Jerry Brown (California)

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Jerry Brown

Democratic Party

Prior offices

California Secretary of State

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Mayor of Oakland

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Attorney General of California

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Governor of California

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Report an officeholder change

Education

High school

St. Ignatius High School

Bachelor's

University of California, Berkeley, 1961

Law

Yale Law School, 1964

Personal

Profession

Attorney, radio show host

Contact

Personal Facebook

Jerry Brown (Democratic Party) was the Governor of California. He assumed office in 2011. He left office on January 6, 2019.

Brown (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for Governor of California. He won in the general election on November 4, 2014.

Brown was the 39th Governor of California. A Democrat, he served four non-consecutive terms in the state's chief executive office. As of 2017, Brown was the longest-serving governor in California history.^[1] Brown previously served as the 34th Governor of California, from 1975 to 1983. Because Brown was elected to both his first and second gubernatorial terms before the new terms limits law was passed in 1990, he was eligible to run again in 2010. Brown defeated Republican Meg Whitman in the general election on November 2, 2010.^[2]

Brown was elected to a fourth term as governor in 2014. He faced 14 challengers in the blanket primary on June 3 and received the highest number of votes, securing one of two available slots on the November 4 general election ballot. The other nomination went to Republican Neel Kashkari, who finished a distant 35 percentage points behind the incumbent.^[3] Jerry Brown (California) won the general election on November 4, 2014.

Brown's political career began during the late 1960s when he became active in both state and national politics through his efforts to organize migrant workers and anti-Vietnam War groups. In 1969, he beat out 123 candidates for a position on the then-newly created Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. The next year, he was elected California Secretary of State. Brown served one term before becoming governor of the state in 1975. During his tenure, he earned the moniker "Governor Moonbeam" from columnist Mike Royko.^[4] In 1982, while in his second term, Brown set a record when he approved 98 percent of the bills presented to him by the state legislature.^[5] Following the 2010-2012 legislative session, the Associated Press presented analysis showing Brown to have the highest rate of bill signing of any governor since he last held the office.^[5] Brown presides in concert with a Democratic majority in both chambers of the state legislature, a circumstance which translates to naturally lower veto rates and enabled him to uphold the record he himself set back in 1982.

Brown remained active on the political scene between his stints in the governor's office. He was chair of the California Democratic Party from 1989 to 1991, mayor of Oakland, CA, from 1998 to 2006, and then came back in 2007 for a single term as state attorney general. As attorney general, Brown brought suits against Standard Oil of California, International Telephone and Telegraph, Gulf Oil, and Mobil for violation of campaign-finance laws, often arguing in person before the California State Supreme Court and enforcing laws requiring members of the California State Legislature to disclose sources of campaign funds.^[6]

In addition to Brown's state and local positions, his electoral history includes three unsuccessful runs for President of the United States - in 1976, 1980 and 1991 - and one for U.S. Senate in 1982.^[7]

Outside of politics, Brown founded the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute. He also worked as an attorney for the firm of Tuttle and Taylor.^[8]

Biography[edit]

Brown was born on April 7, 1938, in San Francisco, CA. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School, the University of California at Berkeley, and Yale Law School.^[2]

Shortly after receiving his law degree, Brown worked as a law clerk for Justice Matthew Tobriner at the California State Supreme Court. He later went on to study briefly in both Mexico and Latin America. Brown returned to the United States and was admitted to the California State Bar, after having initially failed the bar exam. He joined the Los Angeles private practice law firm of Tuttle & Taylor.

Beginning in 1995, Brown hosted a daily call-in talk show on the local Pacifica Radio station, KPFA-FM, in Berkeley, California. Both the radio program and Brown's political action organization, based in Oakland, were called We the People. His programs, usually featuring invited guests, generally explored alternative views on a wide range of social and political issues, from education and health care to spirituality and the death penalty. He strongly critiqued both the Democratic and Republican parties, often referring to himself as a "recovering politician."^[9]

Education[edit]

• St. Ignatius High School
• Attended Santa Clara University
• Attended Sacred Heart Novitiate (1958)
• B.A., Classics, University of California at Berkeley (1961)
• J.D., Yale Law School (1964)

Political career[edit]

Governor of California (2011-2019)[edit]

Brown served two terms as governor from 2011 to 2019. He was elected to the office in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Brown became the longest-serving governor in state history on October 15, 2013, which fell during his third non-consecutive term in the office.^[1]

Job creation ranking[edit]

A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Brown was ranked number 10. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.^[10][11]

Judicial appointments[edit]

As governor, Brown was responsible for appointing judges to California state courts. Nominees to the California Supreme Court and California Courts of Appeal must be confirmed by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments. Appointed appellate judges stand for retention in the gubernatorial election following appointment; judges of the Superior Courts run for the seat in the next general election. For an up-to-date list of all of Brown's appointees, see Judges appointed by Jerry Brown.

Veto rate[edit]

The secretary of the California Senate reported that when Brown served his first two terms as governor (between 1975-1983), he approved bills at a rate of 96 percent on average "and set a record in 1982 when he approved 98 percent of the bills that crossed his desk."^[5] While he did not break the record he set in 1982, after the fall 2012 surge of legislative activity subsided, The Associated Press published an analysis of Brown's signing and vetoing behavior during the 2010-2012 legislative session that showed him to have the highest rate of bill singing of any governor since he left office the first time.^[5] Records collected from the California State Library and the secretary of the California State Senate revealed that Brown vetoed 13 percent of the 1,866 bills the legislature put before him over the last two years.^[5] Before Brown returned to the governor's office, GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed bills at a rate of 27 percent. Under Brown, California had a Democratic trifecta, meaning the governor and both chambers of the state legislature were controlled by the Democratic Party. This partisan alignment translated to a higher rate of bill approval in contrast with the experience of his Republican predecessor.

Environmental-agency legislation[edit]

Brown approved a number of changes regarding environmental agency policy during the fall of 2012.^[12] Among them was a bill to change the name of the Department of Fish and Game to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The "game" division was established in 1878 as an addition to the agency previously dedicated wholly to fishing. First authored in 2010, the bill was created to honor environmentalists, animal-rights activists as well as reflect "California's changing political and demographic landscape," as some sporting groups and agency leaders who felt underrepresented in the development process leading up to the official name change speculated.^[13] Assembly Bill 2402 aimed to concentrate the department's efforts on ecosystem conservation through science-based policy. Other provisions included expanding the department's collection of fees beyond the money raised through hunting and fishing licenses and the department's law enforcement capabilities. The same week, Brown approved a state ban on using hounds to hunt bears and other predators. The third change to earn Brown's signature that week, SB 1148, would allow the department, which was rechristened January 1, 2013, to raise money by contracting with nonprofit conservation groups "to manage state-owned lands and charge fees for using more of its properties." According to the state legislature's estimates, the money raised would offset the $300,000 it would cost the department to redo the department's website and computer systems.^[13]

Stance on Syrian refugee resettlement[edit]

Main article: U.S. governors and their responses to Syrian refugees

Following the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015, in which members of the Islamic State (ISIS) killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350, reports surfaced showing that one of the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Paris may have come to France posing as a Syrian refugee.^[14] Many governors issued statements of support or opposition to President Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 new Syrian refugees into the United States. Brown had strong support for the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state of California. He said:

Attorney General of California (2007-2011)[edit]

In early 2004, Brown expressed interest in running for Attorney General of California in the 2006 election. On May 18, 2004, he formally filed the necessary papers to begin his campaign for the nomination, including a sworn declaration with the statement "I meet the statutory and constitutional qualifications for this office (including, but not limited to, citizenship, residency, and party affiliation, if required)."

Brown had an active Democratic primary opponent, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. Delgadillo put most of his money into TV ads attacking Brown and spent $4.1 million on the primary campaign. Regardless, Brown easily defeated Delgadillo, 63% to 37%.^[17] In the general election, Brown defeated Republican state Senator Charles Poochigian by an 18.1 percent margin.^[18]

As the Attorney General of California, Brown brought suits against Standard Oil of California, International Telephone and Telegraph, Gulf Oil, and Mobil for violation of campaign-finance laws, often arguing in person before the California State Supreme Court, and enforcing laws requiring members of the California State Legislature to disclose sources of campaign funds. He played a significant role in the drafting and passage of Proposition 9 - The California Fair Political Practices Act, which established the California Fair Political Practices Commission (CFPPC). The mission of the CFPPC is to investigate alleged violations of the Political Reform Act, impose penalties when appropriate, and assist state and local agencies in developing and enforcing conflict-of-interest codes.

Noteworthy events[edit]

Proposition 8[edit]

See also: California Proposition 8 (2008)

As attorney general, Brown declined to defend Proposition 8, a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that banned same-sex marriage. Filing his own legal challenge against the amendment, Brown argued that, in his view, Proposition 8 "deprives people of the right to marry, an aspect of liberty that the Supreme Court has concluded is guaranteed by the California Constitution."^[19][20]

On May 26, 2009, the California State Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8 on state constitutional grounds. Brown continued to oppose defending the law.^[21]

Ballot titles[edit]

In October 2009, Brown was accused of re-writing the ballot title for the California Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act (2010) in a way that would be more advantageous to the interests of Mercury Insurance, the initiative's main sponsor. The controversy arose after Brown received a $13,000 campaign contribution from Mercury Insurance.^[22]

Mayor of Oakland (1999-2007)[edit]

In early 1998, Brown announced that he was leaving the Democratic Party and changed his party registration to "Decline To State." He terminated his radio show that same year in order to run for Mayor of Oakland. He won the general election contest in June 1998 and seven months later was sworn into office. During his tenure, Brown was able to get the approval of the electorate to convert Oakland's weak mayor political structure (the mayor as chairman of the city council and official greeter) to a strong mayor structure (the mayor as chief executive over the nonpolitical city manager and thus the various city departments and not a council member). This strong mayor structure in many ways is similar to that of the nearby city of San Francisco. Other efforts including acquiring millions of dollars in state and federal funding to open two charter schools that are now among the top-ranked in Oakland. Brown was re-elected with over 60 percent of the vote in 2002.

Chairman of the California Democratic Party (1989-1991)[edit]

After briefly studying abroad, Brown returned to California and successfully ran for the chairmanship of the state's Democratic Party in 1989, defeating Steve Westly. Although he had expanded the party's donor base and enlarged its coffers during his tenure, he was criticized for not spending enough money on television advertisements, which many within the state party contributed for close Democratic losses in 1990. Brown abruptly resigned from the chairmanship in early 1991 and announced he would seek the United States Senate seat left open following the retirement of Democratic Senator Alan Cranston. Brown would later drop out of the race in order to run for president.

Governor of California (1975-1983)[edit]

Brown was sworn into office as Governor of California in 1975, succeeding outgoing Republican (and future President of the United States) Ronald Reagan. Upon election, Brown forgoed the governor's mansion, which he sold off in 1983, and drove himself to work in a car from the state vehicle pool.

Brown highlighted environmental issues, reflected in his appointments to state positions. His selections included J. Baldwin for the then-newly created California Office of Appropriate Technology, Sim Van der Ryn as State Architect, Stewart Brand as Special Advisor, and John Bryson, the CEO of Southern California Electric Company and a founding member of the Natural Resources Defense Council, chairman of the California State Water Board in 1976.

It was also in the course of his first governorship that he dissolved the fifteen member California Arts Commission and reorganized it into the California Arts Council (CAC), raising its state funding 1,300 percent. This became a source of contention during the state's budget crises at the turn of the century, beginning in 2001 when, under Governor Grey Davis, the CAC received $30 million from the state.^[23] Additionally, Brown, as governor, appointed the first black (Wiley Manuel), female (Rose Bird) and Latino (Cruz Reynoso) justices to the California Supreme Court.

Brown proposed the establishment of a state space academy and the purchasing of a satellite that would be launched into orbit to provide emergency communications for the state. In 1978, Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko nicknamed Brown "Governor Moonbeam" because of the latter idea. In 1992, almost 15 years later, Royko would disavow the nickname, proclaiming Brown to be, in his words, just as serious as any other politician. He also obtained the repeal of the depletion allowance for the state's oil industry.

Noteworthy events[edit]

Proposition 13[edit]

See also: California Proposition 13 (1978)

Critics argued that Brown's administration during his first term was partially responsible for the creation of the economic conditions that prompted state voters to heavily favor the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. Specifically, he was said to have amassed a large surplus in state coffers instead of cutting taxes, leading to the Jarvis Gann initiative (Proposition 13) which halted increases in property taxes for both homeowners and corporations that held onto their property.^[24] However, even with the passage of Proposition 13, "state spending increased by nearly 120 percent during the Brown years after" it became state law.^[25]

Presidential campaigns[edit]

Jerry Brown ran, unsuccessfully, three times for President of the United States - in 1976, 1980 and 1992

1976[edit]

In the course of serving as Governor of California, Brown twice ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. The first time was in 1976 when he entered the race very late in the primary season as the focus of the movement shifted to stop the nomination of former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter, who many within the Democratic Party felt was unelectable and lacked the record of success needed to garner popular appeal.

Brown argued that he had curbed the state's spending and balanced its budget while expanding services in the areas of welfare, employment, and consumer and environmental protection. Brown proclaimed his belief that there would soon be a voter backlash against expansive and costly government policies. "This is an era of limits, and we had all better get used to it," he declared. He won victories in Maryland, Nevada and his home state of California in the early primary ballot contests. He also garnered the support of a majority of delegates from Louisiana, the only Southern state in the course of the primary campaign to favor either Carter or Governor of Alabama George Wallace. Although he missed the deadline in Oregon, which resulted in him campaigning as a write-in candidate, he finished a strong third behind both Carter and Senator Frank Church of Idaho. In spite of these successes, he was unable to stall Carter's momentum, and his rival was nominated on the first ballot at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Brown finished a distant third with roughly 300 delegate votes.

1980[edit]

Brown ran for president a second time in 1980. Even with the high level of anticipation his candidacy amassed, particularly in light of his re-election victory in the state of California's gubernatorial contest by 1.3 million votes, the largest margin of victory for a candidate in the state's history, his presidential campaign failed to gain any traction. Many believed this was largely due to the more prominent candidacy of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and the prestige his family name brought to the campaign.

His promise to, in his words, "Protect the Earth, serve the people, and explore the universe," served as his slogan. The three main planks of his presidential campaign platform included a call for a constitutional convention to ratify the Balanced Budget Amendment, a promise to increase federal funds for the space program, and, in the wake of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, opposition to nuclear power. Brown also made a number of unconventional proposals as well, such as calling for a sharp increase in federal funding for solar power research, endorsing the idea of mandatory non-military national service for the nation's youth, and promising to support a market-oriented system of universal health care.

Support for his campaign among primary voters eroded as the campaign progressed. Following his poor showing in the New Hampshire primary, in which he received ten percent of the vote, he announced that his candidacy hinged on a good showing in the Wisconsin primary. An attempt at filming a live, special effects-filled, thirty-minute commercial, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was unsuccessful and ultimately doomed his candidacy. He walked away from the campaign after receiving twelve percent of the vote in the Wisconsin primary. Despite having entered the race earlier than his original attempt at the presidential office, his second effort resulted in Brown winning no primaries and receiving only one delegate at the Democratic National Convention.

1992[edit]

Brown declared his third campaign for the presidency on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brown's campaign strategy included a promise that he would only accept individual campaign contributions of $100 or less. Brown called for term limits for members of Congress, living wage laws and opposition to free-trade agreements such as NAFTA. Brown joined with economist and former Reagan adviser Arthur Laffer in drafting his tax proposal, which called for the replacement of the progressive income tax with a flat tax and a value-added tax, both at a fixed rate of thirteen percent. Despite criticism from his opponents that his policy was regressive, it received the endorsement of media outlets such as The New York Times, The New Republic, and Forbes.

Democratic Primary Results: Blue denotes a Clinton win, yellow a Brown win, green a Tsongas win, orange a Kerrey win, and purple a Harkin win

Faced with a small campaign budget, Brown bucked conventional advertising practices, choosing instead to use an unusual fundraising techniques, such as a toll-free telephone number that adorned all of his campaign material, and a mixture of alternative media that included cable and radio interviews being used in lieu of traditional television commercials in order to get his message out to voters.

In spite of poor showings in the Iowa caucus, in which he received 1.6 percent of the vote, and the New Hampshire primary, which secured him eight percent, Brown was soon able to manage narrow victories in Maine, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, and Vermont.

Senator Tsongas was forced out of the race on March 17 after Brown received a strong third-place showing in the Illinois primary and then defeated the senator for second place in the Michigan primary by a significant margin. Within one week, Brown had cemented his position as a major threat to Clinton's candidacy when he eked out a narrow win the bitterly-contested Connecticut primary. This, however, was short-lived after Clinton pulled out victories in both Wisconsin and New York on April 7.

Although Brown continued to campaign in a number of other states, he won no further primary contests. Despite this, he had secured a sizable number of convention delegates. Brown believed that a big win in his home state of California would deprive Clinton of sufficient support to guarantee the nomination, which would then result in a brokered convention. After nearly a month of intense campaigning and multiple debates between the two candidates, Clinton managed to defeat Brown in the final primary by a margin of 48-41 percent. At the Democratic National Convention, Brown received the votes of 596 delegates on the first ballot, more than any other candidate except Clinton.

California Secretary of State (1971-1975)[edit]

Brown was elected California Secretary of State in November 1970. He was sworn into office the following January, for a four-year term which concluded in January 1975 when Brown was sworn in as governor.

Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees (1969-1971)[edit]

Throughout the late 1960s, Brown was active in both state and national politics, organizing migrant workers and anti-Vietnam War groups. In 1969, he ran for a position on the then-newly created Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, which oversaw community colleges in the city. Brown went on to place first in the field of 124 candidates. The next year, he successfully campaigned to be California Secretary of State.

Presidential preference[edit]

2016 presidential endorsement[edit]

✓ Brown endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.^[26]

See also: Endorsements for Hillary Clinton

2016 Presidential Endorsements by Governors
Governor	Candidate	Date	Source
Alejandro J. García Padilla	Hillary Clinton	June 2016	The Associated Press
Jerry Brown	Hillary Clinton	May 2016	Reuters.com
Pete Ricketts	Donald Trump	May 2016	The Washington Post
Mike Pence	Donald Trump	May 2016	Tribune Star
Phil Bryant	Donald Trump	May 2016	Politico
Rick Scott	Donald Trump	March 2016	NBC News
Mary Fallin	Donald Trump	May 2016	The Washington Times
Brian Sandoval	John Kasich (primary)	April 2016	CNN
Scott Walker	Ted Cruz	March 2016	Politico
Gary R. Herbert	Ted Cruz (primary)	March 2016	The Hill
Susana Martinez	Marco Rubio (primary)	March 2016	Politico
Paul LePage	Donald Trump	February 2016	Politico
Chris Christie	Donald Trump	February 2016	CNN
Butch Otter	John Kasich	February 2016	CNN
Greg Abbott	Ted Cruz	February 2016	CNN
Asa Hutchinson	Marco Rubio	February 2016	CNN
Nikki Haley	Marco Rubio	February 2016	CNN
Sam Brownback	Marco Rubio	February 2016	CBS News
Jay Inslee	Hillary Clinton	November 2015	Seattle Times
Jay Nixon	Hillary Clinton	November 2015	KBIA Mid-Missouri Public Radio
Jack Markell	Hillary Clinton	October 2015	delawareonline
John Hickenlooper	Hillary Clinton	October 2015	Denver Post
Maggie Hassan	Hillary Clinton	September, 2015	Patch
Mark Dayton	Hillary Clinton	November 2013	Politics Minnesota
Andrew Cuomo	Hillary Clinton	April 2015	New York Observer
Larry Hogan	Chris Christie	July 2015	The Washington Times
Peter Shumlin	Hillary Clinton	May 2015	The Hill
Terry McAuliffe	Hillary Clinton	April 2015	The Washington Post
Tom Wolf	Hillary Clinton	June 2015	Twitter
Dan Malloy	Hillary Clinton	June 2015	Hartford Courant

Elections[edit]

2018[edit]

See also: California gubernatorial election, 2018

Jerry Brown was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2014[edit]

See also: State executive official elections, 2014

Brown won re-election as Governor of California in 2014. He secured one of two possible nominations in the blanket primary on June 3, 2014.^[3] The other went to Republican Neel Kashkari, who finished a distant second behind Brown in the primary. Brown handily defeated Kashkari in the general election on November 4, 2014.

Results[edit]

Primary election[edit]

Governor of California, Blanket Primary, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jerry Brown Incumbent	54.3%	2,354,769
	Republican	Neel Kashkari	19.4%	839,767
	Republican	Tim Donnelly	14.8%	643,236
	Republican	Andrew Blount	2.1%	89,749
	Republican	Glenn Champ	1.8%	76,066
	Green	Luis Rodriguez	1.5%	66,876
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy L. Sheehan	1.2%	52,707
	Republican	Alma Marie Winston	1.1%	46,042
	Nonpartisan	Robert Newman	1%	44,120
	Democratic	Akinyemi Agbede	0.9%	37,024
	Republican	Richard Aguirre	0.8%	35,125
	Nonpartisan	"Bo" Bogdan Ambrozewicz	0.3%	14,929
	Nonpartisan	Janel Hyeshia Buycks	0.3%	12,136
	Nonpartisan	Rakesh Kumar Christian	0.3%	11,142
	Nonpartisan	Joe Leicht	0.2%	9,307
Total Votes				4,332,995
Election results California Secretary of State

General election[edit]

Governor of California, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jerry Brown Incumbent	60%	4,388,368
	Republican	Neel Kashkari	40%	2,929,213
Total Votes				7,317,581
Election results California Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed April 6, 2017

Polls[edit]

General election

Primary and hypothetical match-ups

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.

Race background[edit]

Democratic incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown was elected to a record-breaking fourth non-consecutive term in the office.^[1]

Including Brown, 15 candidates filed for the June 3 California gubernatorial primary election. Laguna Hills Mayor Andrew Blount (R) withdrew from the race one month before the primary due to health issues. Bount's exit left a total of 14 hopefuls, few with the political connections or money to provide a substantial general election challenge. California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R) and former Treasury official Neel Kashkari (R) proved to be formidable campaigners in the primary, though Brown was favored for re-election.^[27]

Throughout the primary campaign season, polls underscored projections that Brown would win another four-year term as California's chief executive in 2014. A Field Poll released in early April put Brown ahead of Tim Donnelly, who then appeared to be his biggest competitor, by a 40 percent margin. Brown drew 57 percent to Donnelly's 17 percent, with ex-candidate Blount at 3 percent and Kashkari at 2 percent. The final poll before the primary conducted for USC and the Los Angeles Times foreshadowed Donnelly's demise, pushing Kashkari into second place overall at 18 percent, with Donnelly at 13 percent and Brown holding tight at 50 percent.^[28]

The California gubernatorial race was rated by the Cook Political Report as "Solid Democratic." Brown defeated Republican challenger Neel Kashkari in the November 4 general election by an 18 percent margin.^[29]

2010[edit]

See also: California gubernatorial election, 2010

Although he filed official paperwork with the Secretary of State Office in late September 2009 to start an exploratory committee, usually the first step in launching a formal campaign, Brown waited to make his entry into the state's 2010 gubernatorial contest official until March 2010. In spite of the passage of California Proposition 140, which, among other things, imposes a lifelong ban against anyone seeking the same office once the limits have been reached, Brown's candidacy was not affected on the basis that the amendment does not apply to former governors who served prior to its passage in 1990.

Jerry Brown 2010 Campaign logo

In January 2010, Brown said that whoever is elected would face a challenging term in office: "The state is profoundly screwed up, and anybody who thinks they got an idea, I would say, 'Give me a call, I'd like to listen to it.' Because I can tell you we're in for blood, sweat and tears over the next four years no matter who runs."^[30]

A Rasmussen poll published in mid-February 2010 showed that in a head-to-head matchup the California gubernatorial contest in November between Brown and presumptive Republican nominee, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, would be a virtual dead heat with each candidate garnering forty-three percent. The survey, however, also pointed out that six percent of those interviewed selected other primary candidates and eight percent were undecided, leaving plenty of opportunity for either major party candidate to take the lead.^[31]

On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, Brown announced on his website that he was entering the 2010 California gubernatorial race.^[32] Over a month later, Rasmussen, whose survey two months earlier had shown a virtual dead heat between Whitman and Brown, released polling data that placed the then-attorney general with a six-point lead over the likely Republican challenger. However, nine percent of those interviewed chose a different candidate other than Brown and Whitman while another nine percent remained undecided.^[33]

2010 Race for Governor - Democratic Primary[34]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Jerry Brown	84.4%
	Democratic Party	Richard William Aguirre	4.0%
	Democratic Party	Charles "Chuck" Pineda, Jr.	4.0%
	Democratic Party	Vibert Greene	2.3%
	Democratic Party	Joe Symmon	2.3%
	Democratic Party	Lowell Darling	1.6%
	Democratic Party	Peter Schurman	1.4%
Total Votes			2,395,287

2010 Race for Governor - General Election[35]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Jerry Brown	53.8%
	Republican Party	Meg Whitman	40.9%
	American Independent Party	Chelene Nightengale	1.7%
	Libertarian Party	Dale Ogden	1.5%
	Green Party	Laura Wells	1.2%
	Peace and Freedom Party	Carlos Alvarez	0.9%
Total Votes			8,085,908

2006[edit]

In the final weeks leading up to the State Attorney General election in 2006, Brown's eligibility as a candidate was questioned by his Republican challenger, Contra Costa County Republican Central Committee chairman and state GOP vice-chair candidate Tom Del Beccaro. Citing California Government Code §12503, which states that "no person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney General unless he shall have been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the state for a period of at least five years immediately preceding his election or appointment to such office," Republican plaintiffs in the case argued that Brown did not meet these basic requirements.^[36] According to the plaintiffs, since passing the bar exam in June 1965, Brown neglected the bar's maintenance requirements and was rendered inactive until finally renewing his membership three years prior to entering the state attorney general contest.^[37] The case was eventually thrown out after the court acknowledged that although he was ineligible to practice law because of his voluntary 'inactive status' in the State Bar of California from January 1997 to May 2003, he was nevertheless still "admitted to practice."^[38]

2006 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary[17]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Jerry Brown	63.3%
	Democratic Party	Rocky Delgadillo	36.7%
Total Votes			2,456,498

2006 Race for Attorney General - General Election[18]
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Jerry Brown	56.3%
	Republican Party	Chuck Poochigian	38.2%
	Green Party	Michael S. Wyman	2.3%
	Libertarian Party	Kenneth A. Weissman	2.1%
	Peace and Freedom Party	Jack Harrison	1.1%
Total Votes			8,450,009

Campaign donors[edit]

The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Jerry Brown (California) campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2014	Governor of California		$19,841,412
2012	Governor of California		$7,149,934
2010	Governor of California		$40,568,641
2008	Attorney General of California		$4,335,680
2006	Attorney General of California		$8,268,057
Grand total raised			$80,163,724
Source: [[39] Follow the Money]

2006 - 2014[edit]

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Jerry Brown.^[40] Click [show] for more information.

2016 Democratic National Convention[edit]

See also: Democratic National Convention, 2016

Brown was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from California.^[41] Brown was one of 75 superdelegates from California. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. Brown supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.^[42] Clinton formally won the Democratic nomination for president on July 26, 2016.^[43]

What is a superdelegate?[edit]

See also: Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.^[44]

California primary results[edit]

See also: Presidential election in California, 2016

In California's Democratic primary—which took place on June 7, 2016—475 pledged delegates were at stake, more than any other state in the 2016 Democratic nominating season. California's delegate haul represented almost 20 percent of the 2,383 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination and almost 12 percent of the 4,038 pledged delegates up for grabs in 2016. Polling from March and April showed Hillary Clinton with a lead in California over rival Bernie Sanders, ranging from six to 14 points. In 2008, Clinton won the state over Barack Obama 52 to 43 percent. California's pledged delegates were allocated on a proportional basis. California's 73 superdelegates were not required to adhere to the results of the June 7 primary election.

California Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Hillary Clinton	54.2%	2,580,865	269
Bernie Sanders	44.9%	2,135,718	206
Roque De La Fuente	0.2%	7,757	0
Henry Hewes	0.1%	6,997	0
Keith Judd	0.1%	6,771	0
Michael Steinberg	0.2%	10,247	0
Willie Wilson	0.2%	11,260	0
Totals		4,759,615	475
Source: The New York Times and California Secretary of State

Delegate allocation[edit]

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

California had 551 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 476 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.^[45][46]

Seventy-five party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.^[45][47]

See also[edit]

California	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis
California State Executive Offices California State Legislature California Courts	2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 California elections: 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016	Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

• Jerry Brown for Governor 2014 Official campaign website

• Brown's Typepad Blog (last updated Oct. 2005)
• Jerry Brown Blog at Huffington Post (last updated Oct. 2009)

Footnotes[edit]

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