2016 United States Senate election in California


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 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 receives a majority of the vote in the primary election. Washington State and Louisiana have similar nonpartisan primary style processes for senators, though Louisiana will end its jungle system for specific offices including senator in 2026.
Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer decided to not run for election to a fifth term.
This was the first open seat Senate election in California since 1992, when Boxer was first elected. 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. For the first time since direct elections to the Senate were mandated after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, no Republican appeared on the general election ballot for the U.S. Senate in California. The highest Republican finisher in the primary won only 7.8 percent of the vote, and the 10 Republicans only won 27.9 percent of the vote among them.
In the general election, Harris defeated Sanchez in a landslide, carrying 54 of the state's 58 counties, including Sanchez's home county of Orange, although Sanchez held Harris to a margin of less than 1% in the Central Valley counties of Kern and Merced.
Harris did not serve her full term in the Senate, as she resigned on January 18, 2021 after being elected Vice President of the United States in 2020. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Alex Padilla, the incumbent Secretary of State of California, to serve the rest of her term.

Background

Barbara Boxer was reelected with 52.1% of the vote in 2010 against Republican Carly Fiorina. Toward the end of 2014, Boxer's low fundraising and cash-on-hand numbers led to speculation that she would retire. On January 8, 2015, she announced that she would not run for reelection.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Advanced to general

Eliminated in primary

  • Cristina Grappo
  • Massie Munroe, engineer
  • Herbert G. Peters
  • Emory Rodgers, activist
  • Steve Stokes, small business owner and independent candidate for CA-28 in 2014

Withdrew

  • Stewart Albertson, attorney

Declined

Republican Party

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Declined

Green Party

Declared

  • Pamela Elizondo

Libertarian Party

Declared

Peace and Freedom Party

Declared

  • John Thompson Parker

Independent

Declared

  • 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
  • Jason Hanania, attorney and engineer
  • Jason Kraus
  • Paul Merritt
  • Gar Myers
  • Ling Ling Shi, author
  • Scott A. Vineberg

Declined

Primary election

Fundraising

The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.
Candidate ReceiptsDisbursementsCash on handDebt
$9,749,024$4,759,048$4,989,977$78,900
$3,251,186$921,291$2,329,895$209,217
$316,560$238,612$77,946$74,465
$532,638$475,415$57,222$181,640
$48,900$11,761$30,737$40,000
$38,916$21,554$17,361$25,000
$21,205$13,396$7,809$9,575
$6,305$4,860$1,444$0
$4,864$4,351$762$4,742
$7,246$6,988$290$0
$2,783$2,442$241$0

Polling

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size
error		Rocky
Chavez 		David
Dreier 		John
Estrada 		Kamala
Harris 		Adam
Schiff 		Ashley
Swearengin 		Meg
Whitman 		OtherUnde-
cided
Emerson CollegeApril 2–8, 20158819%1%1%23%2%4%13%7%41%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Rocky
Chavez 		Del Beccaro/
Sundheim 		Kamala
Harris 		Adam
Schiff 		Ashley
Swearengin 		Antonio
Villaraigosa 		OtherUndecided
USCFebruary 18–24, 20151,505± 2.7%6%5.5%28%5%9%19%2%27%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Mary
Bono 		David
Dreier 		Kamala
Harris 		Adam
Schiff 		Antonio
Villaraigosa 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)February 6–8, 2015824± ?14%19%34%4%16%14%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Kamala
Harris 		Adam
Schiff 		Ashley
Swearengin 		Antonio
Villaraigosa 		Undecided
Garin-Hart-Yang ResearchJanuary 27–29, 2015600± 428%4%31%18%19%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Xavier
Becerra 		Rocky
Chavez 		Kamala
Harris 		Condoleezza
Rice 		Loretta
Sanchez 		Antonio
Villaraigosa 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)January 22, 2015627± ?3%2%34%33%4%9%15%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Eric
Garcetti 		Kamala
Harris 		Neel
Kashkari 		Tom
McClintock 		Linda
Sánchez 		Jackie
Speier 		Tom
Steyer 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)December 29–30, 2014401± ?7%27%12%28%6%—6%14%
Public Policy Polling (D)December 29–30, 2014468± ?—22%12%29%8%8%4%17%

General election

Fundraising

The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.
Candidate ReceiptsDisbursementsCash on handDebt
$9,749,024$4,759,048$4,989,977$78,900
$3,251,186$921,291$2,329,895$209,217

Polling

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Kamala
Harris 		Loretta
Sánchez 		Would
not vote		Undecided
SurveyMonkeyNovember 1–7, 20162,712± 4.6%52%31%—17%
Insights WestNovember 4–6, 2016401± 4.9%50%28%—22%
SurveyMonkeyOct 31 – Nov 6, 20162,655± 4.6%51%32%—17%
SurveyMonkeyOct 28 – Nov 3, 20162,528± 4.6%51%31%—18%
SurveyMonkeyOct 27 – Nov 2, 20162,316± 4.6%51%31%—18%
SurveyMonkeyOct 26 – Nov 1, 20162,284± 4.6%51%30%—19%
SurveyUSAOctober 28–31, 2016747± 3.7%47%27%—26%
SurveyMonkeyOctober 25–31, 20162,505± 4.6%50%30%—20%
The Field PollOctober 25–31, 20161,498± 3.2%47%23%13%17%
USC Dornsife/Los Angeles TimesOctober 22–30, 2016697± 3.7%48%31%9%12%
PPIC Statewide SurveyOctober 14–23, 20161,024± 4.3%42%20%18%20%
SurveyUSAOctober 13–15, 2016725± 3.7%45%24%—31%
Hoover Institution – Golden State PollOctober 4–14, 20161,228± 3.3%41%22%—37%
Sacramento State/CA CountsOctober 7–13, 2016622± 7.0%49%24%7%20%
SurveyUSASeptember 27–28, 2016751± 3.6%40%29%—31%
PPIC Statewide SurveySeptember 9–18, 20161,702± 3.5%32%25%24%19%
Insights WestSeptember 12–14, 2016515± 4.3%42%28%3%28%
The Field PollSeptember 7–13, 20161,426± 3.2%42%20%12%26%
SurveyUSASeptember 8–11, 2016712± 3.7%44%27%—29%
SurveyMonkey USC/Los Angeles TimesSeptember 1–8, 20164,212± 2.0%30%16%16%38%
Sacramento State/CA CountsAugust 15–24, 2016915± 4.0%51%19%6%25%
SmithJohnson ResearchAugust 17–19, 2016500± 4.4%41%15%8%36%
PPIC Statewide SurveyJuly 10–19, 20161,056± 3.5%38%20%28%14%
The Field PollJune 8 – July 2, 2016956± 3.2%39%24%15%22%
SurveyMonkey USC/Los Angeles TimesJune 9–10, 20161,553± 3.5%47%22%26%5%
The Field PollMay 26–31, 20161,002± 3.1%40%26%14%20%
PPIC Statewide SurveyMay 13–22, 2016996± 4.3%34%26%24%15%
Gravis MarketingApril 7–10, 20162,088± 2.1%29%19%—52%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Kamala
Harris 		David
Dreier 		OtherUndecided
Public Policy PollingFebruary 6–8, 2015824± ?47%42%—10%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Eric
Garcetti 		Kamala
Harris 		OtherUndecided
Public Policy PollingDecember 29–30, 2014869± ?20%35%—46%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Kamala
Harris 		Antonio
Villaraigosa 		OtherUndecided
USCFebruary 18–24, 20151,505± 2.7%45%27%3%24%
Public Policy PollingFebruary 6–8, 2015824± ?45%23%—33%
Public Policy PollingJanuary 22, 2015627± ?41%16%—43%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Adam
Schiff 		David
Dreier 		OtherUndecided
Public Policy PollingFebruary 6–8, 2015824± ?43%42%—15%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Antonio
Villaraigosa 		David
Dreier 		OtherUndecided
Public Policy PollingFebruary 6–8, 2015824± ?46%44%—10%

Results

By county

Cyan represents counties won by Sanchez.
CountyHarris #Harris %Sanchez #Sanchez %Margin #Margin %Total
Alameda443,53675.47144,13424.53299,30250.93587,670
Alpine34272.0013328.0020944.00475
Amador8,69064.084,87235.923,81828.1513,562
Butte43,49158.6430,68041.3612,81117.2774,171
Calaveras11,25964.116,30235.894,95728.2317,561
Colusa2,63951.332,50248.671372.665,141
Contra Costa282,58769.38124,73130.62157,85638.75407,318
Del Norte4,60361.032,93938.971,66422.067,542
El Dorado45,67163.3626,40836.6419,26326.7272,079
Fresno117,95649.96118,14850.04-192-0.08236,104
Glenn3,42347.443,79352.56-370-5.137,216
Humboldt32,72966.7916,27733.2116,45233.5749,006
Imperial13,97532.6228,87267.38-14,897-34.7742,847
Inyo3,86363.112,25836.891,60526.226,121
Kern98,52650.2197,68949.798370.43196,215
Kings14,65552.6913,15847.311,4975.3827,813
Lake13,18865.327,00334.686,18530.6320,191
Lassen4,15156.273,22643.7392512.547,377
Los Angeles1,895,67560.881,218,23639.12677,43921.763,113,911
Madera16,76948.8517,56251.15-793-2.3134,331
Marin98,19678.3727,10121.6371,09556.74125,297
Mariposa4,13462.142,51937.861,61524.276,653
Mendocino22,33570.029,56429.9812,77140.0431,899
Merced30,17250.2829,83549.723370.5660,007
Modoc1,53159.461,04440.5448718.912,575
Mono2,61162.141,59137.861,02024.274,202
Monterey77,65964.3343,06035.6734,59928.66120,719
Napa35,92566.9017,77833.1018,14733.7953,703
Nevada29,63968.9813,32931.0216,31037.9642,968
Orange555,45953.29486,78346.7168,6766.591,042,242
Placer89,68763.2152,19236.7937,49526.43141,879
Plumas4,60665.582,41834.422,18831.157,024
Riverside339,49754.68281,43745.3258,0609.35620,934
Sacramento312,03865.87161,67334.13150,36531.74473,711
San Benito11,15159.577,56840.433,58319.1418,719
San Bernardino300,73854.48251,24645.5249,4928.97551,984
San Diego625,84358.39446,06341.61179,78016.771,071,906
San Francisco286,72377.9880,98522.02205,73855.95367,708
San Joaquin111,56357.8581,29542.1530,26815.69192,858
San Luis Obispo69,19064.8837,45535.1231,73529.76106,645
San Mateo199,95671.1581,09028.85118,86642.29281,046
Santa Barbara88,86159.3060,99540.7027,86618.60149,856
Santa Clara411,76566.51207,38033.49204,38533.01619,145
Santa Cruz81,44371.3432,72028.6648,72342.68114,163
Shasta31,87756.6724,36943.337,50813.3556,246
Sierra82665.1444234.8638430.281,268
Siskiyou8,74457.526,45742.482,28715.0515,201
Solano97,41066.4349,22933.5748,18132.86146,639
Sonoma147,53272.9954,60027.0192,93245.98202,132
Stanislaus80,50256.8061,21943.2019,28313.61141,721
Sutter15,19156.4911,70043.513,49112.9826,891
Tehama9,45654.207,99145.801,4658.4017,447
Trinity2,69660.031,79539.9790120.064,491
Tulare47,14551.7044,04448.303,1013.4091,189
Tuolumne12,23965.866,34534.145,89431.7218,584
Ventura181,78561.05115,96438.9565,82122.11297,749
Yolo48,90167.6123,42932.3925,47235.2272,330
Yuba9,99956.217,78943.792,21012.4217,788
Totals7,542,75361.604,701,41738.402,841,33623.2112,244,170

By congressional district

Harris won 47 of the 53 congressional districts, including thirteen held by Republicans. Sanchez won six, including one held by a Republican.
DistrictHarrisSanchezRepresentative
60%40%Doug LaMalfa
74%26%Jared Huffman
62%38%John Garamendi
63%37%Tom McClintock
70%30%Mike Thompson
67%33%Doris Matsui
65%35%Ami Bera
55%45%Paul Cook
59%41%Jerry McNerney
57%43%Jeff Denham
71%29%Mark DeSaulnier
79%21%Nancy Pelosi
81%19%Barbara Lee
71%29%Jackie Speier
70%30%Eric Swalwell
49%51%Jim Costa
68%32%Mike Honda
68%32%Ro Khanna
74%26%Anna Eshoo
59%41%Zoe Lofgren
66%34%Sam Farr
66%34%Jimmy Panetta
43%57%David Valadao
53%47%Devin Nunes
54%46%Kevin McCarthy
62%38%Lois Capps
62%38%Salud Carbajal
60%40%Steve Knight
61%39%Julia Brownley
62%38%Judy Chu
66%34%Adam Schiff
53%47%Tony Cárdenas
66%34%Brad Sherman
57%43%Pete Aguilar
51%49%Grace Napolitano
29%71%Ted Lieu
55%45%Xavier Becerra
50.2%49.8%Norma Torres
56%44%Raul Ruiz
74%26%Karen Bass
49%51%Linda Sánchez
54%46%Ed Royce
44%56%Lucille Roybal-Allard
53%47%Mark Takano
55%45%Ken Calvert
67%33%Maxine Waters
55%45%Janice Hahn
55%45%Nanette Barragán
59%41%Mimi Walters
41%59%Loretta Sánchez
41%59%Lou Correa
58%42%Alan Lowenthal
56%44%Dana Rohrabacher
60%40%Darrell Issa
55%45%Duncan Hunter
43%57%Juan Vargas
64%36%Scott Peters
60%40%Susan Davis

Analysis

This election was the first and as of August 2025, the only US Senate election where two Democratic women of color faced off against one another in a general election. It is also one of only two United States Senate elections in California where both general election candidates were Democrats, the other being the election between former Senator Dianne Feinstein and then-California State Senator Kevin de León in 2018.
Later on after her subsequent victory in the 2020 election as the running mate of former President Joe Biden, Harris resigned on the senate on January 18, 2021, two days before her inauguration as vice president. This makes Harris the first US senator elected to a full six-year term since Barack Obama in 2008 to not finish what would be her sole term. On December 22, 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom appointed California secretary of state Alex Padilla to serve the remainder of Harris' term. Despite this, Harris became president of the Senate on January 20, 2021, by virtue of her election as vice president.
Harris is the second incumbent US senator from this seat to be elected vice president, the first being Richard Nixon in 1952.