2018 California lieutenant gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	2018 California lieutenant gubernatorial election
Country:	California
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2014 California lieutenant gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	2014
Next Election:	2022 California lieutenant gubernatorial election
Next Year:	2022
Election Date:	November 6, 2018
Image1:	File:Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis (cropped).jpg
Candidate1:	Eleni Kounalakis
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	5,914,068
Percentage1:	56.55%
Candidate2:	Ed Hernandez
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	4,543,863
Percentage2:	43.45%
Map Size:	300px
Lieutenant Governor
Before Election:	Gavin Newsom
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Eleni Kounalakis
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The 2018 California lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the lieutenant governor of California. Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits and ran for governor of California instead. Democrats Eleni Kounalakis and Ed Hernandez faced each other in the general election, as no Republican finished in the top two positions of the nonpartisan blanket primary that was held on June 5, 2018.

Primary

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared

• Jeff Bleich, former United States Ambassador to Australia^{[1] [2]}
• Cameron Gharabiklou, attorney and businessman^[3]
• Ed Hernandez, state senator^{[4] [5]}
• Eleni Kounalakis, former United States Ambassador to Hungary^[6]

Declined

• Kevin de León, President pro tempore of the California State Senate (running for U.S. Senate)^[7]
• Mike Gatto, State Assemblyman (running for State Treasurer)^[4]
• Mark Leno, former state senator (running for Mayor of San Francisco)^{[4] [8] [9]}
• John Pérez, former Speaker of the California State Assembly^{[10] [11]}
• Darrell Steinberg, Mayor of Sacramento and former state senator^{[4] [12]}

Republican Party

Declared

• David Fennell, venture capitalist
• Cole Harris, businessman^[13]
• David Hernandez, retired business owner^[14]
• Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University economics professor^{[15] [16]}
• Matthew Salzer, micronationlist (write-in)

Declined

• Tom Berryhill, state senator^{[17] [18]}
• Anthony Cannella, state senator^{[4] [19] [20]}

Libertarian Party

Declared

• Tim Ferreira^[13]

No party preference

Declared

• Gayle McLaughlin, former mayor of Richmond^{[21] [14]}
• Danny Thomas^[13]

Endorsements

Notes and References

1. Web site: Former U.S. ambassador to Australia and Obama counsel plans to run for California lieutenant governor. Los Angeles Times. Willon. Phil. May 3, 2017. May 3, 2017.
2. Web site: Piedmont resident Bleich, former ambassador to Australia, announces bid for state lieutenant governor. East Bay Times. Tan. Sarah. May 31, 2017. June 1, 2017.
3. Web site: San Diego Attorney Announces Bid for Lieutenant Governor in Fiery Video. Times of San Diego. Nguyen. Alexander. September 20, 2017. September 21, 2017.
4. Web site: Seven lawmakers have committees for 2018 lieutenant governor's race. Los Angeles Times. McGreevy. Patrick. March 27, 2015. August 29, 2016.
5. Web site: Being a public servant has allowed me the extraordinary opportunity. Facebook. Hernandez. Ed. July 10, 2016. August 29, 2016.
6. Web site: Former Sacramento developer wants to be California's next lieutenant governor. The Sacramento Bee. Hart. Angela. April 24, 2017. April 24, 2017.
7. News: Reston. Maeve. Kevin de León announces he'll run against Feinstein for California Senate. 15 October 2017. CNN. 15 October 2017.
8. Web site: Leno unsure of future. Bay Area Reporter. Bajko. Matthew S.. November 17, 2016. November 18, 2016.
9. Web site: Former Legislator Mark Leno Enters San Francisco Mayoral Race. January 8, 2018. February 25, 2018.
10. Web site: Politicians use 'ghost' campaigns to fight specter of lost funds. SFGate. Wildermuth. John. December 25, 2014. August 29, 2016.
11. Web site: In Lt. Gov. Race, Hernandez Pulls in Key Endorsement from Speaker Emeritus Pérez. Highland Community News. November 14, 2016. November 29, 2016.
12. Web site: 4th California Speaker Endorses Ed Hernandez for Lt. Governor. Highland Community News. November 15, 2016. November 18, 2016.
13. Web site: Archived copy . 2018-03-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160918201713/http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/pdf/complete-vig.pdf# . 2016-09-18 . dead .
14. Web site: You may not have heard of these California jobs, but you'll be voting on them. Los Angeles Times. Willon. Phil. July 9, 2017. July 18, 2017.
15. News: San Jose State University economics professor running for lieutenant governor. 2018-02-22. The Mercury News. 2018-03-15. en-US.
16. Web site: Lydia Ortega – for Lt. Governor. lydiaortega.com. en-US. 2018-03-15. 2018-03-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20180315195848/http://lydiaortega.com/. dead.
17. Web site: New campaign account doesn't always mean new run for office. The Fresno Bee. Ellis. John. June 17, 2015. August 29, 2016.
18. Web site: Will State Sen. Tom Berryhill run for county supervisor, state tax board? Or what?. The Modesto Bee. Carlson. Ken. July 29, 2017. August 2, 2017.
19. Web site: State Sen. Cannella considers 2018 lieutenant governor's race. Merced Sun-Star. Ibarra. Ana B.. January 16, 2015. August 29, 2016.
20. Web site: 'Buying' the votes for a gas-tax hike: Is it illegal or just good politics?. The Sacramento Bee. Miller. Jim. April 8, 2017. August 2, 2017.
21. Web site: Richmond's 'Bernie Sanders of the East Bay' to run for lieutenant governor. East Bay Times. Lochner. Tom. June 7, 2017. June 26, 2017.