John Cox (California)
John Cox (Republican Party) ran in a special election for Governor of California. He lost in the special general election on September 14, 2021.
This special election was related to the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Cox ran as a replacement candidate in the event that the governor was recalled.
Biography
Cox earned his bachelor's from the University of Illinois at Chicago in accounting and political science. He later graduated from Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law and began working as an accountant. Cox founded a law firm and an accounting firm. He also worked in investment advice, real estate, and venture capital.[1]
Ballot measure campaigns
In 2017, John Cox filed the Neighborhood Legislative Districts and Working Groups Initiative. The initiative was designed to restructure the California State Legislature, dividing legislative districts into smaller neighborhood districts. Under the initiative, voters would have elected neighborhood district representatives, who would have then elected members of the Senate and Assembly.[2] Cox, describing his initiative, said, "It makes every campaign to the Legislature door-to-door, person-to-person. Right now, to run for the Legislature you’ve got to have tons of money or you have to have tons of connections or you’ve got to sell your soul to funders. With tiny districts, which is what the Neighborhood Legislature is all about, we’ll have true small campaigns where voters get a say."[3] Proponents filed 794,204 raw, unverified signatures for the initiative. However, just 559,906 of the signatures were valid, missing the required number by 25,501 signatures, according to reports by the state elections division on February 6, 2018.[4]
Cox also endorsed the Proposition 6, the Voter Approval for Future Gas and Vehicle Taxes and 2017 Tax Repeal Initiative, which was proposed for the 2018 ballot, and he was named the support campaign's honorary co-chairman. Signatures were submitted for the initiative on April 30, 2018, and it was certified for the ballot on June 25, 2018. Proposition 6 was defeated.[5]
Elections
2021
Gavin Newsom yes/no recall question
Gavin Newsom recall, 2021
Gavin Newsom won the Governor of California recall election on September 14, 2021.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
38.1
|
4,894,473 | |||
| ✔ | No |
61.9
|
7,944,092 | ||
Total Votes |
12,838,565 | ||||
|
|
Gavin Newsom replacement question
The ordering on the candidate list below does not reflect the order in which candidates will appear on the recall ballot. Click here to read Ballotpedia's policy on ordering candidate lists.
General election
Special general election for Governor of California
The following candidates ran in the special general election for Governor of California on September 14, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
 | Larry Elder (R) | 48.4 | 3,563,867 | |
 | Kevin Paffrath (D)  | 9.6 | 706,778 | |
 | Kevin Faulconer (R) | 8.0 | 590,346 | |
 | Brandon Ross (D) | 5.3 | 392,029 | |
 | John Cox (R) | 4.1 | 305,095 | |
 | Kevin Kiley (R) | 3.5 | 255,490 | |
 | Jacqueline McGowan (D) | 2.9 | 214,242 | |
 | Joel Ventresca (D) | 2.5 | 186,345 | |
 | Daniel Watts (D) | 2.3 | 167,355 | |
 | Holly Baade (D) | 1.3 | 92,218 | |
 | Patrick Kilpatrick (D) | 1.2 | 86,617 | |
 | Armando Perez-Serrato (D) | 1.2 | 85,061 | |
 | Caitlyn Jenner (R) | 1.0 | 75,215 | |
 | John Drake (D) | 0.9 | 68,545 | |
 | Daniel Kapelovitz (G) | 0.9 | 64,375 | |
 | Jeff Hewitt (L) | 0.7 | 50,378 | |
 | Ted Gaines (R) | 0.7 | 47,937 | |
 | Angelyne (No party preference) | 0.5 | 35,900 | |
 | David Moore (No party preference) | 0.4 | 31,224 | |
 | Anthony Trimino (R) | 0.4 | 28,101 | |
 | Doug Ose (R) (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.4 | 26,204 | |
 | Michael Loebs (No party preference) | 0.3 | 25,468 | |
 | Heather Collins (G) | 0.3 | 24,260 | |
 | Major Singh (No party preference) | 0.3 | 21,394 | |
 | David Lozano (R) | 0.3 | 19,945 | |
 | Denver Stoner (R) | 0.3 | 19,588 | |
 | Samuel Gallucci (R) | 0.2 | 18,134 | |
 | Steven Chavez Lodge (R) | 0.2 | 17,435 | |
 | Jenny Rae Le Roux (R) | 0.2 | 16,032 | |
 | David Bramante (R) | 0.2 | 11,501 | |
 | Diego Martinez (R) | 0.1 | 10,860 | |
 | Robert Newman (R) | 0.1 | 10,602 | |
 | Sarah Stephens (R) | 0.1 | 10,583 | |
 | Dennis Richter (No party preference) | 0.1 | 10,468 | |
 | Major Williams (R) (Write-in) | 0.1 | 8,965 | |
 | Denis Lucey (No party preference) | 0.1 | 8,182 | |
 | James Hanink (No party preference) | 0.1 | 7,193 | |
 | Daniel Mercuri (R) | 0.1 | 7,110 | |
 | Chauncey Killens (R) | 0.1 | 6,879 | |
 | Leo Zacky (R) | 0.1 | 6,099 | |
 | Kevin Kaul (No party preference) | 0.1 | 5,600 | |
 | David Hillberg (R) | 0.1 | 4,435 | |
 | Adam Papagan (No party preference) | 0.1 | 4,021 | |
 | Rhonda Furin (R) | 0.1 | 3,964 | |
 | Nickolas Wildstar (R) | 0.1 | 3,811 | |
 | Jeremiah Marciniak (No party preference) | 0.0 | 2,894 | |
 | Joe Symmon (R) | 0.0 | 2,397 | |
 | Miki Habryn (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 137 | |
| Roxanne (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 116 | |
| Stacy Smith (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 81 | |
| Vivek Mohan (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 68 | |
| Thuy Hugens (American Independent Party) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 19 | |
| Vince Lundgren (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 5 | |
| Total votes: 7,361,568 | |||
| = 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
- Joseph Amey (American Independent Party)
- Karen Blake (R)
- Mariana Dawson (No party preference)
- Veronika Fimbres (G)
- Elizabeth Floyd (No party preference)
- Wayne Frazier (R)
- Timothy Herode (R)
- Luis Huang (D)
- Jimih Jones (R)
- Paul Mesrop Kurdian (No party preference)
- Carla Canada (No party preference)
- Mary Cook (No party preference)
- Torr Leonard (D)
- Jeremy Lupoli (D)
- Louis J. Marinelli, III (R)
- Christopher Mason (R)
- John Pierce (R)
- Patrick Rakus, Jr. (R)
- Frank Wade (D)
- Marc Roth (No party preference)
- Christopher Carlson (G)
- Douglas Deitch (D)
- Bryan Farley (D)
- Justin Hubbard (R)
- Jason Dixon (D)
- Sean Harrison (R)
- Ronald Palmieri (D)
- Ben Zandpour (No party preference)
- Robert Davidson Griffis (D)
- A. Shantz (G)
- Adam Hadjinian (No party preference)
- Michael Lynn Gabriel (No party preference)
- Hilaire Shioura (No party preference)
- Lee Olson (No party preference)
- Joseph Luciano (R)
- Steven Fitzgerald (R)
- Anthony Fanara (D)
- Jemiss Nazar (No party preference)
- Kevin Abushi (R)
2018
General election
General election for Governor of California
Gavin Newsom defeated John Cox in the general election for Governor of California on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gavin Newsom (D) | 61.9 | 7,721,410 |
| John Cox (R) | 38.1 | 4,742,825 | |
| Total votes: 12,464,235 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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 Governor of California
The following candidates ran in the primary for Governor of California on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gavin Newsom (D) | 33.7 | 2,343,792 |
| ✔ | | John Cox (R) | 25.4 | 1,766,488 |
 | Antonio Villaraigosa (D) | 13.3 | 926,394 | |
 | Travis Allen (R) | 9.5 | 658,798 | |
 | John Chiang (D) | 9.4 | 655,920 | |
 | Delaine Eastin (D) | 3.4 | 234,869 | |
 | Amanda Renteria (D) | 1.3 | 93,446 | |
| Robert Newman (R) | 0.6 | 44,674 | |
 | Michael Shellenberger (D) | 0.5 | 31,692 | |
| Peter Yuan Liu (R) | 0.4 | 27,336 | |
 | Yvonne Girard (R) | 0.3 | 21,840 | |
 | Gloria La Riva (Peace and Freedom Party) | 0.3 | 19,075 | |
| Juan Bribiesca (D) | 0.3 | 17,586 | |
 | Josh Jones (G) | 0.2 | 16,131 | |
 | Zoltan Gyurko Istvan (L) | 0.2 | 14,462 | |
| Albert Caesar Mezzetti (D) | 0.2 | 12,026 | |
| Nickolas Wildstar (L) | 0.2 | 11,566 | |
| Robert Davidson Griffis (D) | 0.2 | 11,103 | |
 | Akinyemi Agbede (D) | 0.1 | 9,380 | |
| Thomas Jefferson Cares (D) | 0.1 | 8,937 | |
 | Christopher Carlson (G) | 0.1 | 7,302 | |
 | Klement Tinaj (D) | 0.1 | 5,368 | |
 | Hakan Mikado (Independent) | 0.1 | 5,346 | |
| Johnny Wattenburg (Independent) | 0.1 | 4,973 | |
 | Desmond Silveira (Independent) | 0.1 | 4,633 | |
 | Shubham Goel (Independent) | 0.1 | 4,020 | |
| Jeffrey Edward Taylor (Independent) | 0.1 | 3,973 | |
| Total votes: 6,961,130 | |||
| = 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
- Boris Romanowsky (Independent)
- Robert Kleinberger (R)
- Lindsey Neil Shortland (Independent)
- George Konik (R)
- Scot Sturtevant (Independent)
- Ted Crisell (D)
- James Tran (Independent)
- Jacob Morris (R)
- Michael Bilger (Independent)
- Andy Blanch (Independent)
- Daniel Amare (R)
- David Bush (Independent)
- David Hadley (R)
- Grant Handzlik (Independent)
- David Asem (D)
- Stasyi Barth (R)
- Michael Bracamontes (D)
- Analila Joya (Independent)
- Harmesh Kumar (D)
- Joshua Laine (Independent)
- John Leslie-Brown (R)
- Frederic Prinz von Anhalt (Independent)
- Timothy Richardson (Independent)
- Brian Domingo (R)
- Doug Ose (R)
2002
| U.S. Senate, Illinois, 2002 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jim Durkin |
45.8% | 378,010 |
| James D. Oberweis | 31.4% | 259,515 |
| John Cox | 22.7% | 187,706 |
| Total Votes | 825,231 | |
2000
| U.S. House of Representatives, Illinois District 10, 2000 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mark Steven Kirk |
31.4% | 19,717 |
| Shawn Margaret Donnelley | 15.3% | 9,585 |
| Mark William Damisch | 14.4% | 9,016 |
| Andrew Hochberg | 11.9% | 7,480 |
| John Cox | 10.1% | 6,339 |
| Scott Phelps | 5.9% | 3,712 |
| Thomas Frederic "Tom" Lachner | 4.1% | 2,555 |
| Terry Gladman | 3.5% | 2,172 |
| James E. Goulka | 2.3% | 1,469 |
| John F. Guy | 0.6% | 397 |
| Jon Stewart | 0.6% | 363 |
| Total Votes | 62,805 | |
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Cox did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Cox’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Address Homelessness Make California More Affordable Slash Taxes Open Our Schools Reopen Our Economy Lower the Cost of Energy and Make it More Reliable |
” |
| —John Cox’s campaign website (2021)[7] | ||
2018
Campaign website
Cox's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
MY POLICY AGENDA Help is on the Way California has the highest poverty rate in the nation. Our schools are failing and millions of forgotten Californians cannot afford decent housing. Millions more must choose between buying a half tank of gas or groceries for their families, this is a choice no one should have to make. All of this happened on Gavin Newsom’s watch. Here are John Cox’s priorities to fix California. Affordability If Gavin Newsom cared about struggling California families, he wouldn’t support regressive taxes that hit the poor hardest. Caltrans is one of the most corrupt bureaucracies on the planet, spending more than double the national average to build and maintain a mile of highway. Voters can fight back by passing Proposition 6 to repeal this onerous tax. [link to Gas Tax page with posted stories of John and the gas tax. California’s sky-high sales taxes, vehicle license fees, and the highest gasoline taxes in the nation are a major reason so many families just can’t make ends meet anymore. These high fees are a major reason California now has the highest poverty rate in the nation. The most urgent need right now is to repeal the new vehicle license and gas tax increases. Millions of Californians are struggling. They are the forgotten ones falling through the cracks. Their choices are either working two or three jobs to afford basic housing, groceries, and energy, or moving their families out of California. For seven years as Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom did nothing to take on the privileged class of lobbyists, politicians and insiders who have rigged the system to their advantage. John Cox vows as Governor to take on the special interests and, in his words, “clean out the barn”. Environment & Energy California needs an environmental policy free from the corrupting influence of special interests on both sides. One that manages our forests, and delivers clean air and drinking water. Any environmental or energy policy in California must focus on creative solutions that prioritize both environmental protection and the ability of Californians forgotten by the Sacramento political class to afford to pay their rent and put food on the table for their families. John Cox supports clean energy efforts and that begins at home by driving an electric car. He opposes any new or expanded offshore oil drilling because he believe its important to focus on what we can do to ensure we protect California’s coastline, natural habitat and ocean waters. As Governor, John Cox will work to continue California’s environmental stewardship by working to expand clean energy options. Healthcare If you think access to quality health care is tough now, imagine if the DMV was in charge. If Gavin Newsom gets his way, expect the same long lines at your doctor’s waiting room as at your local DMV office. And since the prices will be set by the politicians, the lobbyists will have a field day padding the bills. Long lines, lower quality, higher costs. John Cox will take on Pharma, the HMO’s and the insurance companies and put health care consumers back in charge. Homelessness: Time to Get Serious In Gavin Newsom’s San Francisco, the playgrounds are littered with drug needles and the sidewalks are covered with human feces. Instead of fixing the root problem, they’ve just hired $130,000 a year “poop police” to walk around the city with shovels. That’s not a policy, it’s an admission of defeat. Unlike other states, the majority of those on California streets are there simply because they’ve been priced out of their homes. By rapidly increasing the supply of affordable housing, we can help those people help themselves, and then focus on treatment options for the mentally ill and substance addicts. Two different problems. Two different solutions. John Cox will prioritize them both. Housing It shouldn’t cost twice as much to build a house in California as in other states. John Cox spent decades building and renovating housing in other states at less than half the California cost. Red tape, taxes, sweetheart contract deals, fees and outdated environmental rules have created this problem. The answer is to streamline the approval process for building housing and remove the artificial barriers put in place by the lobbyists and politicians. Earlier this year John Cox proposed a plan to build more housing and spur economic growth through a reform of the California Environment Quality Act. Click here to read Thinking Boldly About Housing in California and CEQA. Immigration: Fixing a Broken System John Cox flatly rejects Gavin Newsom’s “sanctuary state” policies that have allowed violent criminal aliens to escape prosecution. Cox favors what he calls “smart immigration” that favors those with skills needed to fill specific worker shortages instead of competing with Americans for jobs. He also supports securing the border to stem the flow of illegal guns and human trafficking that’s plaguing our inner cities. Transportation: Cox opposes the High Speed Rail Project in contrast to his opponent Gavin Newsom. He believes that we can better invest in roads, highways and more efficient transit projects. As Governor he will call for CEQA Reform for Highway Projects (modeled on prior legislation affecting sports stadiums; exceptions for threats to health and safety, Native American heritage sites, etc.). In addition there are billions in reforms that can get projects moving now. Including but not limited to, dedicating a percentage of motor vehicle sales and use taxes to transportation projects, dedicate percentage of “cap-and-trade” fees to transportation projects, dedicate vehicle insurance taxes to transportation funding, $100 million redirected bond payments and cap-and-trade funds currently allocated to High Speed Rail to transportation projects. Water & Agriculture: The complete failure of the Sacramento establishment to provide the necessary funding, authorization, and will to build adequate surface water storage is the single greatest reason California continues to suffer unnecessary water shortages. Even the most recent approval of funds by the California Water Commission for both the Sites and Temperance Flat reservoirs are but a fraction of the funds needed to complete these two vital water storage projects. John Cox will prioritize these projects and also bring the focus back to protecting farmers, ranchers and our food supply. [6] |
” |
| —John Cox for Governor[8] | ||
See also
2021 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ John Cox's 2018 campaign website, "About John," accessed August 2, 2021
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiative 17-0002," accessed March 1, 2017
- ↑ New York Times, "California Today: A Republican Candidate for Governor Talks About Corruption," July 26, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Full Check of Signatures for Initiative," February 6, 2018
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "John Cox, Republican candidate for governor, pledges 'six figures' support for initiative to repeal gas tax hike," October 18, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ John Cox’s campaign website, “Solutions,” accessed July 28, 2021
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcoxissues
| ||||||||||||||
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
