California State Senate elections, 2024
| 2024 California Senate Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | March 5, 2024 |
| General | November 5, 2024 |
| Past Election Results |
| 2022・2020・2018・2016・2014 2012・2010・2008 |
| 2024 Elections | |
|---|---|
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Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was March 5, 2024. The filing deadline was December 8, 2023. A total of 20 seats out of the California State Senate’s 40 seats were up for election in 2024. Democrats lost one seat in the election, for a 30 seat majority to Republicans’ nine seats. Before the election, Democrats controlled 32 seats to Republicans' eight.
The California State Senate was one of 85 state legislative chambers with elections in 2024. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| California State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2024 | After November 6, 2024 | |
| Democratic Party | 31 | 30 | |
| Republican Party | 9 | 10 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
Candidates
General election
California State Senate general election 2024 |
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| Office |  Democratic |
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Other |
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| District 3 |
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| District 5 |
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| District 7 |
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| District 9 |
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| District 11 |
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| District 13 |
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| District 15 |
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| District 17 |
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| District 19 |
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| District 21 |
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| District 23 |
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| District 25 |
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| District 27 |
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| District 29 |
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| District 31 |
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| District 33 |
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| District 35 |
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| District 37 |
Josh Newman (i) |
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| District 39 |
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= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionPrimary
California State Senate primary 2024 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| District 1 |
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| District 3 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 5 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 7 |
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| District 9 |
Joseph Grcar (Write-in) |
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| District 11 |
Jingchao Xiong (No party preference) |
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| District 13 |
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| District 15 |
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| District 17 |
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Michael Oxford (Libertarian Party) |
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| District 19 |
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| District 21 |
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| District 23 |
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| District 25 |
Sandra Armenta Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 27 |
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| District 29 |
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| District 31 |
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| District 33 |
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| District 35 |
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| District 37 |
Did not make the ballot: |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 39 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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Voting information
- See also: Voting in California
General election race ratings
The table below displays race ratings for each race in this chamber from CNalysis.
Campaign finance
- See also: Campaign finance
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. Districts and elections are grouped in sections of 10. To view data for a district, click on the appropriate bar below to expand it. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in general elections
One incumbent lost in general elections. This was more than the average of 0.6 incumbent defeats per cycle from 2010 to 2022.
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Josh Newman |  Democratic |
Senate District 37 |
Incumbents defeated in primaries
No incumbents lost in primaries. This has been the case since at least 2010.
Retiring incumbents
Eleven incumbents did not file for re-election in 2024.[1] This was the largest number of retirements since 2010, and a 22% increase from the average of nine retirements per cycle between 2010 and 2022. Those incumbents were:
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in California. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in California in 2024. Information below was calculated on Feb. 28, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
California had 58 contested state legislative primaries in 2024. This was the second-highest number and percentage of contested primaries since 2014.
All 58 contested primaries were top-two primaries where the top-two vote getters, regardless of party, advanced to the general election. This number was down from 60 in 2022.
Twenty-seven incumbents faced primary challenges, representing 41% of all incumbents running for re-election. This was lower than in 2022, 2020, and 2018 but higher than the 2016 and 2014 election cycles.
Of the 27 incumbents in contested primaries, 22 were Democrats and five were Republicans.
Overall, 328 candidates — 191 Democrats, 123 Republicans, and 14 from minor parties — filed to run. All 80 House and 20 of 40 Senate seats were up for election.
Thirty-four of those seats were open, meaning no incumbents filed. This guaranteed that at least 34% of seats up for election would be represented by newcomers in 2025.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the California State Senate from 2010 to 2024.[2]
| Open Seats in California State Senate elections: 2010 - 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2024 | 20 | 11 (55 percent) | 9 (45 percent) |
| 2022 | 20 | 10 (50 percent) | 10 (50 percent) |
| 2020 | 20 | 6 (30 percent) | 14 (70 percent) |
| 2018 | 20 | 6 (30 percent) | 14 (70 percent) |
| 2016 | 20 | 9 (45 percent) | 11 (55 percent) |
| 2014 | 20 | 10 (50 percent) | 10 (50 percent) |
| 2012 | 20 | 9 (45 percent) | 11 (55 percent) |
| 2010 | 20 | 10 (50 percent) | 10 (50 percent) |
Legislative referrals
- See also: Legislative referral
A legislative referral, or legislatively referred ballot measure, is a ballot measure that appears on the ballot due to a vote of the state legislature. A legislative referral can be a constitutional amendment, state statute, or bond issue.
As of the 2024 election, a two-thirds majority vote was required during one legislative session for the California State Legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounted to a minimum of 54 votes in the California State Assembly and 27 votes in the California State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments did not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
At the time of the 2024 election, Democrats held a 32-8 majority in the Senate and a 62-17 majority in the House. Democrats had the minimum votes necessary to put a legislative referral on the ballot without any Republican votes. They would have to lose 6 seats in the Senate and 9 seats in the Assembly to lose that ability. Republicans needed to win 19 Senate seats and 37 House seats to be able to pass legislative referrals without Democratic votes.
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Section 8020-8028 and Section 8100-8107 of the California Elections Code
Before accepting or spending money related to campaigning for office, a candidate for state office must file a candidate intention statement with the California Secretary of State. Note that this requirement does not apply to candidates for congressional office; federal campaign finance requirements apply to candidates for federal office. Candidates may qualify to run for office either by paying a filing fee or by submitting a petition in lieu of the filing fee.[3][4][3]
In addition to the candidate intention statement, a candidate is required to file nomination forms with his or her home county. These forms become available as early as the 113th day prior to the primary election and must be filed no later than the 88th day prior to the primary election.[5][6]
Nomination forms include a statement of economic interests, a declaration of candidacy, and nomination papers. Nomination papers require a certain number of signatures from registered voters. If a candidate qualifies by submitting an in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition, the signatures on that petition will be counted towards the requirement for the nomination paper. Registered voters may sign both the in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition and the nomination paper, unless the candidate is using the signatures on the in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition to count toward the nomination paper requirement. If that is the case, a registered voter can sign only one of the documents.[6]
The number of signatures required for nomination papers are as follows:[6]
- 65-100 for candidates seeking the office of United States Senator or a state executive office
- 40-60 for candidates seeking the office of United States Representative, state senator, or state assembly member
If an individual is running as a write-in candidate, the only nomination forms required are the nomination papers and a statement of write-in candidacy. These forms should be filed in the candidate's home county.[3]
Qualifying by payment of fee
The filing fee for a candidate seeking a seat in the United States Senate or a state executive office (e.g., governor or treasurer) is 2 percent of the first year's salary for that office. The filing fee for a candidate seeking the office of United States Representative, state senator, or state assembly member is 1 percent of the first year's salary for that office. The fee is paid to the California Secretary of State through the candidate's home county election office.[6]
Qualifying by petition in lieu of filing fee
Instead of paying a filing fee, a candidate may submit a petition. Signatures may be collected to cover all or any prorated portion of the filing fee.[3]
A candidate seeking the office of state assembly member must file signatures from 1,000 registered voters. Those seeking the office of state senator or United States Representative must file 2,000 signatures, and those seeking statewide office must file 7,000 signatures.[6][7][8]
If the number of registered voters in the district in which the candidate seeks nomination is less than 2,000, a candidate may submit a petition containing four signatures for each dollar of the filing fee, or 20 percent of the total number of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination, whichever is less.[6]
Completed petitions must be submitted 15 days before the end of the qualifying period to the counties in which the signers reside.[6]
Qualifications
According to Article IV of the California Constitution, the candidate must be a United States Citizen, a resident of California for three years, a resident of the legislative district for one year and a registered voter in that district by the time nomination papers are filed.[9]
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[10] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $128,215/year | $214/day |
When sworn in
California legislators assume office the first Monday in the December following their election.[11]
California political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
California Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty years with 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 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 | 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 | D | D | D |
Presidential politics in California
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in California, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
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| ✔ |
 
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
63.5
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11,110,250 | 55 |
 
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
34.3
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6,006,429 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.1
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187,895 | 0 | |
 
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.5
|
81,029 | 0 | |
 
| Roque De La Fuente/Ye (American Independent Party of California) |
0.3
|
60,160 | 0 | |
 
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Peace and Freedom Party) |
0.3
|
51,037 | 0 | |
 
| Brian T. Carroll/Amar Patel (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
2,605 | 0 | |
 
| Jesse Ventura/Cynthia McKinney (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
611 | 0 | |
 
| Mark Charles/Adrian Wallace (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
559 | 0 | |
 
| Brock Pierce/Karla Ballard (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
185 | 0 | |
 
| Joseph Kishore/Norissa Santa Cruz (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
121 | 0 | |
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Total votes: 17,500,881 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, California, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
61.7% | 8,753,788 | 55 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 31.6% | 4,483,810 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.4% | 478,500 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 2% | 278,657 | 0 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Gloria Estela La Riva/Dennis J. Banks | 0.5% | 66,101 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 0.9% | 120,739 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 14,181,595 | 55 | |||
| Election results via: Federal Election Commission | |||||
California presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 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 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | P[12] | 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 | D |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of State Senator, Member of the Assembly, "June 3, 2014, Primary Election," accessed June 21, 2022
- ↑ California Government Code, "Section 85100-85802," accessed June 21, 2022
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Phone call with Office of the California Secretary of State," October 9, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 California Elections Code, "Section 8000-8899," accessed June 21, 2022
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "AB 469," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "California Reduces Number of Signatures Needed on Petitions in Lieu of Filing Fee," October 16, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Qualifications for State Legislature," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ California Constitution, "Article 4, Section 2. (a)(3)," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Progressive Party
