Nov. 4, 1962 - Richard M. Nixon, fighting for his political life, announced today that he planned an election eve exposé tomorrow of what he called the “smear campaign” conducted by his opponent, Gov. Edmund G. Brown. “I’m going to take off the gloves and fight back against the personal attacks which have been made by Brown and his aides,” the Republican candidate for Governor of California said. His announcement came shortly after the publication of Mervin Fields’ California Poll, which showed Gov. Brown ahead of Mr. Nixon. The poll said Mr. Brown’s lead was 48% to 41% among all registered voters, and 48% to 44% among those most likely to vote. Governor Brown had earlier accused Mr. Nixon of raising “communism and other phony issues” and of condoning his own smear campaign. Last night, it was Mr. Nixon saying that such charges were a Democratic smear. He chided Gov. Brown for failing to debate him more than once. “He put his tail between his legs and ran away,” Mr. Nixon remarked.
