California State Treasurer Friend Richardson defeated incumbent governor William Stephens in the Republican primary while Los Angeles County District Attorney Thomas L. Woolwine defeated Mattison B. Jones in the Democratic primary.

[1] Richardson would defeat Woolwine in the general election and would roll back many of the Progressive reforms made by Stephens and his predecessor, Hiram Johnson.

[2] Richardson's 59.69% vote share was the largest ever achieved by a gubernatorial candidate in California to that point, though that record would be broken in the next election.

By that time, Republicans had grown more conservative than the years prior, pushing against Progressives like Stephens.

[7] Governor Stephens and Jones cross-filed in the Prohibition primary, but due to Stephens not winning the Republican primary, the Prohibition Party was unable to run a candidate in the race.