California is playing an important role in the 2024 general election.
Voters in potential swing congressional districts in Orange County, the Inland Empire and Central Valley could tip the balance of power in the House. For the Senate, voters were asked to pick both a short-term and long-term replacement for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In the race for president, Democrats are relying on the state’s 54 electoral college votes.
We are tracking how Californians voted for president in 2024 and mapping the popular vote by county. We are also tracking results for California’s 10 ballot propositions and 100 local state Assembly and Senate races.
Key races at a glance
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Presidential race in California
All of California’s 54 electoral votes — the most of any state — will go to whichever candidate wins the majority of votes. And while the state has sided with Democrats in every election since 1992, a closer look at results maps reveals some reliably red counties.
How Californians are voting for president
Congressional races
U.S. Senate
Rep. Adam B. Schiff, a Burbank Democrat, and former Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey, a Palm Desert Republican, are squaring off in California’s first Senate race without an incumbent running since 2016.
When either Schiff or Garvey takes office, California will be without a female senator for the first time in a generation.
For a six-year term ending January 2031
Garvey and Schiff are facing off twice. They are running to complete Feinstein’s term through Jan. 3, as well as for a full six-year term. The role is currently occupied by Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom when Feinstein died last year.
California’s U.S. House districts
We’re tracking election results for all of the state’s 52 U.S. House districts. Ten of the races are competitive, according to the Cook Political Report’s House Ratings. Both parties are defending seats considered toss-ups in the state.
Democrat state Sen. Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh are running in California’s 47th Congressional District for the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine.
The House will flip if Democrats pick up four seats nationwide.
California is home to the largest number of Asian and Pacific Islander candidates vying for House seats.
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Statewide races
The state government is a Democratic trifecta, with the party controlling the governor’s mansion and both bodies of the Legislature. Democrats even have veto-proof supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly. However, in California not all legislation is decided by lawmakers and the governor. In 2024, voters are tasked with a laundry list of propositions as part of the state’s direct democracy process.
Ballot propositions
On all Californians’ ballots are a slew of statewide measures asking voters if they support raising the minimum wage, imposing harsher penalties for certain crimes, banning forced prison labor, expanding rent control and much more.
Some measures are amendments to the California Constitution — a “yes” on Proposition 3 would codify the right to same-sex marriage, while a “yes” on Proposition 6 would ban involuntary servitude and mandatory work requirements for state prisoners. Other measures would authorize the state to borrow billions to modernize K-12 schools and community colleges (Proposition 2) and help fund the response to wildfires and other climate-related disasters (Proposition 4).
A “yes” on Proposition 33 would give cities and counties greater authority to enact rent control. Opponents have raised more than $125 million to defeat the initiative, far more than any other campaign supporting or opposing a ballot measure.
If Proposition 5 is approved, local housing-related bond measures — the kind that fund low-income housing, expand roads and transit, renovate parks and construct other public infrastructure projects—will need only 55% of the vote to pass, effective immediately. The current two-thirds threshold will lower for local bond measures currently on the ballot such as Pasadena Measure PL and Redondo Beach Measure FP.
Recalls
On the ballot this year are two recall elections for Oakland politicians. The central issue in both recalls is the perception among many residents that crime is out of control.
State Senate
Half of the 40 seats in the California Senate are up for election. Republicans and independents who caucus with them would need to gain four seats to block a Democratic supermajority. Some Senate districts do not have incumbents, as this election cycle completes the 2020 redistricting process.
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State Assembly
All 80 seats in the California Assembly are up for election. Republicans and allied independents would need to gain eight seats to prevent Democrats from retaining a supermajority for a fifth consecutive term.
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