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California, U.S. Senate

Five-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) defeated state Sen. Kevin de León (D) in the general election for U.S. Senate in California on November 6, 2018.

Feinstein won the June 5 top-two primary with 44.2 percent of the vote, while de León received 12.1 percent. Feinstein won her 2012 re-election bid by 25 points. The California Democratic Party endorsed de León at a meeting on July 14, 2018, after a state convention vote in February saw neither Feinstein nor de León cross the threshold of 60 percent necessary for an endorsement. This is the second consecutive U.S. Senate race in the state without a Republican competing in the general election, following the 2016 match-up between U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) and Loretta Sanchez (D).

Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were up for election in 2018, including two special elections. Republicans held a 51-seat Senate majority. Democrats held 47 seats, and the two independents caucused with them. Democrats faced greater partisan risk in 2018, as they were defending 26 seats while Republicans were only defending nine. Democrats had to defend seats in 10 states Donald Trump (R) won. The GOP defended one Senate seat in a state Hillary Clinton (D) won.

Polls

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Dianne Feinstein Democratic Party $18,618,682 $20,950,689 $92,349 As of December 31, 2018
Kevin de León Democratic Party $1,813,507 $1,775,218 $38,287 As of December 31, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


Election history

2016

rated California's U.S. Senate race as safely Democratic. California's U.S. Senate seat was open following the retirement of incumbent Barbara Boxer (D). Thirty-four candidates filed to run to replace Boxer, including seven Democrats, 12 Republicans, and 15 third-party candidates. Two Democrats, Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez, defeated the other 32 candidates to advance to the general election, where Harris ultimately triumphed. The primary took place on June 7, 2016.

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKamala Harris 61.6% 7,542,753
Democratic Loretta Sanchez 38.4% 4,710,417
Total Votes 12,253,170
Source: California Secretary of State

U.S. Senate, California Primary, 2016

2012

On November 6, 2012, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Elizabeth Emken (R) in the general election.

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDianne Feinstein Incumbent 62.5% 7,864,624
Republican Elizabeth Emken 37.5% 4,713,887
Total Votes 12,578,511
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

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).