1978 California lieutenant gubernatorial election

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1978 California lieutenant gubernatorial election
	County results; Curb: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%; Dymally: 40–50% 50–60%
Lieutenant Governor before election; Mervyn Dymally; Democratic	Elected Lieutenant Governor ; Mike Curb; Republican

The 1978 California lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978. Republican nominee Mike Curb defeated Democratic incumbent Mervyn Dymally with 51.64% of the vote. As of 2023^[update], this was the last time a Republican was elected Lieutenant Governor of California.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on June 6, 1978.^[1]

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mervyn Dymally (incumbent)	1,749,227	55.33
	Democratic	Patricia E. "Penny" Raven	686,157	21.71
	Democratic	Patrick Matthew Fitzpatrick	551,896	17.46
	Democratic	Abe Tapia	173,924	5.50
Total votes			3,161,204	100.00

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Curb	1,250,096	53.66
	Republican	Michael D. Antonovich	1,079,587	46.34
Total votes			2,329,683	100.00

Major party candidates

Other candidates

1978 California lieutenant gubernatorial election^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Curb	3,493,980	51.64%	+5.32%
	Democratic	Mervyn Dymally (incumbent)	2,928,329	43.28%	-5.91%
	American Independent	Houston Myers	180,922	2.67%	+0.74%
	Peace and Freedom	Jan B. Tucker	162,341	2.40%	-0.14%
Majority			565,651
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing