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Elections in California |
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Personal U.S. Senator from California 49th Vice President of the United States Incumbent Vice presidential campaigns | ||
The 2016 United States Senate election in California was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, 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.
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. In the California system, the top two finishers—regardless of party—advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary election. Washington and Louisiana have similar "jungle primary" style processes for senators.
Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer decided to not run for reelection to a fifth term. [1] This was the first open seat Senate election in California since 1992, when Boxer was first elected. [2] In the primary on June 7, 2016, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, finished in first and second place, respectively, and contested the general election. For the first time since direct elections to the Senate were mandated after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, no Republican appeared on the general election ballot for the U.S. Senate in California. The highest Republican finisher in the primary won only 7.8 percent of the vote, and the 10 Republicans only won 27.9 percent of the vote among them. [3]
In the general election, Harris defeated Sanchez in a landslide, carrying 54 of the state's 58 counties, including Sanchez's home county of Orange, although Sanchez held Harris to a margin of less than 1% in the Central Valley counties of Kern and Merced. Harris served in the Senate for roughly 4 years as she resigned after being elected vice president in 2020.
Barbara Boxer was reelected with 52.1% of the vote in 2010 against Republican Carly Fiorina. Toward the end of 2014, Boxer's low fundraising and cash-on-hand numbers led to speculation that she would retire. [4] [5] On January 8, 2015, she announced that she would not run for reelection. [1]
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The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.
Candidate (party) | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash on hand | Debt |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kamala Harris (D) | $9,749,024 | $4,759,048 | $4,989,977 | $78,900 |
Loretta Sánchez (D) | $3,251,186 | $921,291 | $2,329,895 | $209,217 |
Tom Del Beccaro (R) | $316,560 | $238,612 | $77,946 | $74,465 |
George 'Duf' Sundheim (R) | $532,638 | $475,415 | $57,222 | $181,640 |
Phillip Wyman (R) | $48,900 | $11,761 | $30,737 | $40,000 |
Clive Grey (NPP) | $38,916 | $21,554 | $17,361 | $25,000 |
Greg Conlon (R) | $21,205 | $13,396 | $7,809 | $9,575 |
Mike Beitiks (NPP) | $6,305 | $4,860 | $1,444 | $0 |
Steve Stokes (D) | $4,864 | $4,351 | $762 | $4,742 |
Emory Rodgers (D) | $7,246 | $6,988 | $290 | $0 |
Tom Palzer (R) | $2,783 | $2,442 | $241 | $0 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Tom Del Beccaro (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Loretta Sánchez (D) | Duf Sundheim (R) | Ron Unz (R) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marist College [166] | May 29–31, 2016 | 2,485 | ± 2.3% | 8% | 37% | 19% | 5% | 5% | 3% | 24% |
The Field Poll [167] | May 26–31, 2016 | 1,002 | ± 3.1% | 4% | 30% | 14% | 3% | 3% | 19% | 27% |
Public Policy Institute of California [168] | May 13–22, 2016 | 996 | ± 4.3% | 8% | 27% | 19% | 3% | 6% | — | 22% |
SurveyUSA [169] | May 19–22, 2016 | 1,416 | ± 2.7% | 9% | 31% | 22% | 9% | 7% | 7% | 15% |
Public Policy Institute of California [170] | May 13–22, 2016 | 996 | ± 4.3% | 8% | 27% | 19% | 3% | 6% | 6% | 31% |
Hoover Institution [171] | May 4–16, 2016 | 1,196 | – | 6% | 26% | 13% | 6% | 6% | – | 43% |
SurveyUSA [172] | April 27–30, 2016 | 2,400 | ± 2.6% | 10% | 29% | 18% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 22% |
SurveyUSA [173] | March 30 – April 3, 2016 | 1,269 | ± 2.8% | 8% | 26% | 22% | 5% | – | 7% | 24% |
The Field Poll [174] | March 24 – April 4, 2016 | 1,400 | ± 3.2% | 4% | 27% | 14% | 2% | 5% | – | 48% |
Los Angeles Times [175] | March 16–23, 2016 | 691 | – | 10% | 33% | 15% | 8% | – | – | 34% |
Public Policy Institute of California [176] | March 6–15, 2016 | 1,710 | ± 3.6% | 9% | 26% | 17% | 6% | – | 11% | 31% |
The Field Poll [177] | December 15, 2015 – January 3, 2016 | 730 | ± 3.6% | 3% | 27% | 15% | 3% | – | 1% | 44% |
The Field Poll [178] | September 17 – October 4, 2015 | 694 | ± 4.3% | 6% | 30% | 17% | 3% | – | 1% | 34% |
Los Angeles Times [179] | August 29 – September 8, 2015 | 1,500 | ± 2.8% | 10% | 26% | 17% | – | – | – | 35% |
The Field Poll [180] | April 23 – May 16, 2015 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 5% | 19% | 8% | 1% | – | – | 58% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Rocky Chavez (R) | David Dreier (R) | John Estrada (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Adam Schiff (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Meg Whitman (R) | Other | Unde- cided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emerson College [181] | April 2–8, 2015 | 881 | ± 3.2% | 9% | 1% | 1% | 23% | 2% | 4% | 13% | 7% | 41% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Rocky Chavez (R) | Del Beccaro/ Sundheim (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Adam Schiff (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USC [182] | February 18–24, 2015 | 1,505 | ± 2.7% | 6% | 5.5% [183] | 28% | 5% | 9% | 19% | 2% | 27% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Mary Bono (R) | David Dreier (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Adam Schiff (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling (D) [184] [185] [186] | February 6–8, 2015 | 824 | ± ? | 14% | 19% | 34% | 4% | 16% | 14% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kamala Harris (D) | Adam Schiff (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Garin-Hart-Yang Research [187] [188] [189] [190] | January 27–29, 2015 | 600 | ± 4 | 28% | 4% | 31% | 18% | 19% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Xavier Becerra (D) | Rocky Chavez (R) | Kamala Harris (D) | Condoleezza Rice (R) | Loretta Sanchez (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling (D) [191] [192] | January 22, 2015 | 627 | ± ? | 3% | 2% | 34% | 33% | 4% | 9% | 15% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Eric Garcetti (D) | Kamala Harris (D) | Neel Kashkari (R) | Tom McClintock (R) | Linda Sánchez (D) | Jackie Speier (D) | Tom Steyer (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling (D) [193] [194] | December 29–30, 2014 | 401 | ± ? | 7% | 27% | 12% | 28% | 6% | — | 6% | 14% |
468 | — | 22% | 12% | 29% | 8% | 8% | 4% | 17% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kamala Harris | 3,000,689 | 37.9% | |
Democratic | Loretta Sanchez | 1,416,203 | 17.9% | |
Republican | Duf Sundheim | 584,251 | 7.8% | |
Republican | Phil Wyman | 352,821 | 4.7% | |
Republican | Tom Del Beccaro | 323,614 | 4.3% | |
Republican | Greg Conlon | 230,944 | 3.1% | |
Democratic | Steve Stokes | 168,805 | 2.2% | |
Republican | George C. Yang | 112,055 | 1.5% | |
Republican | Karen Roseberry | 110,557 | 1.5% | |
Libertarian | Gail K. Lightfoot | 99,761 | 1.3% | |
Democratic | Massie Munroe | 98,150 | 1.3% | |
Green | Pamela Elizondo | 95,677 | 1.3% | |
Republican | Tom Palzer | 93,263 | 1.2% | |
Republican | Ron Unz | 92,325 | 1.2% | |
Republican | Don Krampe | 69,635 | 0.9% | |
No party preference | Eleanor García | 65,084 | 0.9% | |
Republican | Jarrell Williamson | 64,120 | 0.9% | |
Republican | Von Hougo | 63,609 | 0.8% | |
Democratic | President Cristina Grappo | 63,330 | 0.8% | |
Republican | Jerry J. Laws | 53,023 | 0.7% | |
Libertarian | Mark Matthew Herd | 41,344 | 0.6% | |
Peace and Freedom | John Thompson Parker | 35,998 | 0.5% | |
No party preference | Ling Ling Shi | 35,196 | 0.5% | |
Democratic | Herbert G. Peters | 32,638 | 0.4% | |
Democratic | Emory Peretz Rodgers | 31,485 | 0.4% | |
No party preference | Mike Beitiks | 31,450 | 0.4% | |
No party preference | Clive Grey | 29,418 | 0.4% | |
No party preference | Jason Hanania | 27,715 | 0.4% | |
No party preference | Paul Merritt | 24,031 | 0.3% | |
No party preference | Jason Kraus | 19,318 | 0.3% | |
No party preference | Don J. Grundmann | 15,317 | 0.2% | |
No party preference | Scott A. Vineberg | 11,843 | 0.2% | |
No party preference | Tim Gildersleeve | 9,798 | 0.1% | |
No party preference | Gar Myers | 8,726 | 0.1% | |
Republican | Billy Falling (write-in) | 87 | 0.0% | |
No party preference | Ric M. Llewellyn (write-in) | 32 | 0.0% | |
Republican | Alexis Stuart (write-in) | 10 | 0.0% | |
Total votes | 7,512,322 | 100.0% |
The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.
Candidate (party) | Receipts | Disbursements | Cash on hand | Debt |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kamala Harris (D) | $9,749,024 | $4,759,048 | $4,989,977 | $78,900 |
Loretta Sánchez (D) | $3,251,186 | $921,291 | $2,329,895 | $209,217 |
Dates | Location | Harris | Sanchez | Link |
---|---|---|---|---|
October 9, 2016 | Cal State LA, Los Angeles, California | Participant | Participant | [196] |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report [197] | Safe D (Harris) | September 9, 2016 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [198] | Safe D (Harris) | September 19, 2016 |
Rothenberg Political Report [199] | Safe D (Harris) | September 2, 2016 |
Daily Kos [200] | Safe D (Harris) | September 16, 2016 |
Real Clear Politics [201] | Safe D (Harris) | September 15, 2016 |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kamala Harris (D) | Loretta Sánchez (D) | Would not vote | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SurveyMonkey [202] | November 1–7, 2016 | 2,712 | ± 4.6% | 52% | 31% | — | 17% |
Insights West [203] | November 4–6, 2016 | 401 | ± 4.9% | 50% | 28% | — | 22% |
SurveyMonkey [204] | Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2016 | 2,655 | ± 4.6% | 51% | 32% | — | 17% |
SurveyMonkey [205] | Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2016 | 2,528 | ± 4.6% | 51% | 31% | — | 18% |
SurveyMonkey [206] | Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2016 | 2,316 | ± 4.6% | 51% | 31% | — | 18% |
SurveyMonkey [207] | Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2016 | 2,284 | ± 4.6% | 51% | 30% | — | 19% |
SurveyUSA [208] | October 28–31, 2016 | 747 | ± 3.7% | 47% | 27% | — | 26% |
SurveyMonkey [209] | October 25–31, 2016 | 2,505 | ± 4.6% | 50% | 30% | — | 20% |
The Field Poll [210] | October 25–31, 2016 | 1,498 | ± 3.2% | 47% | 23% | 13% | 17% |
USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times [211] | October 22–30, 2016 | 697 | ± 3.7% | 48% | 31% | 9% | 12% |
PPIC Statewide Survey [212] | October 14–23, 2016 | 1,024 | ± 4.3% | 42% | 20% | 18% | 20% |
SurveyUSA [213] | October 13–15, 2016 | 725 | ± 3.7% | 45% | 24% | — | 31% |
Hoover Institution – Golden State Poll [214] | October 4–14, 2016 | 1,228 | ± 3.3% | 41% | 22% | — | 37% |
Sacramento State/CA Counts [215] | October 7–13, 2016 | 622 | ± 7.0% | 49% | 24% | 7% | 20% |
SurveyUSA [216] | September 27–28, 2016 | 751 | ± 3.6% | 40% | 29% | — | 31% |
PPIC Statewide Survey [217] | September 9–18, 2016 | 1,702 | ± 3.5% | 32% | 25% | 24% | 19% |
Insights West [218] | September 12–14, 2016 | 515 | ± 4.3% | 42% | 28% | 3% | 28% |
The Field Poll [219] | September 7–13, 2016 | 1,426 | ± 3.2% | 42% | 20% | 12% | 26% |
SurveyUSA [220] | September 8–11, 2016 | 712 | ± 3.7% | 44% | 27% | — | 29% |
SurveyMonkey USC/Los Angeles Times [221] | September 1–8, 2016 | 4,212 | ± 2.0% | 30% | 16% | 16% | 38% |
Sacramento State/CA Counts [222] | August 15–24, 2016 | 915 | ± 4.0% | 51% | 19% | 6% | 25% |
SmithJohnson Research [223] | August 17–19, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 41% | 15% | 8% | 36% |
PPIC Statewide Survey [224] | July 10–19, 2016 | 1,056 | ± 3.5% | 38% | 20% | 28% | 14% |
The Field Poll [225] | June 8 – July 2, 2016 | 956 | ± 3.2% | 39% | 24% | 15% | 22% |
SurveyMonkey USC/Los Angeles Times [226] | June 9–10, 2016 | 1,553 | ± 3.5% | 47% | 22% | 26% | 5% |
The Field Poll [227] | May 26–31, 2016 | 1,002 | ± 3.1% | 40% | 26% | 14% | 20% |
PPIC Statewide Survey [228] | May 13–22, 2016 | 996 | ± 4.3% | 34% | 26% | 24% | 15% |
Gravis Marketing [229] | April 7–10, 2016 | 2,088 | ± 2.1% | 29% | 19% | — | 52% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kamala Harris (D) | David Dreier (R) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling [230] [185] [186] | February 6–8, 2015 | 824 | ± ? | 47% | 42% | — | 10% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Eric Garcetti (D) | Kamala Harris (D) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling [231] [194] | December 29–30, 2014 | 869 | ± ? | 20% | 35% | — | 46% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kamala Harris (D) | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USC [182] | February 18–24, 2015 | 1,505 | ± 2.7% | 45% | 27% | 3% | 24% |
Public Policy Polling [230] [185] [186] | February 6–8, 2015 | 824 | ± ? | 45% | 23% | — | 33% |
Public Policy Polling [232] [192] | January 22, 2015 | 627 | ± ? | 41% | 16% | — | 43% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Adam Schiff (D) | David Dreier (R) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling [230] [185] [186] | February 6–8, 2015 | 824 | ± ? | 43% | 42% | — | 15% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | David Dreier (R) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling [230] [185] [186] | February 6–8, 2015 | 824 | ± ? | 46% | 44% | — | 10% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kamala Harris | 7,542,753 | 61.60% | ||
Democratic | Loretta Sanchez | 4,701,417 | 38.40% | ||
Total votes | 12,244,170 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic hold |
Harris won 47 of the 53 congressional districts, including thirteen held by Republicans. Sanchez won six, including one held by a Republican. [234]
Harris stepped down from her Senate seat on January 18, 2021, two days before her inauguration as vice president. This makes Harris the first US senator elected to a full six-year term since Barack Obama in 2008 to not finish what would be her sole term. On December 22, 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom appointed California secretary of state Alex Padilla to serve the remainder of Harris' term. [235] Although Harris no longer occupies this Senate seat, she became president of the Senate on January 20, 2021, by virtue of her election as vice president.
Harris is the second incumbent US senator from this seat to be elected vice president, the first being Richard Nixon in 1952.
Loretta Lorna Sanchez is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2017, representing parts of central Orange County, California. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected in 1996, when she defeated long-serving Republican U.S. Representative Bob Dornan by fewer than 1,000 votes. During her time in the House of Representatives, Sanchez was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate-to-conservative Democrats.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, with a primary election on June 3, 2014. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election.
The 2018 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, 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 and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic governor Jerry Brown was ineligible to run for re-election for a third consecutive term due to term limits from the Constitution of California. The race was between the incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom and businessman John H. Cox, a Republican, who qualified for the general election after placing first and second in the June 5, 2018, primary election.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, with a primary election on June 7, 2016. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
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.
Two 2022 United States Senate elections in California were held concurrently on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California. There were two ballot items for the same Class 3 seat: a special election to fill the seat for the final weeks of the 117th United States Congress, and a general election for a full term, starting in the 118th United States Congress.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 6, 2018, with the primary elections being held on June 5, 2018. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
A special election was held on June 6, 2017, to elect the member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district. A special open primary election was held on April 4, 2017.
The 2018 California Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of California. The 2014 election winner Kamala Harris was elected to the United States Senate during the 2016 Senate election; incumbent Democratic Attorney General, Xavier Becerra won election to a full term.
The 2018 California Superintendent of Public Instruction primary election was held on June 5, 2018, to elect the Superintendent of Public Instruction of California. Unlike most other elections in California, the superintendent is not elected under the state's "top-two primary". Instead, the officially nonpartisan position is elected via a general election, with a runoff held on November 6, 2018, because no candidate received a majority of the vote.
The 2018 California Insurance Commissioner election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the Insurance Commissioner of California. 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.
The 2018 Orange, County, California District Attorney election took place on June 5, 2018 for the first round. Because no candidate received a majority in the first round, a runoff took place November 6, 2018, to elect the Orange County, California District Attorney. County-level elections in California are officially nonpartisan. Because no candidate received a majority, a runoff was held on November 6, 2018.
The 2024 United States Senate elections in California will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of California. There will be two ballot items for the same Class 1 seat: a special election to fill the seat for the final two months of the 118th United States Congress, and a regular general election for a full term that starts on January 3, 2025, starting in the 119th United States Congress.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
A special election to the United States House of Representatives for California's 25th congressional district was held March 3, 2020, the same day as the California presidential primaries. As no candidate received a majority, a runoff took place on May 12, 2020, between the top two finishers Christy Smith and Mike Garcia. Garcia's win was the first time Republicans flipped a Democratic-held House seat in California since 1998.
The 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California. A top-two primary was held on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote, but no candidate received a majority. More than forty candidates formed committees to run. Twenty-seven filed their declaration of intention to collect signatures for the ballot, and of these twelve qualified.
The 2024 California State Senate election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, with the primary election being held on March 5, 2024. Voters in the 20 odd-numbered districts of the California State Senate will elect their representatives. The elections will coincide with the elections for other offices, including the state Assembly.
The 2026 California gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of California. The statewide top-two primary election will take place on June 2, 2026. Incumbent Democratic governor Gavin Newsom will be term-limited and ineligible to seek reelection.
Official campaign websites