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Straight Ticket. In 1946 California Democrats worked up a "package" slate of left-leaning candidates for state offices, and relatively conservative District Attorney Brown was the candidate for attorney general. "We traveled together and made speeches together." he recalls. "The Republican newspapers wrapped us up in that package and we couldn't get out." Result: a total Democratic loss. Since that day Pat Brown has run alone, lending little or no support to other Democratic nominees—including his current running mate, U.S. Representative Clair Engle, candidate for the Senate against Republican Goodie Knight.
Elected attorney general in 1950, Lawyer Brown was California's only major Democratic officeholder, plainly his party's best vote getter. He worked hard at staying that way, traveling constantly around the state, speaking to every group that would listen, shaking every hand within reach. In 1954 he was the obvious Democratic choice for Governor, and party leaders begged him to run. Brown hesitated, pondered, worried over postcard polls showing incumbent Republican Goodie Knight ahead of him. Finally Brown backed out, deciding to run for re-election as attorney general. Rarely referring to his Democratic running mates (part of a deal, snarled his enemies, for the support of the Republican Los Angeles Times'), Pat Brown campaigned on a straight Pat Brown ticket—and won easily while the other Democrats got clobbered.
Brown's 1954 refusal to run for Governor was attributable to his caution, not his lack of ambition. Early last year Democratic National Committeeman Paul Ziffren and then-State Chairman Roger
Kent began sounding Brown out on his 1958 intentions. They talked to him about running against Bill Knowland for the Senate. Brown gave them no answer. They talked to him about running against Goodie Knight for Governor. Brown gave them no answer. He studied innumerable postcard polls, drove Ziffren and Kent to distraction with his indecision, almost worried himself to death.
Fatal Fracas. Then, incredibly, the Republicans made his decision for him: Bill Knowland announced that he was going to quit the Senate, return to California and run for Governor. That meant fellow Republican Goodie Knight was going to be shoved right out of the Governor's chair.
Thus began one of the liveliest party brawls in California Republican history. Knight first threatened to fight Knowland to the finish. Then, under relentless pressure from Knowland friends, including the Los Angeles Times's powerful Publisher Norman Chandler, Knight gave way, announced that he would run for Knowland's Senate seat. The Knight-Knowland fracas was what Pat Brown had been waiting for; while Bill Knowland and Goodie Knight were exchanging insults, Pat Brown announced his Democratic candidacy for Governor of California.