2012 elections review: California primary marked by new Top Two Open Primary Act
June 6, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams
The fast-moving primary season of May and June continued with elections in California yesterday.
This was the first major election in which California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act was in effect. This means that all candidates for a seat competed in a blanket primary regardless of any party affiliation. The two candidates who received the most votes then advanced to the general election.
California held primary elections for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, State Senate, and State Assembly.
| Contested Primaries in California -- June 5, 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. House (53 seats) |
State Legislature (100 seats) | ||||
| Total Contested Primaries | 45 (84.91%) | 58 (58%) | |||
Congress
U.S. Senate
United States Senate elections in California, 2012
In the Senate race for Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein's seat, twenty four candidates competed, including incumbent Feinstein. Incumbent Dianne Feinstein and Republican challenger Elizabeth Emken advanced past the blanket primary and will compete in the general election on November 6, 2012.[1]
U.S. House
United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012
Contenders battled for California's 53 congressional district seats yesterday. There were no notable upsets, as all incumbents easily advanced to the general election.[2]
In California's heated 30th District race, Democratic incumbents Howard Berman and Brad Sherman both advanced past the primary as expected.[2]
| Members of the U.S. House from California -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 34 | 38 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | 15 | |
| Total | 53 | 53 | |
State legislature
There were a total of 100 state legislative seats up for election this year. Due to California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, this meant that there were only 100 possible primaries yesterday. Out of those 100 possible occurrences for voters to choose between multiple candidates, there were 58 contested primaries. In other words, 58% of California's primary races were contested, a figure that is significantly higher than the national average.
- There were 8 contested primaries in the Senate.
- There were 50 contested primaries in the Assembly.
Senate
Three Senate incumbents faced a primary challenge, all of whom easily secured enough votes to advance to the general election.
House
In the Assembly, 17 incumbents faced a primary challenge - 11 Democrats and 6 Republicans. Once again, all incumbents facing a primary challenge received enough of the vote to advance to the general election with ease.
| California State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 25 | 26 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | 12 | |
| Vacancy | 0 | 2 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
| California State Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 52 | 56 | |
| Republican Party | 28 | 24 | |
| Total | 80 | 80 | |
See also
|
- United States Senate elections in California, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012
- California State Senate elections, 2012
- California State Assembly elections, 2012
External links
- Unofficial U.S. Senate Election Results (dead link)
- Unofficial U.S. House Election Results (dead link)
- Unofficial State Senate Election Results
- Unofficial State Assembly Election Results (dead link)
Footnotes
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