1918 California gubernatorial election

The 1918 California gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1918. William Stephens had defeated James Rolph for the Republican nomination.

1918 California gubernatorial election

← 1914 November 5, 1918 1922 →

Nominee William Stephens Theodore Arlington Bell Party Republican Independent Alliance Prohibition Progressive Popular vote 387,547 251,189 Percentage 56.2% 36.4%

County results Stephens:      40–50%      50–60      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Bell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election William Stephens Republican Elected Governor William Stephens Republican

Primary election

San Francisco mayor James Rolph, a Republican, cross-filed in both the Republican and Democratic primaries, won the Democratic primary, and received the most overall votes of any candidate in the primary election across all parties. However, because he failed to win his own party's nomination, he was barred from receiving the Democratic nomination thanks to the 1917 Hawson amendment to California electoral law, leaving the Democratic Party without a candidate. Incumbent Republican governor William Stephens won the Republican, Prohibition, and Progressive nominations. The only other primary candidate to advance to the general election was Socialist Henry H. Roser, running unopposed.

1918 California gubernatorial primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic primary
	Republican	James Rolph	74,955	45.56%
	Democratic	Francis J. Heney	60,662	36.87%
	Democratic	Thomas L. Woolwine	28,897	17.57%
Progressive primary
	Republican	William Stephens	5,142	60.07%
	Democratic	Francis J. Heney	3,418	39.93%
Prohibition primary
	Republican	William Stephens	12,853	100.00%
Republican primary
	Republican	William Stephens	168,942	45.06%
	Republican	James Rolph	146,990	39.21%
	Republican	Jay Orley Hayes	24,676	6.58%
	Republican	Walter Bordwell	17,038	4.54%
	Republican	Charles Fickert	13,259	3.54%
	Republican	Charles McGee	4,014	1.07%
Socialist primary
	Socialist	Henry H. Roser	7,931	100.00%
Primary total
	Republican	James Rolph	221,945	39.02%
	Republican	William Stephens	186,937	32.87%
	Democratic	Francis J. Heney	64,080	11.27%
	Democratic	Thomas L. Woolwine	28,897	5.08%
	Republican	Jay Orley Hayes	24,676	4.34%
	Republican	Walter Bordwell	17,038	3.00%
	Republican	Charles Fickert	13,259	2.33%
	Socialist	Henry H. Roser	7,931	1.39%
	Republican	Charles McGee	4,014	0.71%
Source Melendy, H. Brett (1964). "California's Cross-Filing Nightmare: The 1918 Gubernatorial Election". Pacific Historical Review. University of California Press. 33 (3): 317–330. doi:10.2307/3636839. ISSN 0030-8684. JSTOR 3636839.

General election results

1918 California gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	William Stephens (incumbent)	387,547	56.28%	+26.93%
	Independent	Theodore Arlington Bell	251,189	36.48%	N/A
	Socialist	Henry H. Roser	29,003	4.21%	-1.26%
	Republican	James Rolph (write-in)	20,605	2.99%	N/A
Total votes			688,344	100.0%
	Republican gain from Progressive		Swing

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