2014 California elections
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Elections were held in California on November 4, 2014. It was the first year in which the top statewide offices were elected under the nonpartisan blanket primary, pursuant to Proposition 14, which passed with 53% voter approval in June 2010. Under this system, which first went into effect during the 2012 election year, 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, then advance to face each other in the general election in November.
The elections for statewide offices also coincided with those for all of California's seats to the House of Representatives, all of the seats of the State Assembly, all even-numbered seats of the State Senate, and statewide ballot propositions.
The primary election was held on June 3, and the general election on November 4. Although the general election saw the California Republican Party lose every statewide election (including the gubernatorial race), the party did make gains in both houses of the California State Legislature, with a net gain of four seats in the Assembly and two seats in the Senate. In both cases, the Republican gains ended the supermajorities of the California Democratic Party in those chambers.
U.S. House of Representatives
All 53 U.S. Representatives from California were up for election in 2014, but neither of the state's two U.S. Senate seats.
Constitutional officers
Overview
| California Constitutional officers elections, 2014 Primary election — June 3, 2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Candidates | Advancing to general | Offices contesting | |
| Democratic | 15,280,653 | 46.97% | 15 | 7 | 7 | |
| Republican | 11,611,163 | 35.69% | 19 | 7 | 7 | |
| Nonpartisan | 3,797,417 | 11.67% | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Green | 788,568 | 2.42% | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| No party preference | 592,003 | 1.82% | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | 305,373 | 0.94% | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | 99,056 | 0.30% | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Americans Elect | 56,072 | 0.17% | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 32,530,305 | — | — | — | ||
| Invalid votes | — | — | — | |||
| Totals | 100.00% | 56 | 16 | — | ||
| Voter turnout | ||||||
| California Constitutional officers elections, 2014 General election — November 4, 2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Officers | +/– | ||
| Democratic | 28,423,041 | 50.77% | 7 |  | ||
| Nonpartisan | 6,074,201 | 10.85% | 1 | | ||
| Republican | 21,483,596 | 38.38% | 0 | | ||
| Valid votes | 55,980,838 | — | — | |||
| Invalid votes | — | — | ||||
| Totals | 100.00% | 8 | — | |||
| Voter turnout | ||||||
Governor
Incumbent Democratic governor Jerry Brown won 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 1990.[2][3][4]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Jerry Brown (incumbent) | 2,354,769 | 54.3 | |
| Republican | Neel Kashkari | 839,767 | 19.4 | |
| Republican | Tim Donnelly | 643,236 | 14.8 | |
| Republican | Andrew Blount | 89,749 | 2.1 | |
| Republican | Glenn Champ | 76,066 | 1.8 | |
| Green | Luis J. Rodriguez | 66,872 | 1.5 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Cindy Sheehan | 52,707 | 1.2 | |
| Republican | Alma Marie Winston | 46,042 | 1.1 | |
| No party preference | Robert Newman | 44,120 | 1.0 | |
| Democratic | Akinyemi Agbede | 37,024 | 0.9 | |
| Republican | Richard William Aguirre | 35,125 | 0.8 | |
| No party preference | "Bo" Bogdan Ambrozewicz | 14,929 | 0.3 | |
| No party preference | Janel Hyeshia Buycks | 12,136 | 0.3 | |
| No party preference | Rakesh Kumar Christian | 11,142 | 0.3 | |
| No party preference | Joe Leicht | 9,307 | 0.2 | |
| Democratic | Karen Jill Bernal (write-in) | 17 | 0.0 | |
| No party preference | Nickolas Wildstar (write-in) | 17 | 0.0 | |
| No party preference | Jimelle L. Walls (write-in) | 3 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 4,333,028 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Jerry Brown (incumbent) | 4,388,368 | 60.0 | |
| Republican | Neel Kashkari | 2,929,213 | 40.0 | |
| Total votes | 7,317,581 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Lieutenant governor
Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom won re-election to a second term in office.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Gavin Newsom (incumbent) | 2,082,902 | 49.9 | |
| Republican | Ron Nehring | 976,128 | 23.4 | |
| Republican | David Fennell | 357,242 | 8.6 | |
| Republican | George Yang | 333,857 | 8.0 | |
| Democratic | Eric Korevaar | 232,596 | 5.6 | |
| Green | Jena F. Goodman | 98,338 | 2.4 | |
| Americans Elect | Alan Reynolds | 56,027 | 1.3 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Amos Johnson | 39,675 | 0.9 | |
| Total votes | 4,176,765 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Gavin Newsom (incumbent) | 4,107,051 | 57.2 | |
| Republican | Ron Nehring | 3,078,039 | 42.8 | |
| Total votes | 7,185,090 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Attorney general
Incumbent Democratic attorney general Kamala Harris won re-election to a second term in office.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Kamala Harris (incumbent) | 2,177,480 | 53.2 | |
| Republican | Ronald Gold | 504,091 | 12.3 | |
| Republican | Phil Wyman | 479,498 | 11.7 | |
| Republican | David King | 368,190 | 9.0 | |
| Republican | John Haggerty | 336,433 | 8.2 | |
| No party preference | Orly Taitz | 130,451 | 3.2 | |
| Libertarian | Jonathan Jaech | 99,056 | 2.4 | |
| Total votes | 4,095,169 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Kamala Harris (incumbent) | 4,102,649 | 57.5 | |
| Republican | Ronald Gold | 3,033,476 | 42.5 | |
| Total votes | 7,136,125 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Secretary of State
Incumbent Democratic secretary of state Debra Bowen was term-limited out of office.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Alex Padilla | 1,217,371 | 30.2 | |
| Republican | Pete Peterson | 1,194,715 | 29.7 | |
| Democratic | Leland Yee (withdrawn) | 380,361 | 9.4 | |
| No party preference | Dan Schnur | 369,898 | 9.2 | |
| Democratic | Derek Cressman | 306,375 | 7.6 | |
| Republican | Roy Allmond | 256,668 | 6.4 | |
| Democratic | Jeffrey H. Drobman | 178,521 | 4.4 | |
| Green | David Curtis | 121,618 | 3.0 | |
| Total votes | 4,025,527 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Alex Padilla | 3,799,711 | 53.6 | |
| Republican | Pete Peterson | 3,285,334 | 46.4 | |
| Total votes | 7,085,045 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Treasurer
Incumbent Democratic state treasurer Bill Lockyer was term-limited out of office.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | John Chiang | 2,250,098 | 55.0 | |
| Republican | Greg Conlon | 1,571,532 | 38.4 | |
| Green | Ellen Brown | 270,388 | 6.6 | |
| Total votes | 4,092,018 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | John Chiang | 4,176,793 | 58.8 | |
| Republican | Greg Conlon | 2,925,895 | 41.2 | |
| Total votes | 7,102,688 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Controller
Incumbent Democratic State Controller John Chiang was term-limited out of office.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 1,001,473 | 24.8 | |
| Democratic | Betty T. Yee | 878,195 | 21.7 | |
| Democratic | John Pérez | 877,714 | 21.7 | |
| Republican | David Evans | 850,109 | 21.0 | |
| Green | Laura Wells | 231,352 | 5.7 | |
| Democratic | Tammy D. Blair | 200,532 | 5.0 | |
| Total votes | 4,039,375 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Betty T. Yee | 3,810,304 | 54.0 | |
| Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 3,249,688 | 46.0 | |
| Total votes | 7,059,992 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Insurance Commissioner
Incumbent Democratic Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones won re-election to a second term in office.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Dave Jones (incumbent) | 2,106,671 | 53.1 | |
| Republican | Ted Gaines | 1,651,242 | 41.6 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Nathalie Hrizi | 212,991 | 5.4 | |
| Total votes | 3,970,904 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Dave Jones (incumbent) | 4,038,165 | 57.5 | |
| Republican | Ted Gaines | 2,981,951 | 42.5 | |
| Total votes | 7,020,116 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson won reelection to a second term in office. The office is nonpartisan.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Torlakson (incumbent) | 1,765,257 | 46.5 | |
| Marshall Tuck | 1,098,441 | 28.9 | |
| Lydia A. Gutiérrez | 931,719 | 24.5 | |
| Total votes | 3,797,417 | 100.0 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Torlakson (incumbent) | 3,167,212 | 52.1 | |
| Marshall Tuck | 2,906,989 | 47.9 | |
| Total votes | 6,074,201 | 100.0 | |
Board of Equalization
Incumbent Board of Equalization members Republican George Runner and Democrat Jerome Horton ran for re-election, while Republican Michelle Steel and Democrat Betty T. Yee were term-limited out of office.
| California Board of Equalization elections, 2014 Primary election — June 3, 2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Candidates | Advancing to general | Seats contesting | |
| Democratic | 2,003,631 | 55.2% | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Republican | 1,624,246 | 44.8% | 8 | 4 | 4 | |
| Libertarian | 198 | 0.0% | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | 170 | 0.0% | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 3,628,255 | — | — | — | ||
| Invalid votes | — | — | — | |||
| Totals | 100% | 16 | 8 | — | ||
| Voter turnout | ||||||
| California Board of Equalization elections, 2014 General election — November 4, 2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats | +/– | ||
| Democratic | 3,674,237 | 53.50% | 2 | | ||
| Republican | 3,193,444 | 46.50% | 2 | | ||
| Valid votes | 6,867,681 | — | — | |||
| Invalid votes | — | — | ||||
| Totals | 100% | 4 | — | |||
| Voter turnout | ||||||
District 1
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | George Runner (incumbent) | 608,637 | 59.8 | |
| Democratic | Chris Parker | 408,343 | 40.2 | |
| Total votes | 1,016,980 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | George Runner (incumbent) | 984,604 | 57.8 | |
| Democratic | Chris Parker | 718,129 | 42.2 | |
| Total votes | 1,702,733 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 2
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Fiona Ma | 876,378 | 68.9 | |
| Republican | James E. Theis | 396,241 | 31.1 | |
| Total votes | 1,272,619 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Fiona Ma | 1,448,657 | 68.7 | |
| Republican | James E. Theis | 660,973 | 31.3 | |
| Total votes | 2,109,630 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 3
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Jerome Horton (incumbent) | 402,244 | 99.5 | |
| Republican | G. Rick Marshall (write-in) | 1,849 | 0.5 | |
| Libertarian | Jose E. Castaneda (write-in) | 198 | 0.0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Eric S. Moren (write-in) | 134 | 0.0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Jan B. Tucker (write-in) | 36 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 404,461 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Jerome Horton (incumbent) | 858,471 | 62.4 | |
| Republican | G. Rick Marshall | 517,287 | 37.6 | |
| Total votes | 1,375,758 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 4
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Diane Harkey | 324,642 | 34.8 | |
| Democratic | Nader Shahatit | 316,666 | 33.9 | |
| Republican | John F. Kelly | 101,836 | 10.9 | |
| Republican | Van Tran | 84,162 | 9.0 | |
| Republican | Shirley Horton | 74,794 | 8.0 | |
| Republican | Lewis Da Silva | 32,094 | 3.4 | |
| Total votes | 934,194 | 100 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Diane Harkey | 1,030,580 | 61.4 | |
| Democratic | Nader Shahatit | 648,980 | 38.6 | |
| Total votes | 1,679,560 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
State legislature
State Senate
Voters in the 20 even-numbered districts of the California State Senate elected their representatives.
State Assembly
Voters in all 80 of California's state assembly districts elected their representatives.
State Supreme Court
Three associate justices on the Supreme Court of California faced retention in 2014.[5]
Justice Werdegar retention
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
Kathryn Werdegar was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson in 1994 to succeed Edward Panelli.[6]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 3,763,889 | 72.58 | |
| Against | 1,422,314 | 27.42 | |
| Total | 5,186,203 | 100.00 | |
| Source: California Secretary of State[7] | |||
Justice Liu retention
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- 50–60%
Goodwin Liu was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2011 to succeed Carlos Moreno.[8]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 3,582,407 | 67.11 | |
| Against | 1,755,381 | 32.89 | |
| Total | 5,337,788 | 100.00 | |
| Source: California Secretary of State[7] | |||
Justice Cuéllar retention
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- 50–60%
- 50%
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in July 2014 to succeed Marvin Baxter.[9]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 3,605,251 | 67.74 | |
| Against | 1,717,099 | 32.26 | |
| Total | 5,322,350 | 100.00 | |
| Source: California Secretary of State[7] | |||
Statewide ballot propositions
June primary election
Two statewide propositions were on the June ballot.[10]
| Name | Description | Votes | Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | % | No | % | |||
| Proposition 41 | Authorizes $600 million in bonds for affordable multifamily housing for veterans and their families in order to prevent homelessness.[11] | 2,708,933 | 65.39 | 1,434,060 | 34.61 | Bond issue |
| Proposition 42 | Requires local agencies to comply with the California Public Records Act.[12] | 2,467,357 | 61.84 | 1,522,406 | 38.16 | Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
| Source: California Secretary of State[13] | ||||||
November general election
Six statewide propositions were on the November ballot.[10]
| Name | Description | Votes | Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | % | No | % | |||
| Proposition 1 | Issues $7.12 billion in bonds for the state's water system.[14] | 4,771,350 | 67.13 | 2,336,676 | 32.87 | Bond issue |
| Proposition 2 | Makes several changes relating to the state's reserve policy.[15] | 4,831,045 | 69.12 | 2,158,004 | 30.88 | Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
| Proposition 45 | Requires public notice for insurance company rates.[16] | 2,917,882 | 41.08 | 4,184,416 | 58.92 | Citizen-initiated state statute |
| Proposition 46 | Increases the cap on damages that can be assessed in medical negligence lawsuits to over $1 million.[17] | 2,376,817 | 33.24 | 4,774,364 | 66.76 | |
| Proposition 47 | Reduces the classification of most nonviolent crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor.[18] | 4,238,156 | 59.61 | 2,871,943 | 40.39 | |
| Proposition 48 | Ratifies gaming compacts with the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California and the Wiyot tribe.[19] | 2,702,157 | 39.04 | 4,219,881 | 60.96 | Veto referendum |
| Source: California Secretary of State[7] | ||||||
Removed from the ballot
- Proposition 49[20]
- Originally put on the ballot by the state legislature, Proposition 49 would have been non-binding advisory question presented to voters, asking if the U.S. Congress should propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government is prohibited from restricting campaign contributions and other political independent expenditures by corporations, associations, or labor unions.[21] This proposition alone would have no binding legal effect, and it will only be submitted to Congress as a formal request; under Article Five of the U.S. Constitution, the process for amending the Constitution can only be initiated by either Congress or a national convention assembled at the request of the legislatures of at least two-thirds (at present 34) of the states. On August 11, the California Supreme Court ordered that the measure be pulled from the November ballot pending further state constitutional review: at issue is that the state legislature has no defined specific power to place such advisory measures on the ballot.[22]
Local races
Local races included:
- A runoff in the San Diego mayoral special election was held on February 11. The special election was necessary following the resignation of Bob Filner on August 30, 2013.[23] A primary election was held on November 19, 2013. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff election was held between the top two vote-getters on February 11.[24] In the runoff, Republican Kevin Faulconer defeated Democratic candidate David Alvarez.
- The San Jose mayoral election will determine the successor to incumbent Democratic Mayor Chuck Reed, who is term-limited out of office. A primary election was held on June 3. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election will be held between the top two vote-getters, Dave Cortese and Sam Liccardo, on November 4.[25]