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California's 26th Congressional District elections, 2014

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U.S. House, California District 26 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJulia Brownley Incumbent 51.3% 87,176
     Republican Jeff Gorell 48.7% 82,653
Total Votes 169,829
Source: California Secretary of State


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California's 26th Congressional District
General Election Date
November 4, 2014
Primary Date
June 3, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
Julia Brownley Democratic Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Julia Brownley Democratic Party
Julia Brownley.jpg
Race Ratings
Cook Political Report: Toss Up[1]

Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean D[2]

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SimmeringRace.jpg

The 26th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.

Incumbent Julia Brownley (D) won re-election in 2014. She defeated Jeff Gorell (R) in the general election on November 4, 2014. Brownley claimed victory in the race, but Gorell said he would not concede until all the votes have been counted.[3] Gorell then conceded on November 14, 2014.[4] Due to the fact that the two Republican primary candidates took in over 50 percent of the primary vote, the race between Brownley and Gorell was expected to be very competitive. As expected, the race was close and not called until eight days after the election.[5]

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.[6][7]

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 October 2025, California was one of five states to use a top-two primary system, or a variation of the top-two system for some or all statewide primaries. 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).[8]

See also: California elections, 2014

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

As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, California's 26th Congressional District was located in the southern portion of the state and included portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.[9]

Candidates

General election candidates

Democratic Party Julia Brownley Green check mark transparent.png
Republican Party Jeff Gorell


June 3, 2014, primary results

Democratic Party Julia Brownley - Incumbent Approveda
Republican Party Jeff Gorell - State assemblyman[10] Approveda
Republican Party Rafael Dagnesses[11]
Grey.png Douglas Kmiec

Election results

General election

U.S. House, California District 26 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJulia Brownley Incumbent 51.3% 87,176
     Republican Jeff Gorell 48.7% 82,653
Total Votes 169,829
Source: California Secretary of State

Primary election

U.S. House, California District 26 Primary, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJulia Brownley Incumbent 45.5% 38,854
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Gorell 44.5% 38,021
     Republican Rafael Dagnesses 7.7% 6,536
     Independent Douglas Kmiec 2.3% 1,980
Total Votes 85,391
Source: California Secretary of State

Race background

Incumbent Julia Brownley (D) 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.[12]

Brownley defeated Republican former state legislator Tony Strickland for the open 26th District seat in the general election on November 6, 2012, earning 52.7 percent of the total vote. The following April, Strickland filed his campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to begin raising money for a 2014 re-match against Brownley. He ultimately decided against the rematch and sought election to the 25th District instead.[13]

After the blanket primary, Cook Political Report changed the rating of this race from Lean D to Toss-up. The Republican candidates in the race received over 50 percent of the primary vote, showing that the race was likely to be very competitive in November.[14]

Media

Jeff Gorell for Congress - "He Knows Us"

Key votes

Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.

HR 644

See also: Bowe Bergdahl exchange

Yea3.png On September 9, 2014, the Republican-run House approved H.R. 644, a resolution criticizing President Barack Obama's act of exchanging five Guantanamo Bay prisoners for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.[15][16] The House voted 249-163 for resolution, with all Republicans and 22 Democrats supporting the bill. Fourteen Democrats and five Republicans did not vote on the resolution, while all other Democrats opposed its passage.[16] Julia Brownley dissented from the majority of the Democratic party and voted in favor of the bill.[15][16]

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

Nay3.png 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.[17] 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.[18] Julia Brownley voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[19]

Yea3.png 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.[20] 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. Julia Brownley voted for HR 2775.[21]

Campaign contributions

Julia Brownley

Tony Strickland

Jeff Gorell

Rafael Dagnesses

**As of the 2014 Pre-Primary Report, Dagnesses' committee owed $15,000 in outstanding loans to Rafael Dagnesses.

Douglas Kmiec

District history

Candidate ballot access
Ballot Access Requirements Final.jpg
Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

2012

On November 6, 2012, Julia Brownley (D) won election to the United States House. She defeated Tony Strickland in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 26 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJulia Brownley 52.7% 139,072
     Republican Tony Strickland 47.3% 124,863
Total Votes 263,935
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, David Dreier won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Russ Warner (D), David Miller (American Independent) and Randall Weissbuch (L) in the general election.[46]

U.S. House, California District 26 General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Dreier incumbent 54.1% 112,774
     Democratic Russ Warner 36.5% 76,093
     American Independent David Miller 6.1% 12,784
     Libertarian Randall Weissbuch 3.2% 6,696
Total Votes 208,347

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
  2. ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
  3. ↑ Los Angeles Daily News, "Election 2014: Julia Brownley claims victory, Jeff Gorell holding out in 26th Congressional District," November 12, 2014
  4. ↑ Los Angeles Daily News, "Jeff Gorell concedes election to Julia Brownley for 26th Congressional District," November 14, 2014
  5. ↑ The Huffington Post, "Election 2014," November 4, 2014
  6. ↑ California Legislative Information, "California Constitution, Article II, Section 5," accessed October 29, 2025
  7. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed October 29, 2025
  8. ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration," accessed January 3, 2014
  9. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  10. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "GOP Assemblyman Jeff Gorell to challenge Rep. Julia Brownley," November 25, 2013
  11. ↑ KPCC, "A second GOP challenger for Ventura County Democrat's Congressional seat," December 4, 2013
  12. ↑ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "DCCC Chairman Steve Israel Announces 2013-2014 Frontline Members," March 5, 2013
  13. ↑ Bloomberg News, "California: Strickland Seeks Rematch with Brownley," April 2, 2013
  14. ↑ Red State, "Cook Political Report shifts California-26 from Lean D to Toss-up.," June 23, 2014
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Hill, "House votes to condemn administration over Taliban prisoner swap," September 9, 2014
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote 485," accessed September 10, 2014
  17. ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
  18. ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
  19. ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
  20. ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
  21. ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
  22. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley April Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
  23. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
  24. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley October Quarterly," accessed October 21, 2013
  25. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley Year-End," accessed February 4, 2014
  26. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
  27. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley Pre-Primary," accessed June 3, 2014
  28. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2014
  29. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Julia Brownley October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
  30. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland July Quarterly," accessed July 28, 2013
  31. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland October Quarterly," accessed October 29, 2013
  32. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
  33. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland April Quarterly," accessed May 5, 2014
  34. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland Pre-Primary," accessed June 3, 2014
  35. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland July Quarterly," accessed July 28, 2014
  36. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Tony Strickland October Quarterly," accessed October 23, 2014
  37. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jeff Gorell Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
  38. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jeff Gorell April Quarterly," accessed May 5, 2014
  39. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jeff Gorell Pre-Primary," accessed June 3, 2014
  40. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jeff Gorell July Quarterly," accessed July 28, 2014
  41. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jeff Gorell October Quarterly," accessed October 23, 2014
  42. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Rafael Dagnesses Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
  43. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Rafael Dagnesses April Quarterly," accessed May 5, 2014
  44. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Rafael Dagnesses Pre-Primary," accessed June 3, 2014
  45. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Douglas Kmiec April Quarterly," accessed May 5, 2014
  46. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
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California's current delegation to the United States Congress
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Ami Bera (D)
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