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California's 32nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
A top-two primary took place on March 5, 2024, in California's 32nd Congressional District to determine which two candidates would run in the district's general election on November 5, 2024.
Incumbent Brad Sherman and Larry Thompson advanced from the primary for U.S. House California District 32.
Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
---|---|---|
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.[1][2]
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.
This page focuses on California's 32nd Congressional District's top-two primary. For more in-depth information on the district's general election, see the following page:
Candidates and election results
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 32
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 32 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Brad Sherman (D) | 58.6 | 91,952 | |
✔ | ![]() | Larry Thompson (R) ![]() | 19.1 | 29,939 |
![]() | James Shuster (R) | 10.6 | 16,601 | |
Christopher Ahuja (D) ![]() | 8.1 | 12,637 | ||
![]() | Douglas Smith (D) | 1.6 | 2,504 | |
Dave Abbitt (D) | 1.1 | 1,665 | ||
![]() | Trevor Witt (D) ![]() | 1.0 | 1,635 |
Total votes: 156,933 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Brown (D)
- Geoffrey Wolfe (D)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Christopher Ahuja is a small business owner, dedicated and community-oriented individual whose journey in Los Angeles spans over two decades. Recognizing the importance of active participation in community service and has become a driving force for positive change in the city. His commitment to effecting change, one step at a time, underscores his belief in personal accountability and responsibility. A proud alumnus of California State University San Bernardino, Christopher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science. His dedication to education and learning is evident in his ongoing pursuit of knowledge. Currently enrolled at The Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Christopher is working towards a Public Leadership Credential and has plans to pursue a Masters in Government next year. In the wake of the pandemic, Christopher, fueled by a desire to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable city, realized the need to amplify his community involvement. As a member of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council, he actively engages in local governance, shaping policies and initiatives that directly impact the community he calls home. Christopher's passion extends beyond his immediate community involvement. He serves as the Chair of the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance, Treasurer for Feel The Bern SFV (Bernie Sanders Democratic Club), and is a dedicated member of the California Biodiversity Working Group."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 32 in 2024.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Roman Catholic, Moderate, Energetic, Entertainment Lawyer, Celebrity Representative, Film Producer, Husband, and Father. Acclaimed Hollywood film producer, talent manager, entertainment lawyer, book packager, author, Broadway Producer, and motivational speaker. Founder and President of the Larry A. Thompson Organization (www.LarryThompsonOrg.com). Managed the careers of over 200 Stars and produced 21 Movies for Television, 5 Motion Pictures, 2 Television Series, and 12 Television Specials. His productions have won 2 Accolade Awards, 2 Imagen Awards, The Epiphany Prize, The Wilbur Award, The Christopher Award, and received Nominations for 10 Emmys, 6 Imagen Awards, 2 Prism Awards, the Humanitas Prize, and a Golden Globe. Serves on the Advisory Boards of the Delta Blues Museum, Paulist Productions, and Good News Communications. He is perennially listed in Who's Who In America and Who's Who In The World, and on August 1, 2018, Thompson was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who. Inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Conference of Personal Managers, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Talent Managers Association, and was Knighted in Rome into the Order of San Martino. Thompson was born, raised, and educated in Mississippi and has lived in Los Angeles since 1968. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Taylor, and son, Trevor."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 32 in 2024.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am a blue-collar worker and an experienced manager, committed to listening to, serving, and leading my community. I have worked in hospitality in various positions - from barista to restaurant manager and am currently driving for Uber full-time. I volunteer regularly with a valley non-profit dedicated to building sustainable communities through regenerative agriculture. I have a B.A. in International Security and Conflict Resolution and I minored in Arabic and Islamic Studies. While I lean left politically, I am proud to listen to opposing perspectives. I believe that it is essential to listen to those we disagree with if we are to learn, find common ground, and come up with solutions to local and global challenges. "
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 32 in 2024.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in California
Campaign finance
Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brad Sherman | Democratic Party | $2,059,587 | $1,106,415 | $3,921,945 | As of December 31, 2024 |
Dave Abbitt | Democratic Party | $2,240 | $0 | $2,240 | As of December 31, 2023 |
Christopher Ahuja | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
Douglas Smith | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
Trevor Witt | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
James Shuster | Republican Party | $5,422 | $6,911 | $0 | As of May 8, 2024 |
Larry Thompson | Republican Party | $140,108 | $140,108 | $0 | As of December 30, 2024 |
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in California.
California U.S. House primary competitiveness, 2014-2024 | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Office | Districts/ offices |
Seats | Open seats | Candidates | Possible primaries | Contested top-two primaries | % of contested primaries | Incumbents in contested primaries | % of incumbents in contested primaries | |||||
2024 | 52 | 52 | 7 | 241 | 52 | 42 | 80.8% | 36 | 80.0% | |||||
2022 | 52 | 52 | 5 | 272 | 52 | 52 | 100.0% | 47 | 100.0% | |||||
2020 | 53 | 53 | 4 | 262 | 53 | 47 | 88.7% | 32 | 64.0% | |||||
2018 | 53 | 53 | 2 | 244 | 53 | 41 | 77.4% | 39 | 76.5% | |||||
2016 | 53 | 53 | 4 | 202 | 53 | 40 | 75.5% | 36 | 73.5% | |||||
2014 | 53 | 53 | 6 | 209 | 53 | 38 | 71.7% | 32 | 68.1% |
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in California in 2024. Information below was calculated on 1/16/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Two-hundred forty-one candidates filed to run for California's 52 U.S. House districts in 2024, including 125 Democrats, 88 Republicans, and 28 independent or minor party candidates. That’s 4.63 candidates per district. In 2022, the first election after the number of congressional districts in California decreased from 53 to 52 following the 2020 census, 5.2 candidates filed per district. In 2020, when the state still had 53 Congressional districts, 4.94 candidates filed per district. In 2018, 4.6 candidates filed.
The 241 candidates who ran in California in 2024 were the fewest total number of candidates since 2016, when 202 candidates ran. Forty-five incumbents—34 Democrats and 11 Republicans—ran for re-election. That was fewer than in 2022, when 47 incumbents ran. Six districts were open, one more than in 2022, and the most since 2014, when six districts were also open.
Incumbents Barbara Lee (D-12th), Adam Schiff (D-30th), and Katie Porter (D-47th) ran for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Incumbent Sen. Laphonza Butler (D) didn't run for re-election. Incumbents Grace Napolitano (D-31st), Tony Cárdenas (D-29th), and Anna Eshoo (D-16th) retired from public office. One incumbent—Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-20th)—left Congress before the end of his term. A special election was held to fill his seat before the general election.
Fifteen candidates—12 Democrats, two Republicans, and one nonpartisan—ran in the open 30th district, the most candidates running for a seat in 2024.
Forty-two primaries were contested, the fewest since 2018, when 41 were contested. All 52 primaries were contested in 2022, and 47 were in 2020. In California, which uses a top-two primary system, a primary is contested if more than two candidates file to run.
Incumbents ran in 35 of the 42 contested primaries. That’s lower than 2022, when 47 incumbents ran in contested primaries, but higher than every other year since 2014. In 2020, 32 incumbents faced contested primaries. Thirty-nine incumbents did so in 2018, 36 in 2016, and 32 in 2014.
Democratic candidates ran in every district. Republican candidates ran in every district except one—the 37th. Two Democrats, including incumbent Sydney Kamlage-Dove, one nonpartisan candidate, and one Peace and Freedom Party member ran in that district.Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+20. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 32nd the 68th most Democratic district nationally.[3]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
2020 presidential results in California's 32nd based on 2024 district lines | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Joe Biden ![]() |
Donald Trump ![]() | |||
69.5% | 28.7% |
Inside Elections Baselines
- See also: Inside Elections
Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.[4] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.
Inside Elections Baseline for 2024 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic Baseline ![]() |
Republican Baseline ![]() |
Difference | ||
68.7 | 31.0 | D+37.8 |
Presidential voting history
California presidential election results (1900-2020)
- 15 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
- 1 other win
Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winning Party | R | R | R | P[5] | D | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of California's congressional delegation as of May 2024.
Congressional Partisan Breakdown from California | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
Democratic | 2 | 43 | 45 |
Republican | 0 | 9 | 9 |
Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 52 | 54 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in California's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.
State executive officials in California, May 2024 | |
---|---|
Office | Officeholder |
Governor | ![]() |
Lieutenant Governor | ![]() |
Secretary of State | ![]() |
Attorney General | ![]() |
State legislature
California State Senate
Party | As of February 2024 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 32 | |
Republican Party | 8 | |
Other | 0 | |
Vacancies | 0 | |
Total | 40 |
California State Assembly
Party | As of February 2024 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 62 | |
Republican Party | 18 | |
Independent | 1 | |
Other | 0 | |
Vacancies | 0 | |
Total | 80 |
Trifecta control
The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.
California Party Control: 1992-2024
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
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 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | 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 | 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 | D | D | D | D | D |
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in California in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.
Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
California | U.S. House | All candidates | 40-60 | $1,740.00[6] | 12/8/2023 | Source |
See also
- California's 32nd Congressional District election, 2024
- United States House elections in California, 2024 (March 5 top-two primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2024
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2024
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2024
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2024
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed January 10, 2024
- ↑ Inside Elections, "Methodology: Inside Elections’ Baseline by Congressional District," December 8, 2023
- ↑ Progressive Party
- ↑ 2,000 signatures can be provided in lieu of the filing fee