The 1978 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 1978. The Democratic incumbent, Jerry Brown, defeated the Republican nominee Attorney General Evelle J. Younger and independent candidate Ed Clark in a landslide.

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1978 California gubernatorial election

← 1974 November 7, 1978 1982 →

Nominee Jerry Brown Evelle Younger Ed Clark Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 3,878,812 2,526,534 377,960 Percentage 56.05% 36.50% 5.46%

County results Brown:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Younger:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election Jerry Brown Democratic Elected Governor Jerry Brown Democratic

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In the Republican gubernatorial primary, California Attorney General Evelle Younger (who was the only Republican elected to a statewide office in the post-Watergate Democratic onslaught in the 1974 California general election) defeated Ed Davis (State Senator and former Los Angeles Police Chief), Ken Maddy (State Senate Minority Leader from Fresno), and Pete Wilson (Mayor of San Diego). Incumbent Jerry Brown had only minor opposition in the Democratic Primary. The primary election included Proposition 13, the initiative authored by Howard Jarvis which sought to drastically reduce property taxes and change the way property taxes were calculated. Younger and most Republicans supported Proposition 13 while Brown and most Democrats opposed it. The initiative passed with 64.8% of the vote; it is still in effect, and many other states passed similar laws.

The primary battle left Younger short of money, while Brown had a much larger campaign fund and won reelection in a landslide.