The 2016 United States Senate election in California was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Under California's nonpartisan blanket primary law, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. In the California system, the top two finishers — regardless of party — advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate manages to receive a majority of the votes cast in the primary election. Washington and Louisiana have similar "jungle primary" style processes for Senators.
Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer decided to not run for re-election to a fifth term in office. This was the first open seat Senate election in California in 24 years. In the primary on June 7, 2016, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, finished in first and second place, respectively, and contested the general election. The highest Republican finisher in the primary won only 7.8 percent of the vote; this marked the first time since direct elections to the Senate began after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 that a Republican did not appear on the general election ballot for the U.S. Senate in California.
In the general election, Harris defeated Sanchez in a landslide, carrying all but Glenn and Imperial counties.
Barbara Boxer was re-elected with 52.1% of the vote in 2010 against Republican Carly Fiorina. Towards the end of 2014, Boxer's low fundraising and cash-on-hand numbers led to speculation that she would retire. On January 8, 2015, Boxer announced that she would not run for re-election.
President Cristina Grappo
Kamala Harris, California Attorney General
Massie Munroe, engineer
Herbert G. Peters
Emory Rodgers, activist
Loretta Sanchez, U.S. Representative
Steve Stokes, small business owner and Independent candidate for CA-28 in 2014
Stewart Albertson, attorney
Xavier Becerra, U.S. Representative and candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2001
Ami Bera, U.S. Representative
Barbara Boxer, incumbent U.S. Senator
Julia Brownley, U.S. Representative
Louis Caldera, former Director of the White House Military Office, former United States Secretary of the Army, and former State Assemblyman
Tony Cárdenas, U.S. Representative
John Chiang, California State Treasurer, former California State Controller and former member of the State Board of Equalization
Kevin de León, President pro tempore of the California State Senate
John Garamendi, U.S. Representative, former Lieutenant Governor of California, former California Insurance Commissioner and former Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, former U.S. Representative and candidate for Governor in 1998
Jared Huffman, U.S. Representative
Kevin Johnson, Mayor of Sacramento and former professional basketball player
Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose
Bill Lockyer, former California State Treasurer and former California Attorney General
Gloria Molina, former Los Angeles County Supervisor
Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California, former United States Secretary of Homeland Security and former Governor of Arizona
Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California and former Mayor of San Francisco (running for Governor in 2018)
Alex Padilla, Secretary of State of California and former State Senator
Raul Ruiz, U.S. Representative
Linda Sánchez, U.S. Representative
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
Adam Schiff, U.S. Representative
Hilda Solis, Los Angeles County Supervisor, former United States Secretary of Labor and former U.S. Representative
Jackie Speier, U.S. Representative and candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2006
Darrell Steinberg, former President pro tempore of the California State Senate
Tom Steyer, hedge fund manager, philanthropist and environmentalist
Eric Swalwell, U.S. Representative
Mark Takano, U.S. Representative
Ellen Tauscher, former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and former U.S. Representative
Antonio Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles
Steve Westly, former California State Controller and candidate for Governor in 2006 (running for Governor in 2018)
Greg Conlon, businessman
Tom Del Beccaro, former Chairman of the California Republican Party
Von Hougo, educator
Don Krampe, retiree and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
Jerry J. Laws
Tom Palzer, former city planner
Karen Roseberry, educator
George "Duf" Sundheim, former Chairman of the California Republican Party
Ron Unz, activist and candidate for Governor in 1994
Jarrell Williamson, attorney
Phil Wyman, former State Senator
George C. Yang, businessman
Rocky Chavez, State Assemblyman (running for re-election)
Mary Bono, former U.S. Representative
Tom Campbell, former U.S. Representative, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and 2010
Carl DeMaio, former San Diego City Council member, candidate for Mayor of San Diego in 2012 and candidate for California's 52nd congressional district in 2014
Tim Donnelly, former State Assemblyman, Minuteman founder and candidate for Governor in 2014 (running for CA-08)
David Dreier, former U.S. Representative
Larry Elder, talk radio host and attorney
Kevin Faulconer, Mayor of San Diego
Carly Fiorina, businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 (running for President)
Darrell Issa, U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1998
Ernie Konnyu, former U.S. Representative and former State Assemblyman
Abel Maldonado, former Lieutenant Governor of California, candidate for California State Controller in 2006, for CA-24 in 2012 and for Governor in 2014
Kevin McCarthy, U.S. Representative and House Majority Leader
Doug Ose, former U.S. Representative
Pete Peterson, Executive Director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement at Pepperdine University and candidate for Secretary of State of California in 2014
Steve Poizner, former California Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Governor in 2010
Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State, former United States National Security Advisor and former Provost of Stanford University
Ed Royce, U.S. Representative
Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former Governor of California
Ashley Swearengin, Mayor of Fresno and candidate for California State Controller in 2014
Meg Whitman, President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard and nominee for Governor in 2010
Pamela Elizondo
Mark Matthew Herd, community organizer
Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse and perennial candidate
John Thompson Parker
Mikelis Beitiks, climate change activist
Eleanor Garcia, factory worker
Tim Gildersleeve
Clive Grey
Don Grundmann, chiropractor, Chairman of the Constitution Party of California, and perennial candidate (also sought the Constitution Party nomination for President of the United States)
Jason Hanania, attorney and engineer
Jason Kraus
Paul Merritt
Gar Myers
Ling Ling Shi, author
Scott A. Vineberg
Angelina Jolie, actress, filmmaker and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.
The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.
