United States presidential elections in California

Presidential elections in California

Number of elections	43
Voted Democratic	19
Voted Republican	22
Voted other	2[a]
Voted for winning candidate	35
Voted for losing candidate	8

Since being admitted to the Union in 1850, California has participated in 43 presidential elections. A bellwether from 1888 to 1996, voting for the losing candidates only three times in that span, California has become a reliable state for Democratic presidential candidates since 1992.

List

Bold indicates the presidential candidate who won the national election.

Year	Winner						Runner-up						Other			TEV	Sources
	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	EV	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	EV	Votes	%	EV
1852	Franklin Pierce		Democratic	40,721	53.02%	4	Winfield Scott		Whig	35,972	46.83%	–	117	0.15%	–	4	[1]
1856	James Buchanan		Democratic	53,342	48.38%	4	Millard Fillmore		Know Nothing	36,195	32.83%	–	20,718	18.79%	–	4	[2][b]
1860	Abraham Lincoln		Republican	38,733	32.30%	4	Stephen A. Douglas		Democratic	37,999	31.70%	–	43,095	35.96%	–	4	[3][c]
1864	Abraham Lincoln		National Union	62,053	58.60%	5	George B. McClellan		Democratic	43,837	41.40%	–	–	–	–	5	[4]
1868	Ulysses S. Grant		Republican	54,588	50.20%	5	Horatio Seymour		Democratic	54,068	49.80%	–	–	–	–	5	[5]
1872	Ulysses S. Grant		Republican	54,007	56.38%	6	Horace Greeley		Liberal Republican	40,717	42.51%	–	1,061	1.11%	–	6	[6]
1876	Rutherford B. Hayes		Republican	79,258	50.88%	6	Samuel J. Tilden		Democratic	76,460	49.08%	–	66	0.04%	–	6	[7]
1880	Winfield Scott Hancock		Democratic	80,426	48.98%	5	James A. Garfield		Republican	80,282	48.89%	1	3,510	2.14%	–	6	[8]
1884	James G. Blaine		Republican	102,369	51.97%	8	Grover Cleveland		Democratic	89,288	45.33%	–	5,331	2.71%	–	8	[9]
1888	Benjamin Harrison		Republican	124,816	49.66%	8	Grover Cleveland		Democratic	117,729	46.84%	–	8,794	3.49%	–	8	[10]
1892	Grover Cleveland		Democratic	118,174	43.83%	8	Benjamin Harrison		Republican	118,027	43.78%	1	33,408	12.39%	–	9	[11][d]
1896	William McKinley		Republican	146,688	49.16%	8	William Jennings Bryan		Democratic	144,766	48.51%	1	6,965	2.33%	–	9	[12]
1900	William McKinley		Republican	164,755	54.50%	9	William Jennings Bryan		Democratic	124,985	41.34%	–	13,264	4.38%	–	9	[13]
1904	Theodore Roosevelt		Republican	205,226	61.84%	10	Alton B. Parker		Democratic	89,404	26.94%	–	37,248	11.22%	–	10	[14][e]
1908	William Howard Taft		Republican	214,398	55.46%	10	William Jennings Bryan		Democratic	127,492	32.98%	–	44,707	11.56%	–	10	[15][f]
1912	Theodore Roosevelt		Progressive	283,610	41.83%	11	Woodrow Wilson		Democratic	283,436	41.81%	2	110,898	16.36%	–	13	[16][g]
1916	Woodrow Wilson		Democratic	466,289	46.65%	13	Charles Evans Hughes		Republican	462,516	46.27%	–	70,798	7.08%	–	13	[17]
1920	Warren G. Harding		Republican	624,992	66.20%	13	James M. Cox		Democratic	229,191	24.28%	–	89,867	9.52%	–	13	[18][h]
1924	Calvin Coolidge		Republican	733,250	57.20%	13	Robert M. La Follette		Socialist	424,649	33.13%	–	124,001	9.67%	–	13	[19][i]
1928	Herbert Hoover		Republican	1,162,323	64.69%	13	Al Smith		Democratic	614,365	34.19%	–	19,968	1.11%	–	13	[20]
1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt		Democratic	1,324,157	58.39%	22	Herbert Hoover		Republican	847,902	37.39%	–	95,907	4.22%	–	22	[21]
1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt		Democratic	1,766,836	66.95%	22	Alf Landon		Republican	836,431	31.70%	–	35,615	1.35%	–	22	[22]
1940	Franklin D. Roosevelt		Democratic	1,877,618	57.44%	22	Wendell Willkie		Republican	1,351,419	41.34%	–	39,754	1.22%	–	22	[23]
1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt		Democratic	1,988,564	56.48%	25	Thomas E. Dewey		Republican	1,512,965	42.97%	–	19,346	0.55%	–	25	[24]
1948	Harry S. Truman		Democratic	1,913,134	47.57%	25	Thomas E. Dewey		Republican	1,895,269	47.13%	–	213,135	5.29%	–	25	[25]
1952	Dwight D. Eisenhower		Republican	3,035,587	56.83%	32	Adlai Stevenson II		Democratic	2,257,646	42.27%	–	48,370	0.90%	–	32	[26]
1956	Dwight D. Eisenhower		Republican	3,027,668	55.39%	32	Adlai Stevenson II		Democratic	2,420,135	44.27%	–	18,552	0.34%	–	32	[27]
1960	Richard Nixon		Republican	3,259,722	50.10%	32	John F. Kennedy		Democratic	3,224,099	49.55%	–	22,757	0.35%	–	32	[28]
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson		Democratic	4,171,877	59.11%	40	Barry Goldwater		Republican	2,879,108	40.79%	–	6,601	0.09%	–	40	[29]
1968	Richard Nixon		Republican	3,467,664	47.82%	40	Hubert Humphrey		Democratic	3,244,318	44.74%	–	539,605	7.44%	–	40	[30][j]
1972	Richard Nixon		Republican	4,602,096	55.00%	45	George McGovern		Democratic	3,475,847	41.54%	–	289,919	3.47%	–	45	[31]
1976	Gerald Ford		Republican	3,882,244	49.35%	45	Jimmy Carter		Democratic	3,742,284	47.57%	–	242,589	3.08%	–	45	[32]
1980	Ronald Reagan		Republican	4,524,858	52.69%	45	Jimmy Carter		Democratic	3,083,661	35.91%	–	978,544	11.40%	–	45	[33][k]
1984	Ronald Reagan		Republican	5,467,009	57.51%	47	Walter Mondale		Democratic	3,922,519	41.27%	–	115,895	1.22%	–	47	[34]
1988	George H. W. Bush		Republican	5,054,917	51.13%	47	Michael Dukakis		Democratic	4,702,233	47.56%	–	129,914	1.32%	–	47	[35]
1992	Bill Clinton		Democratic	5,121,325	46.01%	54	George H. W. Bush		Republican	3,630,574	32.61%	–	2,379,822	21.38%	–	54	[36][l]
1996	Bill Clinton		Democratic	5,119,835	51.10%	54	Bob Dole		Republican	3,828,380	38.21%	–	1,071,269	10.68%	–	54	[37][m]
2000	Al Gore		Democratic	5,861,203	53.45%	54	George W. Bush		Republican	4,567,429	41.65%	–	537,224	4.91%	–	54	[38]
2004	John Kerry		Democratic	6,745,485	54.31%	55	George W. Bush		Republican	5,509,826	44.36%	–	166,548	1.34%	–	55	[39]
2008	Barack Obama		Democratic	8,274,473	61.01%	55	John McCain		Republican	5,011,781	36.95%	–	296,829	2.19%	–	55	[40]
2012	Barack Obama		Democratic	7,854,285	60.24%	55	Mitt Romney		Republican	4,839,958	37.12%	–	361,572	2.77%	–	55	[41]
2016	Hillary Clinton		Democratic	8,753,788	61.73%	55	Donald Trump		Republican	4,483,810	31.62%	–	1,005,843	7.06%	–	55	[42]
2020	Joe Biden		Democratic	11,110,250	63.48%	55	Donald Trump		Republican	6,006,429	34.32%	–	384,192	2.20%	–	55	[43]
Year	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	EV	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	EV	Votes	%	EV	TEV	Sources
	Winner						Runner-up						Other

See also

• Elections in California
• List of United States Senate elections in California

Notes

1. Abraham Lincoln, 1864; Theodore Roosevelt, 1912.
2. In 1856, Republican candidate John C. Frémont won 20,704 votes (18.78%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[2]
3. In 1860, Southern Democratic candidate John C. Breckinridge won 33,969 votes (28.35%), and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell won 9,111 votes (7.60%) in California but neither received an electoral vote from the state.^[3]
4. In 1892, Populist candidate James B. Weaver won 25,311 votes (9.39%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[11]
5. In 1904, Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs won 29,535 votes (8.90%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[14]
6. In 1908, Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs won 28,659 votes (7.41%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[15]
7. In 1912, Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs won 79,201 votes (11.68%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[16]
8. In 1920, Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs won 64,076 votes (6.79%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[18]
9. In 1924, Democratic candidate John W. Davis won 105,514 votes (8.23%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[19]
10. In 1968, American Independent candidate George Wallace won 487,270 votes (6.72%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[30]
11. In 1980, Independent candidate John B. Anderson won 739,833 votes (8.72%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[33]
12. In 1992, Independent candidate Ross Perot won 2,296,006 votes (20.63%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[36]
13. In 1996, Reform candidate Ross Perot won 697,847 votes (6.96%) in California but did not receive an electoral vote from the state.^[37]

References

1. Leip, Dave. "1852 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
2. Leip, Dave. "1856 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. Leip, Dave. "1860 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
4. Leip, Dave. "1864 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
5. Leip, Dave. "1868 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
6. Leip, Dave. "1872 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
7. Leip, Dave. "1876 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
8. Leip, Dave. "1880 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
9. Leip, Dave. "1884 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
10. Leip, Dave. "1888 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
11. Leip, Dave. "1892 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
12. Leip, Dave. "1896 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
13. Leip, Dave. "1900 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
14. Leip, Dave. "1904 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
15. Leip, Dave. "1908 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
16. Leip, Dave. "1912 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
17. Leip, Dave. "1916 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
18. Leip, Dave. "1920 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
19. Leip, Dave. "1924 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
20. Leip, Dave. "1928 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
21. Leip, Dave. "1932 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
22. Leip, Dave. "1936 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
23. Leip, Dave. "1940 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
24. Leip, Dave. "1944 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
25. Leip, Dave. "1948 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
26. Leip, Dave. "1952 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
27. Leip, Dave. "1956 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
28. Leip, Dave. "1960 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
29. Leip, Dave. "1964 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
30. Leip, Dave. "1968 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
31. Leip, Dave. "1972 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
32. Leip, Dave. "1976 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
33. Leip, Dave. "1980 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
34. Thomas, Richard C. "Federal Elections 84" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
35. Thomas, Richard C. "Federal Elections 88" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
36. Eu, March Fong. "Statement of Vote – November 3, 1992, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
37. Jones, Bill. "Statement of Vote – November 5, 1996, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
38. Jones, Bill. "Statement of Vote – November 7, 2000, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
39. Shelley, Kevin. "Statement of Vote – November 2, 2004, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
40. Bowen, Debra. "Statement of Vote – November 4, 2008, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
41. Bowen, Debra. "Statement of Vote – November 6, 2012, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
42. Padilla, Alex. "Statement of Vote – November 8, 2016, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
43. Padilla, Alex. "Statement of Vote – November 3, 2020, General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.