Presidential voting trends in California
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| Read more about what a Bellwether is and Presidential election accuracy. |
| Voting trends by state |
A bellwether is any indicator or predictor of something. In presidential electoral politics, states may be considered bellwethers of future electoral outcomes because of how many times they have voted for the winning candidate or party. Below is an analysis of California's voting record in presidential elections from 1900 to 2020. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times the state has voted for the winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.
Presidential election voting record in California
- See also: Presidential voting trends by state and Bellwether
Between 1900 and 2020, California participated in 31 presidential elections.
1900-2020
- California voted for Joe Biden (D) in the 2020 presidential election.
- Between 1900 and 2020, California voted for the winning presidential candidate 80.6% of the time.
- Between 2000 and 2020, California voted for the winning presidential candidate 50% of the time.
- Since 1900, California has voted Democratic 48.4% of the time and Republican 48.4% of the time.
- Since 2000, California has voted Democratic 100% of the time and Republican 0% of the time.
Split electoral votes
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive) won 11 electoral votes in California and Woodrow Wilson (D) received two.[1]
Third-party or alternative major party candidate votes
In 1912, Woodrow Wilson ran as the Democratic candidate, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a Progressive candidate, and William H. Taft ran as the Republican candidate. Taft won Utah and Vermont, while Roosevelt won 11 electoral votes (Wilson got two) from California, 15 from Michigan, 12 from Minnesota, 38 in Pennsylvania, five from South Dakota, and seven from Washington.[1]
Presidential voting history
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[2] | 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 |
Test your knowledge of how Democratic vote shares have changed over time in California, New York, and South Carolina. Click "Play" on the widget below to begin.
Test your knowledge of how Republican vote shares have changed over time in California, New York, and South Carolina. Click "Play" on the widget below to begin.
See also
Use the dropdown menu below to navigate Ballotpedia's coverage of presidential election voting trends in each state.
- Presidential voting history by state
- Presidential voting trends by state
- Presidential election accuracy data
- Presidential statewide margins of victory of 5 percentage points or fewer, 1948-2020
- Splits between the Electoral College and popular vote
- Results of U.S. House elections in presidential election years, 1920-2020
External links
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
- University of California Santa Barbara, The American Presidency Project
Footnotes
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