Primary election summary
General election
Early indications were that it would be a close race but as the campaign went on, Bradley slowly increased his lead in the polls. Despite this, the outcome was still in doubt as election night wore on. A large late surge of absentee ballots (many from conservative Orange County and Deukmejian's home area of Long Beach) helped tip the balance in his favor. The incorrect polling numbers led to the theory — later dubbed "the Bradley effect" — that a statistically significant number of voters had given inaccurate responses when questioned by pollsters.
Results by county
County
|
Deukmejian
|
Votes
|
Bradley
|
Votes
|
Others
|
Votes
|
Modoc
|
68.83%
|
2,599
|
26.35%
|
995
|
4.82%
|
182
|
Glenn
|
67.49%
|
5,492
|
29.47%
|
2,398
|
3.05%
|
248
|
Inyo
|
63.87%
|
5,008
|
33.15%
|
2,599
|
2.98%
|
234
|
Sutter
|
63.33%
|
10,753
|
33.33%
|
5,660
|
3.34%
|
567
|
Colusa
|
62.95%
|
3,036
|
33.61%
|
1,621
|
3.44%
|
166
|
Calaveras
|
61.63%
|
6,277
|
34.37%
|
3,501
|
4.00%
|
407
|
Orange
|
61.44%
|
422,878
|
36.70%
|
252,572
|
1.87%
|
12,848
|
Amador
|
61.19%
|
6,251
|
35.66%
|
3,643
|
3.14%
|
321
|
San Joaquin
|
60.06%
|
65,583
|
36.63%
|
40,002
|
3.30%
|
3,607
|
Mono
|
59.58%
|
1,977
|
37.64%
|
1,249
|
2.77%
|
92
|
El Dorado
|
59.37%
|
20,591
|
37.48%
|
12,999
|
3.14%
|
1,090
|
Tehama
|
58.55%
|
9,628
|
37.30%
|
6,134
|
4.15%
|
683
|
Siskiyou
|
58.40%
|
9,457
|
37.11%
|
6,009
|
4.50%
|
728
|
Butte
|
58.13%
|
36,074
|
38.25%
|
23,734
|
3.62%
|
2,245
|
Shasta
|
57.61%
|
26,902
|
38.66%
|
18,053
|
3.73%
|
1,743
|
Tuolumne
|
56.84%
|
8,716
|
39.82%
|
6,107
|
3.34%
|
512
|
Nevada
|
56.80%
|
14,753
|
39.51%
|
10,262
|
3.69%
|
959
|
Tulare
|
56.69%
|
38,901
|
41.29%
|
28,330
|
2.02%
|
1,386
|
Lassen
|
56.64%
|
4,472
|
38.03%
|
3,003
|
5.33%
|
421
|
Mariposa
|
56.39%
|
3,255
|
40.26%
|
2,324
|
3.34%
|
193
|
Stanislaus
|
55.94%
|
43,639
|
41.38%
|
32,276
|
2.68%
|
2,093
|
Placer
|
55.47%
|
28,082
|
41.15%
|
20,832
|
3.38%
|
1,710
|
Kern
|
55.30%
|
70,095
|
42.44%
|
53,799
|
2.26%
|
2,859
|
Ventura
|
55.22%
|
99,130
|
42.39%
|
76,094
|
2.40%
|
4,300
|
Kings
|
54.64%
|
9,938
|
42.43%
|
7,718
|
2.93%
|
533
|
Madera
|
54.57%
|
10,334
|
41.66%
|
7,889
|
3.77%
|
714
|
Napa
|
54.20%
|
21,812
|
42.34%
|
17,042
|
3.46%
|
1,393
|
Trinity
|
53.95%
|
3,100
|
40.92%
|
2,351
|
5.13%
|
295
|
Yuba
|
53.77%
|
6,959
|
41.73%
|
5,400
|
4.50%
|
582
|
Plumas
|
53.53%
|
4,237
|
42.39%
|
3,355
|
4.08%
|
323
|
San Bernardino
|
53.29%
|
144,096
|
44.08%
|
119,185
|
2.63%
|
7,117
|
Riverside
|
53.27%
|
119,680
|
44.68%
|
100,370
|
2.05%
|
4,597
|
Lake
|
53.24%
|
8,867
|
42.89%
|
7,143
|
3.87%
|
644
|
San Luis Obispo
|
52.94%
|
33,457
|
44.96%
|
28,417
|
2.10%
|
1,327
|
San Diego
|
52.76%
|
330,037
|
44.62%
|
279,113
|
2.62%
|
16,366
|
Alpine
|
52.66%
|
218
|
44.69%
|
185
|
2.66%
|
11
|
Merced
|
52.62%
|
17,477
|
44.10%
|
14,649
|
3.28%
|
1,090
|
Fresno
|
52.59%
|
80,171
|
45.01%
|
68,623
|
2.40%
|
3,659
|
Sacramento
|
52.35%
|
171,176
|
44.70%
|
146,167
|
2.95%
|
9,639
|
Imperial
|
51.40%
|
10,272
|
45.70%
|
9,133
|
2.91%
|
581
|
Del Norte
|
51.32%
|
3,355
|
44.88%
|
2,934
|
3.81%
|
249
|
Solano
|
50.31%
|
36,968
|
46.26%
|
33,997
|
3.43%
|
2,522
|
Contra Costa
|
49.83%
|
126,460
|
47.17%
|
119,712
|
3.00%
|
7,616
|
Santa Barbara
|
48.33%
|
55,682
|
49.62%
|
57,164
|
2.05%
|
2,357
|
Sierra
|
48.33%
|
914
|
47.96%
|
907
|
3.70%
|
70
|
Monterey
|
47.78%
|
37,493
|
48.81%
|
38,301
|
3.42%
|
2,681
|
Mendocino
|
46.82%
|
12,398
|
48.29%
|
12,786
|
4.89%
|
1,294
|
San Benito
|
46.67%
|
3,608
|
48.92%
|
3,782
|
4.41%
|
341
|
San Mateo
|
46.36%
|
99,527
|
50.48%
|
108,374
|
3.15%
|
6,768
|
Los Angeles
|
45.67%
|
1,024,946
|
52.27%
|
1,173,149
|
2.06%
|
46,141
|
Humboldt
|
45.38%
|
21,609
|
50.38%
|
23,991
|
4.25%
|
2,023
|
Sonoma
|
45.10%
|
55,968
|
51.20%
|
63,542
|
3.70%
|
4,597
|
Santa Clara
|
43.96%
|
180,232
|
52.87%
|
216,781
|
3.17%
|
13,004
|
Yolo
|
42.99%
|
19,227
|
54.00%
|
24,150
|
3.01%
|
1,345
|
Marin
|
42.83%
|
42,260
|
53.24%
|
52,534
|
3.93%
|
3,874
|
Santa Cruz
|
38.09%
|
29,545
|
57.09%
|
44,282
|
4.82%
|
3,738
|
Alameda
|
37.62%
|
145,964
|
58.91%
|
228,578
|
3.47%
|
13,480
|
San Francisco
|
30.43%
|
69,478
|
66.47%
|
151,769
|
3.10%
|
7,087
|
References