The California gubernatorial election, 1934 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, putting conservative RepublicanFrank Merriam against former Socialist Party member turned DemocratUpton Sinclair, author of The Jungle. A strong third party challenge came from Commonwealth-ProgressiveRaymond 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 socialist 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.