Overview
The 1990 California Insurance Commissioner election occurred on November 6, 1990, with the primary elections taking place on June 5, 1990. The Democratic nominee, John Garamendi, defeated the Republican nominee, Huntington Beach mayor Wes Bannister. Garamendi was the first person elected to the position of Insurance Commissioner due to the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988. Proposition 103 changed the Insurance Commissioner position from a governor-appointed position to an elected position.
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November 6, 1990
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 County results Garamendi: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Bannister: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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The 1990 California Insurance Commissioner election occurred on November 6, 1990, with the primary elections taking place on June 5, 1990.[1][2] The Democratic nominee, John Garamendi, defeated the Republican nominee, Huntington Beach mayor Wes Bannister.[3] Garamendi was the first person elected to the position of Insurance Commissioner due to the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988. Proposition 103 changed the Insurance Commissioner position from a governor-appointed position to an elected position.[4][5][6][7]
Primary election
Democratic Party results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Garamendi | 849,678 | 35.52 | |
| Democratic | Bill Press | 675,273 | 28.22 | |
| Democratic | Conway Collis | 398,503 | 16.66 | |
| Democratic | Walter A. Zelman | 199,565 | 8.34 | |
| Democratic | Ray Bourhis | 118,490 | 4.95 | |
| Democratic | Larry Murphy | 79,763 | 3.33 | |
| Democratic | Michael Blanco | 71,291 | 2.98 | |
| Total votes | 2,392,563 | 100.00 | ||
Republican Party results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Wes Bannister | 500,461 | 28.19 | |
| Republican | John S. Parise | 446,062 | 25.13 | |
| Republican | Thomas A. Scornia | 379,721 | 21.39 | |
| Republican | John L. "Jack" Harden | 330,825 | 18.64 | |
| Republican | Joseph D. Dunlop | 118,121 | 6.65 | |
| Total votes | 1,775,190 | 100.00 | ||
Peace and Freedom Party results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peace and Freedom | Tom Condit | 3,084 | 57.11 | |
| Peace and Freedom | B. Kwaku Duren | 2,316 | 42.89 | |
| Total votes | 5,400 | 100.00 | ||
Libertarian Party results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libertarian | Ted Brown | 11,663 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 11,663 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Garamendi | 3,770,717 | 52.22 | ||
| Republican | Wes Bannister | 2,736,577 | 37.90 | ||
| Libertarian | Ted Brown | 431,317 | 5.97 | ||
| Peace and Freedom | Tom Condit | 281,276 | 3.90 | ||
| No party | John J. "Jack" Harden (write-in) | 553 | 0.01 | ||
| No party | Eli Green (write-in) | 68 | 0.00 | ||
| Total votes | 7,220,508 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic win (new seat) | |||||
Results by county
| County | Garamendi (D) | Bannister (R) | Brown (L) | Condit (P&F) | Write-in (WI) | Totals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | |
| Alameda | 218,629 | 63.86% | 88,033 | 25.71% | 19,137 | 5.59% | 16,542 | 4.83% | 11 | 0.00% | 342,352 |
| Alpine | 198 | 46.59% | 169 | 39.76% | 36 | 8.47% | 22 | 5.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 425 |
| Amador | 6,191 | 52.33% | 4,483 | 37.90% | 794 | 6.71% | 362 | 3.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 11,830 |
| Butte | 29,549 | 49.21% | 24,859 | 41.40% | 3,930 | 6.55% | 1,706 | 2.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 60,044 |
| Calaveras | 6,683 | 52.24% | 4,556 | 35.61% | 1,084 | 8.47% | 471 | 3.68% | 0 | 0.00% | 12,794 |
| Colusa | 2,034 | 47.71% | 1,906 | 44.71% | 233 | 5.47% | 90 | 2.11% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,263 |
| Contra Costa | 138,378 | 55.28% | 88,947 | 35.54% | 15,391 | 6.15% | 7,583 | 3.03% | 8 | 0.00% | 250,307 |
| Del Norte | 2,877 | 44.45% | 2,869 | 44.33% | 428 | 6.61% | 298 | 4.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,472 |
| El Dorado | 22,434 | 49.17% | 19,121 | 41.91% | 2,624 | 5.75% | 1,444 | 3.17% | 0 | 0.00% | 45,623 |
| Fresno | 75,624 | 53.96% | 52,586 | 37.52% | 6,035 | 4.31% | 5,905 | 3.64% | 1 | 0.00% | 140,151 |
| Glenn | 3,021 | 43.85% | 3,215 | 46.67% | 434 | 6.30% | 219 | 3.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,889 |
| Humboldt | 22,831 | 50.47% | 16,228 | 35.87% | 3,104 | 6.86% | 3,074 | 6.80% | 1 | 0.00% | 45,238 |
| Imperial | 8,441 | 49.32% | 6,996 | 40.88% | 888 | 5.19% | 819 | 4.79% | 0 | 0.00% | 17,114 |
| Inyo | 3,317 | 47.68% | 3,099 | 44.55% | 354 | 5.09% | 187 | 2.69% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,957 |
| Kern | 55,068 | 47.40% | 51,741 | 44.54% | 6,346 | 5.46% | 3,011 | 2.59% | 5 | 0.00% | 116,171 |
| Kings | 8,379 | 51.04% | 6,691 | 40.76% | 844 | 5.14% | 502 | 3.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 16,416 |
| Lake | 9,385 | 55.17% | 5,814 | 34.18% | 1,184 | 6.96% | 625 | 3.67% | 3 | 0.02% | 17,011 |
| Lassen | 3,795 | 47.35% | 3,229 | 40.29% | 623 | 7.77% | 368 | 4.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 8,015 |
| Los Angeles | 1,012,783 | 57.15% | 601,552 | 33.94% | 88,452 | 4.99% | 69,291 | 4.02% | 198 | 0.11% | 1,772,276 |
| Madera | 9,103 | 49.02% | 7,868 | 42.37% | 971 | 5.23% | 627 | 3.38% | 0 | 0.00% | 18,569 |
| Marin | 49,327 | 55.51% | 29,958 | 33.71% | 5,650 | 6.36% | 3,931 | 4.42% | 1 | 0.00% | 88,867 |
| Mariposa | 3,043 | 48.99% | 2,404 | 38.71% | 401 | 6.46% | 363 | 5.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,211 |
| Mendocino | 12,305 | 46.01% | 9,360 | 35.00% | 2,239 | 8.37% | 2,841 | 10.62% | 1 | 0.00% | 26,746 |
| Merced | 15,180 | 49.75% | 10,649 | 34.90% | 1,610 | 5.28% | 3,074 | 10.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 30,513 |
| Modoc | 1,433 | 41.56% | 1,598 | 46.35% | 268 | 7.77% | 149 | 4.32% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,448 |
| Mono | 1,464 | 49.93% | 1,182 | 40.31% | 188 | 6.41% | 98 | 3.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,932 |
| Monterey | 38,259 | 49.65% | 30,685 | 39.82% | 5,209 | 6.76% | 2,909 | 3.77% | 4 | 0.00% | 77,062 |
| Napa | 18,479 | 49.10% | 15,198 | 40.39% | 2,426 | 6.45% | 1,529 | 4.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 37,632 |
| Nevada | 14,797 | 45.23% | 14,583 | 44.57% | 2,266 | 6.93% | 1,070 | 3.27% | 1 | 0.00% | 32,717 |
| Orange | 251,088 | 40.22% | 321,873 | 51.56% | 35,490 | 10.94% | 15,784 | 2.53% | 72 | 0.01% | 624,307 |
| Placer | 29,366 | 47.78% | 26,488 | 43.09% | 3,695 | 6.01% | 1,908 | 3.10% | 10 | 0.02% | 61,467 |
| Plumas | 4,114 | 53.16% | 2,846 | 36.77% | 516 | 6.67% | 263 | 3.40% | 0 | 0.00% | 7,739 |
| Riverside | 129,403 | 49.36% | 112,709 | 42.99% | 12,559 | 4.79% | 7,490 | 2.86% | 1 | 0.00% | 262,162 |
| Sacramento | 181,103 | 56.12% | 114,735 | 35.56% | 16,316 | 5.06% | 10,494 | 3.25% | 31 | 0.01% | 322,679 |
| San Benito | 4,014 | 48.73% | 3,242 | 39.35% | 588 | 7.14% | 394 | 4.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 8,238 |
| San Bernardino | 147,030 | 50.47% | 118,131 | 40.55% | 16,197 | 5.56% | 9,957 | 3.42% | 24 | 0.01% | 291,339 |
| San Diego | 244,820 | 39.26% | 297,963 | 47.79% | 53,537 | 8.59% | 27,099 | 4.35% | 114 | 0.02% | 623,533 |
| San Francisco | 124,648 | 67.70% | 32,423 | 17.61% | 14,001 | 7.61% | 13,042 | 7.08% | 2 | 0.00% | 184,116 |
| San Joaquin | 63,668 | 58.06% | 38,148 | 34.79% | 4,589 | 4.18% | 3,257 | 2.97% | 1 | 0.00% | 109,663 |
| San Luis Obispo | 32,848 | 48.19% | 28,961 | 42.48% | 4,083 | 5.99% | 2,275 | 3.34% | 3 | 0.00% | 68,170 |
| San Mateo | 95,746 | 54.92% | 58,100 | 33.33% | 13,585 | 7.79% | 6,905 | 3.96% | 1 | 0.00% | 174,337 |
| Santa Barbara | 51,459 | 49.95% | 41,987 | 40.76% | 6,282 | 6.10% | 3,202 | 3.11% | 85 | 0.08% | 103,015 |
| Santa Clara | 205,683 | 52.93% | 139,117 | 35.80% | 28,252 | 7.27% | 15,526 | 4.00% | 3 | 0.00% | 388,581 |
| Santa Cruz | 44,955 | 59.44% | 20,799 | 27.50% | 5,317 | 7.03% | 4,557 | 6.03% | 1 | 0.00% | 75,629 |
| Shasta | 20,410 | 43.57% | 21,605 | 46.12% | 3,156 | 6.74% | 1,677 | 3.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 46,848 |
| Sierra | 795 | 52.65% | 543 | 35.96% | 114 | 7.55% | 58 | 3.84% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,510 |
| Siskiyou | 6,764 | 45.90% | 6,221 | 42.22% | 1,068 | 7.25% | 682 | 4.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 14,735 |
| Solano | 47,589 | 57.53% | 26,667 | 32.24% | 5,165 | 6.24% | 3,300 | 3.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 82,721 |
| Sonoma | 70,432 | 53.40% | 44,120 | 33.45% | 9,271 | 7.03% | 8,046 | 6.10% | 33 | 0.03% | 131,902 |
| Stanislaus | 47,825 | 56.77% | 27,984 | 33.22% | 3,879 | 4.61% | 4,553 | 5.40% | 0 | 0.00% | 84,241 |
| Sutter | 7,978 | 43.45% | 9,063 | 49.36% | 891 | 4.85% | 429 | 2.34% | 0 | 0.00% | 18,361 |
| Tehama | 6,919 | 44.60% | 6,509 | 41.95% | 1,459 | 9.40% | 628 | 4.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 15,515 |
| Trinity | 2,329 | 44.19% | 2,154 | 40.87% | 468 | 8.88% | 320 | 6.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 5,271 |
| Tulare | 30,982 | 49.72% | 26,821 | 43.04% | 2,765 | 4.44% | 1,747 | 2.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 62,315 |
| Tuolumne | 10,720 | 55.81% | 6,517 | 33.93% | 1,184 | 6.16% | 788 | 4.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 19,209 |
| Ventura | 84,155 | 48.09% | 74,415 | 42.53% | 10,848 | 6.20% | 5,558 | 3.18% | 5 | 0.00% | 174,981 |
| Yolo | 25,158 | 60.91% | 12,331 | 29.86% | 1,940 | 4.70% | 1,871 | 4.53% | 1 | 0.00% | 41,301 |
| Yuba | 5,709 | 48.08% | 5,056 | 42.58% | 753 | 6.34% | 356 | 3.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 11,874 |
| Totals | 3,770,717 | 52.22% | 2,736,577 | 37.90% | 431,317 | 5.97% | 281,276 | 3.90% | 621 | 0.01% | 7,220,508 |
References
- ↑ "STATEMENT OF VOTE - JUNE 5, 1990" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ↑ "STATEMENT OF VOTE - General Election November 6, 1990" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ↑ "CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: INSURANCE COMMISSIONER : Garamendi to Focus on Prop. 103, Cost Cuts". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 1990. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ↑ "Rethinking Prop 103's Approach to Insurance Regulation". International Center for Law & Politics. November 6, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ↑ "About the Department". California Department of Insurance. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ↑ "Utility Reporter" (PDF). IBEW Local 1245. May 1990. p. 9. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- ↑ Eule, Julian N. "Judicial Review of Direct Democracy". The Yale Law Journal. p. 1569. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "June 5, 1990, Primary Election - Insurance Commissioner" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ↑ "November 6, 1990, General Election - Insurance Commissioner" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved August 21, 2025.