Governor of California in the context of "San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge"

The 1980 presidential campaign of Ronald Reagan was a successful election campaign for President of the United States in 1980 by former California governor Ronald Reagan, and former CIA director George H. W. Bush. Reagan and Bush, defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter and incumbent Vice President Walter Mondale. Reagan, a Republican who had also tried to seek the Republican nomination in 1976, launched his 1980 presidential bid on November 13, 1979, and secured nomination for his election on July 17, 1980. On November 4th, 1980, Reagan and Bush defeated Carter and Mondale in an electoral college landslide, winning 489 electoral votes compared to Carter and Mondale’s 49 electoral votes.

Reagan, a Republican and former governor of California, announced his third presidential bid in a nationally televised speech from New York City in 1979. He campaigned extensively for the primaries after losing the Iowa caucus to former congressman and director of the Central Intelligence Agency Bush. In the primaries, he won 44 states and 59.8 percent of the vote. He decided initially to nominate former president Gerald Ford as his running mate, but Ford wanted such extended powers as vice president, especially over foreign policy, that their ticket would effectively amount to a "co-presidency". As a result, negotiations to form a Reagan–Ford ticket ceased. Reagan then selected Bush as his vice-presidential running mate.

James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Jr. (August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931, until his death on June 2, 1934, at the height of the Great Depression. Previously, Rolph had been the 30th mayor of San Francisco from January 8, 1912, until his resignation in 1931 to become governor. Rolph remains the longest-serving mayor in San Francisco history.

Ronald Reagan was the 33rd governor of California for two terms, the first beginning in 1967 and the second in 1971. He left office in 1975, declining to run for a third term. Robert Finch, Edwin Reinecke and John L. Harmer served as lieutenant governors over the course of his governorship.

Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824 – June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1885 until his death in 1893. Stanford and his wife Jane founded Stanford University, named after their late son.

Stanford became a successful merchant and wholesaler after migrating to California in 1852 during the gold rush; he built a business empire. Stanford was an influential executive of the Central Pacific Railroad and later of the Southern Pacific railroads from 1861 to 1890; these positions gave him tremendous power in the Western United States which left a lasting impact on California.Stanford also played a significant role as a shareholder and executive in the early history of Pacific Life and Wells Fargo. He was the first Republican governor of California. Stanford is widely considered a robber baron.

The governor of California is the head of government of California, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current governor is Gavin Newsom, who has been in office since 2019. 39 people have served as governor, over 40 distinct terms. Many have been influential nationwide in areas far-flung from state politics. Leland Stanford founded Stanford University in 1891. Earl Warren, later chief justice of the United States, won an election with the nominations of the three major parties – the only person to run essentially unopposed for governor of California. Ronald Reagan, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild and later president of the United States, and Arnold Schwarzenegger both came to prominence through acting. Gray Davis, the 37th governor of California, was the second governor in American history to be recalled by voters. The shortest tenure was that of Milton Latham, who served only five days before being elected to fill a vacant United States Senate seat. The longest tenure is that of Jerry Brown, who served as governor from 1975 to 1983 and again from 2011 to 2019, the only governor to serve non-consecutive terms. He is the son of former governor Pat Brown who served from 1959 to 1967.

Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California from 2011 to 2019 and as the 42nd mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.

Born in San Francisco, Newsom graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in political science. Afterward, he founded the boutique winery PlumpJack Group in Oakville, California, with billionaire heir and family friend Gordon Getty as an investor. The company grew to manage 23 businesses, including wineries, restaurants, and hotels. Newsom began his political career in 1996, when San Francisco mayor Willie Brown appointed him to the city's Parking and Traffic Commission. Brown then appointed Newsom to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors the next year and Newsom was first elected to the board in 1998.

The California State Lands Commission is a unit of state government that is responsible for management and protection of natural and cultural resources, as well as public access rights, on some of California's publicly owned lands.

The members of the State Lands Commission include the Lieutenant Governor, the State Controller and the State Director of Finance. The first two are statewide elected officials while the last is a cabinet-level officer appointed by the Governor.