California's 52nd Congressional District elections, 2014

U.S. House, California District 52 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Scott Peters Incumbent	51.6%	98,826
	Republican	Carl DeMaio	48.4%	92,746
Total Votes				191,572
Source: California Secretary of State

2016 → ← 2012

California's 52nd Congressional District

General Election Date November 4, 2014

Primary Date June 3, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Scott Peters

Incumbent prior to election: Scott Peters

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Toss Up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss Up

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2014 U.S. Senate Elections

2014 U.S. House Elections

Incumbent Scott Peters (D) narrowly defeated Carl DeMaio (R) in a scandal-plagued race that took three days to call. Although the Associated Press declared Peters the winner late on November 7, DeMaio did not concede to Peters until November 9.

Ballotpedia identified California's 52nd Congressional District as a 2014 battleground race because the district had nearly even numbers of Republicans and Democrats with a slight Democratic lean due to redistricting. In addition, Peters won election by just 2.4 percent in 2012. Peters and DeMaio advanced past the blanket primary on June 3, 2014. The three Republican candidates in the primary received nearly 58 percent of the vote. The tight primary pointed to the fact that the general election race would be very competitive. The race was also identified as a "toss-up" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball.

The morning after the polls closed, DeMaio said, “It has certainly not been an easy race for our campaign team, that has had to endure so much that potentially if I were a Democrat, there would be people in the streets rioting over what we’ve had to endure.” The hardships that DeMaio referred to were a break-in at his campaign headquarters and allegations of sexual harassment.

Just days before the primary election, DeMaio's campaign headquarters were broken into and vandalized. Computers were smashed, phone cords were cut and gas cards were stolen, according to DeMaio's communications director Dave McCulloch. Former staffers were questioned about the break-in, but charges were not filed due to insufficient evidence.

DeMaio also faced sexual harassment charges from former campaign staffer Todd Bosnich, an openly gay Republican. Although charges were never filed against DeMaio, the allegations may have hurt his campaign. According to the Associated Press, "Dave McCulloch, a spokesman, said the controversy created 'massive attrition and erosion' among DeMaio's Republican base — including older, evangelical Christian voters — and created 'an ick factor.' The allegations were less of an issue with independent voters, he said."

After conceding, DeMaio said, "It's clear that we are falling short in the vote counts and I wish Mr. Peters the best because I care so much about the interests of San Diego. I'm incredibly proud of the inclusive and diverse campaign coalition that we forged and I remain committed to challenging the Republican Party to become more inclusive and more positive in its efforts to build a governing majority."

While Republicans were able to take control of Congress, they had little success in California. "When the count was completed, state Democrats had not only held every one of their congressional seats in the face of a national Republican wave, but also picked up a GOP seat in Southern California," according to the San Francisco Gate.

In a December 15 interview, Peters said that he hopes to bring the same kind of cooperation and collaboration that "San Diego's congressional delegation of three Democrats and two Republicans" has to Washington. He said, "The working relationship has never been this good. We need to spread that out through the Congress. With the right attitude, I think we can do that."

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
March 7, 2014	June 3, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.

Unlike the top-two format used in some states (Louisiana and Georgia special elections for example), a general election between the top-two candidates in California occurs regardless of whether the top candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round of elections.

As of June 2025, California was one of five states to use a top-two primary system, or a variation of the top-two system. See here for more information.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by May 19, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 20, 2014 (the 15th calendar day before that election).

See also: California elections, 2014

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Scott Peters (D), who was first elected in 2012.

California's 52nd Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state and includes part of San Diego County.

Candidates

General election candidates

Scott Peters

Carl DeMaio

June 3, 2014, primary results

Scott Peters - Incumbent a

Carl DeMaio a

Kirk Jorgensen

Fred Simon

Election results

General election

U.S. House, California District 52 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Scott Peters Incumbent	51.6%	98,826
	Republican	Carl DeMaio	48.4%	92,746
Total Votes				191,572
Source: California Secretary of State

Primary election

U.S. House, California District 52 Primary, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Scott Peters Incumbent	42.3%	53,926
	Republican	Carl DeMaio	35.3%	44,954
	Republican	Kirk Jorgensen	18.5%	23,588
	Republican	Fred Simon	4%	5,040
Total Votes				127,508
Source: California Secretary of State

Race background

Frontline Program

Peters was a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline Program. The program was designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents during the 2014 election cycle.

Sexual harassment charges

DeMaio faced sexual harassment charges from former campaign staffer Todd Bosnich, an openly gay Republican. Bosnich described the first instance of harassment saying, "We were making small talk on the way back. And when he pulled up to my car, he reached over into my lap and grabbed my crotch. And I flipped out. And I pushed his hand away. I just was shocked because I'd never had anyone do something like that to me, especially in a position of authority and trust. And, at the time, I just figured, well, maybe he was drunk and blew it off. But he progressively and progressively, the inappropriate touching incidents continued from there."

Bosnich said the harassment culminated in the following incident: "I came over to his office, door was open. And he was masturbating. I saw his hand, his penis in his hand and he had a smile on his face. And as soon as I came over he was looking at me." Bosnich said he confronted DeMaio several weeks after the incident and told him to stop sexually harassing him. As a result, Bosnich was terminated from the campaign. "It was the very next day, in the morning, that the campaign manager called me into his office and said that Carl lost his trust in me and that he'd terminated me. He offered me a position in the county Republican Party and also told me to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for $50,000," Bosnich said.

In response to the allegations, DeMaio said that Bosnich was terminated for plagiarism. "This is an individual that was let go by our campaign manager for plagiarism. A well-documented plagiarism incident of taking a report from the National Journal and passing it off as his own work. He was terminated. He admitted that he plagiarized. He apologized for plagiarizing and when we told him he was no longer welcome in the staff and in the campaign office, even as a volunteer, he left. Days later, he broke in. It's unfortunate. He's clearly troubled. He got caught for the damage that he did to the campaign and now he's manufacturing in essence a cover story to explain away his actions. It's unfortunate. It's untrue. And my hope is that the police department will hold him accountable for his actions against our campaign," DeMaio said.

Peters' comments about DeMaio

Peters came under fire for remarks he made about DeMaio. Peters said the following at a Clairemont Democrat Club Meeting on August 12, 2014: "And now he’s saying, now he’s saying, ‘Well, I’m a gay man, I must be moderate. I’m pro-choice, I’m pro-environment.’ And I gotta tell ya, around the country, where people don’t know him, they completely buy it. Carl DeMaio has gotten more—it’s so unusual for them to see a gay man running as a Republican. He’s gotten stories in The Wall Street Journal, he’s gotten stories in the National Journal, all puff pieces about how this great, new, moderate, gay Republican is coming out and running for office. And they’re very psyched about it. And the Republicans in D.C., they love this."

Issues

See also: Energy and the 2014 election: the ballots and beyond

Scott Peters

Peters' campaign website listed the following issues:

“	Jobs and the Economy: "America faces challenging new realities in a changing world. The economy is faster, smarter, more competitive and more global. And our federal budget is upside down because our Congressional representatives are more focused on holding onto problems for political gain than solving them." Healthcare: "Healthcare in America needs to be accessible and affordable for everybody. When the Supreme Court affirmed the President's health care insurance reform initiative (the Affordable Care Act) in June 2012, it reminded us that the powerful health services industry does not control the administration of health care." Medicare and Social Security: "Social Security and Medicare are compacts between the generations that we must not break. Men and women who have spent a lifetime of hard work, providing for their families and saving for their retirement, deserve the security of knowing their retirement and benefits, which they have worked hard to earn, will be there for them." Veterans: "Veterans are such a vital part of our community, and San Diego has the largest concentration of veterans in the nation, approximately 28,000. When these Americans volunteered to serve our country, we made a commitment to provide them with certain programs and benefits in exchange for their service." Energy Policy: "As a nation, we must work toward a long-term energy policy that: 1) creates new American jobs; 2) emphasizes greater energy independence; 3) invests in the development of alternative fuels; 4) promotes clean energy technology like wind and solar; 5) ensures greater national security; and 6) provides automakers with incentives for producing fuel-efficient vehicles."	”
—Scott Peters' campaign website, http://www.scottpeters.com/issues-2

Peters' priorities

Peters explained his priorities in the following statement: "I want to put my energy into fixing our economy, creating new jobs through investments in biotechnology, high tech and other innovative new sciences. I want to continue to protect a woman's right to choose her own healthcare."

Carl DeMaio

DeMaio's campaign website listed the following issues:

“	Balancing the Budget: "Washington DC has a spending problem. How long have we heard this line from our politicians? Each election we hear politicians railing against excessive spending, but once in Washington, DC we see little action. Something has to change. We’re now more than $17 trillion in debt – and it is only getting worse." Jobs and the Economy: "Carl DeMaio’s philosophy is simple: if you are willing to work hard, the American Dream should be yours. Unfortunately, the American Dream is out-of-reach for too many. People are working harder, but feel like they are falling further behind. Something has to change – and that something is Washington." Education: "A quality education is the bedrock of life-long success. Carl DeMaio will be a champion of reforms to strengthen our K-12 education system and expand access to college so our children are prepared to compete in a 21st century economy." Affordable Health Care: "Health care reform should be about making coverage more accessible and affordable, not more expensive and complicated. Health care works best when medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors – not government bureaucrats in Washington." Social Security & Medicare: "We have an obligation to our seniors – Democrats and Republicans should come together to fulfill our commitment to our seniors by enacting common-sense reforms to save Social Security and Medicare."	”
—Carl DeMaio's campaign website, http://carldemaio.com/issues

KPBS questionnaire

Peters and DeMaio submitted responses to a KPBS questionnaire in July 2014. According to KPBS, "Both said they want to make some changes to the Affordable Care Act but would continue to guarantee coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Both believe climate change is real, although DeMaio said research should continue into humans' impact on it. Both support same-sex marriage, and neither wants to restrict a woman's right to an abortion. On gun control, Peters said he supports bills to reinstate the assault weapons ban, close the fire sale loophole and strengthen penalties on gun traffickers. DeMaio said he does not support new gun control laws but wants more resources to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those with mental health disorders."

Key votes

Below are important votes that Peters cast during the 113th Congress.

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201. At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference. Scott Peters voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Scott Peters voted for HR 2775.

Endorsements

Scott Peters

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce - In a rare move, Peters received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which rarely backs Democratic candidates. Chamber president, Thomas Donohue, wrote in a letter to Peters, "We believe that your re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives will help produce sustained economic growth, help create jobs, and get our country back on track. We will encourage the business community to vigorously support your candidacy.”

Media

Crossroads GPS released an ad opposing Peters on August 19, 2014. Peters and DeMaio condemned the ad. DeMaio said, "Not only did I not know about this ad, I wish these national groups on both sides would go away. Scott Peters should be called out for his terrible votes undermining the future of Social Security and Medicare but I can do that just fine."

Crossroads GPS ad opposing Scott Peters

Polls

Scott Peters vs. Carl DeMaio
Poll	Scott Peters	Carl DeMaio	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
SurveyUSA (October 17-20, 2014)	45%	46%	9%	+/-4.1	608
SurveyUSA (September 11-15, 2014)	47%	46%	7%	+/-4.2	559
GBA Strategies (July 20-22, 2014)	48%	43%	8%	+/-4.9	400
SurveyUSA (June 10-12, 2013)	39%	48%	13%	+/-4.5	500
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Campaign contributions

Scott Peters

Scott Peters (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2013	$28,701.00	$258,290.29	$(67,131.54)	$219,859.75
July Quarterly	July 15, 2013	$219,859.75	$362,772.90	$(56,742.08)	$525,890.57
October Quarterly	October 14, 2013	$525,890.57	$346,377.97	$(66,501.67)	$805,766.87
Year-End	January 31, 2014	$805,766	$413,032	$(71,662)	$1,147,137
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$1,147,137	$461,309	$(118,795)	$1,489,652
Pre-Primary	May 22, 2014	$1,489,652	$152,806	$(118,529)	$1,523,928
July Quarterly	July 15, 2014	$1,523,928	$554,398	$(145,841)	$1,932,486
October Quarterly	October 15, 2014	$1,932,486	$914,092	$(2,038,485)	$808,093
Pre-General	October 23, 2014	$808,093	$192,884	$(316,982)	$683,995
			Running totals
			$3,655,962.16	$(3,000,669.29)

Carl DeMaio

Carl DeMaio (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July Quarterly	July 15, 2013	$0.00	$487,616.55	$(17,972.03)	$469,644.52
October Quarterly	October 15, 2013	$469,644.52	$328,383.78	$(78,029.21)	$719,999.09
Year-End	January 31, 2014	$719,999	$370,261	$(104,269)	$985,991
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$985,991	$422,307	$(153,847)	$1,254,451
Pre-Primary	May 22, 2014	$1,254,451	$172,323	$(255,299)	$1,171,475
July Quarterly	July 15, 2014	$1,171,475	$454,797	$(194,697)	$1,431,576
October Quarterly	October 15, 2014	$1,431,576	$688,668	$(1,338,442)	$781,801
Pre-General	October 23, 2014	$781,801	$256,609	$(556,748)	$481,663
			Running totals
			$3,180,965.33	$(2,699,303.24)

Kirk Jorgensen

Kirk Jorgensen (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
July Quarterly	July 12, 2013	$0	$129,359	$(2,632)	$126,726
October Quarterly	October 15, 2013	$126,726	$62,845	$(60,370)	$129,127
Year-End	January 31, 2014	$129,127	$24,691	$(97,802)	$62,768
April Quarterly	April 16, 2014	$62,768	$60,800	$(63,012)	$60,556
Pre-Primary	May 23, 2014	$60,556	$55,675	$(52,079)	$67,696
			Running totals
			$333,370	$(275,895)

**As of the 2014 Pre-Primary Report, Jorgensen's committee owed $47,025 in outstanding loans to Kirk Jorgensen.

Fred Simon

Fred Simon (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
October Quarterly	October 15, 2013	$0	$400,088	$(16,627)	$383,460
Year-End	January 28, 2014	$383,460	$14,598	$(54,827)	$343,231
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$343,231	$967,321	$(94,175)	$1,216,377
Pre-Primary	May 22, 2014	$1,216,377	$118,728	$(288,970)	$1,046,136
			Running totals
			$1,500,735	$(454,599)

**As of the 2014 Pre-Primary Report, Simon's committee owed $1,453,000 in outstanding loans to Fred Simon.

District history

Candidate ballot access
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2012

On November 6, 2012, Scott Peters (D) won election to the United States House. He defeated Brian Bilbray in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 52 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Scott Peters	51.2%	151,451
	Republican	Brian Bilbray Incumbent	48.8%	144,459
Total Votes				295,910
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, Duncan Hunter won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ray Lutz (D) and Michael Benoit (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 52 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Duncan Hunter incumbent	63.1%	139,460
	Democratic	Ray Lutz	32.1%	70,870
	Libertarian	Michael Benoit	4.9%	10,732
Total Votes				221,062

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2014
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

External links

• California Elections & Voter Information
• California Secretary of State, Official primary candidate list

Footnotes

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Alex Padilla (D)

Adam Schiff (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

Kevin Kiley (R)

District 4

Mike Thompson (D)

District 5

Tom McClintock (R)

District 6

Ami Bera (D)

District 7

Doris Matsui (D)

District 8

John Garamendi (D)

District 9

Josh Harder (D)

District 10

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 11

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 12

Lateefah Simon (D)

District 13

Adam Gray (D)

District 14

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 15

Kevin Mullin (D)

District 16

Sam Liccardo (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 19

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 20

Vince Fong (R)

District 21

Jim Costa (D)

District 22

David Valadao (R)

District 23

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

George Whitesides (D)

District 28

Judy Chu (D)

District 29

Luz Rivas (D)

District 30

Laura Friedman (D)

District 31

Gil Cisneros (D)

District 32

Brad Sherman (D)

District 33

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Ted Lieu (D)

District 37

Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Mark Takano (D)

District 40

Young Kim (R)

District 41

Ken Calvert (R)

District 42

Robert Garcia (D)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Derek Tran (D)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Dave Min (D)

District 48

Darrell Issa (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Scott Peters (D)

District 51

Sara Jacobs (D)

District 52

Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic Party (45)

Republican Party (9)