,021,189	84.4
Richard Aguirre		95,596	4.0
Charles Pineda		94,669	4.0
Vibert Greene		54,225	2.3
Joe Symmon		54,122	2.3
Lowell Darling		39,930	1.6
Total votes		2,395,287	100
Voter turnout		31.7%

Green

California Green gubernatorial primary, 2010

Candidate		Votes	%
Laura Wells		17,548	79.5
S. Deacon Alexander		4,533	20.5
Total votes		22,081	100
Voter turnout		19.6%

Libertarian

California Libertarian gubernatorial primary, 2010

Candidate		Votes	%
Dale Ogden		17,477	100
Voter turnout		20.2%

Peace and Freedom

California Peace and Freedom gubernatorial primary, 2010

Candidate		Votes	%
Carlos Alvarez		1,906	45.3
Stewart Alexander		1,693	40.2
Mohammad Arif		613	14.5
Total votes		4,212	100
Voter turnout		7.4%

Republican

California Republican gubernatorial primary, 2010

Candidate		Votes	%
Meg Whitman		1,529,534	64.4
Steve Poizner		632,940	26.7
Lawrence Naritelli		54,202	2.3
Robert Newman		38,462	1.7
Ken Miller		36,609	1.5
Bill Chambers		34,243	1.4
Douglas Hughes		26,085	1.0
David Tully-Smith		24,978	1.0
Steven Paul Mozena (Write-in)		26	0.0
Total votes		2,377,079	100
Voter turnout		45.5%

Polling

Democratic primary

Poll source	Dates administered	Dianne Feinstein*	Jerry Brown	Antonio Villaraigosa*	Gavin Newsom*	John Garamendi*	Jack O'Connell*	Steve Westly*	Bill Lockyer*
Capitol Weekly/Probolsky	January 22–25, 2009	36%	14%	9%	9%	4%	3%	1%	––
Lake Research Partners	February 17–19, 2009	––	27%	20%	14%	8%	1%	3%	––
The Field Poll	February 20–March 1, 2009	38%	16%	16%	10%	4%	1%	2%	1%
		––	26%	22%	16%	8%	2%	2%	2%
Tulchin Poll	April 23, 2009	––	31%	12%	16%	11%	6%	––	––
Capital Weekly	May 25, 2009	––	24%	15%	16%	7%	5%	3%	––
J. Moore	June 20, 2009	––	47%	––	26%	––	––	––	––
Research 2000	June 10–16, 2009	––	29%	––	20%	––	––	––	––
		40%	27%	––	16%	––	––	––	––
The Field Poll	September 18–October 5, 2009	––	47%	––	27%	––	––	––	––

* Declined to seek nomination

Republican primary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Tom Campbell*	Meg Whitman	Steve Poizner	Peter Foy*
Capitol Weekly/Probolsky	January 22–5, 2009	15%	14%	4%	1%
The Field Poll	February 20–March 1, 2009	18%	21%	7%	—
Capitol Weekly/Probolsky	May 25, 2009	13%	10%	8%	1%
Research 2000	August 9, 2009	19%	24%	9%	—
The Field Poll	September 18–October 5, 2009	20%	22%	9%	—
USC/Los Angeles Times	October 27–November 3, 2009	27%	35%	10%	—
Public Policy Institute of California	December 16, 2009	12%	32%	8%	—
The Field Poll	January 5–17, 2010	—	45%	17%	—
		22%	36%	9%	—
Public Policy Institute of California	January 27, 2010	—	41%	11%	—
Research 2000	March 10, 2010	—	52%	19%	—
The Field Poll	March 17, 2010	—	63%	14%	—
Public Policy Institute of California	March 24, 2010	—	61%	11%	—
USC/Los Angeles Times	March 23–30, 2010	—	60%	20%	—
Survey USA	April 19–21, 2010	—	49%	27%	—
Survey USA	May 6–9, 2010	—	39%	37%	—
Research 2000	May 17–19, 2010	—	46%	36%	—
Public Policy Institute of California	May 19, 2010	—	38%	29%	—
Public Policy Polling	May 21–23, 2010	—	51%	26%	—
USC/Los Angeles Times	May 19–26, 2010	—	53%	29%	—
Survey USA	June 3-6, 2010	—	59%	30%	—

* Declined to seek nomination

General Polling

sorted by date

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jerry Brown (D)	Meg Whitman (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	August 24, 2010	750	±4.0%	40%	48%	6%	6%
Survey USA	August 9-11, 2010	602	± 4.1%	43%	44%	—	13%
Rasmussen Reports	August 3, 2010	750	±4.0%	43%	41%	6%	10%
Public Policy Polling	July 23-25, 2010	614	±3.95%	46%	40%	––	14%
Rasmussen Reports	July 12, 2010	500	±4.5%	46%	47%	4%	3%
Survey USA	July 8-11, 2010	614	±4.0%	39%	46%	7%	8%
The Field Poll	June 22-July 5, 2010	1,005	±3.2%	44%	43%	––	13%
Reuters	June 30, 2010	600	±4.5%	45%	39%	3%	14%
Rasmussen Reports	June 9, 2010	500	±4.5%	45%	44%	4%	7%
USC/Los Angeles Times	May 19–26, 2010	––	––	44%	38%	––	––
Rasmussen Reports	May 24, 2010	500	±4.5%	45%	41%	8%	7%
Public Policy Polling	May 21–23, 2010	921	±3.2%	48%	36%	––	16%
Research 2000	May 17–19, 2010	600	±4.0%	46%	42%	––	18%
Public Policy Institute of California	May 9-16 2010	2,003	±2.0%	42%	37%	––	21%
Rasmussen Reports	April 19, 2010	500	±4.5%	44%	38%	9%	9%
USC/Los Angeles Times	March 23–30, 2010	––	––	41%	44%	––	––
Public Policy Institute of California	March 24, 2010	2,002	±2.0%	39%	44%	––	17%
The Field Poll	March 17, 2010	748	±3.7%	43%	46%	––	11%
Rasmussen Reports	March 15, 2010	500	±4.5%	40%	40%	6%	14%
Research 2000	March 10, 2010	600	±4.0%	45%	41%	––	14%
Rasmussen Reports	February 15, 2010	500	±4.5%	43%	43%	6%	8%
Public Policy Institute of California	January 27, 2010	2,001	±2.0%	41%	36%	––	23%
Rasmussen Reports	January 19, 2010	500	±4.5%	43%	39%	7%	11%
The Field Poll	January 5–17, 2010	958	±3.3%	46%	36%	––	18%
Public Policy Institute of California	December 16, 2009	2,004	±2.0%	43%	37%	––	20%
Rasmussen Reports	November 17, 2009	500	±4.5%	41%	41%	3%	14%
The Field Poll	Sept. 15–Oct. 5, 2009	1,005	±3.2%	50%	29%	––	21%
Rasmussen Reports	September 24, 2009	500	±4.5%	44%	35%	3%	18%
Research 2000	August 9, 2009	600	±4.0%	42%	36%	––	––
Rasmussen Reports	January 14, 2009	500	±4.5%	40%	38%	––	––

See also

• United States gubernatorial elections, 2010

External links

• California Secretary of State - Elections
• California State Offices at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions for 2010 California Governor from Follow the Money
• California Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com
• 2010 California Gubernatorial General Election: All Head-to-Head Matchups graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• Election 2010: California Governor from Rasmussen Reports
• 2010 California Governor - Whitman vs. Brown from Real Clear Politics
• 2010 California Governor's Race from CQ Politics
• 2010 Governor's Race in the Los Angeles Times
• California Governor Race 2010 in The Sacramento Bee
• 2010 California Governor's Race in the San Jose Mercury News
• Race Profile in The New York Times

Debate

• California Republican Gubernatorial Primary Debate on C-SPAN, May 2, 2010

Official campaign sites

• Carlos Alvarez
• Jerry Brown
• Chelene Nightingale
• Dale Ogden
• Laura Wells
• Meg Whitman

Primary candidates:

• Richard Aguirre
• S. Deacon Alexander
• Stewart Alexander
• Mohammad Arif
• Jerry Brown
• Bill Chambers
• Lowell Darling
• Vibert Greene
• Douglas Hughes
• Ken Miller
• Steven Mozena
• Lawrence Naritelli
• Robert Newman
• Chelene Nightingale
• Charles Pineda
• Steve Poizner
• Peter Schurman
• Joe Symmon
• David Tully-Smith
• Laura Wells