This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2023) |
Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 6,006,518 | 34.30% | 11,110,639 | 63.44% | 395,108 | 2.26% |
2016 | 4,483,814 | 31.48% | 8,753,792 | 61.46% | 1,005,843 | 7.06% |
2012 | 4,839,958 | 37.07% | 7,854,285 | 60.16% | 361,572 | 2.77% |
2008 | 5,011,781 | 36.90% | 8,274,473 | 60.92% | 296,829 | 2.19% |
2004 | 5,509,826 | 44.36% | 6,745,485 | 54.30% | 166,548 | 1.34% |
2000 | 4,567,429 | 41.65% | 5,861,203 | 53.45% | 537,224 | 4.90% |
1996 | 3,828,380 | 38.21% | 5,119,835 | 51.10% | 1,071,269 | 10.69% |
1992 | 3,630,574 | 32.61% | 5,121,325 | 46.01% | 2,379,822 | 21.38% |
1988 | 5,054,917 | 51.13% | 4,702,233 | 47.56% | 129,914 | 1.31% |
1984 | 5,467,009 | 57.51% | 3,922,519 | 41.27% | 115,895 | 1.22% |
1980 | 4,524,858 | 52.69% | 3,083,661 | 35.91% | 978,544 | 11.40% |
1976 | 3,882,244 | 49.35% | 3,742,284 | 47.57% | 242,589 | 3.08% |
1972 | 4,602,096 | 55.00% | 3,475,847 | 41.54% | 289,919 | 3.46% |
1968 | 3,467,664 | 47.82% | 3,244,318 | 44.74% | 539,605 | 7.44% |
1964 | 2,879,108 | 40.79% | 4,171,877 | 59.11% | 6,601 | 0.09% |
1960 | 3,259,722 | 50.10% | 3,224,099 | 49.55% | 22,757 | 0.35% |
1956 | 3,027,668 | 55.39% | 2,420,135 | 44.27% | 18,552 | 0.34% |
1952 | 2,897,310 | 56.35% | 2,197,548 | 42.74% | 46,991 | 0.91% |
1948 | 1,895,269 | 47.13% | 1,913,134 | 47.57% | 213,135 | 5.30% |
1944 | 1,512,965 | 42.97% | 1,988,564 | 56.48% | 19,346 | 0.55% |
1940 | 1,351,419 | 41.34% | 1,877,618 | 57.44% | 39,754 | 1.22% |
1936 | 836,431 | 31.70% | 1,766,836 | 66.95% | 35,615 | 1.35% |
1932 | 847,902 | 37.39% | 1,324,157 | 58.39% | 95,907 | 4.23% |
1928 | 1,162,323 | 64.69% | 614,365 | 34.19% | 19,968 | 1.11% |
1924 | 733,250 | 57.20% | 105,514 | 8.23% | 443,136 | 34.57% |
1920 | 624,992 | 66.20% | 229,191 | 24.28% | 89,867 | 9.52% |
1916 | 462,516 | 46.27% | 466,289 | 46.65% | 70,798 | 7.08% |
1912 | 3,914 | 0.58% | 283,436 | 41.81% | 390,594 | 57.61% |
1908 | 214,398 | 55.46% | 127,492 | 32.98% | 44,707 | 11.56% |
1904 | 205,226 | 61.84% | 89,404 | 26.94% | 37,248 | 11.22% |
1900 | 164,755 | 54.37% | 124,985 | 41.25% | 13,264 | 4.38% |
1896 | 146,688 | 49.16% | 144,766 | 48.51% | 6,965 | 2.33% |
1892 | 118,027 | 43.78% | 118,174 | 43.83% | 33,408 | 12.39% |
1888 | 124,816 | 49.66% | 117,729 | 46.84% | 8,794 | 3.50% |
1884 | 102,369 | 51.97% | 89,288 | 45.33% | 5,331 | 2.71% |
1880 | 80,282 | 48.89% | 80,426 | 48.98% | 3,510 | 2.14% |
1876 | 79,258 | 50.88% | 76,460 | 49.08% | 66 | 0.04% |
1872 | 54,007 | 56.38% | 40,717 | 42.51% | 1,061 | 1.11% |
1868 | 54,588 | 50.24% | 54,068 | 49.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
1864 | 62,053 | 58.60% | 43,837 | 41.40% | 0 | 0.00% |
1860 | 38,733 | 32.32% | 37,999 | 31.71% | 43,095 | 35.96% |
1856 | 20,704 | 18.78% | 53,342 | 48.38% | 36,209 | 32.84% |
1852 | 35,972 | 46.83% | 40,721 | 53.02% | 117 | 0.15% |
The politics of the U.S. state of California form part of the politics of the United States. The politics are defined by the Constitution of California.
California's government consists of three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The California State Legislature is bicameral. The lower house, the California State Assembly, has 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, has 40 members. [2] The executive branch is led by the Governor of California. [3] The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of California, the California Courts of Appeal, and the California superior courts. [4]
California currently uses the nonpartisan blanket primary in its elections, where candidates regardless of party, including multiple nominees from a single party, contest the ballot and the candidates with the two highest numbers of votes are entered into a general election. [5] Some municipalities, such as San Francisco and Berkeley, have opted to use instant-runoff voting for local elections. [6]
As of 2023, the two major political parties in California that currently have representation in the State Legislature and U.S. Congress are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. There are four other parties that qualify for official ballot status: the American Independent Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, and Peace and Freedom Party. [7] There are also other minor parties in California that are not ballot qualified including the American Solidarity Party, National Party and Reform Party.
California voter registration statistics as of January 5, 2024 [8] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Registered voters | Percentage | |
Democratic | 10,323,214 | 46.76 | |
Republican | 5,332,858 | 24.16 | |
No party preference | 4,845,113 | 21.95 | |
American Independent | 835,277 | 3.78 | |
Libertarian | 242,770 | 1.10 | |
Others | 160,328 | 0.73 | |
Peace and Freedom | 133,914 | 0.61 | |
Green | 102,599 | 0.46 | |
Unknown | 101,339 | 0.46 | |
Total Registered Voters | 22,077,412 | 82.84 | |
Total Eligible Voters | 26,649,323 | 100.00 |
The first presidential election the state participated in was 1852. For the next few decades after the Civil War, California was a Republican-leaning but a very competitive state in presidential elections, as in voted for the nationwide winner all but thrice between statehood and 1912, with the exceptions of 1880, 1884, and 1912. Beginning with the 1916 election, the state shifted into a bellwether. Between 1916 and 1948, it voted for the nationwide winner every time, and was critical to Democratic victories in 1916 and 1948, as well.
Franklin Roosevelt carried all but one county in the state in 1932, and in 1936 all counties. Roosevelt's third and fourth presidential elections saw him win by smaller margins. In 1948, the state narrowly voted for Truman. Beginning with the 1952 presidential election, California became a Republican-leaning battleground state. The Republican candidate won California in every presidential election in the next 36 years except the election of 1964, often by a margin similar to the national one. In these years, the GOP nominated two Californians as presidential candidates during four presidential elections: Richard Nixon in 1960,1968 and 1972, and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
Beginning with the 1992 presidential election, California has become increasingly Democratic. The state has voted Democratic in every presidential election since then, usually by lopsided margins, and starting in 2008, Democrats have consistently gotten at least 60% of the vote. Voting patterns since 1992 have remained consistent by and large, with Democratic presidential candidates carrying the coastal counties and Republicans the inland counties, though Democrats have gained in many Southern counties as well.
At the state level, California has had more mixed voting tendencies until more recently. Six of the state's first seven governors were Democrats; during subsequent decades, control of the governorship frequently shifted between the two parties. In the 20th century, 13 of the state's 20 governors were Republicans, but Democrats have held the governorship since 2011. The 2018 election marked the first time Democrats won more than two consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state's history.
Northern California's inland areas and the Central Valley are mostly Republican areas. Historically, parts of Southern California, such as Orange County and Riverside County were Republican bastions, however, they have continued to trend Democratic in recent decades, with all five congressional districts flipping Democrat in 2018. Coastal California, including the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento, is mostly Democratic-leaning. In the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Democrats won all of California's coastal counties except for Del Norte. As most of the population is in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, California as a whole tends to be liberal.
In 2024, The New York Times wrote that California was undergoing a "wave of corruption", as multiple local politicians had been embroiled on corruption scandals where they accepted bribes and favors from political connected businesses and organizations. [9] In a decade, 576 public officials in California were convicted on federal corruption charges. [9]
Many of California's governmental agencies, institutions, and programs have been established in the Constitution of California. Additionally, the state constitution establishes mandatory funding levels for some agencies, programs and institutions. This issue came to the forefront when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature attempted to cut spending to close the state's multibillion-dollar budget deficits during the 2000s. Consequently, affected agencies with support from special interest groups, successfully pressed the California Supreme Court to order the restoration of funding to a number of agencies and programs which had been cut.
There have been several events, many [10] dubbed "constitutional crises" by their opponents, over the last thirty-two years including:
Water and water rights have been notable issues due to California's limited water supply. Various parts of the state have vied for water rights. In the California Water Wars, the city of Los Angeles conflicted with farmers from Eastern California over water rights. Most water is in the north of the State, while agriculture, the largest user of stored water in California, is most prevalent in the central and southern areas. There have been various proposals to transport additional water to the south, such as the Peripheral Canal, but these proposals have failed.
Land use is also divisive, with the California housing shortage being a significant issue.
Gun control is another divisive issue, with California having some of the most restrictive gun laws in the United States.
Since it is the most populous state, California has the largest congressional delegation of any state, with 52 representatives and two senators. In the 118th Congress, 40 of California's seats are held by Democrats and 12 are held by Republicans:
California is currently represented in the U.S. Senate by Democrats Alex Padilla, serving since 2021, and Laphonza Butler, serving since 2023 following the death of Dianne Feinstein.
California is part of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the San Francisco-based United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The government of the U.S. state of Missouri is organized into the state government and local government, including county government, and city and municipal government.
For about a hundred years, from after Reconstruction until the 1990s, the Democratic Party dominated Texas politics, making it part of the Solid South. In a reversal of alignments, since the late 1960s, the Republican Party has grown more prominent. By the 1990s, it became the state's dominant political party and remains so to this day, as Democrats have not won a statewide race since Bob Bullock won the 1994 Lieutenant gubernatorial election.
The 2005 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8. During this off-year election, the only seats up for election in the United States Congress were special elections held throughout the year. None of these congressional seats changed party hands. There were also two gubernatorial races, state legislative elections in two states, numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races in several major cities, and a variety of local offices on the ballot.
New Jersey is one of the fifty U.S. states. The state is considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has supported the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992. Democrats have also controlled both chambers of the state legislature since 2004. New Jersey currently has two Democratic United States senators. New Jersey's Class I Senate seat has been Democratic since 1959. New Jersey's Class II Senate seat has been Democratic since 1979. In addition, New Jersey's House congressional delegation has had a Democratic majority since 1965, except for a period between 1995-1999 and 2013-2017. As of July 1, 2020, there were more registered Democrats than unaffiliated voters for the first time in history, as there are more Democrats than Republicans as well.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler.
The politics of Louisiana involve political parties, laws and the state constitution, and the many other groups that influence the governance of the state. The state was a one-party Deep South state dominated by the Democratic Party from the end of Reconstruction to the 1960s, forming the backbone of the "Solid South." This was due to the near-total disenfranchisement of the state's large African-American population during this time, who mostly voted Republican. The Civil Rights era turned the state into a competitive one on the federal level, as it voted for the nationwide winner in every election between 1972 and 2004. It remained Democratic on the state and local level until the turn of the 21st century, allowing Republicans to win control of the state legislature and every statewide office in 2011. Republicans won a United States Senate seat for Louisiana in the election of 2004, for the first time since 1876. Republicans captured both seats in the election of 2014 for the first time since 1872. In the election of 2008, the state voted for a losing presidential candidate for the first time since 1968. Democrats won less than 40% of the presidential popular vote in the state in the elections of 2016 and 2020.
Political control of Ohio has oscillated between the two major parties. Republicans outnumber Democrats in Ohio government. The governor, Mike DeWine, is a Republican, as are all other non-judicial statewide elected officials: Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Jon A. Husted, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio State Treasurer Robert Sprague.
The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government. Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameral Oklahoma Legislature. Judicial power is vested in the judiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution.
Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout, ranking highest or near-highest in recent elections. This is due in part to its same-day voter registration laws; previously unregistered voters can register on election day, at their polls, with evidence of residency.
Like many other U.S. states, the politics of Oregon largely concerns regional issues. Oregon leans Democratic as a state, with both U.S. senators from the Democratic party, as well as four out of Oregon's six U.S. Representatives. The Democratic candidate for president has won in Oregon in every election since 1988. Both houses of Oregon's legislative assembly have been under Democratic control since the 2012 elections.
Pennsylvania is generally considered a swing state that leans slightly left. Throughout its entire history, it voted for the nationwide loser on only 10 occasions, meaning it has voted for the national winner 83% of the time as of 2020. Although, it generally supported Republicans between the Civil War and New Deal eras, as it voted Republican in every election between 1860 and 1932, except for 1912, when the Republican vote was split. Even then, the state's strong Republican ties meant that it backed Republican-turned-Progressive Theodore Roosevelt. The state backed a Democrat in 1936 for the first time since 1856. Pennsylvania generally leaned Democratic since the 1990s, as it backed the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1992 except in 2016, when it was won by Republican candidate Donald Trump with a plurality.
The US state of Illinois is a Democratic stronghold and one of the "big three" Democratic states alongside California and New York. It is considered one of the most Democratic states in the nation and following the 2018 elections, all six statewide elected offices are held by a Democrat. However, there is a sharp division between Democratic cities, college towns, and population centers, and highly conservative rural regions, which continue to be dominated by Republicans, but are drowned out due to their relatively low population.
The 2008 Wisconsin fall general election was held on November 4, 2008. All of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Within the state government, sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election. At the presidential level, voters chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then helped select the president of the United States. The 2008 fall partisan primary was held on September 9, 2008.
Indiana is rated R+11 on the Cook Partisan Voting Index. The current governor of Indiana is Republican Eric Holcomb, and Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly. It has only supported a Democrat for president four times since 1912—in the elections of 1932, 1936, 1964, and 2008. Historically, the state was a swing state, voting for the national winner all but four times from 1816 to 1912, with the exceptions of 1824, 1836, 1848, and 1876.
The Government of Mississippi is the government of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Power in Mississippi's government is distributed by the state's Constitution between the executive and legislative branches. The state's current governor is Tate Reeves. The Mississippi Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. Mississippi is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd numbered years. Mississippi holds elections for these offices every four years in the years preceding Presidential election years.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is often categorized politically as progressive and liberal. All of the state’s U.S. representatives and senators are Democrats. Democrats also form the large majority of the state’s legislature, though the state has a history of electing Republican governors. As with most states, the two main political parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Like most U.S. states, North Carolina is politically dominated by the Democratic and Republican political parties. North Carolina has 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and two seats in the U.S. Senate. North Carolina has voted for the Republican candidate in all but one presidential election since 1980; the one exception was in 2008, when a plurality of North Carolinians voted for Barack Obama. However, since that election, the state has remained closely contested with Republicans winning by no more than four points and obtaining a majority of the vote only in 2012. This stands in contrast to the post-Civil War era, as the state was a strongly Democratic Solid South state from 1880 to 1964, only voting Republican in 1928.
The politics of Georgia change frequently and often follow the rest of the United States in major historical landmarks. The state has a long history, starting in the 18th century as a British colony. The cultural makeup of the early colony led to a ban on slavery being overturned soon after its implementation, setting the stage for the many plantations in the state. Rival governments were formed during the Revolutionary War, with the Patriot government surviving and forming a unified state government after the war. Georgian politics then followed the Democratic-Republican Party before the American Civil War and the Democrats afterward. In fact, the state never voted Republican until 1964, making it the last continental state to do so. Since then, Democrats have won the state just four times, for native son Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, Southerner Bill Clinton in 1992, and for Joe Biden in 2020.
The State government of Arkansas is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. These consist of the state governor's office, a bicameral state legislature known as the Arkansas General Assembly, and a state court system. The Arkansas Constitution delineates the structure and function of the state government. Since 1963, Arkansas has had four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Like all other states, it has two seats in the U.S. Senate.
Redistricting in California has historically been highly controversial. Critics have accused legislators of attempting to protect themselves from competition by gerrymandering districts. Conflicts between the governor and the legislature during redistricting often have only been resolved by the courts.