California presidential election results and history

California has voted in 44 presidential elections in this record and backed the national winner in 35 of the 44 with a recorded winner (80%).

Current members of Congress from California (54)

Alex Padilla Senator · Democrat
Adam B. Schiff Senator · Democrat
James Gallagher District 1 · Republican
Jared Huffman District 2 · Democrat
Kevin Kiley District 3 · Independent
Mike Thompson District 4 · Democrat
Tom McClintock District 5 · Republican
Ami Bera District 6 · Democrat
Doris O. Matsui District 7 · Democrat
John Garamendi District 8 · Democrat
Josh Harder District 9 · Democrat
Mark DeSaulnier District 10 · Democrat
Nancy Pelosi District 11 · Democrat
Lateefah Simon District 12 · Democrat
Adam Gray District 13 · Democrat
Aisha Wahab District 14 · Democrat
Kevin Mullin District 15 · Democrat
Sam T. Liccardo District 16 · Democrat
Ro Khanna District 17 · Democrat
Zoe Lofgren District 18 · Democrat
Jimmy Panetta District 19 · Democrat
Vince Fong District 20 · Republican
Jim Costa District 21 · Democrat
David G. Valadao District 22 · Republican
Jay Obernolte District 23 · Republican
Salud O. Carbajal District 24 · Democrat
Raul Ruiz District 25 · Democrat
Julia Brownley District 26 · Democrat
George Whitesides District 27 · Democrat
Judy Chu District 28 · Democrat
Luz M. Rivas District 29 · Democrat
Laura Friedman District 30 · Democrat
Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. District 31 · Democrat
Brad Sherman District 32 · Democrat
Pete Aguilar District 33 · Democrat
Jimmy Gomez District 34 · Democrat
Norma J. Torres District 35 · Democrat
Ted Lieu District 36 · Democrat
Sydney Kamlager-Dove District 37 · Democrat
Linda T. Sánchez District 38 · Democrat
Mark Takano District 39 · Democrat
Young Kim District 40 · Republican
Ken Calvert District 41 · Republican
Robert Garcia District 42 · Democrat
Maxine Waters District 43 · Democrat
Nanette Diaz Barragán District 44 · Democrat
Derek Tran District 45 · Democrat
J. Luis Correa District 46 · Democrat
Dave Min District 47 · Democrat
Darrell Issa District 48 · Republican
Mike Levin District 49 · Democrat
Scott H. Peters District 50 · Democrat
Sara Jacobs District 51 · Democrat
Juan Vargas District 52 · Democrat

Latest (2024): Kamala Harris20.1 pts
Electoral votes: 54
Republican wins: 23
Democratic wins: 20

California, Republican vs Democratic margin since 1856: Republican minus Democratic share, in points. Bars above the line lean Republican, below lean Democratic.

Counties in 2024

Full 2024 results

Every presidential election in California

Download CSV

Year	Carried by	Share	Runner-up	Margin	EV	Votes counted	National winner
2024	Kamala Harris	58.5%	Donald J. Trump	20.1	54	15,865,475	Donald J. Trump ✗
2020	Joseph R. Biden	63.5%	Donald J. Trump	29.2	55	17,500,881	Joseph R. Biden ✓
2016	Hillary Clinton	61.7%	Donald J. Trump	30.1	55	14,181,595	Donald J. Trump ✗
2012	Barack Obama	60.2%	Mitt Romney	23.1	55	13,038,547	Barack Obama ✓
2008	Barack Obama	61.0%	John McCain	24.1	55	13,561,900	Barack Obama ✓
2004	John Kerry	54.3%	George W. Bush	10.0	55	12,421,852	George W. Bush ✗
2000	Albert Gore, Jr.	53.4%	George W. Bush	11.8	54	10,965,856	George W. Bush ✗
1996	William J. Clinton	51.1%	Robert Dole	12.9	54	10,019,484	William J. Clinton ✓
1992	William J. Clinton	46.0%	George H. W. Bush	13.4	54	11,131,721	William J. Clinton ✓
1988	George H. W. Bush	51.1%	Michael Dukakis	3.6	47	9,887,065	George H. W. Bush ✓
1984	Ronald Reagan	57.5%	Walter Mondale	16.3	47	9,505,423	Ronald Reagan ✓
1980	Ronald Reagan	52.7%	Jimmy Carter	16.8	45	8,587,063	Ronald Reagan ✓
1976	Gerald R. Ford	49.3%	Jimmy Carter	1.8	45	7,867,117	Jimmy Carter ✗
1972	Richard M. Nixon	55.0%	George McGovern	13.5	45	8,367,862	Richard M. Nixon ✓
1968	Richard M. Nixon	47.8%	Hubert Humphrey	3.1	40	7,251,587	Richard M. Nixon ✓
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson	59.1%	Barry Goldwater	18.3	40	7,057,586	Lyndon B. Johnson ✓
1960	Richard M. Nixon	50.1%	John F. Kennedy	0.6	32	6,506,578	John F. Kennedy ✗
1956	Dwight D. Eisenhower	55.4%	Adlai Stevenson	11.1	32	5,466,355	Dwight D. Eisenhower ✓
1952	Dwight D. Eisenhower	56.3%	Adlai Stevenson	13.6	32	5,141,849	Dwight D. Eisenhower ✓
1948	Harry S Truman	47.6%	Thomas E. Dewey	0.4	25	4,021,538	Harry S Truman ✓
1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt	56.5%	Thomas E. Dewey	13.5	25	3,520,875	Franklin D. Roosevelt ✓
1940	Franklin D. Roosevelt	57.4%	Wendell L. Willkie	16.1	22	3,268,791	Franklin D. Roosevelt ✓
1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	67.0%	Alfred M. Landon	35.3	22	2,638,882	Franklin D. Roosevelt ✓
1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	58.4%	Herbert Hoover	21.0	22	2,266,972	Franklin D. Roosevelt ✓
1928	Herbert Hoover	64.7%	Alfred E. Smith	30.5	13	1,796,656	Herbert Hoover ✓
1924	Calvin Coolidge	57.2%	Robert LaFollette	24.1	13	1,281,778	Calvin Coolidge ✓
1920	Warren G. Harding	66.2%	James M. Cox	42.0	13	943,463	Warren G. Harding ✓
1916	Woodrow Wilson	46.6%	Charles E. Hughes	0.3	13	999,250	Woodrow Wilson ✓
1912	Theodore Roosevelt	41.8%	Woodrow Wilson	0.0	13	677,877	Woodrow Wilson ✗
1908	William Howard Taft	55.5%	William Jennings Bryan	22.5	10	386,625	William Howard Taft ✓
1904	Theodore Roosevelt	61.9%	Alton B. Parker	34.9	10	331,768	Theodore Roosevelt ✓
1900	William McKinley	54.5%	William Jennings Bryan	13.2	9	302,399	William McKinley ✓
1896	William McKinley	49.1%	William Jennings Bryan	7.9	9	299,374	William McKinley ✓
1892	Grover Cleveland	43.8%	Benjamin Harrison	0.1	9	269,585	Grover Cleveland ✓
1888	Benjamin Harrison	49.7%	Grover Cleveland	2.8	8	251,339	Benjamin Harrison ✓
1884	James G. Blaine	52.0%	Grover Cleveland	6.6	8	196,988	Grover Cleveland ✗
1880	Winfield S. Hancock	49.0%	James A. Garfield	0.1	6	164,218	James A. Garfield ✗
1876	Rutherford B. Hayes	50.9%	Samuel Tilden	1.8	6	155,784	Rutherford B. Hayes ✓
1872	Ulysses S. Grant	56.4%	Horace Greeley	13.9	6	95,785	Ulysses S. Grant ✓
1868	Ulysses S. Grant	50.2%	Horatio Seymour	0.5	5	108,656	Ulysses S. Grant ✓
1864	Abraham Lincoln	58.6%	George McClellan	17.2	5	105,890	Abraham Lincoln ✓
1860	Abraham Lincoln	33.0%	Stephen Douglas	0.6	4	118,840	Abraham Lincoln ✓
1856	James Buchanan	48.4%	Millard Fillmore	15.6	4	110,255	James Buchanan ✓
1852	Franklin Pierce	53.0%	Winfield Scott	6.2	4	76,810	Franklin Pierce ✓

Counties

Questions and answers

How has California voted in recent presidential elections?

2024: Kamala Harris by 20.1 points; 2020: Joseph R. Biden by 29.2 points; 2016: Hillary Clinton by 30.1 points; 2012: Barack Obama by 23.1 points; 2008: Barack Obama by 24.1 points.

When did California last vote Democratic for president?

In 2024, for Kamala Harris.

When did California last vote Republican for president?

In 1988, for George H. W. Bush.

How often does California vote for the winning presidential candidate?

California backed the national winner in 35 of 44 elections in this record (80%).

Is California a swing state?

No. It has been safely one-sided: in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 its margins were Democratic by 23.1 points, Democratic by 30.1 points, Democratic by 29.2 points and Democratic by 20.1 points.

Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data