Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
California's 23rd Congressional District elections, 2014
The 23rd Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.
Incumbent Kevin McCarthy won re-election in 2014. He defeated Raul Garcia (D) in the general election. Garcia qualified for the general election by being the write-in candidate who received the most votes in the primary.[3][4]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
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.[5][6]
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).[7]
- See also: California elections, 2014
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Kevin McCarthy (R), who was first elected in 2006.
California's 23rd Congressional District is located in the south-central portion of the state and includes parts of Los Angeles, Kern and Tulare counties.[8]
Candidates
General election candidates
June 3, 2014, primary results
Kevin McCarthy - Incumbent 
Raul Garcia (write-in)[10][11]
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Kevin McCarthy Incumbent |
74.8% | 100,317 | |
| Democratic | Raul Garcia | 25.2% | 33,726 | |
| Total Votes | 134,043 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |
Kevin McCarthy Incumbent |
99.1% | 58,334 | |
| Democratic | Raul Garcia (Write-in) |
0.5% | 313 | |
| Republican | Mike Biglay (Write-in) | 0.3% | 157 | |
| Independent | Ronald L. Porter (Write-in) | 0.1% | 36 | |
| Libertarian | Gail Lightfoot (Write-in) | 0.1% | 31 | |
| Total Votes | 58,871 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
||||
Key votes
Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.
HR 676
On July 30, 2014, the U.S. House approved a resolution 225 to 201 to sue President Barack Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority. Five Republicans—Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steve Stockman of Texas—voted with Democrats against the lawsuit.[12] McCarthy joined the other 224 Republicans in favor of the lawsuit. All Democrats voted against the resolution.[13][14]
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.[15] 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.[16] Kevin McCarthy voted for the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[17]
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.[18] 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. Kevin McCarthy voted for HR 2775.[19]
Campaign contributions
Kevin McCarthy
| Kevin McCarthy (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[20] | April 15, 2013 | $1,824,221.60 | $350,315.66 | $(342,976.05) | $2,061,561.21 | ||||
| July Quarterly[21] | July 15, 2013 | $2,061,561.21 | $1,074,545.06 | $(825,112.04) | $2,310,994.23 | ||||
| October Quarterly[22] | October 14, 2013 | $2,310,994.23 | $513,122.01 | $(379,921.92) | $2,444,194.32 | ||||
| Year-End[23] | January 31, 2014 | $2,444,194 | $433,002 | $(449,732) | $2,427,463 | ||||
| April Quarterly[24] | April 15, 2014 | $2,427,463 | $697,006 | $(291,933) | $2,832,537 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[25] | May 22, 2014 | $2,832,537 | $278,322 | $(217,651) | $2,893,208 | ||||
| July Quarterly[26] | July 15, 2014 | $2,893,208 | $554,699 | $(243,456) | $3,204,452 | ||||
| October Quarterly[27] | October 15, 2014 | $3,204,452 | $983,929 | $(1,588,212) | $2,600,169 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $4,884,940.73 | $(4,338,994.01) | ||||||||
Raul Garcia
| Raul Garcia (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| October Quarterly[28] | October 15, 2014 | $0 | $4,025 | $(1,421) | $2,603 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $4,025 | $(1,421) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
|---|
 |
| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
2012
On November 6, 2012, Kevin McCarthy (R) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Terry Phillips in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kevin McCarthy Incumbent |
73.2% | 158,161 | |
| Independent | Terry Phillips | 26.8% | 57,842 | |
| Total Votes | 216,003 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Lois Capps won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Tom Watson (R), John Hager (I) and Darrell Stafford (L) in the general election.[29]
| U.S. House, California District 23 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Lois Capps incumbent |
57.8% | 111,768 | |
| Republican | Tom Watson | 37.6% | 72,744 | |
| Independent | John Hager | 2.9% | 5,625 | |
| Libertarian | Darrell Stafford | 1.7% | 3,326 | |
| Total Votes | 193,463 | |||
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
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2014 primary results," accessed August 29, 2014
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Election 2014," November 4, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 13, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed August 13, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ California Redistricting Map, "Map," accessed September 25, 2012
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 4, 2014, General Election," accessed August 28, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Write-in Candidates for the June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ U.S. House, "House Resolution 676," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Suing Obama: GOP-led House gives the go-ahead," July 31, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "House clears way for lawsuit against Obama," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy April Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy October Quarterly," accessed October 21, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy Year-End," accessed February 4, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy Pre-Primary," accessed June 3, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Kevin McCarthy October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Raul Garcia October Quarterly," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
