2004 United States Senate election in California

Last updated

2004 United States Senate election in California
Flag of California.svg
←  1998 November 2, 2004 2010  →
  Barbara Boxer 2005 (cropped).jpg Bill Jones, 1995.jpg
Nominee Barbara Boxer Bill Jones
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote6,955,7284,555,922
Percentage57.71%37.80%
2004 United States Senate election in California results map by county.svg
County results
Boxer:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Jones:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

The 2004 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer ran for re-election and defeated Republican former Secretary of State Bill Jones. Boxer's 6.96 million votes set the all-time record for the most votes cast for one candidate in one state in one election, although it was surpassed by Senator Dianne Feinstein's 7.75 million votes in 2012.

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

2004 United States Senate Democratic primary, California
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Barbara Boxer (Incumbent) 2,566,298 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

2004 California Republican primary
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bill Jones 1,015,748 44.81%
Republican Rosario Marin 454,17620.03%
Republican Howard Kaloogian 253,33111.17%
Republican Toni Casey142,0806.27%
Republican Tim Stoen124,9405.51%
Republican James Stewart78,2643.45%
Republican Barry L. Hatch71,2443.14%
Republican John M. Van Zandt56,9252.51%
Republican Danney Ball37,7451.66%
Republican Bill Quraishi32,5151.43%
Total votes2,266,968 100.00%

Third party primaries

American Independent

2004 United States AI Senate primary, California
PartyCandidateVotes%
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 32,025 100.00%

Libertarian

2004 United States Senate Libertarian primary, California
CandidateVotes %
Jim Gray 13,65657.30%
Gail Lightfoot10,17742.70%
Total votes23,833 100.00%

Peace and Freedom

2004 United States PF Senate primary, California
PartyCandidateVotes%
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 4,864 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

Campaign

Boxer originally had planned to retire in 2004 but changed her mind to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Jones was widely considered as the underdog. [3] Jones got a major endorsement from the popular Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. [4] The two major candidates had a debate. Pre-election polling had Boxer leading in double digits. [5] But he never released a single TV ad. Boxer portrayed Jones as too conservative for California, citing his votes in the California Assembly (1982 to 1994) against gun control and an increased minimum wage, and in support of offshore drilling and a loosening of environmental regulations. [6]

Fundraising

Jones raised about $700,000 more than Boxer during the third quarter, pulling in $2.5 million to Boxer's $1.8 million. But overall, Boxer has raised $16 million to Jones' $6.2 million. And Boxer has spent about $7 million on radio and television ads alone. [7]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [8] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [lower-alpha 1] 		Margin
of error		Barbara
Boxer (D)		Bill
Jones (R)		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA [9] October 29–31, 2004763 (LV)± 3.6%57%36%7%

Results

The election was not close, with Boxer winning by an authoritative 20 point margin. Jones only performed well in rural parts of the state. Boxer on the other hand won almost all major metropolitan areas in the state. The race was called right when the polls closed at 11:00 P.M. EST, and 7:00 P.M. PTZ. Jones conceded defeat to Boxer at 11:12 P.M. EST, and 7:12 PTZ.

2004 United States Senate election, California [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Barbara Boxer (Incumbent) 6,955,728 57.71%
Republican Bill Jones 4,555,92237.80%
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 243,8462.02%
Libertarian James P. "Jim" Gray 216,5221.80%
American Independent Don J. Grundmann81,2440.67%
No partyDennis Richter (write-in)430.00%
No partyHoward Johnson (write-in)80.00%
No partyJohn Emery Jones (write-in)20.00%
Invalid or blank votes536,3884.26%
Total votes12,589,703 100.00%
Turnout  57.03%
Democratic hold

By county

Final results from the Secretary of State of California. [11]

County Boxer Votes Jones Votes Feinland VotesOthersVotes
San Francisco 82.67%277,19312.83%43,0292.15%7,2202.34%7,862
Alameda 75.66%403,89220.23%107,9662.22%11,8511.89%10,103
Marin 70.86%94,16425.81%34,3011.44%1,9151.89%2,505
San Mateo 70.53%196,28526.29%73,1711.33%3,7151.84%5,126
Santa Cruz 70.58%84,84023.49%28,2392.77%3,3293.15%3,791
Los Angeles 66.75%1,940,49328.29%822,3512.36%68,7432.60%75,449
Santa Clara 66.00%380,55129.83%172,0081.66%9,5502.51%14,487
Sonoma 65.67%143,12429.57%64,4382.28%4,9622.49%5,419
Contra Costa 63.49%258,90533.24%135,5591.48%6,0441.78%7,277
Monterey 62.31%76,64732.96%40,5471.84%2,2632.89%3,560
Yolo 61.94%44,08534.05%24,2341.88%1,3402.13%1,518
Mendocino 61.87%23,41529.41%11,1312.76%1,0445.96%2,254
Solano 61.32%89,77935.07%51,3541.61%2,3552.00%2,929
Napa 60.30%33,57735.94%20,0121.59%8842.17%1,208
Humboldt 58.76%38,01634.61%22,3943.47%2,2463.16%2,044
Imperial 57.65%19,49836.06%12,1953.43%1,1592.87%971
Lake 56.32%13,81239.22%9,6191.91%4692.55%625
San Benito 55.82%10,34939.73%7,3651.96%3632.49%462
Santa Barbara 55.10%91,05540.02%66,1462.03%3,3472.85%4,717
Sacramento 54.16%252,01642.34%196,9841.50%6,9952.00%9,283
Alpine 53.90%37341.76%2892.31%162.02%14
San Joaquin 53.00%99,07442.98%80,3501.92%3,5822.10%3,921
Ventura 52.13%159,92043.66%133,9171.84%5,6302.37%7,284
San Diego 51.45%565,45744.13%484,9482.04%22,4312.38%26,125
Mono 49.95%2,59244.59%2,3142.14%1113.31%172
San Bernardino 49.76%251,77645.36%229,5272.18%11,0382.70%13,655
Merced 49.65%27,97546.18%26,0231.95%1,0982.22%1,251
Riverside 47.39%259,16948.67%266,1971.93%10,5472.01%11,015
Stanislaus 46.93%67,53949.70%71,5271.61%2,3241.75%2,517
San Luis Obispo 46.49%58,21248.48%60,7082.12%2,6592.91%3,646
Trinity 46.24%2,96047.93%3,0682.17%1393.66%234
Del Norte 46.03%4,26448.72%4,5132.29%2122.97%275
Nevada 45.79%24,36749.46%26,3211.90%1,0132.85%1,518
Fresno 45.36%109,84951.59%124,9371.61%3,9051.44%3,495
Butte 44.96%42,51249.12%46,4462.52%2,3853.39%3,204
Tuolumne 44.38%11,53852.39%13,6201.23%3192.00%519
Orange 43.73%458,60450.86%533,4061.94%20,3943.47%36,374
Kings 42.71%13,48554.07%17,0751.71%5391.51%478
Amador 42.16%7,44554.15%9,5621.53%2712.15%380
Calaveras 42.17%9,33953.58%11,8651.51%3342.75%608
Inyo 40.68%3,47454.37%4,6432.08%1782.86%244
Mariposa 40.38%3,43755.82%4,7511.69%1442.10%179
Siskiyou 39.92%8,21554.95%11,3081.94%3993.18%655
Placer 39.70%59,55456.78%85,1631.46%2,1972.06%3,086
Plumas 39.59%4,34754.82%6,0192.21%2433.38%371
El Dorado 39.58%33,71556.09%47,7752.05%1,7432.29%1,950
Madera 39.15%15,05857.84%22,2491.67%6411.35%519
Yuba 38.94%6,92655.80%9,9252.21%3933.05%542
Kern 38.13%79,76956.82%118,8822.17%4,5432.88%6,026
Tulare 37.11%36,18159.55%58,0661.84%1,7981.50%1,464
Colusa 36.61%2,22860.10%3,6571.23%752.05%125
Sutter 36.61%10,86460.06%17,8241.47%4361.86%553
Tehama 36.18%8,28558.89%13,4881.76%4033.17%726
Shasta 35.21%26,79560.00%45,6671.86%1,4122.94%2,235
Sierra 34.89%67958.74%1,1431.90%374.47%87
Glenn 33.87%3,14761.77%5,7391.86%1732.50%232
Lassen 32.36%3,65562.43%7,0511.97%2233.24%366
Modoc 28.48%1,25366.27%2,9161.52%673.73%164
California counties shift 1998-2004 senate.svg
California counties trend 1998-2004 senate.svg

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 California gubernatorial recall election</span>

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2004 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2004, with all Class 3 Senate seats being contested. They coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House elections, as well as many state and local elections. Senators who were elected in 1998, known as Senate Class 3, were seeking re-election or retiring in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Jones (California politician)</span> American politician

William Leon Jones is an American politician from California who served in the California State Assembly and later served as California's 25th Secretary of State for two terms from 1995 to 2003 under Governors Pete Wilson and later Gray Davis. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of California in 2002 as well as an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate from California in 2004 against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. As of 2024, Jones is the last Republican to be elected to California Secretary of State to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1998 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 1998, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. This was seen as an even contest between the Republican Party and Democratic Party. While the Democrats had to defend more seats up for election, Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton failed to connect with voters and anticipated Republican gains did not materialize. The Republicans picked open seats up in Ohio and Kentucky and narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun, but these were cancelled out by the Democrats' gain of an open seat in Indiana and defeats of Republican Senators Al D'Amato and Lauch Faircloth. The balance of the Senate remained unchanged at 55–45 in favor of the Republicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 1996, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1992 United States Senate elections, held November 3, 1992, were elections for the United States Senate. The 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, along with special elections to fill vacancies. They coincided with Bill Clinton's victory in the presidential election. This was the first time since 1956 that the balance of the Senate remained the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re-election for his first and only full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2006 United States Senate election in California was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her third full term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States Senate election in Georgia</span>

The 2008 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 4, 2008. The runoff election took place on December 2, 2008. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, first elected in 2002, sought re-election to his position as a United States Senator from Georgia. He was challenged by Democratic nominee Jim Martin and Libertarian nominee Allen Buckley. After a runoff election on December 2, Chambliss was elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2010 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 2010. The election was held alongside 33 other United States Senate elections in addition to congressional, state, and various local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer won re-election to a fourth term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 1992 United States Senate election in California took place on November 3, 1992, at the same time as the special election to the United States Senate in California. Incumbent Democrat Alan Cranston decided to retire. Democrat Barbara Boxer won the open seat. This election was noted as both of California's senators were elected for the first time. This is not a unique occurrence; it would happen again in Tennessee in 1994, Kansas in 1996, and Georgia in 2021. Fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein, California's senior senator, won the special election and was inaugurated in November 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 1998 United States Senate election in California was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Matt Fong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 1994 United States Senate election in California was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her first full term. By a margin of 1.9%, this election was the closest race of the 1994 Senate election cycle. This election was the first time ever that an incumbent Democratic Senator from California was re-elected or won re-election to this seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States Senate election in Arkansas</span>

The 2004 United States Senate election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States Senate election in Ohio</span>

The 2004 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 2, 2004. It was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives and the presidential election. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator George Voinovich won re-election to a second term with the highest raw vote total in Ohio history. This remains the last Ohio statewide election to date in which a candidate won every county in the state. This was the first election since 1950 that an incumbent Republican Senator from Ohio was re-elected or won re-election for this seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2012 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States Senate elections</span>

The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. Among the 100 seats, the 33 of Class 1 were contested in regular elections while 2 others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The regular election winners were elected to 6-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. Senate Democrats had 26 seats up for election, while Senate Republicans had 9 seats up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States Senate election in California</span>

The 2018 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent California, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 California State Senate election</span>

The 2018 California State Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with the primary election being held on June 5, 2018. Voters in the 20 even-numbered districts of the California State Senate elected their representatives. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including for governor and the California State Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in California</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in California was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. California voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate Kamala Harris, the junior senator from California. In the 2020 election, California had 55 electoral votes in the Electoral College, the most of any state. Biden won by a wide margin, as was expected; however, California was one of six states where Trump received a larger percentage of the two-party vote than he did in 2016. This election also marked the first time since 2004 that the Republican candidate won more than one million votes in Los Angeles County due to increased turnout.

References

  1. ↑ "GOP race in state draws little cash, attention : 4 candidates seek chance to replace Boxer in Senate". June 29, 2011. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 "NewsLibrary Search Results". nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  3. ↑ "John J. Miller on U.S. Senate & Election 2004 on National Review Online". Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  4. ↑ "USATODAY.com - Schwarzenegger to endorse Jones for Senate". Usatoday.com.
  5. ↑ "CAMPAIGN 2004 / Jones, Boxer mix it up in only live debate / Challenger plays up Schwarzenegger ties, senator counters". Sfgate.com. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Los Angeles Times: Archives - CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS; Jones Pulls Out Cash He Lent to Campaign". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  8. ↑ "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ SurveyUSA
  10. ↑ [ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.