Governor of California
Running as a Republican, Warren was elected Governor of California on November 3, 1942, defeating incumbent Culbert Olson, a liberal Democrat. Thanks to cross-filing, he won all the 1946 primaries and was re-elected with over 90% of the vote against minor candidates. He was elected to a third term (as a Republican) in 1950 becoming the first person elected governor of California three times. Warren is the only person who has been sent to office in three consecutive California gubernatorial elections. An amendment passed in 1990 sets a limit of two terms for governor. (In 2010, Jerry Brown became the second person to be elected three times, in 1974, 1978, and 2010. As he served before the amendment was passed, he was not prohibited from serving another term.)
As governor, Warren modernized the office of governor, and state government generally. Like most progressives, Warren believed in efficiency and planning. During World War II he aggressively pursued postwar economic planning. Fearing another postwar decline that would rival the depression years, Governor Earl Warren initiated public works projects similar to those of the New Deal to capitalize on wartime tax surpluses and provide jobs for returning veterans. Warren also built up the state's higher education system based on the University of California and its vast network of small universities and community colleges. For example, his support of the Collier-Burns Act in 1947 raised gasoline taxes that funded a massive program of freeway construction. Unlike states where tolls or bonds funded highway construction, California's gasoline taxes were earmarked for building the system. Warren's support for the bill was crucial because his status as a popular governor strengthened his views, in contrast with opposition from trucking, oil, and gas lobbyists. The Collier-Burns Act helped influence passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1956, setting a pattern for national highway construction.
Gov. Warren ran for Vice President of the United States in 1948 on the Republican ticket with Thomas E. Dewey, his gubernatorial counterpart from the state of New York. Heavily favored to win, they lost in a stunning upset to the incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman and his VP running mate Alben W. Barkley.
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