The 2010 California gubernatorial election was held November 2, 2010, to elect the governor of California. The primary elections were held on June 8, 2010. Because constitutional office holders in California have been prohibited from serving more than two terms in the same office since November 6, 1990, incumbent Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits. Former governor Jerry Brown, to whom the term limits did not apply due to a grandfather clause, defeated Meg Whitman in the general election and was sworn into office on January 3, 2011. As of 2024, this remains the most recent time the governor's office in California has changed partisan control.

Primary election

Republican party

Candidates

Polling

Results

[Results by county:

{{legend|#d40000|Whitman—70–80%}} {{legend|#cc2f4a|Whitman—60–70%}} {{legend|#e27f90|Whitman—50–60%}} | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/2010///California///Republican///gubernatorial///primary///election///results///map///by///county.svg]

Democratic party

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Polling

Results

[Results by county:

{{legend|#002b84|Brown—>90%}} {{legend|#0645b4|Brown—80-90%}} {{legend|#1666cb|Brown—70-80%}} {{legend|#4389e3|Brown—60-70%}} {{legend|#86b6f2|Brown—50-60%}} | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/2010///California///Democratic///gubernatorial///primary///election///results///map///by///county.svg]

American Independent primary

Candidates

Results

Green primary

Candidates

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Results

Peace and Freedom primary

Candidates

Results

[[File:2010 California gubernatorial Peace and Freedom primary results map by county.svg|thumb|Results by county: {{legend|#ff80e5|Alvarez}} {{legend|#ffaaee|40-50%}} {{legend|#ff80e5|50-60%}} {{legend|#ff5cde|60-70%}} {{legend|#D600AA|100%}} {{legend|#5bc75b|Alexander}} {{legend|#87de87|40–50%}} {{legend|#5bc75b|50–60%}} {{legend|#41b742|60–70%}} {{legend|#165016|100%}} {{legend|#AE8BB1|Tie}} {{legend|#DECDE6|30-40%}} {{legend|#AE8BB1|50%}} {{legend|#dddddd|No Vote}} ]]

General election

Campaign

Both Whitman and Brown were criticized for negative campaigning during the election. During their final debate at the 2010 Women's Conference a week before the election, moderator Matt Lauer asked both candidates to pull attack ads for the rest of the election, which elicited loud cheers from the audience. Brown agreed and picked one ad each of his and Whitman's that he thought, if Whitman would agree, should be the only ones run, but Whitman, who had been loudly cheered earlier as the prospective first woman governor of the state, was booed when she stated that she would keep "the ads that talk about where Gov. Brown stands on the issues." The Los Angeles Times reported that nearly $250 million was spent on the Governor's race. At least two spending records were broken during the campaign. Whitman broke personal spending records by spending $140 million of her own money on the campaign, and independent expenditures exceeded $31.7 million, with almost $25 million of that spent in support of Brown. In an interview with CNN, the reporter opined that Whitman was hurt most during the campaign by a matter involving Nicky Diaz, her former Mexican maid, whom Whitman fired after Diaz asked for help as she was an illegal immigrant. As of 2024, this is the last time the American Independent Party ran in a California gubernatorial election.

Candidates' stances on issues

** Jobs:** Meg Whitman

1. Eliminate small business start-up tax ($800 fee for new business start-ups)
2. Eliminate factory tax
3. Increase R&D tax credit (increase from 15% to 20%)
4. Promote investments in agriculture
5. Eliminate the state tax on capital gains Jerry Brown
6. Stimulate clean energy jobs (build 12,000MW of localized electricity generation; build 8,000MW of large-scale renewables; appoint a Clean Energy Czar)
7. Invest in infrastructure/construction jobs (federal dollars for projects; prioritize water needs; high-speed rail; strengthen the port system; prioritize use of existing funds for job creation; infill development
8. Create strike team to focus on job retention
9. Cut regulations (speed up regulatory processes and eliminate duplicative functions; develop CEQA guidelines; fully utilize administrative law; update outdated technology systems
10. Increase manufacturing jobs
11. Deliver targeted workforce training programs
12. Invest in education ** Education:** Meg Whitman
13. Direct more money to classroom
14. Reward outstanding teachers
15. Eliminate cap on charter schools
16. Grade public schools A-F
17. Establish fast-track parent process for charter school conversions
18. Invest $1 billion in UC and CSU University systems
19. Utilize alternative paths to the classroom to attract high quality teachers Jerry Brown
20. Higher education (create new state master plan; focus on community colleges and transfer credits)
21. Overhaul state testing program
22. Change school funding formulas and consolidate the 62 existing categorical programs
23. Teacher recruitment and training
24. Simplify the Education Code and return more decision-making to local school districts
25. A more balanced and creative school curriculum (science, history, and humanities; experiment with online, etc.)
26. Place special emphasis on teaching science, technology, engineering, and math
27. Increase proficiency in English
28. Improve high school graduation rates
29. Charter schools
30. Magnet or theme schools
31. Citizenship and character

Predictions

Polling

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Results by congressional district

Brown won 33 districts, while Whitman won 20. Both candidates won a district held by the other party.