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

Incumbent Gavin Newsom and Brian Dahle advanced from the primary for Governor of California.

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

California gubernatorial election, 2022

Candidates and election results

Nonpartisan primary for Governor of California

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Gavin Newsom (D)	55.9	3,945,748
✔	Brian Dahle (R)	17.7	1,252,800
	Michael Shellenberger (Independent)	4.1	290,286
	Jenny Rae Le Roux (R)	3.5	246,665
	Anthony Trimino (R)	3.5	246,322
	Shawn Collins (R)	2.5	173,083
	Luis Rodriguez (G)	1.8	124,672
	Leo Zacky (R)	1.3	94,521
	Major Williams (R)	1.3	92,580
	Robert Newman (R)	1.2	82,849
	Joel Ventresca (D)	0.9	66,885
	David Lozano (R)	0.9	66,542
	Ronald Anderson (R)	0.8	53,554
	Reinette Senum (Independent)	0.8	53,015
	Armando Perez-Serrato (D)	0.6	45,474
	Ron Jones (R)	0.5	38,337
	Daniel Mercuri (R)	0.5	36,396
	Heather Collins (G)	0.4	29,690
	Anthony Fanara (D)	0.4	25,086
	Cristian Morales (R)	0.3	22,304
	Lonnie Sortor (R)	0.3	21,044
	Frederic Schultz (Independent)	0.2	17,502
	Woodrow Sanders III (Independent)	0.2	16,204
	James Hanink (Independent)	0.1	10,110
	Serge Fiankan (Independent)	0.1	6,201
	Bradley Zink (Independent)	0.1	5,997
	Jeff Scott (American Independent Party) (Write-in)	0.0	13
	Gurinder Bhangoo (R) (Write-in)	0.0	8

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,063,888
= 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates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

Election competitiveness

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from three outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. 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.^[1]
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.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Race ratings: California gubernatorial election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid 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.

State profile

Demographic data for California
	California	U.S.
Total population:	38,993,940	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	155,779	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	61.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	5.9%	12.6%
Asian:	13.7%	5.1%
Native American:	0.7%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.4%	0.2%
Two or more:	4.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31.4%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$61,818	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	18.2%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California. **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.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in California

California voted for the Democratic candidate in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

More California coverage on Ballotpedia

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

	← 2018
Governor of California
	Top-two primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 11, 2022
	Primary: June 7, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Gavin Newsom (Democratic)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Voting in California
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
California; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Controller; Superintendent of Public Instruction; State Board of Equalization (4 seats); Insurance Commissioner

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

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

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%	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

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

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	Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor	Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State	Shirley Weber
Attorney General	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	39,538,223	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	155,857	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	56.1%	70.4%
Black/African American	5.7%	12.6%
Asian	14.8%	5.6%
Native American	0.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.4%	0.2%
Two or more	7.9%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	39.1%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	83.9%	88.5%
College graduation rate	34.7%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$78,672	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	12.6%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**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

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022
↑ Progressive Party

[1] Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.

[2] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018

[3] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018

[4] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018

[5] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[6] Progressive Party

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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California gubernatorial election, 2022 (June 7 top-two primary)

Candidates and election results

Nonpartisan primary election