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

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

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

There will also be 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]^[3]^[4]

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 percent of the vote in the first round of elections.

As of 2019, California was one of three states to use a top-two primary system. Washington used the system for congressional and state-level elections, and Nebraska utilized a top-two system for its nonpartisan state legislature.

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:

United States Senate election in California, 2022

Candidates and election results[edit]

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

		Candidate
		Alex Padilla (D)
		Akinyemi Agbede (D)
		Daphne Bradford (Independent)
		James P. Bradley (R)
		James Henry Conn (G)
		Jonathan Elist (R)
		Pamela Elizondo (G)
		Eleanor Garcia (Independent)
		Don Grundmann (Independent)
		Myron Hall (R)
		Obaidul Huq Pirjada (D)
		Deon Jenkins (Independent)
		Sarah Sun Liew (R)
		Robert Lucero (R)
		Mark Meuser (R)
		Dan O'Dowd (D)
		John Thompson Parker (Peace and Freedom Party)
		Enrique Petris (R)
		Douglas Howard Pierce (D)
		Chuck Smith (R)
		Carlos Guillermo Tapia (R)
		Timothy Ursich Jr. (D)
		Cordie Williams (R)
		Fepbrina Keivaulqe Autiameineire (Independent) (Write-in)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance[edit]

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.^[5] 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.^[6] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022. The next campaign finance filing deadline is July 15, 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	$9,225,690	$2,357,592	$7,102,929	As of March 31, 2022
Jonathan Elist	Republican Party	$367,602	$289,189	$78,413	As of May 18, 2022
Mark Meuser	Republican Party	$329,980	$290,122	$39,858	As of March 31, 2022
Cordie Williams	Republican Party	$298,018	$181,307	$116,711	As of March 31, 2022
James P. Bradley	Republican Party	$128,765	$129,619	$2,799	As of May 18, 2022
Myron Hall	Republican Party	$78,383	$70,831	$7,552	As of March 31, 2022
Sarah Sun Liew	Republican Party	$31,900	$23,539	$9,465	As of March 31, 2022
Chuck Smith	Republican Party	$14,140	$9,582	$4,558	As of May 18, 2022
Robert Lucero	Republican Party	$12,221	$10,087	$1,762	As of March 31, 2022
Timothy Ursich Jr.	Democratic Party	$10,944	$0	$10,944	As of March 31, 2022
Daphne Bradford	Independent	$983	$264	$718	As of December 31, 2021
Akinyemi Agbede	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Fepbrina Keivaulqe Autiameineire	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Dan O'Dowd	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	As of March 31, 2022
Don Grundmann	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Eleanor Garcia	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
John Thompson Parker	Peace and Freedom Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Obaidul Huq Pirjada	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Pamela Elizondo	Green Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Deon Jenkins	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Douglas Howard Pierce	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
James Henry Conn	Green Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. * 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.

Ballot access requirements[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

	← 2018
U.S. Senate, California
	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; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic; Inside Elections: Solid 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; 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 ; California elections, 2022; U.S. Congress elections, 2022; U.S. Senate elections, 2022; U.S. House elections, 2022; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

See also: Presidential voting trends in California

2012-2020[edit]

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:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

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.

California county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Democratic	31	83.3%
Trending Democratic	2	8.3%
Solid Republican	23	7.8%
New Democratic	2	0.6%
Total voted Democratic	35	92.2%
Total voted Republican	23	7.8%

Historical voting trends[edit]

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^[7]	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[edit]

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

U.S. Senate elections[edit]

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%	45.8%
2016	61.8%	38.2%
2012	62.5%	37.5%
2010	52.1%	42.5%
2006	59.4%	35.2%
Average	58.0	39.8

Gubernatorial elections[edit]

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%	38.1%
2014	60.0%	40.0%
2010	53.8%	40.9%
2006	55.9%	38.9%
2003	48.6%	31.5%
Average	56.0	37.9

State partisanship[edit]

Congressional delegation[edit]

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from California, May 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	42	44
Republican	0	10	10
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	1	1
Total	2	53	55

State executive[edit]

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

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

State legislature[edit]

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

California State Senate[edit]

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

California State Assembly[edit]

Party		As of May 2022
	Democratic Party	57
	Republican Party	19
	Independent	1
	Vacancies	3
Total		80

Trifecta control[edit]

As of May 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[edit]

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

Demographic Data for California (2019)
	California	United States
Population	39,283,497	324,697,795
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%
Two or more	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: 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.

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes[edit]

↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 25, 2019
↑ FairVote, "Primaries," accessed October 25, 2019
↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
↑ Alex Padilla California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed October 25, 2019
↑ 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.
↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
↑ Progressive Party

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Dianne Feinstein (D)

Alex Padilla (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

John Garamendi (D)

District 4

Tom McClintock (R)

District 5

Mike Thompson (D)

District 6

Doris Matsui (D)

District 7

Ami Bera (D)

District 8

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 9

Jerry McNerney (D)

District 10

Josh Harder (D)

District 11

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 12

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 13

Barbara Lee (D)

District 14

Jackie Speier (D)

District 15

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 16

Jim Costa (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Anna Eshoo (D)

District 19

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 20

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 21

David Valadao (R)

District 22

Vacant

District 23

Kevin McCarthy (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Mike Garcia (R)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

Judy Chu (D)

District 28

Adam Schiff (D)

District 29

Tony Cárdenas (D)

District 30

Brad Sherman (D)

District 31

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 32

Grace Napolitano (D)

District 33

Ted Lieu (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 37

Karen Bass (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Young Kim (R)

District 40

Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)

District 41

Mark Takano (D)

District 42

Ken Calvert (R)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Katie Porter (D)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Alan Lowenthal (D)

District 48

Michelle Steel (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Darrell Issa (R)

District 51

Juan Vargas (D)

District 52

Scott Peters (D)

District 53

Sara Jacobs (D)

Democratic Party (44)

Republican Party (10)

Vacancies (1)

[1] National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 25, 2019

[2] FairVote, "Primaries," accessed October 25, 2019

[3] Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.

[4] Alex Padilla California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed October 25, 2019

[5] 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.

[6] Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022

[7] Progressive Party

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

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