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California's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

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California's 7th 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:
Ami Bera (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 7th Congressional District
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California elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 7th Congressional District of California, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Ami Bera won election in the general election for U.S. House California District 7.

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


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat Ami Bera, who was first elected in 2012.

As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, California's 7th Congressional District was located in the central portion of the state and included much of Sacramento County.[1]

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 7th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 55.7 56.6
Republican candidate Republican Party 41.9 43.4
Difference 13.8 13.2

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 7

Incumbent Ami Bera defeated Buzz Patterson in the general election for U.S. House California District 7 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ami Bera
Ami Bera (D)
 
56.6
 
217,416
Image of Buzz Patterson
Buzz Patterson (R) Candidate Connection
 
43.4
 
166,549

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

Total votes: 383,965
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 7

Incumbent Ami Bera and Buzz Patterson defeated Jeff Burdick, Jon Ivy, and Chris Richardson in the primary for U.S. House California District 7 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ami Bera
Ami Bera (D)
 
50.3
 
106,124
✔
Image of Buzz Patterson
Buzz Patterson (R) Candidate Connection
 
33.6
 
70,803
Image of Jeff Burdick
Jeff Burdick (D) Candidate Connection
 
7.2
 
15,114
Image of Jon Ivy
Jon Ivy (R) Candidate Connection
 
6.6
 
14,017
Image of Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson (G)
 
2.3
 
4,837

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

Total votes: 210,895
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.

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+3, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 7th Congressional District the 180th 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 0.90. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.90 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
Ami Bera Democratic Party $1,830,741 $1,126,436 $2,029,018 As of December 31, 2020
Buzz Patterson Republican Party $81,732 $67,330 $140 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 7th 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 7th 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 7th 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 7th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 7

Incumbent Ami Bera defeated Andrew Grant in the general election for U.S. House California District 7 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ami Bera
Ami Bera (D)
 
55.0
 
155,016
Image of Andrew Grant
Andrew Grant (R)
 
45.0
 
126,601

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

Total votes: 281,617
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 7

Incumbent Ami Bera and Andrew Grant defeated Yona Barash, Chris Richardson, and Reginald Claytor in the primary for U.S. House California District 7 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ami Bera
Ami Bera (D)
 
51.7
 
84,776
✔
Image of Andrew Grant
Andrew Grant (R)
 
31.2
 
51,221
Image of Yona Barash
Yona Barash (R)
 
13.9
 
22,845
Image of Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson (G)
 
1.9
 
3,183
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Reginald Claytor (Independent)
 
1.3
 
2,095

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

Total votes: 164,120
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

2016

See also: California's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

California's 7th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Incumbent Ami Bera (D) won re-election to his third term in 2016. He defeated Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Both candidates advanced past the top-two primary without competition, as they were the only two to file in the race.[12][13][14]

U.S. House, California District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAmi Bera Incumbent 51.2% 152,133
     Republican Scott Jones 48.8% 145,168
Total Votes 297,301
Source: California Secretary of State


U.S. House, California District 7 Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAmi Bera Incumbent 54% 93,506
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngScott Jones 46% 79,640
Total Votes 173,146
Source: California Secretary of State

2014

See also: California's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

California's 7th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2014 due to the low margin of victory for Democrats in the last election and last two presidential elections. Incumbent Ami Bera (D) and Doug Ose (R) triumphed in the blanket primary over Igor Birman (R), Elizabeth Emken (R), Douglas Arthur Tuma (L) and Phill Tufi (I). Bera then narrowly defeated Ose in the general election.[15][16]

U.S. House, California District 7 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAmi Bera Incumbent 50.4% 92,521
     Republican Doug Ose 49.6% 91,066
Total Votes 183,587
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. ↑ The Sacramento Bee, " Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones plans 2016 challenge of Democratic Rep. Ami Bera," November 13, 2015
  13. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election," accessed April 4, 2016
  14. ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," June 7, 2016
  15. ↑ The New York Times, "California Primary Results," June 3, 2014
  16. ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Bera beats Ose in high-priced congressional race," November 19, 2014


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)


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