CALIFORNIA
      Nov. 2, 1982 Governor

Gov.
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 Sen.1
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+George Deukmejian (R)  3,881,014
 		49.28%
Tom Bradley (D)
3,787,669
 		48.09%
Dan P. Dougherty (L) 81,076
 		1.03%
Elizabeth Martinez (P&F)
 		70,327
 		0.89%
Jim Griffin (AIP)
56,249
 		0.71%

7,876,335
Registration: 11,557,355.
Plurality: 93,345 votes (1.19 percentage points).


REPUBLICAN PICK-UP
Notes:  After two terms in the Governor's office, Gov. Jerry Brown (D)'s popularity had waned; he opted not to seek re-election and instead ran for U.S. Senate.  Campaigning for the open seat, Attorney General George Deukmejian (R) narrowly defeated Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (D) for a Republican pick-up. 

Polls showed Bradley, who was seeking to become the first elected black governor, appeared likely to win.  On Election Night, Bradley appeared headed to victory.  The narrow loss gave rise to the "Bradley effect," a theory which points to racism to explain why a black or other minority candidate running against a white candidate may underperform his or her poll numbers.  The impact of the Bradley effect in this race has been discussed and analyzed for years.  An academic paper from 1988 noted that, "Bradley’s racial heritage emerged as the decisive issue during the last six weeks of the 1982 gubernatorial contest."  In part this stemmed from a controversial remark made by Deukmejian's campaign manager Bill Roberts, reported by the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 8, pointing to "the hidden anti-black vote."  Within days, Roberts, a veteran consultant who had worked on both of Ronald Reagan's campaigns for governor, resigned, but the incident triggered heavy media coverage.

A contrasting analysis from 2008 focused on Bradley's endorsement of Proposition 15, the handgun ownership and registration initiative, as a major factor that cost him the election.  Prop. 15 and other ballot measures led to high turnout in more conservative rural areas of the state.  A Republican program to encourage absentee voting also helped tip the balance.  Bradley actually finished narrowly ahead in votes cast on Election Day, but Republicans carried the race on absentee ballots.
 
Further, Deukmejian was a solid, experienced candidate.  An Armenian-American, he was first elected to the State Assembly in 1962, representing Long Beach.  After four years, he was elected to the State Senate, where he served 12 years including as minority leader.  He was elected Attorney General in 1978.  In the June 8, 1982 primary, Deukmejian defeated Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, who had led in the polls. 

Bradley, a sharecroppers' son, was first elected Mayor in 1973 and was now in the early part of his third term.  Previously he served a decade on the L.A. City Council, and was a police officer with the L.A.P.D. for 21 years.  In the June primary, he easily defeated state Sen. John Garamendi and Mario Obledo, a prominent Latino who had co-founded MALDEF and was Secretary of Health and Welfare in the Brown administration.

In the general election, Bradley and Deukmejian engaged in several televised debates organized by the California League of Women Voters, starting on Sept. 29 in Sacramento and concluding on Oct. 26 in San Diego.





See also:
Joe Mathews.  "It was guns, not race, that affected Bradley."  Politico, Nov. 4, 2008.

Gregory Payne.  "Shaping the race issue: A special kind of journalism."  Political Communication, 5(3):145-160, Jan. 1988.
 
Tom Wicker.  "Dissecting An Election."  The New York Times, Feb. 18, 1983.

Mark Shields.  "It Wasn't White Racism That Beat Tom Bradley."  The Washington Post, Nov. 12, 1982.

Leon Lindsey.  "Why two top races bucked the Democratic tide in California."  The Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 9, 1982.

Jay Mathews.  "The 1982 Elections: The California Governor's Race."  The Washington Post, Oct. 30, 1982.

Mark Barabak.  "Deukmejian Campaign Chief Quits After Racial Remark."  UPI, Oct. 13, 1982.








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