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Five-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) defeated state Sen. Kevin de León (D) in the general election for U.S. Senate in California on November 6, 2018.
Feinstein won the June 5 top-two primary with 44.2 percent of the vote, while de León received 12.1 percent. Feinstein won her 2012 re-election bid by 25 points. The California Democratic Party endorsed de León at a meeting on July 14, 2018, after a state convention vote in February saw neither Feinstein nor de León cross the threshold of 60 percent necessary for an endorsement. This is the second consecutive U.S. Senate race in the state without a Republican competing in the general election, following the 2016 match-up between U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) and Loretta Sanchez (D).
Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were up for election in 2018, including two special elections. Republicans held a 51-seat Senate majority. Democrats held 47 seats, and the two independents caucused with them. Democrats faced greater partisan risk in 2018, as they were defending 26 seats while Republicans were only defending nine. Democrats had to defend seats in 10 states Donald Trump (R) won. The GOP defended one Senate seat in a state Hillary Clinton (D) won.
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dianne Feinstein | Democratic Party | $18,618,682 | $20,950,689 | $92,349 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Kevin de León | Democratic Party | $1,813,507 | $1,775,218 | $38,287 | As of December 31, 2018 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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rated California's U.S. Senate race as safely Democratic. California's U.S. Senate seat was open following the retirement of incumbent Barbara Boxer (D). Thirty-four candidates filed to run to replace Boxer, including seven Democrats, 12 Republicans, and 15 third-party candidates. Two Democrats, Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez, defeated the other 32 candidates to advance to the general election, where Harris ultimately triumphed. The primary took place on June 7, 2016.
U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2016
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Kamala Harris |
61.6% | 7,542,753 | |
| Democratic | Loretta Sanchez | 38.4% | 4,710,417 | |
| Total Votes | 12,253,170 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
U.S. Senate, California Primary, 2016
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Kamala Harris |
40.2% | 3,000,689 | |
| Democratic | Loretta Sanchez |
19% | 1,416,203 | |
| Republican | Duf Sundheim | 7.8% | 584,251 | |
| Republican | Phil Wyman | 4.7% | 352,821 | |
| Republican | Tom Del Beccaro | 4.3% | 323,614 | |
| Republican | Greg Conlon | 3.1% | 230,944 | |
| Democratic | Steve Stokes | 2.3% | 168,805 | |
| Republican | George Yang | 1.5% | 112,055 | |
| Republican | Karen Roseberry | 1.5% | 110,557 | |
| Republican | Tom Palzer | 1.2% | 93,263 | |
| Libertarian | Gail Lightfoot | 1.3% | 99,761 | |
| Republican | Ron Unz | 1.2% | 92,325 | |
| Democratic | Massie Munroe | 0.8% | 61,271 | |
| Green | Pamela Elizondo | 1.3% | 95,677 | |
| Republican | Don Krampe | 0.9% | 69,635 | |
| Republican | Jarrell Williamson | 0.9% | 64,120 | |
| Independent | Elanor Garcia | 0.9% | 65,084 | |
| Republican | Von Hougo | 0.9% | 63,609 | |
| Democratic | President Cristina Grappo | 0.8% | 63,330 | |
| Republican | Jerry Laws | 0.7% | 53,023 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Matthew Herd | 0.6% | 41,344 | |
| Independent | Ling Ling Shi | 0.5% | 35,196 | |
| Peace and Freedom | John Parker | 0.3% | 22,374 | |
| Democratic | Herbert Peters | 0.4% | 32,638 | |
| Democratic | Emory Rodgers | 0.4% | 31,485 | |
| Independent | Mike Beitiks | 0.4% | 31,450 | |
| Independent | Clive Grey | 0.4% | 29,418 | |
| Independent | Jason Hanania | 0.4% | 27,715 | |
| Independent | Paul Merritt | 0.3% | 24,031 | |
| Independent | Jason Kraus | 0.3% | 19,318 | |
| Independent | Don Grundmann | 0.2% | 15,317 | |
| Independent | Scott Vineberg | 0.2% | 11,843 | |
| Independent | Tim Gildersleeve | 0.1% | 9,798 | |
| Independent | Gar Myers | 0.1% | 8,726 | |
| Total Votes | 7,461,690 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
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On November 6, 2012, Dianne Feinstein won re-election to the United States Senate. She defeated Elizabeth Emken (R) in the general election.
U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dianne Feinstein Incumbent |
62.5% | 7,864,624 | |
| Republican | Elizabeth Emken | 37.5% | 4,713,887 | |
| Total Votes | 12,578,511 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Demographic data for California
| California | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 38,993,940 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 155,779 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.3% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 61.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 13.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 4.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 31.4% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,818 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California. | ||
As of July 2016, California had a population of approximately 39,000,000 people, with its three largest cities being Los Angeles (pop. est. 4.0 million), San Diego (pop. est. 1.4 million), and San Jose (pop. est. 1 million).
