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California's 8th Congressional District election, 2016

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2018
2014

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California's 8th Congressional District

General Election Date
November 8, 2016

Primary Date
June 7, 2016

November 8 Election Winner:
Paul Cook Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Paul Cook Republican Party
Paul Cook.jpg

Race Ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid R[1]
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2]
Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3]

California U.S. House Elections
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2016 U.S. Senate Elections

2016 U.S. House Elections

Flag of California.png

The 8th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Paul Cook (R) defeated Rita Ramirez (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Cook and Ramirez defeated Tim Donnelly (R), Roger LaPlante (D), and John Pinkerton (D) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016. The general election took place on November 8, 2016.[4][5][6]

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
March 11, 2016
June 7, 2016
November 8, 2016

Primary: California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.[7][8]

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.


Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Paul Cook (R), who was first elected in 2012.

As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, California's 8th Congressional District was located in the eastern portion of the state and included Mono and Inyo counties and areas of San Bernardino County.[9]

Election results

General election

U.S. House, California District 8 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Cook Incumbent 62.3% 136,972
     Democratic Rita Ramirez 37.7% 83,035
Total Votes 220,007
Source: California Secretary of State

Primary election

U.S. House, California District 8 Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Cook Incumbent 42% 50,425
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRita Ramirez 21.9% 26,325
     Republican Tim Donnelly 20.7% 24,886
     Democratic John Pinkerton 9.8% 11,780
     Democratic Roger LaPlante 5.5% 6,661
Total Votes 120,077
Source: California Secretary of State

Candidates

General election candidates:

Republican Party Paul Cook Approveda
Democratic Party Rita Ramirez

Primary candidates:

Democratic Party Roger LaPlante[10][4]
Democratic Party John Pinkerton[11][4]
Democratic Party Rita Ramirez[4] Approveda
Republican Party Paul Cook - Incumbent[4] Approveda
Republican Party Tim Donnelly - Former state rep.[4][12]


District history

2014

See also: California's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 8th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Paul Cook (R) defeated Bob Conaway (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 8 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Cook Incumbent 67.6% 77,480
     Democratic Bob Conaway 32.4% 37,056
Total Votes 114,536
Source: California Secretary of State

2012

See also: California's 8th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 8th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Republican Paul Cook won the election in the district.[13]

U.S. House, California District 8 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngPaul Cook 57.4% 103,093
     Republican Greg Imus 42.6% 76,551
Total Votes 179,644
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Important dates and deadlines

See also: California elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in California in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
February 1, 2016 Campaign finance Semi-annual report due
February 25, 2016 Ballot access Close of signature in lieu of filing fee period for voter-nominated offices
March 11, 2016 Ballot access Close of declaration of candidacy and nomination paper period for voter-nominated offices
April 28, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-election report due
May 26, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-election report due
August 1, 2016 Campaign finance Semi-annual report due
June 7, 2016 Election date Primary election
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
Sources: California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed January 11, 2016
California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for State Candidate Controlled Committees Listed on the June 7, 2016 Ballot," accessed January 11, 2016


See also

Footnotes


For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!


Senators
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)