1982 California Attorney General election

1982 California Attorney General election

November 2, 1982

Nominee John Van de Kamp George Nicholson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,015,953 3,141,996 Percentage 52.8% 41.3%

County results Van de Kamp:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Nicholson:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

Attorney General before election George Deukmejian Republican Elected Attorney General John Van de Kamp Democratic

The 1982 California Attorney General election was held on November 2, 1982. Democratic nominee John Van de Kamp defeated Republican nominee George Nicholson with 52.83% of the vote.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on June 8, 1982.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Van de Kamp, former Los Angeles County District Attorney
• Omer Rains, State Senator

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Van de Kamp	1,579,838	62.68
	Democratic	Omer Rains	940,786	37.32
Total votes			2,520,624	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• George Nicholson, attorney
• M. David Stirling, State Assemblyman

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Nicholson	1,272,789	67.25
	Republican	M. David Stirling	619,876	32.75
Total votes			1,892,665	100.00

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

• John Van de Kamp, Democratic
• George Nicholson, Republican

Other candidates

• Bartholomew "Bert" Lee, Libertarian
• Dan Siegel, Peace and Freedom

Results

1982 California Attorney General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Van de Kamp	4,015,953	52.83%
	Republican	George Nicholson	3,141,996	41.33%
	Libertarian	Bartholomew "Bert" Lee	265,029	3.49%
	Peace and Freedom	Dan Siegel	179,055	2.36%
Majority			873,957
Turnout			7,602,033
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing