2014 California gubernatorial election

See also: 2014 United States gubernatorial elections

2014 California gubernatorial election

←  2010 November 4, 2014 2018  →
Turnout	30.94% [1] 28.65pp
Nominee Jerry Brown Neel Kashkari Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 4,388,368 2,929,213 Percentage 60.0% 40.0%
County results Congressional district results Brown:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Kashkari:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Governor before election Jerry Brown Democratic Elected Governor Jerry Brown Democratic

The 2014 California gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of California, concurrently with elections for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Democratic Governor Jerry Brown ran for re-election to a second consecutive and fourth overall term in office. Although governors are limited to lifetime service of two terms in office, Brown previously served as governor from 1975 to 1983, and the law only affects terms served after November 6, 1990. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. Under California's nonpartisan blanket primary law, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two finishers — regardless of party — advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate manages to receive a majority of the votes cast in the primary election. Washington is the only other state with this system, a so-called "top two primary" (Louisiana has a similar "jungle primary"). Brown and Republican Neel Kashkari finished first and second, respectively, and contested in the general election, ^[5] which Brown won. He won the largest gubernatorial victory since 1986, "despite running a virtually nonexistent campaign." ^[6] This was the first time since 1978 that a Democrat carried Nevada County.

Primary election

Republican candidate Kashkari campaigns at the San Diego LGBT Pride Parade.

A certified list of candidates was released by the Secretary of State on March 27, 2014. The primary election took place on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, from 7am to 8pm. ^[7]

Party candidacies

Democratic Party

Declared

• Akinyemi Agbede, candidate for Mayor of Orange County, Florida in 2010 ^[8]
• Jerry Brown, incumbent governor of California ^[9]

Withdrew

• Geby Espinosa, gym owner
• Hanala Sagal, author and fitness personality
• Michael Strimling, attorney

Declined

• Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California (ran for re-election) ^{[10] [11]}
• Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California (ran for re-election) ^[12]
• Hilda Solis, former United States Secretary of Labor and former U.S. Representative (ran for Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors) ^[13]
• Antonio Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles ^{[10] [14]}

Republican Party

Declared

• Richard Aguirre, real estate investor and Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 ^[15]
• Glenn Champ, businessman and engineer ^{[15] [16]}
• Tim Donnelly, state assemblyman and Minuteman founder ^[17]
• Neel Kashkari, former Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability ^[18]
• Alma Marie Winston ^[8]

Withdrew

• Andrew Blount, Mayor of Laguna Hills ^{[19] [20]}
• Dennis Jackson, manufacturer
• Abel Maldonado, former Lieutenant Governor of California, candidate for Controller in 2006, and candidate for CA-24 in 2012 ^{[21] [22]}

Declined

• Kevin McCarthy, U.S. Representative and House Majority Whip ^[10]
• John Moorlach, Orange County Supervisor ^[23]
• Steve Poizner, former Insurance Commissioner of California and candidate for governor in 2010 ^[24]
• George Radanovich, former U.S. Representative ^[25]
• Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, former CEO of eBay and nominee for governor in 2010 ^{[26] [27]}

Libertarian Party

Declined

• James P. Gray, former Orange County Superior Court Judge and Libertarian Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2012 ^[10]

Green Party

Declared

• Luis J. Rodriguez, author, progressive activist and Justice Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2012 ^[28]

American Independent Party

Endorsed Tim Donnelly ^[29]

Withdrew

• Robert Ornelas, American Independent Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2012

Peace and Freedom Party

Declared

• Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist and Peace and Freedom Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2012 ^[30]

Independent

Declared

• Bogdan Ambrozewicz, small business owner, Independent candidate for the State Senate in 2012 and Republican candidate for the State Assembly in 2011 ^[31]
• Janel Buycks, minister/business owner ^{[15] [32]}
• Rakesh Kumar Christian, small business owner, independent candidate for governor in 2010 ^[8]
• Joe Leicht, golf course operator ^[15]
• Robert Newman, psychologist, farmer and Republican candidate for governor in 2003, 2006, and 2010 ^[15]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jerry Brown (D)	Andrew Blount (R)	Tim Donnelly (R)	Neel Kashkari (R)	Abel Maldonado (R)	Other	Undecided
GQR	May 21–28, 2014	626	± 4.4%	50%	—	13%	18%	—	5%	14%
SurveyUSA	May 16–19, 2014	610	± 4%	57%	—	18%	11%	—	4%	10%
PPIC	May 8–15, 2014	901	± 4.9%	48%	—	15%	10%	—	1%	27%
PPIC	April 8–15, 2014	944	± 5.1%	46%	3%	9%	2%	—	2%	38%
Field Poll	March 18–April 5, 2014	504	± 4.5%	57%	3%	17%	2%	—	1%	20%
PPIC	March 11–18, 2014	936	± 4.7%	47%	2%	10%	2%	—	3%	36%
Field Poll Archived December 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine	November 15–December 3, 2013	836	± 3.5%	52%	—	9%	3%	11%	—	25%
PPIC	November 12–19, 2013	1,081	± 4.5%	46%	—	16%	—	7%	1%	29%

Polling with all candidates listed

Clear Path Strategies poll of 1,000 likely voters, April 2–6, 2014. MoE: ±?

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Brown (incumbent)	–	45.6
	Republican	Tim Donnelly	–	18.3
	Republican	Glenn Champ	–	7.3
	Republican	Andrew Blount	–	5.4
	Republican	Alma Marie Winston	–	4.1
	Republican	Neel Kashkari	–	3.8
	No party preference	Robert Newman	–	3.1
	Democratic	Akinyemi Agbede	–	2.8
	Green	Luis J. Rodriguez	–	2.6
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Sheehan	–	2.3
	Republican	Richard William Aguirre	–	1.7
	No party preference	"Bo" Bogdan Ambrozewicz	–	0.9
	No party preference	Janel Hyeshia Buycks	–	0.8
	No party preference	Rakesh Kumar Christian	–	0.7
	No party preference	Joe Leicht	–	0.6
Total votes			–	100

Results

Results by county:

  Donnelly >= 30%

  Brown >= 30%

  Brown >= 40%

  Brown >= 50%

  Brown >= 60%

  Brown >= 70%

  Brown >= 80%

California gubernatorial primary election, 2014 ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Brown (incumbent)	2,354,769	54.34
	Republican	Neel Kashkari	839,767	19.38
	Republican	Tim Donnelly	643,236	14.85
	Republican	Andrew Blount	89,749	2.07
	Republican	Glenn Champ	76,066	1.76
	Green	Luis J. Rodriguez	66,872	1.54
	Peace and Freedom	Cindy Sheehan	52,707	1.22
	Republican	Alma Marie Winston	46,042	1.06
	No party preference	Robert Newman	44,120	1.02
	Democratic	Akinyemi Agbede	37,024	0.85
	Republican	Richard William Aguirre	35,125	0.81
	No party preference	"Bo" Bogdan Ambrozewicz	14,929	0.35
	No party preference	Janel Hyeshia Buycks	12,136	0.28
	No party preference	Rakesh Kumar Christian	11,142	0.26
	No party preference	Joe Leicht	9,307	0.22
	Write-In	Karen Jill Bernal	17	<0.01
	Write-In	Nickolas Wildstar	17	<0.01
	Write-In	Jimelle L. Walls	3	<0.01
Total votes			4,333,028	100.00
Turnout				14.67

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, September 4, 2014 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [34]	Solid D	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball [35]	Safe D	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report [36]	Safe D	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics [37]	Safe D	November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jerry Brown (D)	Neel Kashkari (R)	Other	Undecided
Zogby Analytics	October 28–31, 2014	705	± 3.8%	51%	33%	16%
GQR/American Viewpoint	October 22–29, 2014	1,162	± 3.3%	56%	37%	—	7%
Field Poll	October 15–28, 2014	941	± 3.4%	54%	33%	—	13%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	7,463	± 2%	55%	37%	1%	8%
PPIC	October 12–19, 2014	1,704	± 3.5%	52%	36%	—	12%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	September 20 – October 1, 2014	7,943	± 2%	56%	36%	1%	7%
PPIC	September 8–15, 2014	916	± 4.9%	54%	33%	2%	11%
LA Times/USC [ permanent dead link ]	September 2–9, 2014	1,089	± 3.3%	57%	36%	—	7%
GQR/AV	September 2–8, 2014	8,941	± 2%	57%	32%	—	11%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	August 18 – September 2, 2014	8,941	± 2%	53%	35%	2%	10%
Field Poll	August 14–28, 2014	467	± 4.8%	50%	34%	—	16%
Gravis Marketing	July 22–24, 2014	580	± 4%	52%	35%	—	13%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	July 5–24, 2014	9,393	± ?	57%	33%	3%	7%
PPIC	July 8–15, 2014	984	± 4.7%	52%	33%	4%	11%
Field Poll	June 5–22, 2014	2,013	± 3.2%	52%	32%	0%	16%
Rasmussen Reports	June 4–5, 2014	823	± 4%	52%	33%	5%	10%
GQR	May 21–28, 2014	626	± 4.4%	53%	35%	2%	9%
MFour/Tulchin Research [ permanent dead link ]	August 27–30, 2013	1,001	± 3.5%	44%	15%	8%	33%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jerry Brown (D)	Tim Donnelly (R)	Other	Undecided
GQR	May 21–28, 2014	626	± 4.4%	54%	32%	3%	11%
PPIC	January 14–21, 2014	1,706	± 3.8%	53%	17%	—	30%
MFour/Tulchin Research [ permanent dead link ]	August 27–30, 2013	1,001	± 3.5%	43%	21%	7%	30%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jerry Brown (D)	Abel Maldonado (R)	Other	Undecided
MFour/Tulchin Research [ permanent dead link ]	August 27–30, 2013	1,001	± 3.5%	42%	21%	9%	29%

Results

Brown won easily, by nearly twenty points. He outperformed his majority margin from 2010. As expected, Brown did very well in Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kashkari conceded defeat right after the polls closed in California.

California gubernatorial election, 2014 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jerry Brown (incumbent)	4,388,368	59.97%	+6.20%
	Republican	Neel Kashkari	2,929,213	40.03%	−0.86%
Total votes			7,317,581	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Results by County

^[38]

County	Brown	%	Kashkari	%
Alameda	293,081	82.2	63,593	17.8
Alpine	284	61.9	175	38.1
Amador	5,682	44.6	7,071	55.4
Butte	29,520	47.8	32,249	52.2
Calaveras	6,870	43.7	8,841	56.3
Colusa	1,789	42.7	2,398	57.3
Contra Costa	174,403	68.6	79,660	31.4
Del Norte	3,488	49.6	3,539	50.4
El Dorado	27,916	45.5	33,443	54.5
Fresno	76,143	47.6	83,744	52.4
Glenn	2,049	34.4	3,908	65.6
Humboldt	24,003	64.6	13,146	35.4
Imperial	13,457	64.3	7,484	35.7
Inyo	2,317	42.7	3,112	57.3
Kern	54,269	40.9	78,417	59.1
Kings	8,752	39.2	13,575	60.8
Lake	10,722	61.3	6,775	38.7
Lassen	2,213	32.4	4,609	67.6
Los Angeles	978,142	66.8	485,186	33.2
Madera	9,974	37.2	16,825	62.8
Marin	69,751	79.4	18,147	20.6
Mariposa	2,499	38.2	4,038	61.8
Mendocino	17,340	71.8	6,825	28.2
Merced	18,945	50.1	18,848	49.9
Modoc	770	27.2	2,061	72.8
Mono	1,632	53.1	1,442	46.9
Monterey	51,315	69.4	22,591	30.6
Napa	25,846	68.2	12,059	31.8
Nevada	20,976	54.6	17,419	45.4
Orange	275,707	44.4	344,817	55.6
Placer	51,241	45.4	61,604	54.6
Plumas	2,966	41.7	4,139	58.3
Riverside	165,340	47.1	185,805	52.9
Sacramento	202,416	62.3	122,342	37.7
San Benito	8,654	63.5	4,969	36.5
San Bernardino	134,417	46.9	152,458	53.1
San Diego	346,419	51.1	331,942	48.9
San Francisco	196,745	88.2	26,442	11.8
San Joaquin	62,614	53.5	54,331	46.5
San Luis Obispo	46,606	54.3	39,186	45.7
San Mateo	120,280	75.2	39,615	24.8
Santa Barbara	64,912	58.3	46,503	41.7
Santa Clara	288,732	72.9	107,113	27.1
Santa Cruz	56,977	78.6	15,499	21.4
Shasta	21,509	38.1	35,007	61.9
Sierra	679	44.2	857	55.8
Siskiyou	6,103	44.2	7,717	55.8
Solano	57,874	64.6	31,754	35.4
Sonoma	107,328	74.8	36,249	25.2
Stanislaus	46,566	51.5	43,786	48.5
Sutter	8,688	42.7	11,644	57.3
Tehama	5,408	35.2	9,952	64.8
Trinity	1,711	44.2	2,163	55.8
Tulare	23,708	38.4	37,996	61.6
Tuolumne	7,951	46.7	9,058	53.3
Ventura	106,072	53.1	93,797	46.9
Yolo	31,431	69.1	14,043	30.9
Yuba	5,166	41.6	7,245	58.4

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Del Norte (largest community: Crescent City)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Merced (largest community: Merced)
• Mono (largest municipality: Mammoth Lakes)
• Nevada (largest town: Truckee)
• San Luis Obispo (largest town: San Luis Obispo)
• San Diego (largest community: San Diego)
• Stanislaus (largest community: Modesto)
• Ventura (largest city: Ventura)

By congressional district

Brown won 41 of the 53 congressional districts, including two held by Republicans. ^[39]

District	Kashkari	Brown	Representative
1st	56.5%	43.5%	Doug LaMalfa
2nd	26.5%	73.5%	Jared Huffman
3rd	44.0%	56.0%	John Garamendi
4th	55.1%	44.9%	Tom McClintock
5th	27.3%	72.6%	Mike Thompson
6th	27.3%	72.7%	Doris Matsui
7th	43.8%	56.2%	Ami Bera
8th	62.3%	37.7%	Paul Cook
9th	44.9%	55.1%	Jerry McNerney
10th	48.3%	51.7%	Jeff Denham
11th	29.6%	70.4%	Mark DeSaulnier
12th	11.4%	88.6%	Nancy Pelosi
13th	8.8%	91.2%	Barbara Lee
14th	22.5%	77.5%	Jackie Speier
15th	30.3%	69.7%	Eric Swalwell
16th	45.6%	54.4%	Jim Costa
17th	25.4%	74.6%	Mike Honda
18th	28.4%	71.6%	Anna Eshoo
19th	26.6%	73.4%	Zoe Lofgren
20th	27.0%	73.0%	Sam Farr
21st	47.6%	52.4%	David Valadao
22nd	60.3%	39.7%	Devin Nunes
23rd	64.5%	35.5%	Kevin McCarthy
24th	43.4%	56.6%	Lois Capps
25th	57.2%	42.8%	Steve Knight
26th	44.9%	55.1%	Julia Brownley
27th	37.7%	62.3%	Judy Chu
28th	28.8%	71.2%	Adam Schiff
29th	26.2%	73.8%	Tony Cárdenas
30th	35.7%	64.3%	Brad Sherman
31st	47.9%	52.1%	Pete Aguilar
32nd	40.2%	59.8%	Grace Napolitano
33rd	38.4%	61.6%	Ted Lieu
34th	16.3%	83.7%	Xavier Becerra
35th	39.4%	60.6%	Norma Torres
36th	47.4%	52.6%	Raul Ruiz
37th	16.2%	83.8%	Karen Bass
38th	42.7%	57.3%	Linda Sánchez
39th	55.5%	45.5%	Ed Royce
40th	23.8%	76.2%	Lucille Roybal-Allard
41st	45.5%	54.5%	Mark Takano
42nd	63.2%	36.8%	Ken Calvert
43rd	27.4%	72.6%	Maxine Waters
44th	20.1%	79.9%	Janice Hahn
45th	58.5%	41.5%	Mimi Walters
46th	40.5%	59.5%	Loretta Sánchez
47th	43.5%	56.5%	Alan Lowenthal
48th	57.6%	42.4%	Dana Rohrabacher
49th	55.0%	45.0%	Darrell Issa
50th	64.0%	36.0%	Duncan Hunter
51st	33.8%	66.2%	Juan Vargas
52nd	47.7%	52.3%	Scott Peters
53rd	40.0%	60.0%	Susan Davis

References

1. "Statement of Vote November 4, 2014, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
2. "Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor". California Secretary of State Department. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
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5. "Governor: Tim Donnelly congratulates Neel Kashkari". IVN. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
6. "Jerry Brown Coasts To Re-Election With Nonexistent Campaign". Huffington Post. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
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14. Orlov, Rick (June 21, 2013). "Antonio Villaraigosa reflects on eight years". Los Angeles Daily News . Retrieved February 28, 2014.
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16. Mehta, Seema (March 21, 2014). "GOP candidate for governor is a registered sex offender". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 3, 2014.
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20. Seema Mehta (April 29, 2014). "John and Ken to host debate for GOP governor candidates". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 5, 2014.
21. "Former Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado confirms he'll run for governor" . Retrieved August 22, 2013.
22. Mehta, Seema (January 16, 2014). "Abel Maldonado ends California gubernatorial bid: 'Now is not my time'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
23. Galvin, Andrew (June 10, 2013). "Supervisor Moorlach won't run for governor". The Orange County Register . Retrieved June 14, 2013.
24. "Steve Poizner: "I would have been a much, much stronger candidate than Meg Whitman against Jerry Brown"". Blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
25. "George Radanovich to announce he won't run for governor". ABC30. March 6, 2014. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
26. "HP Hires Former eBay Head Meg Whitman As CEO". NPR. September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
27. Worthen, Ben (September 23, 2011). "H-P Names Whitman CEO, Lane Executive Chair - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
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30. Siders, David. "Capitol Alert: Activist Cindy Sheehan plans run for California governor in 2014". Blogs.sacbee.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
31. Ratajczak, Jim (March 3, 2011). "Candidate Ambrozewicz born to run". Mountain Democrat. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
32. Norwood, Juliana (August 1, 2013). "Christian conglomerate strives to employ a struggling community". Our Weekly. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
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35. "The Crystal Ball's Final 2014 Picks". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
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38. "Complete Statement of vote" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
39. "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links

• California gubernatorial election, 2014 at Ballotpedia