Editing Culbert Olson (section)

=== 1938 Gubernatorial Bid ===
[[File:"$30 every Thursday" pension plan out as President discusses political situation with California candidates. Washington, D.C., Sept. 27. Sheridan Downey, who defeated Senator William Gibbs LCCN2016874059 Trim.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|From left to right: [[Ellis E. Patterson]], Olson, and [[Sheridan Downey]], candidates for [[Lieutenant Governor of California|lieutenant governor]], [[Governor of California|governor]], and [[U.S. Senate]], respectively, at the [[White House]], 1938]]
With the open support of President Roosevelt, Olson ran for [[governor of California]] in the [[1938 California gubernatorial election|1938 election]] against conservative Republican and anti-labor incumbent Governor [[Frank Merriam]]. Merriam, known for suppressing the [[1934 West Coast Longshore Strike|1934 Longshore Strike]] and his conservative fiscal policies, was a highly unpopular candidate among progressives and unionists, with even conservative Republicans angered by his 1935 tax reforms. Merriam lost soundly to Olson. He was the first Democrat to win the governorship since [[James Budd]]'s election in 1894, breaking the 40-year Democrat isolation from the governorship.