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California, Attorney General

California held an election for attorney general on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was March 9, 2018.

SETTING THE STAGE
  • Heading into the election, the sitting attorney general was Xavier Becerra (D), who was appointed to the position by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in November 2016. Becerra announced on February 9, 2017, that he would run for election to a full term in 2018.
  • Heading into the election, California was a Democratic trifecta. It had held this status since Gov. Brown took office in 2011. California was also currently a Democratic triplex.
  • The Democratic presidential candidate won California in each of the past five election cycles. The widest margin of victory was Hillary Clinton's 30 percent margin in 2016 while the narrowest was John Kerry's ten percent margin in 2004.

  • State election history

    This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in California from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the California Secretary of State.

    Historical elections

    Presidential elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the presidential election in California every year from 2000 to 2016.

    Election results (President of the United States), California 2000-2016

    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 61.7% Republican Party Donald Trump 31.6% 30.1%
    2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 60.2% Republican Party Mitt Romney 37.1% 23.1%
    2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 61.1% Republican Party John McCain 37% 24.1%
    2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 54.4% Republican Party George W. Bush 44.4% 10%
    2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 53.5% Republican Party George W. Bush 41.7% 11.8%

    U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in California from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

    Election results (U.S. Senator), California 2000-2016

    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2016 Democratic Party Kamala Harris 61.6% Democratic Party Loretta Sanchez 38.4% 23.2%
    2012 Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein 62.5% Republican Party Elizabeth Emken 37.5% 25%
    2010 Democratic Party Barbara Boxer 52.2% Republican Party Carly Fiorina 42.2% 10%
    2006 Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein 59.5% Republican Party Richard Mountjoy 35.1% 24.4%
    2004 Democratic Party Barbara Boxer 57.8% Republican Party Bill Jones 37.8% 20%
    2000 Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein 55.9% Republican Party Tom Campbell 36.6% 19.3%

    Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in California.

    Election results (Governor), California 2000-2016

    Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
    2014 Democratic Party Jerry Brown 60% Republican Party Neel Kashkari 40% 20%
    2010 Democratic Party Jerry Brown 53.8% Republican Party Meg Whitman 40.9% 12.9%
    2006 Republican Party Arnold Schwarzenegger 55.9% Democratic Party Phil Angelides 39.0% 16.9%
    2002 Democratic Party Gray Davis 47.3% Republican Party Bill Simon 42.4% 4.9%

    Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

    This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent California in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

    Congressional delegation, California 2000-2016

    Year Democrats Democrats (%) Republicans Republicans (%) Balance of power
    2016 Democratic Party 39 73.5% Republican Party 14 26.4% D+25
    2014 Democratic Party 39 73.5% Republican Party 14 26.4% D+25
    2012 Democratic Party 38 71.7% Republican Party 15 28.3% D+23
    2010 Democratic Party 34 64.1% Republican Party 19 35.8% D+15
    2008 Democratic Party 34 64.1% Republican Party 19 35.8% D+15
    2006 Democratic Party 34 64.1% Republican Party 19 35.8% D+15
    2004 Democratic Party 33 62.3% Republican Party 20 37.7% D+13
    2002 Democratic Party 33 62.3% Republican Party 20 37.7% D+13
    2000 Democratic Party 32 61.5% Republican Party 20 38.5% D+12

    Trifectas, 1992-2017

    A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

    California Party Control: 1992-2019
    14 years of Democratic trifectasNo Republican trifectas

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
    Governor R R R R R R R D D D D D R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Assembly D D D S R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D


    Demographics

    Demographic data for California

    CaliforniaU.S.
    Total population:38,993,940316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):155,7793,531,905
    Gender
    Female:50.3%50.8%
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:61.8%73.6%
    Black/African American:5.9%12.6%
    Asian:13.7%5.1%
    Native American:0.7%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.4%0.2%
    Two or more:4.5%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:38.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:81.8%86.7%
    College graduation rate:31.4%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$61,818$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:18.2%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California.

    As of July 2016, California had a population of approximately 39,000,000 people, with its three largest cities being Los Angeles (pop. est. 4.0 million), San Diego (pop. est. 1.4 million), and San Jose (pop. est. 1 million).