1938 California Gubernatorial Election

California · 2 candidates · See every 1938 Governor race

Who won the 1938 California Gubernatorial Election?

Culbert Olson won the 1938 California Gubernatorial Election. Culbert Olson received 1,391,734 popular votes (52.49%). The main challenger was Frank Merriam (44.17%).

See the full head-to-head between Olson and Merriam

Olson +8.3 pts · won by 220,715 votes

Culbert Olson DemocraticWINNER52.49%

1,391,734 votes

Frank Merriam Republican44.17%

1,171,019 votes

Other candidates received the remaining 3.3% of the popular vote; only the leading candidates are individually recorded for this election.

Popular-vote totals for governor elections are compiled from official state results (via Wikipedia); Louisiana shows the decisive round of its jungle primary.

Data last verified July 28, 2026.