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California's 34th Congressional District election, 2020

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California's 34th Congressional District
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Top-two primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 6, 2019
Primary: March 3, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Jimmy Gomez (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in California
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
California's 34th Congressional District
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California elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
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U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 34th Congressional District of California, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Jimmy Gomez won election in the general election for U.S. House California District 34.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 6, 2019
March 3, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat Jimmy Gomez, who was first elected in 2017.

California's 34th Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state and includes part of Los Angeles County.[1]

This race was one of 89 congressional races that were decided by 10 percent or less in 2020.

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, California's 34th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 80.8 53
Republican candidate Republican Party 16.9 0
Difference 63.9 53

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

California modified its absentee/mail-in and in-person voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in ballots were sent to all registered voters in the general election.
  • In-person voting: Counties were authorized to consolidate precincts and defer opening voting centers until the third day before the election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 34

Incumbent Jimmy Gomez defeated David Kim in the general election for U.S. House California District 34 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Gomez (D) Candidate Connection
 
53.0
 
108,792
Image of David Kim
David Kim (D) Candidate Connection
 
47.0
 
96,554

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 205,346
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 34

Incumbent Jimmy Gomez and David Kim defeated Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla, Joanne Wright, and Keanakay Scott in the primary for U.S. House California District 34 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Gomez (D) Candidate Connection
 
52.0
 
57,066
✔
Image of David Kim
David Kim (D) Candidate Connection
 
21.0
 
23,055
Image of Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla
Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla (D) Candidate Connection
 
13.6
 
14,961
Image of Joanne Wright
Joanne Wright (R) Candidate Connection
 
7.7
 
8,482
Image of Keanakay Scott
Keanakay Scott (D) Candidate Connection
 
5.6
 
6,089

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 109,653
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no Pivot Counties in California. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won California with 61.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 31.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, California voted Republican 53.33 percent of the time and Democratic 43.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, California voted Democratic all five times. In 2016, California had 55 electoral votes, which was the most of any state. The 55 electoral votes were 10.2 percent of all 538 available electoral votes and were 20.4 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Assembly districts in California. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 58 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 38.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 66 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 40.3 points. Clinton won 11 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 22 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 12.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 14 out of 80 state Assembly districts in California with an average margin of victory of 13 points.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+35, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 35 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 34th Congressional District the 12th most Democratic nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.01. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.01 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Jimmy Gomez Democratic Party $1,406,326 $1,273,472 $489,519 As of December 31, 2020
David Kim Democratic Party $187,705 $186,899 $806 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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."
** 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.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: California's 34th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 34th Congressional District candidates in California in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
California 34th Congressional District All candidates 2,000 Fixed number $1,740.00 1% of annual salary 12/6/2019 Source

District election history

2018

See also: California's 34th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 34

Incumbent Jimmy Gomez defeated Kenneth Mejia in the general election for U.S. House California District 34 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Gomez (D)
 
72.5
 
110,195
Image of Kenneth Mejia
Kenneth Mejia (G)
 
27.5
 
41,711

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 151,906
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 34

Incumbent Jimmy Gomez and Kenneth Mejia defeated Angela McArdle in the primary for U.S. House California District 34 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Gomez (D)
 
78.7
 
54,661
✔
Image of Kenneth Mejia
Kenneth Mejia (G)
 
12.9
 
8,987
Image of Angela McArdle
Angela McArdle (L) Candidate Connection
 
8.4
 
5,804

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 69,452
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2017

See also: California's 34th Congressional District special election, 2017
U.S. House, California District 34, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJimmy Gomez 59.2% 25,569
     Democratic Robert Lee Ahn 40.8% 17,610
Total Votes 43,179
Source: California Secretary of State

The election replaced Xavier Becerra (D), who was appointed as California's attorney general.[12] Democrats Jimmy Gomez and Robert Lee Ahn were the top two vote-getters in a primary field of 23 candidates and advanced to the general election. Gomez and Ahn competed in the runoff election on June 6, 2017, when Gomez defeated Ahn by more than 20 percent, 60.1 percent to 30.9 percent.[13] The previous two elections in the district have also featured a general election contest between two Democrats.[14][15][16]

Ahn and Gomez participated in a candidate forum on May 25, 2017, where they discussed the Trump administration, infrastructure, job creation, healthcare, and local issues. During the forum, Ahn emphasized his legal and business background and knowledge of Korean relations, while Gomez highlighted his legislative experience in the California State Assembly and endorsements from progressive organizations like the Bernie Sanders-backed Our Revolution. For an overview of the forum and the candidates' responses, click here.

In the fundraising race, Ahn outpaced Gomez, raising $353,000 between April 1 and May 17. His campaign capital was boosted by an additional $195,000 personal loan. In the same time period, Gomez raised $327,000.[17]

U.S. House, California District 34 Primary, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJimmy Gomez 25.4% 10,728
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Lee Ahn 22.3% 9,415
     Democratic Maria Cabildo 10.1% 4,259
     Democratic Sara Hernandez 5.6% 2,358
     Democratic Arturo Carmona 5.2% 2,205
     Democratic Wendy Carrillo 5.2% 2,195
     Green Kenneth Mejia 4.6% 1,964
     Republican William Morrison 3.2% 1,360
     Democratic Yolie Flores 3.2% 1,368
     Democratic Alejandra Campoverdi 2.4% 1,001
     Democratic Tracy Van Houten 2.5% 1,042
     Democratic Vanessa Aramayo 2% 853
     Democratic Sandra Mendoza 1.6% 674
     Democratic Steven Mac 1.6% 663
     Democratic Raymond Meza 1.2% 509
     Independent Mark Edward Padilla 1% 427
     Libertarian Angela McArdle 0.8% 319
     Democratic Ricardo De La Fuente 0.8% 331
     Democratic Adrienne Nicole Edwards 0.4% 182
     Democratic Richard Joseph Sullivan 0.4% 155
     Democratic Armando Sotomayor 0.3% 118
     Democratic Tenaya Wallace 0.2% 103
     Democratic Melissa "Sharkie" Garza 0.2% 79
Total Votes 42,308
Source: California Secretary of State

2016

See also: California's 34th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Xavier Becerra (D) defeated Adrienne Nicole Edwards (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Both candidates advanced past the top-two primary on June 7, 2016, by default.[18][19]

U.S. House, California District 34 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngXavier Becerra Incumbent 77.2% 122,842
     Democratic Adrienne Nicole Edwards 22.8% 36,314
Total Votes 159,156
Source: California Secretary of State


U.S. House, California District 34 Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngXavier Becerra Incumbent 78.6% 71,982
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAdrienne Nicole Edwards 21.4% 19,624
Total Votes 91,606
Source: California Secretary of State

2014

See also: California's 34th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 34th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Xavier Becerra (D) defeated Adrienne Nicole Edwards (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 34 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngXavier Becerra Incumbent 72.5% 44,697
     Democratic Adrienne Nicole Edwards 27.5% 16,924
Total Votes 61,621
Source: California Secretary of State

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ California Redistricting Map, "Map," accessed September 25, 2012
  2. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  3. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  4. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  5. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  6. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  7. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  8. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  9. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  10. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  12. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Gov. Brown taps California's Rep. Xavier Becerra to be state's first Latino attorney general," December 1, 2016
  13. ↑ California Secretary of State, "U.S. House of Representatives District 34 - Districtwide Results," accessed June 7,2017
  14. ↑ KPCC, "Governor calls June 6 election to replace Becerra in House," January 25, 2017
  15. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Field of candidates running to succeed Xavier Becerra in Congress keeps growing," February 10, 2017
  16. ↑ California Secretary of State, "U.S. House of Representatives District 34 - Districtwide Results," April 5, 2017
  17. ↑ Daily Kos, "Morning Digest: Tennessee Republican Mae Beavers, sponsor of anti-porn bill, running for governor," May 31, 2017
  18. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election," accessed April 4, 2016
  19. ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," June 7, 2016


California's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Alex Padilla (D)
Adam Schiff (D)
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Ami Bera (D)
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Adam Gray (D)
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Ro Khanna (D)
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Jim Costa (D)
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Ted Lieu (D)
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Young Kim (R)
District 41
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Dave Min (D)
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