I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked

by Upton Sinclair, James Gregory (Introduction)

Here, reprinted for the first time since its original publication, is muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair's lively, caustic account of the 1934 election campaign that turned California upside down and almost won him the governor's mansion.

Using his "End Poverty in California" movement (more commonly called EPIC) as a springboard, Sinclair ran for governor as a Democrat, equipped with a bold plan to end the Depression in California by taking over idle land and factories and turning them into cooperative ventures for the unemployed. To his surprise, thousands rallied to the idea, converting what he had assumed would be another of his utopian schemes into a mass political movement of extraordinary dimensions. With a loosely knit organization of hundreds of local EPIC clubs, Sinclair overwhelmed the moderate Democratic opposition to capture the primary election. When it came to the general election, however, his opposition employed highly effective campaign tactics: overwhelming media hostility, vicious red-baiting and voter intimidation, high-priced dirty tricks. The result was a resounding defeat in November.

I, Candidate tells the story of Sinclair's campaign while also capturing the turbulent political mood of the 1930s. Employing his trademark muckraking style, Sinclair exposes the conspiracies of power that ensured big-money control over the media and other powerful institutions.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle (1906). To gather information for the novel, Sinclair spent seven weeks undercover working in the meat packing plants of Chicago. These direct experiences exposed the horrific conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The Jungle has remained continuously in print since its initial publication. In 1919, he published The Brass Check, a muckraking exposé of American journalism that publicized the issue of yellow journalism and the limitations of the “free press” in the United States. Four years after the initial publication of The Brass Check, the first code of ethics for journalists was created. Time magazine called him "a man with every gift except humor and silence." In 1943, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Sinclair also ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Socialist, and was the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of California in 1934, though his highly progressive campaign was defeated.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 1934 election for California governor was historically significant for many reasons and nothing brings it to life and makes you realize the horrible state of the American democracy and economy than this first person account by Upton Sinclair.

[Julesreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t finish, but read more than half. gets boring and not even all that revelatory after the explanation of the EPIC plan. Still decent enough.

[Randy D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I, Candidate For Governor

 
Upton Sinclair's I, Candidate For Governor is the sequel to I, Governor Of California; the accomplished author began writing it immediately after his unsuccessful candidacy for Governor of his home state. In fact, Sinclair stated in the first few sentences that he began writing this sequel three days after the election; he wrote, “having known for a month what was coming, I had time to practice smiling. I write now in a mood of ‘cheerful aloofness.’”1

The definition of “aloofness” is, “indifference by personal withdrawal or, a disposition to be distant or unsympathetic in manner.” Sinclair was telling his constituents like it was; he stated in his prequel to I, Candidate For Governor that after three failed attempts at public office, he didn't set out to try for another. But, encouraged by Franklin Roosevelt's victory in 1932, he felt he had to give it one more shot ... and he came close to winning on his fourth attempt, but he was a victim of the first modern smear campaign in the history of American politics; he couldn't help being bitter about the outcome ... he put it nicely by saying he was in a mood of “cheerful aloofness.” However, his tone gradually changed from one of “cheerful aloofness” to “self-proclaimed bitterness”; my observation was reinforced as I continued reading what became Sinclair’s political “farewell address.”

Mr. Sinclair in I, Candidate For Governor explained his before mentioned motive for mounting his fourth campaign, and the remainder of his book explains how he “got licked.” The accomplished author ran on a platform that he created; his End Poverty In California or EPIC campaign was his brainchild, and his candidacy made quite a political statement. Sinclair wrote that he probably could have become California's next governor had the corrupt political machine been nonexistent; his platform was immensely popular not only with the unemployed or under employed citizens, it was popular with business owners and corporate executives as well. But what killed his chances were the millionaires who didn’t want to see him upset the political “apple cart,” and those appointed, elected or “bought and paid for” officials who were the power brokers in control of the state political machine. They didn't want the “socialist interloper” to move into California's governor's mansion.

A radical socialist writer doesn't stand a chance against a well organized political machine that holds a firm grip on any political realm; Sinclair was aware of that scenario as he explained why the Socialist Party could not “get off the ground” and therefore had never won a state or national election. His solution to overcome this political hurdle was to incorporate some of the better socialist concepts into the Democrat Party, which he officially joined. But, the leaders of both parties continued to view Sinclair as an anti-American rabble-rouser, and did whatever they could to insure his defeat. And the Republicans were successful; when the final votes were tallied, the official figures show the acting Republican governor Frank Merriam received 1,138,000, Sinclair as the Democrat candidate received 879,000, and Raymond Haight garnered 302,000. The third party candidate running on a resurrected version of the old Progressive Party cost Upton Sinclair the election.

With that being said, I, Candidate For Governor was written in the election’s aftermath as an astute observation of the internal process of any corrupt political machine that “had it in” for a particular candidate. Upton Sinclair, a highly educated and accomplished author, and a registered Socialist for thirty years, tried to alleviate poverty in his home state by the implementation of a semi-socialist program that would have probably worked. He was unsuccessful as he went up against a highly organized and motivated corrupt political establishment that was hell-bent to prevent him from winning; his bitterness in “getting licked” is presented throughout his “farewell address.” Sinclair was not bitter because he lost ... he was bitter because the people didn't win. And he knew the rampant corruption would continue.

I, Candidate For Governor is also an interesting look into how a corrupt political system operates. The motivation of politically corrupt candidates anywhere in America is no different today than it was a century ago in California. Another native son of the Golden State would use what he called “dirty tricks” to secure a second presidential term thirty-eight years after Sinclair’s defeat; he is forever remembered as the only president to resign ... so far. Some parts of I, Candidate For Governor were interesting and some were not. With that being said, the good out weighed the bad. For example, the reader needs only to change a few names and modernize the methods used in implementing the corruption that sealed Sinclair's defeat, to place this story that described a host of political dirty tricks into the 21st century version of our American political system. I, Candidate For Governor could have been written after the presidential election of 2024. Sinclair mentions ballot irregularities regarding vote tallies several times in his “farewell address” ... where have we heard that dirty trick before? I have determined the most interesting aspect about Sinclair's story of his failed gubernatorial candidacy is nothing has changed in a century but the dirty tricks that are implemented by these political tricksters. A crooked candidate is a crooked candidate regardless of when or where the election of which they participate occurs.

I'll award five stars to Upton Sinclair's I, Candidate For Governor ... it's an interesting exposé into the corruption that was rampant in California politics during the early days of the Great Depression, and yet, it could be national headline news today. A careful reading of Sinclair's “farewell address” shows those of us who are in tune with today's politics that nothing has really changed; corruption continues to run rampant throughout the local, state and national political arenas; the good news is there are people, who like Upton Sinclair, want to alleviate that corruption. So, the “Upton Sinclair's” of our generation keep trying to bring about the exposure of that scourge on our democratic system. If they succeed at alleviating the corruption, there's prosperity for everyone ... if they fail ... there's prosperity for only a select few. And the corrupted system remains unbroken.  *****

 

1. I, Candidate For Governor, Chapter I, pg. 3.

[Riley Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely funny, well thought out, and supremely threatening account of a jumbled system that, even in times of desperate need, seems to have it out for Mr. Sinclair.

I enjoyed his writing style. It wasn't overly formal, even when describing production for use and his other ideas. There doesn't seem to be one timeline that he follows, but there are reoccurring "characters" as you would. This doesn't seem to be a problem, as Sinclair rarely lets this get in the way of the real issues. I found the inclusion of the political cartoons resourceful for my understanding of the situation.

This is a sharp book, and one everyone should read at some point. You can have my stars, Mr. Sinclair! Very epic!