California's 8th Congressional District election, 2024

2026 → ← 2022
California's 8th Congressional District
Top-two primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 8, 2023
Primary: March 5, 2024 General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in California
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Safe 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, 2024
See also
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All U.S. House districts, including the 8th Congressional District of California, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was March 5, 2024. The filing deadline was December 8, 2023.

This race was one of 75 races in 2024 that was a rematch of the 2022 election. In 2024, Democrats won 39 of these matches, while Republicans won 36 of them. Democrats won 38 of those districts in 2022, and Republicans won 37.

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies. As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215. To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Democratic candidate won 75.7%-24.3%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 76.0%-22.0%.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• California's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 8

Incumbent John Garamendi defeated Rudy Recile in the general election for U.S. House California District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Garamendi (D)	74.0	201,962
		Rudy Recile (R)	26.0	71,068

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 273,030
= 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 8

Incumbent John Garamendi and Rudy Recile advanced from the primary for U.S. House California District 8 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Garamendi (D)	77.0	100,193
✔		Rudy Recile (R)	23.0	29,944

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 130,137
= 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.

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.

Rudy Recile

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Hello, fellow Americans! I’m a proud Retired US Army Major, former US Department of Agriculture employee and owner of a small web design company. My family made Solano County, California our home for 18 years. My platform issues include energy independence, supporting the Bill of Rights, tax dollars accountability, public safety, supporting veterans, California’s water issues and quality education. I support successful public schools, protecting our children, woman's rights and I believe in equality of opportunity for everyone. I'm President of a children’s education non-profit organization, and treasurer for a Veterans of Foreign Wars Post. I volunteer with community organizations at voter registration drives and other events. I was a logistics officer at the Pentagon in Washington DC. I became savvy with the inner workings of various agencies, and how to successfully accomplish the mission. During the 2020 election cycle, I wasn’t pleased with what I witnessed. I decided to run for congress because my 33 years of service to the USA prepared me well to immediately serve you in Congress. I am on a mission to restore our country with new blood and fresh ideas. “Ang Inyong Lingkod” (At Your Service), Rudy"

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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FAITH: An individual must have faith in an higher power. Faith in a higher power provides an individual with a moral center to aid them in making decisions regarding their lives, the lives of their family and all those things which affect their personal lives. Strong Faith makes for a strong United States of America!!!

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FAMILY: The nuclear family is the backbone of the United States of America. Strong families makes a strong country. Two parent households are ideal for the development of children and children are the future for the USA. Single parent households work as well although it is more difficult for a single parent and that is where the extended family makes a difference. The family and extended family units provide stability for adults as well as children. Strong families makes for a strong United States of America!!!

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FREEDOM: Freedom is why the United States of America exists. The first European settlers in the USA arrived because they were escaping religious persecution. The framers of the USA created the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution to protect our God given rights. The bill of rights in the US Constitution enumerates these FREEDOMS. H. L. Mencken stated "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." We must protect our Freedoms with our votes!!!

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 8 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in California

Election information in California: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 21, 2024
• Online: Oct. 21, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: N/A
• By mail: N/A by N/A
• Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Varies to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (PST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Rudy Recile (R)

FAITH: An individual must have faith in an higher power. Faith in a higher power provides an individual with a moral center to aid them in making decisions regarding their lives, the lives of their family and all those things which affect their personal lives. Strong Faith makes for a strong United States of America!!!

FAMILY: The nuclear family is the backbone of the United States of America. Strong families makes a strong country. Two parent households are ideal for the development of children and children are the future for the USA. Single parent households work as well although it is more difficult for a single parent and that is where the extended family makes a difference. The family and extended family units provide stability for adults as well as children. Strong families makes for a strong United States of America!!!

FREEDOM: Freedom is why the United States of America exists. The first European settlers in the USA arrived because they were escaping religious persecution. The framers of the USA created the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution to protect our God given rights. The bill of rights in the US Constitution enumerates these FREEDOMS. H. L. Mencken stated "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." We must protect our Freedoms with our votes!!!

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Rudy Recile (R)

Energy independence

Supporting the Bill of Rights Tax dollars accountability Public safety Supporting veterans California’s water issues Quality education Successful public schools Protecting our children

Equality of opportunity for everyone

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Rudy Recile (R)

George S. Patton is whom I look up to. He had many idiosyncrasies which I do not agree with but he also had many qualities I admire. His respect for God, ability to talk to people directly, courage of his convictions, belief in the people whom he commanded, and a degree of humility.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Rudy Recile (R)

Faith, Family, Freedom, understanding of the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Rudy Recile (R)

Faith, Belief in Family and Freedom for all and belief in the equality of opportunity.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Rudy Recile (R)

Faith, Family, Freedom, understanding of the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution

What legacy would you like to leave?

Rudy Recile (R)

I did my best for the people and the best to protect

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Rudy Recile (R)

Bicentennial of the USA. I was eight years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Rudy Recile (R)

Ranch hand at a Christian Summer Camp

What is your favorite book? Why?

Rudy Recile (R)

W.E.B. Griffin - By Order Of The President, Demonstrates the right thing to do regardless of the consequences.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Rudy Recile (R)

Iron Man!!!

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Rudy Recile (R)

September by Earth Wind and Fire

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Rudy Recile (R)

Being a closer for projects. I can always get people interested in something but getting them to say yes, um er has always been a challenge.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Rudy Recile (R)

The ability to have constructive discourse for the betterment of all citizens of the USA.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Rudy Recile (R)

No it is not necessary for a person to have previous experience in government or politics. There are various levels of understanding and experience this is what makes USA a great country. Any average person who wins the will of the people is able to shape the future of the USA.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Rudy Recile (R)

Reducing Inflation

Keeping Diversity Equity Inclusion out of Society Keeping Critical Race Theory out of Education Managing Immigration into the USA Allowing Children to grow up as children

Maintaining the Bill of Rights

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Rudy Recile (R)

Yes two years is enough for a representative because it forces the representative to keep in touch with the people so as to represent them at the national level.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Rudy Recile (R)

Term limits are already set in the Constitution. Two years for Representatives and Six years for Senators. It is up to the people to vote as to who they believe in and vote accordingly. I believe in Age limits. Age is ok but there is a limit in which person should serve the people. We must respect our elders and allow them to enjoy their lives after working so hard in life. What I believe is if a person earned the votes of the people they should be allowed to continue to serve as many terms possible. If a person has served 20+ years and lives to the age of 70 years old they should be allowed to finish their last term then retire. If they are under 70 years of age and are elected to office then I say limit representatives to three terms and senators two terms. Just like the President of the United States must meet a minimum age of 35. I believe a legislator should not be allowed to run for office if they are 70+ years of age.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Rudy Recile (R)

Andy Biggs, Barry Loudermilk, Byron Donalds, Chip Roy, Jim Jordan, Louie Gohmert, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Greene, Paul Gosar, Tom McClintock,

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Rudy Recile (R)

I was told by several people I've always been a Democrat but now I can't be because the Democrat party left me. What the Democrat party is doing is not what I believe in. I believe in Lower Taxes, Protecting Children, Protecting biological Women's rights, and America for American citizens. The left is changing all of it.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Rudy Recile (R)

Doctor, Doctor it hurts when I do this. Then don't do that!!!

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Rudy Recile (R)

It is necessary so long it is in line with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Rudy Recile (R)

The Constitution is the basis for the founding of the USA. If the Constitution and the laws of the USA based on the constitution do not benefit the people the USA doesn't exist.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Rudy Recile (R)

Investigative powers are outlined in the Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 18. The US House should investigate all those issues which affect the people and review those items which negatively affect the people.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Rudy Recile (R)

Yolo County GOP

Solano County GOP

Eastern Contra Costa California Republican Assembly

What committees interest you?

Rudy Recile (R)

Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, Homeland Security, Oversight and Accountability, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans' Affairs, Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, Budget, Environment and Public Works, Finance, Foreign Relations, Health Education Labor and Pension, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Small Business and Entrepreneurship

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Rudy Recile (R)

The US Government brings in enough Tax Revenue to support the US Government and the US Government must be shrunk because it is way too big. The problem the US Government has with transparency is it doesn't want to let the people know where the money has gone. The government appropriates the money but doesn't track how and where the money is spent once it reaches the agency, offices or companies the money is sent. The people would be upset if they knew how and where the money was spent. We the people must know where the money is sent and how it was spent.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
John Garamendi	Democratic Party	$1,113,066	$969,796	$1,264,718	As of December 31, 2024
Rudy Recile	Republican Party	$21,437	$20,894	$1,038	As of December 31, 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." ** 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.

General 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.
• 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.

Race ratings: California's 8th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

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	12/8/2023	Source

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.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

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

See also: The Cook Political Report's 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+26. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 26 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 8th the 31st most Democratic district nationally.

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 8th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
76.0%	22.0%

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. The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
75.3	24.3	D+51.0

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in California, 2020

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	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

See also: Party control of California state government

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	Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor	Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State	Shirley Weber
Attorney General	Rob Bonta

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

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.

2022

See also: California's 8th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 8

Incumbent John Garamendi defeated Rudy Recile in the general election for U.S. House California District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Garamendi (D)	75.7	145,501
		Rudy Recile (R)	24.3	46,634

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 192,135
= 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 8

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 8 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Garamendi (D)	63.1	72,333
✔		Rudy Recile (R)	20.5	23,518
		Cheryl Sudduth (D)	9.9	11,378
		Christopher Riley (D)	3.4	3,926
		Edwin Rutsch (D)	2.9	3,268
	Submit photo	Demnlus Johnson (D) (Write-in)	0.2	234

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 114,657
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: California's 8th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 8

Jay Obernolte defeated Chris Bubser in the general election for U.S. House California District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Obernolte (R)	56.1	158,711
		Chris Bubser (D)	43.9	124,400

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 283,111
= 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.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 8

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 8 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jay Obernolte (R)	34.9	50,677
✔		Chris Bubser (D)	28.7	41,595
		Tim Donnelly (R)	20.7	30,079
		Bob Conaway (D)	6.2	9,053
		Jeff Esmus (Independent)	2.8	4,042
		James Ellars (D)	2.7	3,948
		Jeremy Staat (R)	1.6	2,288
	Submit photo	Jerry Laws (R)	1.4	2,010
	Submit photo	Justin David Whitehead (R)	0.9	1,305
		Jacquetta Green (Unaffiliated) (Write-in)	0.0	11

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 145,008
= 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

• Paul Cook (R)
• Peter Mathisen (Nonpartisan)
• Nathan Charette (R)
• Destiny Lovato (R)

2018

See also: California's 8th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 8

Incumbent Paul Cook defeated Tim Donnelly in the general election for U.S. House California District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Cook (R)	60.0	102,415
		Tim Donnelly (R)	40.0	68,370

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 170,785
= 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 8

Incumbent Paul Cook and Tim Donnelly defeated Marge Doyle, Rita Ramirez, and Ronald O'Donnell in the primary for U.S. House California District 8 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Cook (R)	40.8	44,482
✔		Tim Donnelly (R)	22.8	24,933
		Marge Doyle (D)	21.7	23,675
		Rita Ramirez (D)	10.1	10,990
		Ronald O'Donnell (D)	4.6	5,049

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 109,129
= 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.

See also

California	2024 primaries	2024 U.S. Congress elections
California congressional delegation Voting in California California elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Alex Padilla (D)

Adam Schiff (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

Kevin Kiley (R)

District 4

Mike Thompson (D)

District 5

Tom McClintock (R)

District 6

Ami Bera (D)

District 7

Doris Matsui (D)

District 8

John Garamendi (D)

District 9

Josh Harder (D)

District 10

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 11

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 12

Lateefah Simon (D)

District 13

Adam Gray (D)

District 14

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 15

Kevin Mullin (D)

District 16

Sam Liccardo (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 19

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 20

Vince Fong (R)

District 21

Jim Costa (D)

District 22

David Valadao (R)

District 23

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

George Whitesides (D)

District 28

Judy Chu (D)

District 29

Luz Rivas (D)

District 30

Laura Friedman (D)

District 31

Gil Cisneros (D)

District 32

Brad Sherman (D)

District 33

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Ted Lieu (D)

District 37

Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Mark Takano (D)

District 40

Young Kim (R)

District 41

Ken Calvert (R)

District 42

Robert Garcia (D)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Derek Tran (D)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Dave Min (D)

District 48

Darrell Issa (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Scott Peters (D)

District 51

Sara Jacobs (D)

District 52

Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic Party (45)

Republican Party (9)

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