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United States Senate election in California, 2022 (June 7 top-two primary)

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U.S. Senate, California
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Top-two primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 11, 2022
Primary: June 7, 2022
General: November 8, 2022
Pre-election incumbent:
Alex Padilla (Democratic)
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, 2022
See also
U.S. Senate, California
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California elections, 2022
U.S. Congress elections, 2022
U.S. Senate elections, 2022
U.S. House elections, 2022

A top-two primary took place on June 7, 2022, in California to determine which two candidates would run in the state's general election on November 8, 2022.

Incumbent Alex Padilla and Mark Meuser advanced from the primary for U.S. Senate California.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 11, 2022
June 7, 2022
November 8, 2022


Heading into the election, the incumbent was Alex Padilla (Democrat), who first took office in 2021 after Kamala Harris (D) was elected vice president.

There was also a special election to fill the remainder of the term Harris won in 2016, ending in January 2023.

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.[1][2]

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.

This page focuses on California's United States Senate top-two primary. For more in-depth information on the general election, see the following page:

HOTP-Side-Ad-Both-Small.png

Candidates and election results

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Alex Padilla
Alex Padilla (D)
 
54.1
 
3,725,544
✔
Image of Mark Meuser
Mark Meuser (R)
 
14.9
 
1,028,374
Image of Cordie Williams
Cordie Williams (R) Candidate Connection
 
6.9
 
474,321
Image of Jonathan Elist
Jonathan Elist (R) Candidate Connection
 
4.2
 
289,716
Image of Chuck Smith
Chuck Smith (R) Candidate Connection
 
3.9
 
266,766
Image of James P. Bradley
James P. Bradley (R)
 
3.4
 
235,788
Image of Douglas Howard Pierce
Douglas Howard Pierce (D)
 
1.7
 
116,771
Image of John Parker
John Parker (Peace and Freedom Party) Candidate Connection
 
1.5
 
105,477
Image of Sarah Sun Liew
Sarah Sun Liew (R) Candidate Connection
 
1.1
 
76,994
Image of Dan O'Dowd
Dan O'Dowd (D)
 
1.1
 
74,916
Image of Akinyemi Agbede
Akinyemi Agbede (D)
 
1.0
 
70,971
Image of Myron Hall
Myron Hall (R) Candidate Connection
 
1.0
 
66,161
Image of Timothy Ursich Jr.
Timothy Ursich Jr. (D) Candidate Connection
 
0.8
 
58,348
Image of Robert Lucero
Robert Lucero (R) Candidate Connection
 
0.8
 
53,398
Image of James Henry Conn
James Henry Conn (G) Candidate Connection
 
0.5
 
35,983
Image of Eleanor Garcia
Eleanor Garcia (Independent)
 
0.5
 
34,625
Image of Carlos Guillermo Tapia
Carlos Guillermo Tapia (R)
 
0.5
 
33,870
Image of Pamela Elizondo
Pamela Elizondo (G)
 
0.5
 
31,981
Image of Enrique Petris
Enrique Petris (R)
 
0.5
 
31,883
Image of Obaidul Huq Pirjada
Obaidul Huq Pirjada (D)
 
0.4
 
27,889
Image of Daphne Bradford
Daphne Bradford (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
26,900
Image of Don Grundmann
Don Grundmann (Independent)
 
0.1
 
10,181
Image of Deon Jenkins
Deon Jenkins (Independent)
 
0.1
 
6,936
Image of Mark Ruzon
Mark Ruzon (No party preference) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
206
Image of Lily Zhou
Lily Zhou (R) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
58
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Irene Ratliff (No party preference) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
7
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Marc Roth (No party preference) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
1

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

Total votes: 6,884,065
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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[3] 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.[4] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report Close of books Filing deadline
Year-end 2021 12/31/2021 1/31/2022
April quarterly 3/31/2022 4/15/2022
July quarterly 6/30/2022 7/15/2022
October quarterly 9/30/2022 10/15/2022
Pre-general 10/19/2022 10/27/2022
Post-general 11/28/2022 12/08/2022
Year-end 2022 12/31/2022 1/31/2023


Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Alex Padilla Democratic Party $12,026,093 $4,572,867 $7,453,227 As of December 31, 2022
Akinyemi Agbede Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Obaidul Huq Pirjada Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Dan O'Dowd Democratic Party $7,679,667 $7,550,359 $129,308 As of December 31, 2022
Douglas Howard Pierce Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Timothy Ursich Jr. Democratic Party $15,737 $1,727 $14,011 As of December 31, 2022
James P. Bradley Republican Party $157,784 $157,700 $85 As of December 31, 2022
Jonathan Elist Republican Party $516,699 $516,699 $0 As of June 30, 2022
Myron Hall Republican Party $106,056 $104,086 $1,969 As of December 31, 2022
Sarah Sun Liew Republican Party $136,900 $137,983 $20 As of December 31, 2022
Robert Lucero Republican Party $13,831 $10,087 $3,372 As of June 30, 2022
Mark Meuser Republican Party $1,052,437 $1,032,274 $20,163 As of December 31, 2022
Enrique Petris Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Chuck Smith Republican Party $24,673 $24,673 $0 As of September 17, 2022
Carlos Guillermo Tapia Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Cordie Williams Republican Party $361,394 $361,162 $232 As of December 31, 2022
Lily Zhou Republican Party $31,742 $29,492 $223 As of July 6, 2022
James Henry Conn Green Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Pamela Elizondo Green Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Irene Ratliff No party preference $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Marc Roth No party preference $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Mark Ruzon No party preference $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
John Parker Peace and Freedom Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Daphne Bradford Independent $10,064 $10,899 $-835 As of October 31, 2022
Eleanor Garcia Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Don Grundmann Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Deon Jenkins Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. 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.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in California in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
California U.S. Senate All candidates 65-100 $3,480.00 3/11/2022 Source

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in California and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for California, 2022
District Incumbent Party PVI
California's 1st Doug LaMalfa Ends.png Republican R+12
California's 2nd Jared Huffman Electiondot.png Democratic D+23
California's 3rd Open Ends.png Republican R+4
California's 4th Mike Thompson Electiondot.png Democratic D+17
California's 5th Tom McClintock Ends.png Republican R+9
California's 6th Ami Bera Electiondot.png Democratic D+7
California's 7th Doris Matsui Electiondot.png Democratic D+17
California's 8th John Garamendi Electiondot.png Democratic D+26
California's 9th Josh Harder Electiondot.png Democratic D+5
California's 10th Mark DeSaulnier Electiondot.png Democratic D+18
California's 11th Nancy Pelosi Electiondot.png Democratic D+37
California's 12th Barbara Lee Electiondot.png Democratic D+40
California's 13th Open Electiondot.png Democratic D+4
California's 14th Eric Swalwell Electiondot.png Democratic D+22
California's 15th Open Electiondot.png Democratic D+28
California's 16th Anna Eshoo Electiondot.png Democratic D+26
California's 17th Ro Khanna Electiondot.png Democratic D+23
California's 18th Zoe Lofgren Electiondot.png Democratic D+21
California's 19th Jimmy Panetta Electiondot.png Democratic D+18
California's 20th Kevin McCarthy Ends.png Republican R+16
California's 21st Jim Costa Electiondot.png Democratic D+9
California's 22nd David Valadao Ends.png Republican D+5
California's 23rd Jay Obernolte Ends.png Republican R+8
California's 24th Salud Carbajal Electiondot.png Democratic D+13
California's 25th Raul Ruiz Electiondot.png Democratic D+6
California's 26th Julia Brownley Electiondot.png Democratic D+8
California's 27th Mike Garcia Ends.png Republican D+4
California's 28th Judy Chu Electiondot.png Democratic D+16
California's 29th Tony Cardenas Electiondot.png Democratic D+26
California's 30th Adam Schiff Electiondot.png Democratic D+23
California's 31st Grace Napolitano Electiondot.png Democratic D+15
California's 32nd Brad Sherman Electiondot.png Democratic D+20
California's 33rd Pete Aguilar Electiondot.png Democratic D+12
California's 34th Jimmy Gomez Electiondot.png Democratic D+32
California's 35th Norma Torres Electiondot.png Democratic D+13
California's 36th Ted Lieu Electiondot.png Democratic D+21
California's 37th Open Electiondot.png Democratic D+37
California's 38th Linda Sanchez Electiondot.png Democratic D+14
California's 39th Mark Takano Electiondot.png Democratic D+12
California's 40th Young Kim Ends.png Republican R+2
California's 41st Ken Calvert Ends.png Republican R+3
California's 42nd Open Electiondot.png Democratic D+22
California's 43rd Maxine Waters Electiondot.png Democratic D+32
California's 44th Nanette Barragan Electiondot.png Democratic D+24
California's 45th Michelle Steel Ends.png Republican D+2
California's 46th Lou Correa Electiondot.png Democratic D+15
California's 47th Katie Porter Electiondot.png Democratic D+3
California's 48th Darrell Issa Ends.png Republican R+9
California's 49th Mike Levin Electiondot.png Democratic D+3
California's 50th Scott Peters Electiondot.png Democratic D+14
California's 51st Sara Jacobs Electiondot.png Democratic D+12
California's 52nd Juan Vargas Electiondot.png Democratic D+18


2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, California[5]
District Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
California's 1st 39.2% 58.3%
California's 2nd 73.5% 24.0%
California's 3rd 47.9% 49.7%
California's 4th 67.1% 30.5%
California's 5th 42.7% 55.0%
California's 6th 57.9% 39.4%
California's 7th 67.4% 30.3%
California's 8th 76.0% 22.0%
California's 9th 55.2% 42.6%
California's 10th 68.6% 29.3%
California's 11th 86.3% 11.7%
California's 12th 89.3% 8.6%
California's 13th 54.3% 43.4%
California's 14th 71.7% 26.2%
California's 15th 77.7% 20.4%
California's 16th 75.4% 22.4%
California's 17th 72.7% 25.3%
California's 18th 71.0% 26.9%
California's 19th 68.7% 29.1%
California's 20th 36.4% 61.3%
California's 21st 59.1% 38.8%
California's 22nd 55.3% 42.3%
California's 23rd 43.9% 53.7%
California's 24th 63.3% 34.3%
California's 25th 56.7% 41.4%
California's 26th 58.9% 39.0%
California's 27th 55.1% 42.7%
California's 28th 66.1% 31.9%
California's 29th 74.5% 23.2%
California's 30th 72.2% 26.0%
California's 31st 64.5% 33.4%
California's 32nd 69.5% 28.7%
California's 33rd 61.5% 36.2%
California's 34th 81.0% 16.7%
California's 35th 62.7% 35.1%
California's 36th 71.0% 26.9%
California's 37th 85.7% 12.4%
California's 38th 64.1% 33.9%
California's 39th 62.0% 35.8%
California's 40th 49.9% 48.0%
California's 41st 48.6% 49.7%
California's 42nd 71.7% 25.9%
California's 43rd 80.8% 17.0%
California's 44th 72.9% 24.7%
California's 45th 52.1% 46.0%
California's 46th 64.1% 33.7%
California's 47th 54.5% 43.4%
California's 48th 42.7% 55.0%
California's 49th 54.6% 43.2%
California's 50th 65.4% 32.2%
California's 51st 62.5% 35.2%
California's 52nd 67.4% 30.5%


2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2020 presidential election, 83.3% of Californians lived in one of the state's 31 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 8.3% lived in one of two Trending Democratic counties: Nevada and Orange. Overall, California was Solid Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in California following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

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[6] 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

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from California

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in California.

U.S. Senate election results in California
Race Winner Runner up
2018 54.2%Democratic Party 45.8%Republican Party
2016 61.8%Democratic Party 38.2%Democratic Party
2012 62.5%Democratic Party 37.5%Republican Party
2010 52.1%Democratic Party 42.5%Republican Party
2006 59.4%Democratic Party 35.2%Republican Party
Average 58.0 39.8

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of California

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in California.

Gubernatorial election results in California
Race Winner Runner up
2018 61.9%Democratic Party 38.1%Republican Party
2014 60.0%Democratic Party 40.0%Republican Party
2010 53.8%Democratic Party 40.9%Republican Party
2006 55.9%Republican Party 38.9%Democratic Party
2003 48.6%Republican Party 31.5%Democratic Party
Average 56.0 37.9

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of California's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from California, November 2022
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 42 44
Republican 0 11 11
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 53 55

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in California's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in California, November 2022
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State Democratic Party Shirley Weber
Attorney General Democratic Party Rob Bonta

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the California State Legislature as of November 2022.

California State Senate

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 31
     Republican Party 9
     Vacancies 0
Total 40

California State Assembly

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 60
     Republican Party 19
     Independent 1
     Vacancies 0
Total 80

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, California was a Democratic trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

California Party Control: 1992-2022
Seventeen 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
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
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
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

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in California and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for California
California United States
Population 37,253,956 308,745,538
Land area (sq mi) 155,857 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 59.7% 72.5%
Black/African American 5.8% 12.7%
Asian 14.5% 5.5%
Native American 0.8% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0.4% 0.2%
Other (single race) 14% 4.9%
Multiple 4.9% 3.3%
Hispanic/Latino 39% 18%
Education
High school graduation rate 83.3% 88%
College graduation rate 33.9% 32.1%
Income
Median household income $75,235 $62,843
Persons below poverty level 13.4% 13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**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.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 13, 2024
  2. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed August 13, 2024
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  5. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
  6. ↑ Progressive Party


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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