| Election Name: | 2014 California State Controller election |
| Country: | California |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2010 California State Controller election |
| Previous Year: | 2010 |
| Next Election: | 2018 California State Controller election |
| Next Year: | 2018 |
| Election Date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Image1: | File:California State Controller Betty Yee.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Betty Yee |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 3,810,304 |
| Percentage1: | 54.0% |
| Nominee2: | Ashley Swearengin |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 3,249,668 |
| Percentage2: | 46.0% |
| State Controller | |
| Before Election: | John Chiang |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Betty Yee |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 2014 California State Controller election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the State Controller of California. Incumbent Democratic State Controller John Chiang was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a third term in office and instead ran successfully for California State Treasurer.
A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. 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. 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 is the only other state with this system, a so-called "top two primary" (Louisiana has a similar "jungle primary").
In the primary, Republican Ashley Swearengin and Democrat Betty Yee finished first and second, respectively. The third-place finisher, Democrat John Pérez, initially called for a recount in 15 counties after official results showed him trailing Yee by 481 votes; however, he ultimately conceded to Yee more than a month after the primary.[1] [2] [3] Swearengin and Yee contested the general election, which Yee won.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | class=small | Margin of error | John Pérez (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | May 16–19, 2014 | 610 | ±4% | 18% | align=center | 31% | align=center | 24% | 8% | 18% | ||
| Field Poll | Mar. 18–Apr. 5, 2014 | 504 | ±4.5% | 14% | align=center | 28% | align=center | 19% | 1% | align=center | 38% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | class=small | Margin of error | Betty Yee (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GQR/American Viewpoint | October 22–29, 2014 | 1,162 | ± 3.3% | align=center | 46% | 38% | 16% | |
| Field Poll | October 15–28, 2014 | 941 | ± 3.4% | align=center | 44% | 36% | 20% | |
| Field Poll | August 14–28, 2014 | 467 | ± 4.8% | align=center | 46% | 32% | 22% | |
| Gravis Marketing | July 22–24, 2014 | 580 | ± 4% | 39% | 39% | 22% |