View source for Pete Wilson

{{Short description|36th Governor of California}}
{{other people}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name            = Pete Wilson
| image           = Pete Wilson official portrait, 1991 (cropped).jpg
| caption         = Official portrait, 1991
| order           = 36th [[Governor of California]]
| lieutenant      = {{ubl |[[Leo T. McCarthy]] |Gray Davis}}
| term_start      = January 7, 1991
| term_end        = January 4, 1999
| predecessor     = [[George Deukmejian]]
| successor       = [[Gray Davis]]
| jr/sr1          = United States Senator
| state1          = [[California]]
| term_start1     = January 3, 1983
| term_end1       = January 7, 1991
| predecessor1    = [[S. I. Hayakawa]]
| successor1      = [[John Seymour (California politician)|John Seymour]]
| office2         = 29th [[Mayor of San Diego]]
| term_start2     = December 6, 1971
| term_end2       = January 3, 1983
| predecessor2    = [[Frank Curran (politician)|Frank Curran]]
| successor2      = [[Bill Cleator]] (acting)
| state_assembly3 = California
| district3       = [[California's 76th State Assembly district|76th]]
| term_start3     = January 2, 1967
| term_end3       = December 5, 1971
| predecessor3    = [[Clair Burgener]]
| successor3      = Bob Wilson
| birth_name      = Peter Barton Wilson
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1933|8|23}}
| birth_place     = [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| party           = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse          = {{ubl |{{marriage|Betty Robertson|1968|1981|end=div}} |{{marriage|[[Gayle Wilson|Gayle Edlund]]|May 29, 1983}}}}
| children        = 2
| education       = {{ubl |[[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) |[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
| signature       = Pete Wilson Signature.png
| branch          = {{flag|United States Marine Corps}}
| branch_label    = Branch
| serviceyears    = 1955–1958
| serviceyears_label = Service&nbsp;years
| rank            = [[First lieutenant (United States)|First Lieutenant]]
| unit            = [[1st Marine Division]]
}}
'''Peter Barton Wilson''' (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as [[governor of California]] from 1991 to 1999. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], Wilson previously served as a [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from [[California]] from 1983 to 1991, and as [[mayor of San Diego]] from 1971 to 1983.

Born in [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], Wilson graduated from the [[UC Berkeley School of Law]] after serving in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. He established a legal practice in [[San Diego]] and campaigned for Republicans such as [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Barry Goldwater]]. Wilson won election to the [[California State Assembly]] in 1966 and became the mayor of San Diego in 1971. He held that office until 1983, when he became a member of the United States Senate. In [[1982 United States Senate election in California|1982]], he defeated then-incumbent Governor [[Jerry Brown]] to become the United States senator from California. In the Senate, Wilson supported the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] and the [[Civil Liberties Act of 1988]], while he opposed the [[Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990]].

Wilson resigned from the Senate after winning the [[California gubernatorial election, 1990|1990 California gubernatorial election]]. As governor, Wilson signed a [[three-strikes law]] and supported energy [[deregulation]] and [[Term limits in the United States|term limits]]. He was also an advocate for [[California Proposition 187]], which established a state-run citizenship screening system with the intention of preventing [[Illegal immigration to the United States|illegal immigrants]] from using social services; this was said to have contributed to the decline of the Republican party's power in California. Wilson won reelection in the [[1994 California gubernatorial election|1994 gubernatorial election]]. He sought the Republican nomination in the [[1996 United States presidential election]] but dropped out of the race before [[1996 Republican Party presidential primaries|the primaries]] began.

Wilson retired from public office after serving two terms as governor. Since leaving office, he has worked for several businesses and has been affiliated with several other organizations. He is a distinguished visiting fellow at the [[Hoover Institution]]. As of 2025, Wilson's [[1988 United States Senate election in California|1988]] re-election is the last time a Republican has won a [[List of United States Senate elections in California|U.S. Senate race in California]].

==Early life==
Peter Barton Wilson was born on August 23, 1933, in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago, at the height of the [[Great Depression]]. His parents were James Boone Wilson and Margaret (Callaghan) Wilson.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sdgenealogy.org/petewilson.html|title=San Diego Genealogy Project: Pete Wilson}}</ref> His father sold college fraternity jewelry to work his way through University of Illinois, and later became a successful advertising executive. The Wilson family settled in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], when Pete was in elementary school. He then attended the private, non-sectarian [[University-preparatory school|preparatory middle school]] [[John Burroughs School|John Burroughs]] (grades 7–9) in [[Ladue, Missouri|Ladue]], and then [[St. Louis Country Day School]], an exclusive private high school, where he won an award in his senior year for combined scholarship, athletics, and citizenship. In the fall of 1951, Pete Wilson enrolled at [[Yale University]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], where he received a [[United States Navy]] Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, majored in English, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. In his junior year he elected to join the Marine Corps upon his graduation.

After graduating from Yale, Wilson served for three years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer, eventually becoming a platoon commander. Upon completion of his Marine Corps service, Wilson earned a [[Juris Doctor]] degree from the [[UC Berkeley School of Law|University of California, Berkeley School of Law]] in June 1962.

In 1962, while working as an Advance Man for the Republican gubernatorial candidate [[Richard M. Nixon]], Wilson got to know [[Herb Klein (journalist)|Herb Klein]], one of Nixon's top aides. Klein suggested that Wilson might do well in Southern California politics, so in 1963, Wilson moved to San Diego.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-02-08 |title=Pete Wilson: San Diego's first strong mayor? Part 1 |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2006/02/07/pete-wilson-san-diegos-first-strong-mayor-part-1 |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=KPBS Public Media |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-03 |title=Former Gov. Pete Wilson weighs in on local, state politics |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2011/09/03/former-gov-pete-wilson-weighs-in-on-local-state-politics/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

After passing the bar exam on his fourth attempt,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dolan |first1=Maura |title=A High Bar for Lawyers |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-21-me-bar21-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=February 21, 2006 |access-date=2 August 2022}}</ref>  Wilson began his practice as a criminal defense attorney in [[San Diego]], but he found such work to be low-paying and personally repugnant. He later commented to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', "I realized I couldn't be a criminal defense lawyer&nbsp;– because most of the people who do come to you are guilty." Wilson switched to a more conventional law practice and continued his activity in local politics, working for [[Barry Goldwater]]'s unsuccessful [[1964 United States presidential election|presidential campaign in 1964]]. Wilson's liking for politics and managing the day-to-day details of the political process was growing. He put in long hours for the Goldwater campaign, earning the friendship of local Republican boosters so necessary for a political career, and in 1966, at the age of thirty-three, he ran for, and won a seat in the California State Assembly, succeeding [[Clair Burgener]].

Wilson was re-elected to the Assembly in 1968 and 1970, and in 1971 was elected [[mayor of San Diego]].

==Mayor of San Diego==
[[File:Nixon Golden Gate GOGA.jpg|thumb|Mayor Wilson (second from right) with U.S. President [[Richard Nixon]], First Lady [[Pat Nixon]], and Nixon's cabinet in front of the [[Golden Gate Bridge]], 1972]]

Wilson served three terms as [[mayor of San Diego]], from 1971 to 1983, winning election by a 2:1 margin each time.<ref name = "Kaye">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oe-kaye-rogues-gallery-of-san-diego-mayors-20130816,0,1326777.story|title=Bob Filner, just the latest rotten San Diego mayor|last=Kaye|first=Peter|date=August 16, 2013|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 16, 2013}}</ref> During his three terms he restructured the [[San Diego City Council]], reorganized the planning and civil service commissions, instituted campaign finance reform, and promoted the redevelopment of [[downtown San Diego]].<ref name = "Kaye" /> He also helped to keep [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[San Diego Padres]] in the city, helping to persuade local millionaire [[Ray Kroc]] to buy the team.

The [[1972 Republican National Convention]] had been scheduled to take place in San Diego in August 1972. However, in May 1972 the Republican National Committee voted to move the convention to Miami because of a scandal involving a donation to the event by [[ITT Corporation]], as well as concerns about the proposed venue (the [[San Diego Sports Arena]]) and the adequacy of hotel space. Wilson proclaimed the week of the convention to be America's Finest City Week, which became an annual event and gave rise to San Diego's unofficial nickname.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ancona|first=Vincent S.|date=Fall 1992|title=When the elephants marched out of San Diego: The 1972 Republican Convention Fiasco|journal=Journal of San Diego History|volume=38|issue=4|url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/92fall/elephants.htm}}</ref>

In 1972, Wilson recruited [[Clarence M. Pendleton Jr.]] to head the [[Model Cities Program]] in San Diego. In 1981, President [[Ronald Reagan]] appointed Pendleton to chair the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]], a position that he held from 1981 until his death in San Diego in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aapra.org/Bios/Pendleton.htm|title=Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr.|publisher=aapra.org|access-date=March 19, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019130819/http://www.aapra.org/Bios/Pendleton.htm|archive-date=October 19, 2013}}</ref>

==United States Senator from California (1983–1991)==
[[File:PeteWilson.jpg|thumb|left|Wilson as U.S. Senator, 1989]]

In [[1982 United States Senate election in California|1982]], Wilson won the Republican [[Partisan primary|primary]] in California to replace the retiring U.S. Senator [[S.&nbsp;I. Hayakawa]]. Wilson's Democratic opponent was the outgoing two-term Governor [[Jerry Brown]]. Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported the property-tax limiting [[Proposition 13]], although Wilson had opposed the measure while [[mayor of San Diego]]. However, Brown ran on his gubernatorial record of building the largest state budget surpluses in California history. Both Wilson and Brown were moderate-to-liberal on social issues, including support for abortion rights and environmentalism. The election was expected to be close, with Brown holding a slim lead in most of the polls leading up to Election Day. Wilson hammered away at Brown's appointment of California Chief Justice [[Rose Bird]], using this to portray himself as tougher on crime than Brown was. Brown's late entry into the 1980 Democratic presidential primary, after promising not to run, was also an issue. President Ronald Reagan made a number of visits to California late in the race to campaign for Wilson. Reagan quipped that the last thing he wanted to see was both of his home state's [[U.S. Senate]] seats falling into Democrats' hands, especially to be occupied by the man who succeeded him as governor. Despite exit polls indicating a narrow Brown victory, Wilson edged him out to win the election. A major contributing factor may also have been a late influx of the [[Armenians|Armenian]] vote in the California Governor's race between [[George Deukmejian]] and [[Tom Bradley (American politician)|Tom Bradley]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Many of these votes came from heavily Republican areas. The Deukmejian voters likely also voted for Wilson for United States Senator.
[[File:Ronald Reagan signing Japanese reparations bill.jpg|thumb|right|President Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act with Wilson looking on]]

On October 19, 1983, Wilson voted in favor of a bill establishing [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/20/us/senate-s-roll-call-vote-on-king-holiday.html|title=SENATE'S ROLL-CALL VOTE ON KING HOLIDAY|date=October 20, 1983|work=The New York Times}}</ref> The legislation was signed into law by President Reagan the following month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1983/110283a.htm|title=Remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a National Holiday|date=November 2, 1983|publisher=Reagan Library|first=Ronald|last=Reagan|author-link=Ronald Reagan|access-date=March 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301224921/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1983/110283a.htm|archive-date=March 1, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 1988, Wilson voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987]] (as well as to override [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s veto in March).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL … -- Senate Vote #432 -- Jan 28, 1988|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL … -- Senate Vote #487 -- Mar 22, 1988|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref>

In June 1984, Wilson voted in favor of legislation restricting federal highway funds for states that did not raise the minimum age for drinking to 21.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/27/The-81-16-vote-by-which-the-Senate-approved-legislation/9253457156800/|title=The 81–16 vote by which the Senate approved legislation ...|date=June 27, 1984|work=United Press International}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/27/us/senate-votes-bill-aimed-at-forcing-drinking-age-of-21.html|title=SENATE VOTES BILL AIMED AT FORCING DRINKING AGE OF 21|first=Martin|last=Tolchin|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 27, 1984}}</ref>

In May 1985, Wilson underwent surgery for a ruptured appendix at Bethesda Naval Hospital, concurrently as fellow Republican Senator [[Bob Dole]] hoped to gather enough votes for the Reagan administration's 1986 budget. The surgery was expected to keep Wilson hospitalized for days, but Wilson returned to Capitol Hill via an ambulance to cast a vote in favor of the budget on May 10.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/10/us/senator-brings-a-vote-from-his-hospital-bed.html|title=SENATOR BRINGS A VOTE FROM HIS HOSPITAL BED|date=May 10, 1985|work=The New York Times}}</ref> After voting, Wilson stated he made the decision to forgo further bed rest as he believed the vote was possibly the most important of his career.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/05/10/Sen-Pete-Wilson-a-tough-former-Marine-said-he/6363484545600/|title=Sen. Pete Wilson, a tough former Marine, said he ...|work=United Press International|date=May 10, 1985}}</ref>

Convinced by [[Japanese-American]] farmers in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] to support redress, Wilson co-sponsored the [[Civil Liberties Act of 1988]]. The bill was signed into law by President Reagan.<ref>{{cite web |title=H.R. 442 (100th): Civil Liberties Act of 1987 |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/100/hr442 |website=govtrack.us |publisher=Civic Impulse, LLC. |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

As a member of the [[U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Armed Services Committee]], he called for early implementation of President Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], a national [[missile defense|ballistic missile defense system]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clifford |first1=Frank |title=McCarthy, Wilson Exchange Shots as Race Heats Up |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-25-mn-297-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=October 25, 1988 |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

Wilson also co-sponsored the Federal Intergovernmental Regulatory Relief Act requiring the federal government to reimburse states for the cost of new federal mandates. A [[fiscal conservative]], he was named the Senate's "Watchdog of the Treasury" for each of his eight years in the nation's capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/history/watchdogs.shtml |title=Watchdogs |access-date=January 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106033606/http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/history/watchdogs.shtml |archive-date=November 6, 2010 }}</ref>

In [[1988 United States Senate election in California|1988]], Wilson won the race for the United States Senate against his Democratic opponent, [[Leo T. McCarthy]]. In that election, he became the first person to get more than 5 million votes in a single Senate race, and his 5.1&nbsp;million votes was a record for the most won by a Republican candidate for Senator that wasn't broken until 2020, when [[John Cornyn]] of Texas topped it.

On January 20, 1989, he presided over the [[inauguration of George H. W. Bush]] as President of the United States.  He voted against [[Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990]], Bush's tax increase, thus remaining a fiscal conservative.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell">{{cite journal|last1=Mitchell|first1=Daniel J. B.|title="Duke, Is There Perhaps Something You Forgot to Tell Me?" Pete Wilson's First-Term Struggle with the California Budget|journal=Southern California Quarterly|date=Winter 2008|volume=90|issue=4|pages=379–418|doi=10.2307/41172444|jstor=41172444}}</ref>

In the weeks following incumbent [[governor of California]] George Deukmejian announcing that he was not running for a third term, Wilson considered a gubernatorial bid; by late January 1989, Wilson admitted to the decision being agonizing for him amid his consulting with others on a possible run.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-20-mn-949-story.html|title=Wilson 'Agonizing' on Running for Governor, Will Make Decision Soon|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 20, 1989}}</ref> At the beginning of his second six-year term in the Senate, Wilson announced plans to run for Governor of California.

On October 2, 1990, Wilson, away from Washington to campaign for California governor, became the only sitting senator from either party to not vote on the nomination of [[David Souter]] for Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court. He had previously endorsed Souter for confirmation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/03/us/senate-confirms-souter-90-to-9-as-supreme-court-s-105th-justice.html?pagewanted=all|title=Senate Confirms Souter, 90 to 9, As Supreme Court's 105th Justice|first=Richard L.|last=Berke|date=October 3, 1990|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/02/Senate-vote-on-Souter/9176654840000/|title=Senate vote on Souter|date=October 2, 1990|work=United Press International}}</ref> Wilson voted in favor of the [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination]].

On January 7, 1991, he resigned from the Senate upon his inauguration as California's governor and appointed [[John Seymour (California politician)|John Seymour]] as his successor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/03/us/new-senator-from-california-is-named.html|title=New Senator From California Is Named|first=Jane|last=Gross|date=January 3, 1991|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

==Governor of California==
[[File:Pete Wilson official portrait, 1991.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Wilson's official portrait during his first term as governor, 1991]]
{{See also|1990 California gubernatorial election|1994 California gubernatorial election}}

Wilson won the Republican nomination for Governor of California to succeed two-term Republican governor George Deukmejian, who chose not to seek a third term in 1990. In the general election, he defeated Democratic former San Francisco Mayor [[Dianne Feinstein]], who would go on to be elected to Wilson's former U.S. Senate seat [[1992 United States Senate special election in California|two years later]].<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> Wilson was sworn in as governor on January 7, 1991.

As governor, Wilson oversaw economic recovery in California, just as the rest of the country was recovering from an economic slump.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> Inheriting the state's worst economy since the [[Great Depression]], Wilson insisted on strict budget discipline and sought to rehabilitate the state's environment for investment and new job creation. During his term, [[market-based]], unsubsidized [[health insurance|health coverage]] was made available for employees of small businesses.

Despite his belief in fiscal conservatism, Wilson raised sales tax rates to reduce the state deficit, including instituting a new sales tax on newspapers as well as a sales tax on "snack" foods.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> He also raised car license fees and college tuition; by 1991, tuition fees at the [[University of California]] rose by 40%, while they rose by 24% at [[California State University]].<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> Additionally, he raised the income tax in the top bracket temporarily.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> However, by 1993, the snack tax was repealed by the Democratic state legislature and the sales tax increase expired.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> On April 26, 1991, Wilson proposed an increase in the sales tax by 1 1/4 cents and state taxes by $6.7&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|6700000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) as part of plan to reduce the state's budget deficit. The revenue gap had increased by $5&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|5000000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) in the four months of his governorship.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-26-mn-761-story.html|title=Wilson Proposes Increasing State Sales Tax 1 1/4 Cents : Finances: His budget plan calls for a $6.7-billion hike in state levies. He also wants a $4.8-billion cut in spending, $700 million more than first sought.|date=April 26, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In response to the April 1991 proposal, the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote of Wilson,
{{blockquote|He has done what has been asked of him, but thought near-impossible for any Republican centrist: constructing a revenue and spending plan that will hurt almost everyone and help almost no one, but that will also&nbsp;– for the first time in a long time&nbsp;– put the state on a sounder fiscal footing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-30-me-823-story.html|title=The Governor Accepts the Budget Leadership : Wilson looks for something that hurts least, hits soonest|date=April 30, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>}}
In July 1991, the Senate voted 28 to 9 in favor of a bipartisan tax plan that would have increased taxes on the wealthiest Californians, increased the corporate tax rate, and imposed a tax increase on telecommunication services by 2%. Wilson returned the budget bill to the legislature without his signature, revoking a prior commitment to vetoing the measure.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-04-mn-2292-story.html|title=Wilson Relents on Budget Veto : Finances: Governor returns the $56.4-billion spending plan to the Legislature without his signature. Action allows more time to work out a solution.|date=July 4, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

On July 12, 1991, Wilson signed a bill mandating that parents neglecting to pay child support could be levied stiff fines and potential suspensions of business and professional licenses. The legislation was intended to address an increasingly serious cause of poverty among children and women in the state at a time when Californians collectively owed $2&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|2000000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) per year in unpaid child support.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-13-mn-1851-story.html|title=Wilson Signs Child-Support Bill : Divorce: The legislation provides new tools to enforce payment. Parents who fail to comply could have their business or professional licenses suspended.|first=Virginia|last=Ellis|date=July 13, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> On July 24, 1991, Wilson signed a bill requiring mass transit rail lines to be built underground in the event construction took place in the residential neighborhoods of North Hollywood and Van Nuys. The bill, requested by the residents of those neighborhoods, was aimed at easing "homeowners' fear of noise from ground-level trains running along a proposed rail route that paralleled Chandler and Victory boulevards".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-25-me-1292-story.html|title=Governor Signs Bill Calling for Underground Rail Line : Transit: The law is aimed at easing the concerns of North Hollywood and Van Nuys homeowners.|date=June 25, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times|first=James|last=Quinn}}</ref>

Less than a year into his first term as governor, Wilson vetoed AB 101, a bill written to prohibit [[employment discrimination]] based on [[sexual orientation]] in the state. Wilson feared that the bill would lead to more lawsuits and make California less economically competitive .<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-09-op-3349-story.html |title=Courts Offer Wilson a Healing Opportunity : Equality: Since an appellate decision is tougher than AB 101 would have been, the governor could easily sign a law barring job prejudice against gays |website=Los Angeles Times |date=February 9, 1992 |access-date=January 14, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-30-mn-2220-story.html|title=Governor Vetoes Gay Job Bias Bill : Discrimination: Wilson says legislation is bad for business. Its author calls action 'cave-in to the right.'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 30, 1991}}</ref> The veto was met with [[AB101 Veto Riot|protests in San Francisco]] that included demonstrations during Wilson's subsequent public appearances and speeches.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-02-mn-2872-story.html|title=Gay Rights Protest Disrupts Wilson Speech|date=October 2, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-01-mn-3522-story.html|title=Gay Activists Vent Rage Over Wilson's Veto : Protest: Governor's rejection of job discrimination bill sparks violence. Thousands of demonstrators march in Los Angeles and San Francisco.|date=October 1, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=California Spending Plan 1998–99 |url=https://lao.ca.gov/1998/1098_spending_plan/1098_spending_plan_chapter_3.html |website=lao.ca.gov |publisher=Legislative Analysts Office |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref> Wilson was the driving force behind the 1996 legislation that deregulated the state's energy market, which was the first energy utilities deregulation in the U.S. and aggressively pushed by companies such as [[Enron]].<ref name="Time" />

Wilson also enacted education reforms aimed at creating statewide curriculum standards, reducing class sizes and replacing [[social promotion]] with early remedial education. Wilson promoted standardized testing of all students, increased teacher training, and a longer school year. However, it was Wilson's uncompromising stance on reducing education spending that led to the budget impasse of 1992,<ref>Lou Cannon, Education Funding at Center of California Budget Showdown. ''The Washington Post'', September 1, 1992</ref> leaving state workers without paychecks from July until September, when the California Supreme Court forced the Governor and the legislature to agree to terms that ended the sixty-three-day stand-off.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/19/us/budget-crisis-forces-california-colleges-to-bar-the-doors.html?pagewanted=all |title=Robert Reinhold, Budget Crisis Forces California Colleges to Bar the Doors. ''New York Times'', July 19, 1992 |date= July 19, 1992|access-date=January 21, 2011 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-29-mn-5395-story.html |title=Patt Morrison, California's Budget Crisis&nbsp;– An IOU on Self-Esteem. California's Plight May be a Harbinger or Just Reason for Others to Gloat. ''Los Angeles Times'', August 29, 1992 |date= August 29, 1992|access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> On February 22, 1993, Wilson issued an executive order banning smoking in a majority of state buildings excluding only "buildings controlled by the courts, the Legislature or the state's two university systems". The order was set to take effect December 31 of that year.  Wilson said secondhand smoke "threatens the health of non-smoking state employees" and alleged workplace smoking increased the cost of cleaning, damaged furniture and carpets, and heightened the chances of starting fires.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-23-mn-454-story.html|title=Governor Bans Smoking in Most State Buildings : Health: Wilson's order, which will affect prisons and thousands of offices, cites dangers of secondhand smoke.|first=Daniel M.|last=Weintraub|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 23, 1993}}</ref>

Despite this, in a leaked Philip Morris memo, the company's chief executive, Hamish Maxwell, said, "You will be pleased to know that Pete is still 'pro-tobacco.'" His move to revoke Proposition 99, a $114&nbsp;million dollar voter-approved bill to tax cigarette companies to research and educate on the effects of tobacco, while also shutting down a highly effective anti-tobacco ad with footage of tobacco executives testifying to Congress that nicotine was not addictive which also a prompted defamation lawsuit against it), was claimed to be illegal{{who|date=September 2025}} and caused multiple lawsuits, while also being criticized as serving the tobacco lobby’s interests. While he claimed to take no funding personally in response to allegations of being pro-tobacco, he collected over $100,000 from a New York fund-raising dinner organized by Phillip Morris. While Phillip Morris didn't directly fund his campaign, they were major funders of the California Republican Party which he led. The leaked memo was in response to worries over Wilson's rejection of direct campaign donations. Maxwell claimed to have been told by Wilson over a phone call that this was to "protect Hamish and himself," being assured that it was not due to a lack of support.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-30-mn-8555-story.html |author1=Daniel M. Weintraub  | author2=Jerry Gillam | title=Senate, Assembly OK Budget; Wilson Awaits Final Package : Spending: Governor says he will not approve $58-billion plan until all supporting bills are passed. State will continue to issue IOUs for up to a week even after it is signed | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date= August 30, 1992|access-date=2024-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Sabin |title=Philip Morris Called Wilson 'Pro-Tobacco' / '90 memo calls him a friend, though he returned donations |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Philip-Morris-Called-Wilson-Pro-Tobacco-90-2986139.php |access-date=27 April 2024 }}</ref>

In late 1993, Wilson traveled to Asia to promote Californian goods and investment opportunities for overseas investors.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-14-mn-45512-story.html|title=A Traveling Salesman With a New Pitch|first=George|last=Skeleton|date=October 14, 1993|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Wilson's six-day tour was also marked by his insistence on creating export-oriented jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/12/01/UPI-Spotlight-California-Governor-Pete-Wilson-leaves-Japan-after-trade-talks/2978754722000/|title=UPI Spotlight California Governor Pete Wilson leaves Japan after trade talks|date=December 1, 1993|work=United Press International}}</ref> Wilson was re-elected to a second gubernatorial term in 1994, gaining 55% of the vote in his race against Democratic [[California State Treasurer|State Treasurer]] [[Kathleen Brown]], daughter of former California Governor [[Pat Brown]]. According to one study, Wilson exploited anti-immigrant sentiment to win re-election.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jacobson|first=Gary C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9GDDwAAQBAJ|title=Presidents and Parties in the Public Mind|date=2019-01-12|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-58934-3|language=en}}</ref> Wilson spoke at the funeral services for former First Lady [[Pat Nixon]] in 1993 and former President [[Richard M. Nixon]] in 1994 at the [[Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum|Nixon Library]] in [[Yorba Linda, California]]. Two years later, Wilson became, to date, the most recent governor to speak at a California gubernatorial funeral, that of former Governor Pat Brown.

For most of his time as governor, Wilson reduced per-capita infrastructure spending for California, much as he had done as the [[mayor of San Diego]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csus.edu/calst/Government_Affairs/reports/financing_california.pdf |title=Financing California |publisher=csus.edu |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010139/http://www.csus.edu/calst/Government_Affairs/reports/financing_california.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many construction projects&nbsp;– most notably highway expansion/improvement projects&nbsp;– were severely hindered or delayed, while other maintenance and construction projects were abandoned completely.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicoer.com/indepth/hwy149/ci_4080721 |title=Project has taken a long time to get to this point&nbsp;– Chico Enterprise Record |access-date=January 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417114900/http://www.chicoer.com/indepth/hwy149/ci_4080721 |archive-date=April 17, 2011  }}</ref> [[Term limits|Term limit laws]] passed by voters as Proposition 140, and championed by Wilson in 1990, prohibited Wilson from running for re-election to a third term. At the end of his time in office, Wilson left California with a $16&nbsp;billion budget surplus (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|16000000000|1998}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}). He was succeeded by then-[[lieutenant governor]] [[Gray Davis]] as governor. A September 1998 ''Los Angeles Times'' poll found 55% of registered voters in California had a favorable view of Wilson's job performance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-24-mn-26060-story.html|title=Economy Lifts Wilson to Record Approval Rating|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 24, 1998|first=Cathleen|last=Decker}}</ref>

===Welfare===
On December 14, 1991, in an address to Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Wilson criticized the Democratic leaders of the state legislature for their opposition to his budget-balancing plan and "spent most of his hour at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles railing against the state's entitlement programs&nbsp;– including education and Medi-Cal, but especially Aid to Families with Dependent Children and other welfare programs".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-15-mn-1017-story.html|title=Wilson Rips Democrats, Warns of 'Chaos' : Politics: He assails welfare programs and accuses the Legislature's leaders of attacking his budget plan without offering one of their own.|first=Mark A.|last=Stein|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> On January 8, 1993, Wilson submitted his 1993 spending plan, advocating an immediate cut in welfare grants by 4.2% that would be followed 6 months later by a larger reduction of 15% to be directed at recipient families with an able-bodied adult. The twin cuts would reduce California's standing as the 5th highest benefit granting state to the 12th.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-09-mn-1030-story.html|title=Wilson Again Seeks Sharp Welfare Cuts to Make Ends Meet : Finances: His proposal would hit hard at the Aid to Families With Dependent Children program. Advocates for the young and the poor assail the plan.|first=Virginia|last=Ellis|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

By the end of his first term, Wilson allied with members of the state legislature that supported the continuation of recession-inspired cuts to welfare benefits. A bill imposing the continued reduction of benefits was passed by 2 committees of the Republican-majority assembly. H.&nbsp;D. Palmer maintained Wilson's priorities rested in other areas and though admitting to an improvement in revenues, disclosed that "the governor does not believe that the first call on those revenues should go to double-digit cost-of-living increases for welfare recipients."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-03-mn-42566-story.html|title=Wilson, Allies Seek to Make Cuts in Welfare Benefits Permanent|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 3, 1996|first=Max|last=Vanzi}}</ref>

Wilson's second inaugural address featured a proclamation that the administration would initiate welfare reform:

{{blockquote| We will demand that all citizens meet the test of common decency, respecting the rights of others, and we will demand that those who can, pull their own weight and meet the test of personal responsibility. We will make clear that welfare is to be a safety net, not a hammock&nbsp;— and absolutely not a permanent way of life. We will correct our laws to make clear that bringing a child into the world is an awesome personal responsibility for both the mother and the father. The costs are simply too high for society to continue tolerating the promiscuity and irresponsibility that have produced generations of unwed teen mothers. It is monstrously unfair to the children; to their sad, ill-equipped teen mothers; and certainly to working taxpayers, who must support them at a cost to their own children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://governors.library.ca.gov/addresses/36-Wilson02.html|title=Second Inaugural Address|date=January 2, 1995|publisher=governors.library.ca.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-08-mn-17703-story.html|title=Wilson Sworn In, Bluntly Warns of Welfare Shake-Up : Inaugural: Governor says illegal immigrants, criminals and uneducated youths are draining resources. He calls on Californians to be prepared for 'dramatic change.'|date=January 8, 1995|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>}}

In his 1997 State of the State address, Wilson criticized welfare recipients<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-09-mn-57101-story.html|title=Stigma of Welfare Hampers State Push Toward Jobs|date=May 9, 1997|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Carla|last=Rivera|quote="Taxpayers [will] no longer subsidize idleness and promiscuity," he declared in praising the arrival of welfare reform. "We're ending welfare's warehousing of people who don't want to work."}}</ref> and charged the program with creating conditions producing out-of-wedlock births, the lack of paternal involvement in the lives of children, and lifelong ramifications to children caused by the absence of fathers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://governors.library.ca.gov/addresses/s_36-Wilson05.html|title=1997 State of the State Address|date=January 7, 1997|first=Pete|last=Wilson|publisher=governors.library.ca.gov}}</ref>  Under Wilson's welfare overhaul package, mothers would have to go to work after two years and they would only be eligible to return to welfare a year after that.  Additionally, eligibility for welfare would only last for five years. Paternity for each child would also have to be established for the mother to begin receiving benefits.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Demos-rip-Wilson-s-plan-for-state-3143360.php|title=Demos rip Wilson's plan for state|date=January 8, 1997|work=San Francisco Chronicle|first=Steven A.|last=Capps}}</ref>

===Proposition 187===
{{main|California Proposition 187 (1994)}}
As governor, Wilson was closely associated with [[California Proposition 187 (1994)|California Proposition 187]], a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit [[illegal immigrant]]s from using health care, public education, and other social services in the U.S. State of California. Voters passed the proposed law as a referendum in November 1994; it was the first time that a state had passed legislation related to immigration, customarily a federal matter.<ref>[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/bupi7&div=11&id=&page= Allison Fee, "Forbidding States from Providing Essential Social Services to "undocumented Immigrants": The Constitutionality of Recent Federal Action"], Boston University ''Public Interest Law Journal'', Vol. 7, No. 93, 1998. Retrieved June 26, 2011</ref> The law was challenged in a court, found unconstitutional by a federal court in 1998, and never went into effect.<ref>{{cite news|title=Davis Won't Appeal Prop. 187 Ruling, Ending Court Battles |first1=Patrick J.|last1=McDonnell|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 29, 1999|page=1}}</ref>

Passage of Proposition 187 reflected state residents' concerns about illegal immigration into the United States{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}. Opponents believed the proposition was discriminatory and unfairly targeted children, while turning tens of thousands of adults into government informants;<ref>{{cite news|title=Jewish Coalition Opposes Prop. 187|first=SAM|last=ENRIQUEZ|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 19, 1994|page=2}}</ref> supporters generally insisted that their concerns were economic: that the state could not afford to provide social services to so many who entered the state illegally or overstayed their visas.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sorting through facts and fiction of immigration|first=Alan W.|last=Bock|work=Orange County Register|location=Santa Ana, Calif.|date=October 2, 1994|page=J.01}}</ref> Wilson himself would state that the policy was "about supporting the people who came here the right way".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/2015/10/16/former-gov-pete-wilson-id-absolutely-do-prop-187-all-over-again/|title=Former Gov. Pete Wilson: I'd 'absolutely' do Prop. 187 all over again|publisher=The Orange County Register|date=October 16, 2015}}</ref>

Opponents of Proposition 187 cited its passage as the cause of a long-term decline in support for the Republican Party in California. Noting a rapid increase in Latino participation in California elections, some analysts cite Wilson and the Republican Party's embrace of Proposition 187 as a cause of the failure of the party to win statewide elections.<ref>{{cite book|
url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lp09-NVtQm8C&pg=PA131|
title=The death of the California GOP |
access-date=April 9, 2009|
author=Raoul Lowery Contreras |
date=August 16, 2002|
publisher=calnews.com|
isbn=9780595256914 }}</ref> Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] is the only Republican to win a California gubernatorial, senatorial, or presidential election since 1994, via a [[2003 California gubernatorial recall election|unique 2003 recall election]] and then a [[2006 California gubernatorial election|re-election in 2006]].

Since 1995 the following states have had similar ballot initiatives or laws passed: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.<ref name=Lacayo>{{cite magazine|author1=Richard Lacayo|author2=Ann Blackman|author3=Margot Hornblower|author4=Joseph R. Szczesny|title=Down on the Downtrodden|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,982006,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204074750/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,982006,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2013|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| date=December 19, 2004|access-date=December 17, 2008}}</ref>

===Policies on crime===
Wilson led efforts to enact "tough on crime" measures and signed into law the "[[three strikes law|Three Strikes]]" (25 years to life for repeat offenders)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-30-op-56438-story.html |title=Pete Wilson for Governor: On Balance the Best Choice|work=Los Angeles Times |date= October 30, 1994|access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> As a result of the Three Strikes Law, 4,431 offenders have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 25 years to life for their offenses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://facts1.live.radicaldesigns.org/section.php?id=55 |title=FACTS About California's Three-Strikes Law |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610031647/http://facts1.live.radicaldesigns.org/section.php?id=55 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The law required the construction of new prisons, leading some{{who|date=February 2012}} to question the influence the California Correctional Peace Officers Association had over his campaign, as that prison guard lobbying organization gave $1.47&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1470000|1996}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) to Wilson's gubernatorial campaigns.<ref name="buyingofthepresident.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |title=Center for Public Integrity, The Buying of the President 1996&nbsp;– Pete Wilson |publisher=Buyingofthepresident.org |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219233954/http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On September 26, 1995, Wilson signed a bill authorizing the possible use of capital punishment toward any individual who committed a murder during a carjacking or killed a juror. Wilson said the law was the result of 4 years' worth of attempts on his part to toughen the laws against carjacking: "This bill sends an unmistakable message to gang bangers: If you take someone's life while committing a cowardly carjacking, you can expect to pay for your crime with your own life."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/09/26/Wilson-makes-carjacking-a-capital-crime/4203812088000/|title=Wilson makes carjacking a capital crime|date=September 26, 1995|work=United Press International}}</ref> Wilson also supported the resumption of capital punishment in California, after a 25-year moratorium, and he signed the death warrant for the execution of child-murderer [[Robert Alton Harris]]. Harris was executed in 1992. A total of five people were executed during his administration (the first 2 in the [[gas chamber]], the latter 3 by [[lethal injection]]).

===Energy deregulation===
Wilson supported deregulation of the energy industry in California during his administration due to heavy lobbying efforts by [[Enron]].<ref name=Time>{{cite magazine|last=Taylor |first=Chris |url=https://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,237028,00.html|title=California Scheming |magazine=Time |date=May 20, 2002|volume=159|issue=20|access-date=July 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021203224556/http://www.time.com/time/business/printout/0,8816,237028,00.html|archive-date=December 3, 2002|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, during the California [[energy crisis]] caused by companies such as Enron, Wilson authored an article titled "What California Must Do" that blamed Gray Davis for not building enough power plants. Wilson defended his record of power plant construction and claimed that between 1985 and 1998, 23 plants were certified and 18 were built in California.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Pete |url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3459551.html |title=Pete Wilson, What California Must Do. ''Hoover Digest'', No. 3, 2001 |publisher=Hoover.org |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206160040/http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3459551.html |archive-date=December 6, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Historians have suggested that Wilson's willingness to deregulate and commoditize California energy was also a major cause of the subsequent [[2000–2001 California electricity crisis]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vogel |first=Nancy |date=2002-01-28 |title=Enron Vision Proved Costly to Firm, State |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-28-me-enronca28-story.html |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

==1996 presidential campaign==
[[File:Pete Wilson presidential campaign, 1996.png|thumb|245px|Wilson's presidential campaign logo]]
Despite a campaign promise to the people of California not to do so, Wilson also unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for President in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996 election]], making formal announcements on both coasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |title=Center for Public Integrity, The buying of the President 1996&nbsp;– Pete Wilson |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219233954/http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Wilson announced first on August 28, 1995, in New York City, at [[Battery Park]], with the [[Statue of Liberty]] as a backdrop.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1995/0829/29032.html|title=Wilson Makes Debut, Again|magazine=Christian Science Monitor }}</ref> He completed a cross-country tour. In April 1995, he had surgery to remove a benign nodule on his vocal cords. When Wilson did not lighten his speaking schedule, it resulted in the occasional cracking of his voice. It ended up keeping him from announcing&nbsp;– or even talking&nbsp;– for months.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-07-06-mn-21635-story.html|title=Wilson Has Minor Outpatient Surgery on His Vocal Cords|first=Max|last=Vanzi|date=July 6, 1996|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> His campaign ended on September 30, 1995.
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-30-mn-51609-story.html|title=Wilson Drops Out of White House Race, Blames Cash Woes : Politics: Governor is first to withdraw from crowded GOP field. Move creates California opportunities for his former rivals.|date=September 30, 1995|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

A September 6, 1995, [[UC Irvine]] poll showed equal support for Wilson and incumbent President [[Bill Clinton]] among [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] voters. The same poll indicated Wilson as trailing his former Senate colleague [[Bob Dole]] by a 20-point margin.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-07-me-43076-story.html|title=Clinton Even With Wilson, UCI Poll Shows : Politics: County respondents favor Dole for President by wide margin. They also support state initiative against affirmative action.|first=Len|last=Hall|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 7, 1995}}</ref> Dole would become the Republican nominee in the general election. Later that month, a ''Los Angeles Times'' poll found 23% of Californians believed Wilson should seek the presidency, including 30% of state voters identifying as Republican.<ref name="LATimes1995">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-12-mn-44994-story.html|title=THE TIMES POLL : Wilson's Popularity Plummets With Voters : Election matchups place him far behind Clinton and Dole. The governor is seen as lacking deep convictions|first=Cathleen|last=Decker|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 12, 1995}}</ref> On September 29, 1995, Wilson told supporters in Sacramento that he was dropping out of the Republican primary, citing he lacked the "necessary campaign funds to take this message to the people who need to hear it". He became the first candidate to exit the Republican primary.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/09/29/Wilson-drops-out-of-presidential-race/7281812347200/|title=Wilson drops out of presidential race|date=September 29, 1995|work=United Press International}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/30/us/wilson-trailing-in-voters-polls-drops-1996-quest.html|title=WILSON, TRAILING IN VOTERS' POLLS, DROPS 1996 QUEST|first=B. Drummond Jr.|last=Ayres|date=September 30, 1995|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

==Post-political careers and commemoration==

After leaving office, Wilson spent two years as a managing director of Pacific Capital Group, a [[merchant bank]] based in Los Angeles. He has served as a director of the [[Irvine Company]], [[TelePacific Communications]], Inc., National Information Consortium Inc., an advisor to Crossflo Systems, and [[IDT Entertainment]]. He has been a member of the Board of Advisors of Thomas Weisel Partners, a San Francisco merchant bank. He also served as chairman of the Japan Task Force of the Pacific Council on International Policy, which produced an analysis of Japanese economic and national security prospects over the next decade entitled "Can [[Japan]] Come Back?"<ref>{{cite web
  | url=http://www.japaninc.com/jin208 | publisher=Japaninc.com
  | title=Can Japan Come Back? The Pacific Council Thinks So
  | date=December 12, 2002 | access-date=January 21, 2011
}}</ref>

Wilson is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at the [[Hoover Institution]], a conservative [[think tank]] located on the campus of [[Stanford University]]; the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; the [[Richard Nixon Foundation]]; and the Donald Bren Foundation. He is the founding director of the California Mentor Foundation and is the chairman of the board of trustees of the National World War II Museum. Wilson sits on two prestigious [[Federal Advisory Committee Act|Federal advisory committees]]: the [[President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board]] and the [[Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee]]. He previously worked as a consultant at the Los Angeles office of [[Bingham McCutchen]] [[LLP#United States|LLP]], a large, national law firm,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Former-governor-to-join-business-consulting-firm-2818136.php |title=George Raine, Former governor to join business consulting firm. ''San Francisco Chronicle'', February 25, 2004 |date= February 25, 2004|access-date=January 21, 2011 |work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> and is currently Of Counsel with boutique law firm Ellis George Cipollone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://egcfirm.com/attorneys/pete-wilson/ |title=Pete Wilson bio |date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> He is also a Principal at Wilson Walsh Consulting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wilsonwalsh.com/ |title=Wilson Walsh |access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref>

In 1999, Wilson was awarded the prestigious Patriot Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society at its national convention in Riverside, California.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorees List {{!}} Awards and Recognitions {{!}} CMOHS |url=https://www.cmohs.org/about-the-society/awards |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Congressional Medal of Honor Society |language=en}}</ref> In [[2003 California gubernatorial recall election|2003]], Wilson was co-chair of [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]'s successful campaign to [[Recall election|recall]] and replace Governor [[Gray Davis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://petewilsonalumni.org/bio.html |title=Governor Pete Wilson Alumni Association |access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref>

In 2007, a statue of Wilson joined Ernest Hahn and [[Alonzo Horton]] on the San Diego Walk of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |last=Steele |first=Jeanette |url=http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070826-9999-1m26wilson.html |title=Jeanette Steele, Wilson statue is unveiled as Latinos, gays protest. San Diego Union-Tribune, August 26, 2007 |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune |date=August 26, 2007 |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-date=February 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224075242/http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070826-9999-1m26wilson.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Two hundred sponsors donated $200,000 to build the statue.<ref>{{cite web|last=Steele |first=Jeanette |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070826/news_1m26wilson.html |title=Wilson statue is unveiled as Latinos, gays protest |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune |date=August 26, 2007 |access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> On May 23, 2009, Wilson gave the commencement speech and received an honorary degree from San Diego State University's College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.<ref>{{cite web
  | url=http://psfa.sdsu.edu/econnect/2009_06.html
  | title=Professional Studies and Fine Arts Newsletter
  | access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> In 2009, Wilson chaired the unsuccessful campaign of [[Meg Whitman]] for governor.<ref>{{cite web
  | url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/0830/In-California-Meg-Whitman-leans-less-overtly-on-Pete-Wilson
  | title=In Calif., Meg Whitman leans less overtly on Pete Wilson
  | work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=August 30, 2010|access-date=January 22, 2011
}}</ref>

On April 30, 2016, Wilson endorsed U.S. Senator [[Ted Cruz]] for the Republican nomination in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/30/pete-wilson-of-california-backs-ted-cruz-and-warns-of-donald-trump/?_r=0|title = Pete Wilson of California Backs Ted Cruz and Warns of Donald Trump|newspaper = The New York Times|date = April 30, 2016|last1 = Martin|first1 = Jonathan}}</ref> On April 4, 2019, Wilson donated $5,000 to the reelection campaign of President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fec.gov/|title=Browse Receipts|website=FEC.gov|language=en|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> Wilson was among the signatories of a letter released on October 1, 2020, endorsing President Trump for reelection in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] and argued in an interview that the president "has very good judgment, and very good people around him making honest calls."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marinucci|first=Carla|title=Pete Wilson endorses Trump, says president has 'very good judgment'|url=https://politi.co/2SjGq3f|access-date=2020-10-02|website=Politico PRO|date=October 2020 |language=en}}</ref> He served as a campaign advisor for [[Larry Elder]]'s unsuccessful [[2021 California gubernatorial recall election|2021]] campaign to recall and replace Governor [[Gavin Newsom]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Los Angeles Times|title=Column: Larry Elder is the most Latino candidate in California's recall. It won't help him|date=September 4, 2021|author=Gustavo Arellano|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-04/larry-elder-latinos-california-recall}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
During and after Wilson's career, he was awarded numerous awards and honors:
* The [[Woodrow Wilson Awards]] for Distinguished Public Service
* The Patriots Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society
* An honorary degree from the [[San Diego State College]] of Professional Studies and Fine Arts
* The Distinguished Alumnus Award from [[University of California, Berkeley School of Law|Boalt Hall]], [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]]
* The Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award given by the [[Judicial Council of California]]
* Wilson was also honored by the [[San Francisco Giants]] by having him open their 1998 home schedule by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in honor of his final full year in office.
* Governor Pete Wilson Liberty Flagstaff was raised at [[The National WWII Museum]] in [[New Orleans]] in June 2017. The spire that bears Wilson's name serves as an enduring symbol of the unique American spirit—unity, resolve, and devotion to the principles of freedom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/visit/museum-campus/founders-plaza/governor-pete-wilson-liberty-flagstaff|title = Governor Pete Wilson Liberty Flagstaff}}</ref>
* Wilson was honored by the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] with the [[Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service]] in November 2018, including his service on the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{CongBio|W000607}}
* {{C-SPAN|434}}
* [http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/5750 Join California Pete Wilson]

===Campaign literature and videos===
* [http://www.4president.org/brochures/petewilson1996brochure.htm Reaffirming Liberty: Wilson for President Campaign Brochure]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090506102331/http://www.calvoter.org/archive/94general/cand/governor/wils/wilsindex.html Pete Wilson, Candidate for Governor, 1994 Platform Papers, Speeches and Endorsements]

===Miscellaneous===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070827035719/http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_36.html Pete Wilson Biography and Inaugural addresses]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060927150256/http://www.hoover.org/bios/2811421.html Hoover Institution Biography]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090501035940/http://www.calvoter.org/archive/94general/cand/governor/wils/wilsplat1.html Cal Voter: Gov. Wilson's Record on Crime]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060823124624/http://aad.english.ucsb.edu/docs/wilson.html Undated speech by Pete Wilson on Affirmative Action titled "The Minority-Majority Society"]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Frank Curran (politician)|Frank Curran]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor of San Diego]]|years=1971–1983}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bill Cleator]]<br>Acting}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[George Deukmejian]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of California]]|years=1991–1999}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gray Davis]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[S. I. Hayakawa]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of United States Senators from California|U.S. Senator from California]]<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1982 United States Senate election in California|1982]], [[1988 United States Senate election in California|1988]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John F. Seymour]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[George Deukmejian]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of California]]|years=[[1990 California gubernatorial election|1990]], [[1994 California gubernatorial election|1994]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Dan Lungren]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[S. I. Hayakawa]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from California|U.S. Senator (Class 1) from California]]|years=1983–1991|alongside=[[Alan Cranston]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John F. Seymour]]}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lincoln Chafee]]|as=Former US Senator}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Al Franken]]|as=Former US Senator}}
{{s-end}}

{{1996 United States presidential election}}
{{USSenCA}}
{{Governors of California}}
{{Mayors of San Diego}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Pete}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American military personnel]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in California]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the California State Legislature]]
[[Category:20th-century Presbyterians]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:21st-century Presbyterians]]
[[Category:Activists from California]]
[[Category:American bankers]]
[[Category:American campaign managers]]
[[Category:California Republicans]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1996 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Governors of California]]
[[Category:Hoover Institution people]]
[[Category:Lawyers from San Diego]]
[[Category:Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School alumni]]
[[Category:Mayors of San Diego]]
[[Category:Members of Congress who became lobbyists]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Lake Forest, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from St. Louis County, Missouri]]
[[Category:Politicians from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Protestants from California]]
[[Category:Protestants from Missouri]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of California]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the California State Assembly]]
[[Category:Republican Party United States senators from California]]
[[Category:UC Berkeley School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps officers]]
[[Category:Yale College alumni]]