2022 California gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	2022 California gubernatorial election
Country:	California
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2021 California gubernatorial recall election
Previous Year:	2021 (recall)
Next Election:	2026 California gubernatorial election
Next Year:	2026
Election Date:	November 8, 2022
Image1:	File:Newsom April 2024 (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:	Gavin Newsom
Party1:	California Democratic Party
Popular Vote1:	6,470,104
Percentage1:	59.18%
Nominee2:	Brian Dahle
Party2:	California Republican Party
Popular Vote2:	4,462,914
Percentage2:	40.82%
Governor
Before Election:	Gavin Newsom
Before Party:	California Democratic Party
After Election:	Gavin Newsom
After Party:	California Democratic Party
Turnout:	50.80% (12.48 pp)

The 2022 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of California, with the statewide top-two primary election taking place on June 7, 2022.^[1] Incumbent Democratic Party Governor Gavin Newsom was re-elected to a second term after surviving a recall election in 2021, during his first term.

The elections featured universal mail-in ballots; in-person voting was also available.^[2] All statewide elected offices are currently held by Democrats. Newsom won 61.9% of the vote in both the 2018 gubernatorial election and the 2021 recall election. He received 55.9% of the top-two primary vote and faced Republican Party state senator Brian Dahle, who received 17.7% of the primary vote, in the general election.^[3]

Newsom received 59.2% of the vote to Dahle's 40.8%, a smaller margin of victory than in 2018 and the first time the Democratic candidate failed to win 60% of the vote since 2010. Dahle flipped five counties that Newsom carried in 2018, namely Lake, Merced (although Merced voted to recall Newsom), Orange, San Bernardino, and San Joaquin. Dahle received 32% of the vote in Los Angeles County, the highest percentage received by a Republican in the state's most populous county since 2014.^[4] Dahle also managed to carry two congressional districts represented by Democrats (CA-09 and CA-47). This election marks the fourth consecutive California gubernatorial election in which a Democratic candidate won.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Advanced to general

• Gavin Newsom, incumbent governor^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Anthony Fanara, restaurant owner^[6]
• Armando Perez-Serrato, businessman and candidate in the 2021 recall election
• Joel Ventresca, former Service Employees International Union committee member, retired airport analyst and perennial candidate

Republican Party

Advanced to general

• Brian Dahle, state senator from the 1st district and former Minority Leader of the California State Assembly^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Ronald A. Anderson, contractor and businessman
• Gurinder Bhangoo (write-in)^[8]
• Shawn Collins, U.S. Navy veteran and attorney^[9]
• Ron Jones, former police officer
• Jenny Rae Le Roux, entrepreneur and candidate in the 2021 recall election
• David Lozano, attorney and candidate in the 2021 recall election
• Daniel R. Mercuri, businessman, candidate in the 2021 recall election and for in 2020
• Cristian Raul Morales, manufacturing executive
• Robert C. Newman, psychologist and candidate in the 2021 recall election
• Lonnie Sortor, business owner
• Anthony Trimino, entrepreneur and candidate in the 2021 recall election^[10]
• Major Williams, entrepreneur and write-in candidate in the 2021 recall election^[11]
• Leo S. Zacky, businessman, broadcaster, and candidate in the 2021 recall election

Declined

• Larry Elder, conservative talk show host, author, and candidate in the 2021 recall election^[12]
• Kevin Faulconer, former mayor of San Diego (2014–2020) and candidate in the 2021 recall election^[13]
• Kimberly Guilfoyle, television personality, former advisor to Donald Trump and ex-wife of Gavin Newsom^[14]
• Kevin Kiley, state assemblyman from the 6th district (2016–present) and candidate in the 2021 recall election (running for CA-03)^[15]

Green Party

Eliminated in primary

• Heather Collins, small business owner and candidate in the 2021 recall election
• Luis J. Rodriguez, poet, novelist, and candidate for governor in 2014^[16]

American Independent Party

Eliminated in primary

• Jeff Scott (write-in)

No party preference

Eliminated in primary

• Serge Fiankan, small business owner
• James G. Hanink, former Loyola Marymount University philosophy professor and candidate in the 2021 recall election
• Woodrow Sanders III, entrepreneur and engineer
• Frederic C. Schultz, attorney
• Reinette Senum, former mayor of Nevada City^[17]
• Michael Shellenberger, environmental policy writer and Democratic candidate for governor in 2018^[18]
• Bradley Zink, children's book author

Withdrew

• Adriel Hampton, digital media businessman and candidate for in 2009^{[19] [20]}

Primary election

The list of candidates was announced on Mar 31, 2022 by the secretary of state.^[21]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error
Berkeley IGS	May 24–31, 2022	3,438 (LV)	± 2.2%	1%	0%	3%		10%	1%	0%	0%	1%	2%	1%	1%	0%	1%		50%	1%	1%	0%	0%	0%	5%	0%	3%	1%	2%	1%	0%		16%
SurveyUSA	May 13–15, 2022	709 (LV)	± 4.5%	7%	2%	5%	7%	5%	0%	0%	2%	1%	2%	1%	1%	1%		40%	1%	0%	0%	0%	0%	2%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	0%		18%

Results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report^[22]		October 26, 2022
align=left	Inside Elections^[23]		November 3, 2022
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[24]		November 7, 2022
Politico^[25]		April 1, 2022
align=left	RCP^[26]		January 10, 2022
align=left	Fox News^[27]		May 12, 2022
538^[28]		November 8, 2022
Elections Daily^[29]		November 7, 2022

Debates

Governor Gavin Newsom and State Senator Brian Dahle met on October 23 for their only debate.^[30]

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Gavin Newsom (D)	Brian Dahle (R)	Other	Margin
Real Clear Politics	September 22 – October 23, 2022	November 3, 2022		55.0%	34.3%	10.7%		Newsom +20.7
FiveThirtyEight	September 2 – November 8, 2022	November 8, 2022		59.6%	38.7%	1.7%		Newsom +20.9
270ToWin	October 27 – November 7, 2022	November 8, 2022		57.4%	37.0%	5.6%		Newsom +20.4
Average				57.3%	36.7%	6.0%		Newsom +20.6

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Gavin Newsom (D)	Brian Dahle (R)	Other	Undecided
Research Co.	November 4–6, 2022	450 (LV)	± 4.6%		56%	37%	7%
USC	October 30 – November 2, 2022	802 (RV)	± 3.5%		62%	38%	–	–
UC Berkeley	October 25–31, 2022	5,972 (LV)	± 2.0%		58%	37%	–	4%
ActiVote	July 29 – October 27, 2022	200 (LV)	± 7.0%		61%	39%	–	–
Public Policy Institute of California	October 14–23, 2022	1,060 (LV)	± 5.4%		55%	36%	4%	5%
SurveyUSA	October 7–10, 2022	1,013 (LV)	± 4.4%		57%	35%	–	8%
UC Berkeley	September 22–27, 2022	6,939 (LV)	± 2.5%		53%	32%	2%	13%
Public Policy Institute of California	September 2–11, 2022	1,060 (LV)	± 5.4%		58%	31%	5%	7%
UC Berkeley	August 9–15, 2022	9,254 (RV)	± 2.0%		52%	25%	4%	19%
		6,321 (LV)	± 2.4%		55%	31%	3%	11%

Gavin Newsom vs. Kevin Faulconer

Gavin Newsom vs. John Cox

Gavin Newsom vs. Larry Elder

Gavin Newsom vs. Kevin Kiley

Results

By county

^[31]

County	Gavin Newsom Democratic		Brian Dahle Republican		Margin		Total votes
	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"			data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%
	Alameda		387,046		79.32		100,923		20.68		286,123		58.64		487,969
	Alpine		363		58.64		256		41.36		107		17.29		619
	Amador		6,027		32.31		12,628		67.69		-6,601		-35.38		18,655
	Butte		31,502		43.49		40,939		56.51		-9,437		-13.03		72,441
	Calaveras		7,103		33.44		14,137		66.56		-7,034		-33.12		21,240
	Colusa		1,553		27.92		4,009		72.08		-2,456		-44.16		5,562
	Contra Costa		265,371		68.31		123,132		31.69		142,239		36.61		388,503
	Del Norte		3,264		38.97		5,111		61.03		-1,847		-22.05		8,375
	El Dorado		34,534		38.95		54,137		61.05		-19,603		-22.11		88,671
	Fresno		98,417		44.92		120,668		55.08		-22,251		-10.16		219,085
	Glenn		1,930		24.34		6,000		75.66		-4,070		-51.32		7,930
	Humboldt		29,541		61.80		18,257		38.20		11,284		23.61		47,798
	Imperial		16,711		55.95		13,158		44.05		3,553		11.90		29,869
	Inyo		3,382		45.23		4,095		54.77		-713		-9.54		7,477
	Kern		69,706		36.94		119,006		63.06		-49,300		-26.13		188,712
	Kings		9,389		34.89		17,523		65.11		-8,134		-30.22		26,912
	Lake		9,771		48.54		10,360		51.46		-589		-2.93		20,131
	Lassen		1,444		15.75		7,726		84.25		-6,282		-68.51		9,170
	Los Angeles		1,620,053		67.81		769,174		32.19		850,879		35.61		2,389,227
	Madera		13,283		35.94		23,678		64.06		-10,395		-28.12		36,961
	Marin		95,289		80.03		23,775		19.97		71,514		60.06		119,064
	Mariposa		2,944		37.55		4,896		62.45		-1,952		-24.90		7,840
	Mendocino		19,031		62.61		11,363		37.39		7,668		25.23		30,394
	Merced		25,200		45.59		30,073		54.41		-4,873		-8.82		55,273
	Modoc		687		20.13		2,725		79.87		-2,038		-59.73		3,412
	Mono		2,493		54.56		2,076		45.44		417		9.13		4,569
	Monterey		65,262		63.90		36,867		36.10		28,395		27.80		102,129
	Napa		32,437		64.73		17,671		35.27		14,766		29.47		50,108
	Nevada		26,655		52.54		24,082		47.46		2,573		5.07		50,737
	Orange		464,206		48.51		492,734		51.49		-28,528		-2.98		956,940
	Placer		73,619		40.43		108,450		59.57		-34,831		-19.13		182,069
	Plumas		3,083		35.71		5,550		64.29		-2,467		-28.58		8,633
	Riverside		285,000		47.83		310,901		52.17		-25,901		-4.35		595,901
	Sacramento		274,680		57.51		202,933		42.49		71,747		15.02		477,613
	San Benito		10,428		53.26		9,150		46.74		1,278		6.53		19,578
	San Bernardino		215,391		47.39		239,109		52.61		-23,718		-5.22		454,500
	San Diego		574,121		55.78		455,107		44.22		119,014		11.56		1,029,228
	San Francisco		257,402		85.38		44,064		14.62		213,338		70.77		301,466
	San Joaquin		85,498		48.22		91,827		51.78		-6,329		-3.57		177,325
	San Luis Obispo		61,166		51.13		58,464		48.87		2,702		2.26		119,630
	San Mateo		185,599		74.98		61,918		25.02		123,681		49.97		247,517
	Santa Barbara		80,648		59.57		54,726		40.43		25,922		19.15		135,374
	Santa Clara		379,377		70.01		162,518		29.99		216,859		40.02		541,895
	Santa Cruz		79,117		75.95		25,052		24.05		54,065		51.90		104,169
	Shasta		18,607		27.16		49,913		72.84		-31,306		-45.69		68,520
	Sierra		529		34.28		1,014		65.72		-485		-31.43		1,543
	Siskiyou		6,326		35.69		11,397		64.31		-5,071		-28.61		17,723
	Solano		77,769		59.54		52,850		40.46		24,919		19.08		130,619
	Sonoma		140,041		70.92		57,413		29.08		82,628		41.85		197,454
	Stanislaus		55,311		42.23		75,656		57.77		-20,345		-15.53		130,967
	Sutter		9,082		32.31		19,024		67.69		-9,942		-35.37		28,106
	Tehama		5,024		24.35		15,607		75.65		-10,583		-51.30		20,631
	Trinity		1,860		41.09		2,667		58.91		-807		-17.83		4,527
	Tulare		33,273		36.43		58,053		63.57		-24,780		-27.13		91,326
	Tuolumne		8,471		36.47		14,759		63.53		-6,288		-27.07		23,230
	Ventura		153,226		54.54		127,709		45.46		25,517		9.08		280,935
	Yolo		44,328		66.03		22,807		33.97		21,521		32.06		67,135
	Yuba		6,534		33.28		13,097		66.72		-6,563		-33.43		19,631
Totals	6,470,104	59.18	4,462,914	40.82	2,007,190	18.36	10,933,018

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Lake (largest municipality: Clearlake)
• Merced (largest municipality: Merced)
• Orange (largest municipality: Anaheim)
• San Bernardino (largest municipality: San Bernardino)
• San Joaquin (largest municipality: Stockton)

By congressional district

Newsom won 38 of 52 congressional districts, with the remaining 14 going to Dahle, including two that elected Democrats.^[32]

District	Newsom	Dahle	Representative
		33%	67%		Doug LaMalfa
		71%	29%		Jared Huffman
		43%	57%		Kevin Kiley
		63%	37%		Mike Thompson
		37%	63%		Tom McClintock
		54%	46%		Ami Bera
		64%	36%		Doris Matsui
		74%	26%		John Garamendi
		48%	52%		Josh Harder
		65%	35%		Mark DeSaulnier
		86%	14%		Nancy Pelosi
		90%	10%		Barbara Lee
		46%	54%		John Duarte
		68%	32%		Eric Swalwell
	76%	24%		Jackie Speier (117th Congress)
			Kevin Mullin (118th Congress)
		73%	27%		Anna Eshoo
		71%	29%		Ro Khanna
		68%	32%		Zoe Lofgren
		65%	35%		Jimmy Panetta
		30%	70%		Kevin McCarthy
		51%	49%		Jim Costa
		48%	52%		David Valadao
		39%	61%		Jay Obernolte
		59%	41%		Salud Carbajal
		53%	47%		Raul Ruiz
		54%	46%		Julia Brownley
		49%	51%		Mike Garcia
		63%	37%		Judy Chu
		73%	27%		Tony Cárdenas
		75%	25%		Adam Schiff
		58%	42%		Grace Napolitano
		66%	34%		Brad Sherman
		55%	45%		Pete Aguilar
		82%	18%		Jimmy Gomez
		55%	45%		Norma Torres
		67%	33%		Ted Lieu
	85%	15%		Karen Bass (117th Congress)
			Sydney Kamlager-Dove (118th Congress)
		58%	42%		Linda Sánchez
		55%	45%		Mark Takano
		45%	55%		Young Kim
		45%	55%		Ken Calvert
	67%	33%		Lucille Roybal-Allard (117th Congress)
			Robert Garcia (118th Congress)
		78%	22%		Maxine Waters
		69%	31%		Nanette Barragán
		49%	51%		Michelle Steel
		60%	40%		Lou Correa
		49.7%	50.3%		Katie Porter
		38%	62%		Darrell Issa
		50.4%	49.6%		Mike Levin
		61%	39%		Scott Peters
		60%	40%		Sara Jacobs
		63%	37%		Juan Vargas

See also

• 2022 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2022 California elections

External links

Official campaign websites

• Brian Dahle (R) for Governor
• Gavin Newsom (D) for Governor

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bill Text - SB-970 Primary election date.
2. Web site: California Adopts Vote-by-Mail System for All Future Elections.
3. Web site: California Governor Primary Election Live Results 2022 . 2022-10-03 . NBC News.
4. Web site: Nicole Nixon. Democrat Gavin Newsom sails to reelection as California governor. npr.org. November 8, 2022. November 9, 2022.
5. Web site: What 2022 election? California Republicans grim on beating Newsom. Politico. January 21, 2022. February 17, 2022. White, Jeremy B..
6. Web site: Primary Election - June 7, 2022 . 26 March 2022 . March 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220326021149/https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/primary-election-june-7-2022 . dead .
7. Web site: Garofoli . Joe . Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle to announce challenge to Gavin Newsom . San Francisco Chronicle . 8 February 2022. February 7, 2022.
8. Web site: Official Certified List of Write-In Candidates - June 7, 2022 . California Secretary of State . May 27, 2022 . May 30, 2022 .
9. Web site: FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — GOP GOVERNOR CHALLENGER . Politico . 8 March 2022.
10. Web site: Gubernatorial candidate Anthony Trimino sees himself as a problem solver, not a politician. February 5, 2022. KUSI.
11. Web site: Hearden, Tim . February 11, 2022 . GOP's Sen. Dahle upbeat about bid for governor . Western Farm Press.
12. Web site: Larry Elder will not run against Newsom in 2022. 2022-01-04. Politico. January 4, 2022. en-US. White, Jeremy B..
13. Web site: Kevin Faulconer steps out of governor's race. Deborah Sullivan. Brennan. The San Diego Union-Tribune. March 10, 2022 . March 18, 2022.
14. Web site: California may get Kimberly Guilfoyle back, running for public office. Mercury News . February 27, 2021 . August 17, 2021. Ross, Martha.,
15. Web site: Republican Assemblyman Kiley Running For Eastern Sierra Congressional Seat. My Mother Lode . December 29, 2021 . January 4, 2022. Hansen, BJ.,
16. Web site: Luis J. Rodriguez is running for California Governor . Luis . Rodriguez . February 2022 . March 28, 2022 . People's Tribune .
17. Web site: Reinette Senum takes steps toward running for governor in 2022. Wyer, Stephen. August 26, 2021. The Union.
18. Web site: First on Inside California Politics: Author Michael Shellenberger to challenge Newsom for governor . Laurenzo . Nikki . Fox 40 . March 10, 2022 . March 10, 2022.
19. Web site: Haber. Matt. October 31, 2019. Meet the Gubernatorial Candidate Whose Campaign Has One Mission: Attacking Facebook's Fake Political Ads Problem. October 28, 2020. Inc.com. en.
20. Hampton . Adriel . Adriel Hampton . adrielhampton . 1433083892680957954 . September 1, 2021 . I declared for California Governor in the fall of 2019 in order to shame Facebook for its political ad practices. Today, I'm formally withdrawing from the 2022 race, and calling on Gavin Newsom to step down as Governor for the good of our state. . en . September 4, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210901165102/https://twitter.com/adrielhampton/status/1433083892680957954 . September 1, 2021 . live.
21. Web site: CERTIFIED LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE JUNE 7, 2022, PRIMARY ELECTION . 2 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220331194849/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2022-primary/cert-list.pdf . 31 March 2022.
22. Web site: 2022 Governor Race Ratings . The Cook Political Report . September 15, 2021.
23. Web site: September 15, 2021 . Gubernatorial Ratings . Inside Elections.
24. Web site: 2022 Gubernatorial race ratings . Sabato's Crystal Ball . September 15, 2021.
25. Web site: California Governor Race 2022. April 1, 2022 . Politico.
26. Web site: January 10, 2022 . 2022 Governor Races. January 10, 2022 . RCP.
27. Web site: 2022 Election Forecast . May 12, 2022 . Fox News . May 12, 2022.
28. Web site: 2022 Election Forecast . FiveThirtyEight . June 30, 2022 . June 30, 2022.
29. Web site: Elections Daily Unveils Final 2022 Midterm Ratings . Szymanski . Joe . Elections Daily . November 7, 2022 . November 28, 2022.
30. Web site: Newsom Agrees to Debate Dahle in Gubernatorial Forum at KQED. KQED. October 23, 2022. October 23, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221023225201/https://www.kqed.org/news/11925757/newsom-agrees-to-debate-dahle-in-gubernatorial-forum-at-kqed. live.
31. Web site: November 8, 2022, General Election Governor . California Secretary of State . July 27, 2024.
32. Results . docs.google.com .