California will play an important role in the 2024 general election.

Voters in potential swing congressional districts in Orange County, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley could tip the balance of power in the House of Representatives. For the Senate, voters were asked to choose both a short-term and long-term replacement for the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. In the race for president, Democrats are relying on the state’s 54 electoral college votes.

We track how Californians voted for president in 2024 and map the popular vote by county. We also track the results of California’s 10 ballot measures and 100 local House and Senate races.

Presidential race in California

All 54 of California’s electoral votes – the most of any state – go to the candidate who wins the majority of votes. And while the state has sided with Democrats in every election since 1992, a closer look at the results maps reveals some reliably red counties.

How Californians Vote for President

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Congressional races

US Senate

Rep. Adam B. Schiff, a Burbank Democrat, and former Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey, a Palm Desert Republican, are facing off in California’s first Senate race without a sitting president since 2016.

When Schiff or Garvey take office, California will not have a female senator for the first time in a generation.

Garvey and Schiff face each other twice. They aim to complete Feinstein’s term through January 3, as well as a full six-year term. The role is currently filled by Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom when Feinstein died last year.

California’s US House districts

We track election results for all 52 U.S. House of Representatives districts. Ten of the races are competitive, according to the Cook Political Report’s House Ratings. Both parties are defending seats that are considered toss-up in the state.

Democratic Sen. Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh are running in California’s 47th Congressional District for the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine.

The House will flip if Democrats gain four seats nationally.

California is home to the largest number of Asian and Pacific Islander candidates vying for seats in the House of Representatives.

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Statewide races

The state government is a democratic trifecta, with the party controlling the governor’s mansion and both bodies of the legislature. The Democrats even have a veto-free supermajority in the Senate and the Assembly. In California, however, not all legislation is decided by lawmakers and the governor. In 2024, voters will be presented with a laundry list of proposals as part of the state’s direct democracy process.

Voting proposals

On the ballots of all Californians are a slew of statewide measures asking voters whether they support raising the minimum wage, imposing harsher penalties for certain crimes, banning forced prison labor, expanding of rent control and much more.

Some of the measures are amendments to the California Constitution — a “yes” on Proposition 3 would codify the right to same-sex marriage, while a “yes” on Proposition 6 would ban involuntary servitude and mandatory work requirements for state prisoners. Other measures would authorize the state to borrow billions to modernize K-12 schools and community colleges (Proposition 2) and to help finance responses to wildfires and other climate-related disasters (Proposition 4).

A “yes” on Proposition 33 would give cities and counties more authority to implement rent control. Opponents have raised more than $125 million to defeat the initiative, far more than any other campaign supporting or opposing a ballot measure.

If Proposition 5 passes, local housing-related bond measures — the kind that finance low-income housing, expand roads and public transportation, renovate parks and build other public infrastructure projects — would only need 55% of the vote to pass immediately. The current two-thirds threshold will be lower for local bond measures currently on the ballot, such as Pasadena Measure PL and Redondo Beach Measure FP.

Recalls

There are two recall elections scheduled for Oakland politicians this year. The central theme of both recalls is the perception among many residents that crime has gotten out of hand.

Half of the forty seats in the California Senate are up for election. Republicans and independents who run with them would need to win four seats to block a Democratic supermajority. Some Senate districts have no incumbents as this election cycle completes the 2020 redistricting process.

All 80 seats in the California Assembly are up for election. Republicans and allied independents would need to win eight seats to prevent Democrats from retaining a supermajority for a fifth consecutive term.

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