Editing Earl Warren (section)

===Re-election campaigns===

By 1946, California's economy was booming, Warren was widely popular, and he enjoyed excellent relations with the state's top Democratic officeholder, Attorney General [[Robert W. Kenny]]. At the urging of state party leaders, Kenny agreed to run against Warren in the [[1946 California gubernatorial election|1946 gubernatorial election]], but Kenny was reluctant to criticize his opponent and was distracted by his role in the [[Nuremberg trials]]. As in 1942, Warren refused to endorse candidates for other offices, and he sought to portray himself as an effective, nonpartisan governor. Warren easily won the Republican primary for governor and, in a much closer vote, defeated Kenny in the Democratic primary. After winning both primaries, Warren endorsed Republican [[William Knowland]]'s U.S. Senate candidacy and [[Goodwin Knight]]'s candidacy for lieutenant governor. Warren won the general election by an overwhelming margin, becoming the first Governor of California since Hiram Johnson in 1914 to win a second term.{{Sfn|Cray|1997|pp=171–176}}

Though he considered retiring after two terms, Warren ultimately chose to seek re-election in 1950, partly to prevent Knight from succeeding him. He easily won the Republican primary, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by [[James Roosevelt]].{{Sfn|Cray|1997|pp=206–209}} Warren consistently led Roosevelt in general election polls and won re-election in a landslide, taking 65 percent of the vote.{{Sfn|Cray|1997|pp=213–215}} He was the first Governor of California elected to three consecutive terms.<ref name=":3" /> During the 1950 campaign, Warren refused to formally endorse [[Richard Nixon]], the Republican nominee for the Senate. Warren disliked what he saw as Nixon's ruthless approach to politics and was wary of having a conservative rival for leadership of the state party. Despite Warren's refusal to campaign for him, Nixon defeated Democratic nominee [[Helen Gahagan Douglas]] by a decisive margin.{{Sfn|Cray|1997|pp=209–215}}