Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.

California's 50th Congressional District election, 2018

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search


2020 →
← 2016
California's 50th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Top-two primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 9, 2018
Primary: June 5, 2018
General: November 6, 2018
Pre-election incumbent:
Duncan Hunter (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in California
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018): R+11
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
California's 50th Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th • 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st • 22nd • 23rd • 24th • 25th • 26th • 27th • 28th • 29th • 30th • 31st • 32nd • 33rd • 34th • 35th • 36th • 37th • 38th • 39th • 40th • 41st • 42nd • 43rd • 44th • 45th • 46th • 47th • 48th • 49th • 50th • 51st • 52nd • 53rd
California elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018

Incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) defeated small business owner Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) in the general election for California's 50th Congressional District on November 6, 2018.

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.

Hunter was first elected to represent the district in 2012, after serving two terms representing California's 52nd Congressional District. Hunter was elected by a margin of 35 percentage points in 2012 and re-elected by a margin of 42 percentage points in 2014 and 27 percentage points in 2016. The district hadn't elected a Democrat to Congress since 2000, but in August 2018, The Cook Political Report and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball changed their ratings of the race from "Solid Republican" to "Lean Republican." Politico included the district in its list of "60 GOP House seats in danger" on September 5, 2018.[1]


Grey.png For more information about the top-two primary, click here.


Timeline

  • October 4, 2018: The Los Angeles Times released a poll conducted by UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies showing Hunter leading Campa-Najjar 49 to 47 percent. The margin of error was 6 percent.
  • October 2, 2018: Hunter released a campaign ad titled, "Call to Arms."
  • October 1, 2018: Campa-Najjar released a campaign ad titled, "Country over Party."
  • September 27, 2018: Monmouth University released a poll showing Hunter leading Campa-Najjar 53 to 38 percent. The margin of error was 5.3 percent.
  • August 29, 2018: Campa-Najjar released an ad critical of Hunter.
  • August 29, 2018: A survey of 539 likely voters was conducted by SurveyUSA for KGTV/San Diego Union-Tribune showing Hunter leading Campa-Najjar 47 percent to 39 percent.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 50

Incumbent Duncan Hunter defeated Ammar Campa-Najjar in the general election for U.S. House California District 50 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter (R)
 
51.7
 
134,362
Image of Ammar Campa-Najjar
Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)
 
48.3
 
125,448

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

Total votes: 259,810
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 50

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 50 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter (R)
 
47.4
 
69,563
✔
Image of Ammar Campa-Najjar
Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)
 
17.6
 
25,799
Image of Bill Wells
Bill Wells (R)
 
12.9
 
18,951
Image of Josh Butner
Josh Butner (D)
 
12.9
 
18,944
Image of Patrick Malloy
Patrick Malloy (D)
 
5.9
 
8,607
Image of Shamus Sayed
Shamus Sayed (R)
 
2.1
 
3,079
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Richard Kahle (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
1.2
 
1,714

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

Total votes: 146,657
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


Candidate profiles

See also: Editorial approach to writing about key campaign messages
Ammar Campa-Najjar, Small business owner
Ammar Campa-Najjar.jpg

Campaign website Facebook Twitter

Party: Democratic

Incumbent: No

Political office: None

Biography: Campa-Najjar worked as a deputy regional field director for Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign before joining the Obama administration as a White House official. He also worked for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as a communications and marketing director and for the U.S. Department of Labor as a public affairs officer.[2] After working on Obama's campaign, he earned a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University. Campa-Najjar is the owner of ACN Strategies, "a small business that helps other small businesses, and nonprofits with small budgets, compete against their larger counterparts."

Key messages
  • Campa-Najjar campaigned on improving the Affordable Care Act by having Medicare negotiate pharmaceutical prices, adding a public option, and allowing people as young as 50 to buy into Medicare.[3]
  • Campa-Najjar opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and supported adjustments to NAFTA to promote domestic manufacturing. He advocated for an expansion of federal investment in apprenticeship programs as another strategy to boost employment.[3]
  • Campa-Najjar advocated for a permanent moratorium on offshore drilling in federal waters, focusing Department of Energy research on what he described as renewables, and ending what he described as federal subsidies for fossil fuels.[3]
Duncan Hunter, U.S. Representative
Duncan Hunter.jpg

Campaign website Facebook Twitter

Party: Republican

Incumbent: Yes

Political office: U.S. House California District 50

Biography: Hunter earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from San Diego State University. After graduating he worked as a business analyst. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Hunter enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in two combat tours in Iraq. He was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 2008, serving on the Armed Services Committee, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and Education and the Workforce Committee.[4]

Key messages
  • Hunter authored the Real Unemployment Calculation Act aiming to take into consideration people who give up looking for employment in federal unemployment figures. He voted for several bills that aimed to ease regulations on small businesses as a part of his strategy to aid economic growth.[5]
  • Hunter highlighted his military service and said, "Rebuilding our military and providing for America’s national security is my No. 1 priority in both domestic and international policy.[6]
  • Hunter was the 2nd member of Congress to endorse President Donald Trump (R) prior to his election in 2016. FiveThirtyEight reports that Hunter voted, as of September 2018, in line with Trump's position 94.4 percent of the time since Trump's election.[7][8]


Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
California's 50th Congressional District Election
Poll Poll sponsor Hunter (R) Campa-Najjar (D)Undecided/someone else/didn't answerMargin of ErrorSample Size
UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times
September 16 to 23, 2018		Los Angeles Times 49%47%4%+/-6%527 likely voters
Monmouth University
September 22 to 26, 2018		None 53%38%9%+/-5.3%348 likely voters
SurveyUSA
August 22-26, 2018		KGTV/San Diego Union-Tribune 47%39%13%+/-5.1%539 likely voters
Note: A "0%" finding means the question 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 finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Duncan Hunter Republican Party $1,186,060 $1,822,979 $83,141 As of December 31, 2018
Ammar Campa-Najjar Democratic Party $4,079,158 $4,076,167 $2,990 As of December 31, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. 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.[9]
  • 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.[10][11][12]

Race ratings: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2018
Race trackerRace ratings
October 30, 2018October 23, 2018October 16, 2018October 9, 2018
The Cook Political ReportLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLean RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

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 R+11, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made California's 50th Congressional District the 118th most Republican nationally.[13]

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 0.93. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.93 points toward that party.[14]

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.


Click the links below for to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites.

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

Democratic Party Ammar Campa-Najjar

Oppose

"Ammar Campa-Najjar is a Security Risk" - Duncan Hunter campaign ad, released September 26, 2018

Republican Party Duncan Hunter

Support

"“Call to Arms”" - Hunter campaign ad, released October 2, 2018

Oppose

"Pathetic" - Campa-Najjar campaign ad, released October 10, 2018
"“Country over Party”" - Campa-Najjar campaign ad, released October 1, 2018
"“Duncan Hunter: Not Taking Responsibility”" - Campa-Najjar campaign ad, released September 20, 2018
"“Duncan Hunter: More than Unethical”" - Campa-Najjar campaign ad, released August 29, 2018

Campaign themes

These were the policy positions stated in interviews or listed on the candidates' websites, if available.

Democratic Party Ammar Campa-Najjar

“

JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

Among District 50’s top challenges are economic growth and income inequality. Instead of excessive government spending on corporate subsidies and tax cuts that aren’t reinvested in American workers, Congress should invest in millions of American workers to help working families punch their ticket to the middle class.

The unemployment rate of CA50 is 8 percent, over double the rate of San Diego county. 1 in 3 children in El Cajon are in poverty, and over 6,000 children go to bed hungry each night. I’ve seen firsthand how lives and families are hurt when we put special interests ahead of the American worker. I know that our rural and suburban communities need a seat at the table when it comes to new workforce programs. As congressman, I will be your voice. I will do everything I can to bring quality job opportunities to California’s 50th.

DEFEND THE AMERICAN DREAM

From fair wages to security, the fate of America's citizens and aspiring citizens are inextricably bound. Like all our communities, immigrants and refugees are overwhelmingly good-natured and well-intentioned people. And like all communities, they share our security concerns. In fact, as people fleeing persecution and crime in their countries of origin, refugees and immigrants come to the United States seeking security. That is why securing our country is important for both citizens and aspiring citizens.

As the son of an immigrant parent, I will always fight for the right of good people to experience the American dream.

I will recognize the balance we need to strike between securing our borders and welcoming the huddled masses who yearn to breathe free.

And I will support sensible immigration reform that lifts rather than depresses wages, protects all communities and creates a viable pathway to citizenship, rather than forcing people to permanently live in the shadows of the law.

UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

Regardless of whether you're Republican, Independent, or Democrat: I don’t care about your personal politics, I care about your personal health.

I once asked a single mother from my district what keeps her up at night. Her answer: “I’m an illness away from losing my home.” Nobody should ever have to choose between paying their mortgage and their medical bills. Your healthcare will be a top priority for me in Congress.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Call me biased, but from Jamul to Temecula, CA50 has some of the most beautiful environmental landscapes the world over.

A friend of mine put it best:

"Now more than ever, it is important that we protect our natural habitats from desecration and pollution. Keeping our forests, drinking water, and skies pure is of vital importance. There is something entirely pristine about nature. When surrounded by wilderness, there is something especially pure and cleansing about the air you breathe and the sights you see." Preserving that purity is important. This is not just because our environment is sacred, but also because pollution in our environment inevitably contaminates us and our bodies. When we drink polluted water, live near toxic sites, or inhale dirty, smog-filled air we contaminate our bodies with chemical impurities and pathogens.

Air pollution in many cities makes the once crisp, pure blue sky a foul gray. Chemical particles end up everywhere - in our food, on our skin, and inside our lungs. Dirty, polluted air enters our bodies and becomes a part of us. When we do not recycle, it leads to mountains of trash, reeking across our natural landscapes.

Billions of tons of garbage have to be put into landfills; many of which possess toxic chemicals which seep into our water supply, making even filtered water contaminated. Deforestation turns once pristine wilderness into barren, depleted fields.

We can take action now to protect our environment so that it is pure once again. Recycling, choosing to use energy efficient appliances and improving our public transportation can make a big difference. Reducing pollution can help us preserve what is pure and beautiful about the places we live. It should be everyone's goal to cleanse the environment, so our children and our children's children can experience the uncontaminated purity and value of nature.

ELECTION REFORM

“Self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity and liberty, but from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken... to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth” — George Washington’s farewell address. Our country faces many threats. But the gravest danger to our democracy is when we, citizens, take our vote for granted.

Our voices must be heard and votes must be counted.

"The overflow of big money in politics drowns out the voices of everyday people. That is part of the conundrum in America: The more money you have the more speech you have. That leaves everyday people out of the equation” — Nina Turner “It's an issue that Democrats and Republicans seem to come together on, the over-influence of money in politics and in power.” — Andrew Gillum It’s time to get money out of politics and overturn Citizens United. From getting big money out of politics to the way we conduct elections, we have a system that gives inordinate influence to insiders, major corporations, and the politically connected. But that's not how democracy is supposed to work. I will fight for reforms that put people first.

We need to ask ourselves whether the Democratic Party should put the interests of superdelegates above those of the American voter. We need to explore ways to eliminate the influence of Super PACs on both sides of the aisle, whether through a constitutional amendment or by preventing out-of-district special interests from overwhelming our local election. And we should be discussing issues like term limits, so that we have more representatives and fewer career politicians.

We have a great nation. We need to protect it. And that starts with the people. That's why I will advocate for reforms that help raise the voices of each and every American citizen.

GUN SAFETY

“I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses” — Karl T. Frederick, President of the NRA (1939). First, there’s nothing wrong with owning a gun for personal safety or sport; what's wrong is having it fall into the wrong hands.

We need to have an honest conversation, we owe it to the children who’ve been taken from us. We need to de-politicize the issue, and focus on common sense, common values and the common good. We owe it to those children.

What I've learned from Veterans For Ammar CA 50 is that, contrary to common belief, the military is surprisingly progressive when it comes to universal healthcare (TRICARE), equal pay based on rank, and gun safety (background checks, extensive training, mental aptitude tests, safety protocol). Why not make these proven military approaches to healthcare, equal pay, AND thorough background checks universal for all?

The military model has proven that we can protect people and the Second Amendment at the same time. Don't let fear-mongering, lying lobbyists tell you otherwise.

If you’re pro-life, then consider the lives we could have and could still save by doing the following. Here are just some common sense, common values based solutions to combating gun violence:

✅ Lifting the NRA’s CDC ban on research around gun fatalities. If independent research shows that banning certain guns would prevent fatalities and serve the common good, then we should take urgent action.

✅ Addressing the mental health issues that could have prevented many of these tragedies. If reports on mental health problems received the same scrutiny as people who are felons, fugitives, and stalkers, we could have prevented many school shootings.

✅ Banning gun sales to those on the no-fly list.

✅ Banning bump-fire stock and conversion kits.

✅ The NRA used to support background checks in response to the Black Panthers. We should have mandatory universal background checks, including for guns sold on the internet, and transactions between private individuals.

More history: The NRA assisted Roosevelt in drafting the 1934 National Firearms Act and the 1938 Gun Control Act, the first federal gun control laws. These laws placed heavy taxes and regulation requirements on firearms that were associated with crime, such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and silencers. Gun sellers and owners were required to register with the federal government and felons were banned from owning weapons. Not only was the legislation unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court in 1939, but Karl T. Frederick, the president of the NRA, testified before Congress stating, “I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.” Shocking, right?

✅ In 2015, a bipartisan bill was passed into law to increase mental health screening for new military recruits. The military has better background checks, mental health and training requirements for recruits than we do for civilian gun owners.

Congress needs to extend more of those kinds of measures to every gun purchaser. We need to learn from our military, and propose training and qualification for civilians before they’re given a gun.

Train and qualify civilian gun owners, through mandatory weapons safety courses and tactical range qualifications from certified organizations. The purchase and sale of ammunition and reload materials must require proof of classroom training and range qualification.

❌ Oppose rolling back restrictions and fees on silencers.

❌ Oppose the rollback of the previous administration’s directive allowing designated mental health providers to report names of mentally ill patients to the federal background check system.

EDUCATION

Education was an empowering and challenging experience growing up. I'm a proud product of a good public education from San Diego State University where I earned two degrees. But my early childhood education was far from ideal, in fact it was a nightmare at times. Like many of us, I was born in San Diego to a working class family and missed out on preschool. I really struggled as a student during my childhood, but my family couldn't identify exactly why.

Growing up in a multi-faith family, I attended both Catholic and Islamic schools as a child. It was an enriching and disorienting experience, one that would later serve me as an adult to deepen my faith while respecting the history and contributions of other faiths.

I attended four years of Catholic school in Gaza, a war torn part of the world where classrooms became bomb shelters and electricity, water, and sometimes food was cut off. I consider myself one of the lucky ones; I was able to leave and live a full life in America. Even still the experience left me with a feeling of survivor's guilt. To this day I am haunted by the sense of responsibility to live for two: for myself, and for my Palestinian and Israeli peers whose time came to soon.

I came back to a relatively stable and normal life in San Diego for high school, and yet I still struggled. I remembered intentionally sitting at the back of my English class, looking at the clock and praying that the bell would ring before Mr. Olson called me to read the next paragraph from the Grapes of Wrath. I was a terribly slow reader, couldn't make out words, and didn't know why. It was humiliating. I had my theories: Maybe it was PTS, or all those years of having to read in English left to right and Arabic right to left got my wires mixed.

This challenge, my struggle with learning had nothing to do with my external environment but an internal process. I have dyslexia.

This struggle led me on a unique educational journey, one of self-pace, self-discovery and accomplishment. I believe education truly is the greatest equalizer and should be a lifelong pursuit. That's why as congressman, I will work tirelessly to ensure every student in California's 50th and beyond has a world class education within reach.[17]

”
—Campa Campaign[18]

Republican Party Duncan Hunter

“

Why should voters choose you over your opponents in this election?

I have a consistent conservative voting record that spans almost a decade which voters can utilize to determine for themselves if I share their values. I have one of the highest percentages of successfully passing legislation compared to my other California colleagues and my office has a strong reputation of providing constituent services with federal agencies, particularly with veterans and active-duty military personnel. I am consistent and unapologetic in my support of rebuilding the military, protecting the border, cutting taxes, investing in small business growth, eliminating wasteful government bureaucracy, defending life, the Second Amendment and benefits for our nation’s veterans and I will continue my efforts in all these important areas.

What will be your top domestic and international priority in Congress?

Rebuilding our military and providing for America’s national security is my No. 1 priority in both domestic and international policy. Without a strong national defense, we have no Social Security, no infrastructure, no education programs and no job creation in the manufacturing base. While these issues are all important, it is imperative that we have a military with the resources and assets to protect the homeland and provide for the security of the American people. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, I will continue working to provide our men and women in uniform with the resources to meet their responsibilities and ensure America’s military capacity so that other domestic priorities can be addressed.[17]

”
—Duncan Hunter for Congress[19]

Social media

Twitter accounts

Facebook accounts

Click the icons below to visit the candidates' Facebook pages.

Democratic Party Ammar Campa-Najjar Facebook

Republican Party Duncan Hunter Facebook

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.[20][21]

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 history

2016

See also: California's 50th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Duncan Hunter (R) defeated Patrick Malloy (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Hunter and Malloy defeated Scott Meisterlin (R), David Secor (D), and H. Fuji Shioura (independent) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016.[22][23]

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDuncan Hunter Incumbent 63.5% 179,937
     Democratic Patrick Malloy 36.5% 103,646
Total Votes 283,583
Source: California Secretary of State


U.S. House, California District 50 Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDuncan Hunter Incumbent 56.5% 86,534
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngPatrick Malloy 21.8% 33,348
     Democratic David Secor 11.5% 17,590
     Republican Scott Meisterlin 6.8% 10,458
     Independent H. Fuji Shioura 3.5% 5,359
Total Votes 153,289
Source: California Secretary of State

2014

See also: California's 50th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 50th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Duncan Hunter (R) defeated James Kimber (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 50 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDuncan Hunter Incumbent 71.2% 111,997
     Democratic James Kimber 28.8% 45,302
Total Votes 157,299
Source: California Secretary of State

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in California heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

  • As of May 2018, Democrats held seven of 10 state executive positions and the remaining three positions were officially nonpartisan.
  • The governor of California was Democrat Jerry Brown.

State legislature

  • Democrats controlled both chambers of the California State Legislature. They had a 55-25 majority in the state Assembly and a 27-13 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

  • California was a state government trifecta, meaning that Democrats held the governorship and majorities in the state house and state senate.

2018 elections

See also: California elections, 2018

California held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for California
 CaliforniaU.S.
Total population:38,993,940316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):155,7793,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:61.8%73.6%
Black/African American:5.9%12.6%
Asian:13.7%5.1%
Native American:0.7%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.4%0.2%
Two or more:4.5%3%
Hispanic/Latino:38.4%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:81.8%86.7%
College graduation rate:31.4%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$61,818$53,889
Persons below poverty level:18.2%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, California had a population of approximately 39,000,000 people, with its three largest cities being Los Angeles (pop. est. 4.0 million), San Diego (pop. est. 1.4 million), and San Jose (pop. est. 1 million).[24][25]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in California from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the California Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in California every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), California 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 61.7% Republican Party Donald Trump 31.6% 30.1%
2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 60.2% Republican Party Mitt Romney 37.1% 23.1%
2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 61.1% Republican Party John McCain 37% 24.1%
2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 54.4% Republican Party George W. Bush 44.4% 10%
2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 53.5% Republican Party George W. Bush 41.7% 11.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in California from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), California 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Kamala Harris 61.6% Democratic Party Loretta Sanchez 38.4% 23.2%
2012 Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein 62.5% Republican Party Elizabeth Emken 37.5% 25%
2010 Democratic Party Barbara Boxer 52.2% Republican Party Carly Fiorina 42.2% 10%
2006 Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein 59.5% Republican Party Richard Mountjoy 35.1% 24.4%
2004 Democratic Party Barbara Boxer 57.8% Republican Party Bill Jones 37.8% 20%
2000 Democratic Party Dianne Feinstein 55.9% Republican Party Tom Campbell 36.6% 19.3%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in California.

Election results (Governor), California 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Democratic Party Jerry Brown 60% Republican Party Neel Kashkari 40% 20%
2010 Democratic Party Jerry Brown 53.8% Republican Party Meg Whitman 40.9% 12.9%
2006 Republican Party Arnold Schwarzenegger 55.9% Democratic Party Phil Angelides 39.0% 16.9%
2002 Democratic Party Gray Davis 47.3% Republican Party Bill Simon 42.4% 4.9%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent California in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, California 2000-2016
Year Democrats Democrats (%) Republicans Republicans (%) Balance of power
2016 Democratic Party 39 73.5% Republican Party 14 26.4% D+25
2014 Democratic Party 39 73.5% Republican Party 14 26.4% D+25
2012 Democratic Party 38 71.7% Republican Party 15 28.3% D+23
2010 Democratic Party 34 64.1% Republican Party 19 35.8% D+15
2008 Democratic Party 34 64.1% Republican Party 19 35.8% D+15
2006 Democratic Party 34 64.1% Republican Party 19 35.8% D+15
2004 Democratic Party 33 62.3% Republican Party 20 37.7% D+13
2002 Democratic Party 33 62.3% Republican Party 20 37.7% D+13
2000 Democratic Party 32 61.5% Republican Party 20 38.5% D+12

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

California Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty years with 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 25
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 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 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 D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Politico, "POLITICO race ratings: 60 GOP House seats in danger," September 5, 2018
  2. ↑ Campa Campaign, "Meet Ammar," accessed May 28, 2018
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ammar Campa-Najjar for Congress, "Issues," accessed September 17, 2018
  4. ↑ Hunter for Congress, "About Duncan Hunter," accessed May 28, 2018
  5. ↑ Congressman Duncan Hunter, "Issues," accessed September 17, 2018
  6. ↑ Hunter for Congress, "Rep. Duncan Hunter on the issues in the 50th Congressional District," May 25, 2018
  7. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump," accessed September 17, 2018
  8. ↑ Politico, "Trump lands his first congressional endorsements," February 24, 2016
  9. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  10. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  13. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  14. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  15. ↑ Ammar Campa-Najjar for Congress, "Endorsements," accessed March 23, 2018
  16. ↑ Facebook, "Duncan Hunter for Congress on February 22, 2018," accessed March 5, 2018
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  18. ↑ Campaign Campaign, "Education," accessed May 28, 2018
  19. ↑ Hunter for Congress, "Rep. Duncan Hunter on the issues in the 50th Congressional District," May 25, 2018
  20. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  21. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  22. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election," accessed April 4, 2016
  23. ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," June 7, 2016
  24. ↑ California Demographics, "California Cities by Population," accessed April 2, 2018
  25. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Quickfacts California," accessed April 2, 2018
v • e
2017-2018 Elections to the United States Congress
Senate by StateCongressLogo.png
House by State
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Election information
Super PACs/Organizations



California's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Alex Padilla (D)
Adam Schiff (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Ami Bera (D)
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Adam Gray (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Ro Khanna (D)
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
Jim Costa (D)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
Raul Ruiz (D)
District 26
District 27
District 28
Judy Chu (D)
District 29
Luz Rivas (D)
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
Ted Lieu (D)
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Young Kim (R)
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
Dave Min (D)
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
Democratic Party (45)
Republican Party (9)

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=California%27s_50th_Congressional_District_election,_2018&oldid=9423348"