Editing Richard Nixon (section)

==1962 California gubernatorial campaign==
[[File:NixonCaSticker.jpg|thumb|upright=0.55|1962 California gubernatorial campaign sticker]]
{{main|1962 California gubernatorial election}}
Local and national Republican leaders encouraged Nixon to challenge incumbent [[Pat Brown]] for [[governor of California]] in the [[1962 California gubernatorial election|1962]] gubernatorial election.{{sfn|Nixon Library, Vice President}} Despite initial reluctance, Nixon entered the race.{{sfn|Nixon Library, Vice President}} The campaign was clouded by public suspicion that Nixon viewed the office as a stepping stone for another presidential run, some opposition from the far-right of the party, and his own lack of interest in being California's governor.{{sfn|Nixon Library, Vice President}} Nixon hoped a successful run would confirm his status as the nation's leading active Republican politician, and ensure he remained a major player in national politics.{{sfn|Black|pp=432–433}} Instead, he lost to Brown by more than five percentage points, and the defeat was widely believed to be the end of his political career.{{sfn|Nixon Library, Vice President}}

In [[Richard Nixon's November 1962 press conference|an impromptu concession speech]] the morning after the election, Nixon blamed the media for favoring his opponent, saying, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference."{{sfn|Aitken|pp=304–305}} The California defeat was highlighted in the November 11, 1962, episode of [[Howard K. Smith]]'s [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] show, ''Howard K. Smith: News and Comment'', titled "The Political Obituary of Richard M. Nixon".{{sfn|Ambrose|1987|p=673}} Alger Hiss appeared on the program, and many members of the public complained that it was unseemly to give a convicted felon air time to attack a former vice president. The furor drove Smith and his program from the air,{{sfn|Museum of Broadcast Communications, "Smith, Howard K."}} and public sympathy for Nixon grew.{{sfn|Ambrose|1987|p=673}}