Democrats won in seven congressional districts previously represented by Republicans, all of which voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. This reduced the California House Republican delegation by half and left the Republican Party with the fewest seats in California since just before the 1946 election cycle.
Republican incumbents Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Steve Knight, Mimi Walters, and Dana Rohrabacher (who had been elected to fifteen terms) were all defeated. Democrats also picked up two open seats previously held by retiring GOP incumbents: thirteen-term incumbent Ed Royce and nine-term incumbent Darrell Issa. The seven Democratic House pickups in California were the most made by the party in the 2018 election cycle.
^112 campaigning Democratic candidates. Suspended campaign: Dotty Nygard (District 10); Aja Brown (District 44); Michael Kotick, Laura Oatman, and Rachel Payne (District 48). Although she suspended her campaign, Brown did advance to the general election.[1][2]
^No ballot access: American Solidarity Party, K9 Party, and Socialist Equality Party. Brian T. Carroll (ASP, District 22), Robert Pendleton (K9, District 49), and Kevin Mitchell (SEP, District 51), appear on ballot as "No party preference."[5]
The 1st district is based in inland Northern California and includes Chico and Redding. Incumbent Republican Doug LaMalfa, who had represented the 1st district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+11.
After advancing to the general election, Democratic candidate Audrey Denney was forced to pause her campaign for emergency tumor-removal surgery in August,[12] but returned in time to debate LaMalfa in September.[13]
The 2nd district is based in California's North Coast and includes Marin County and Eureka. Democrat Jared Huffman, who had represented the 2nd district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 76.9% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+22.
The 3rd district is based in north central California and includes Davis, Fairfield, and Yuba City. Democrat John Garamendi, who had represented the 3rd district since 2013 and had previously represented the 10th district from 2009 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.4% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+5.
The 4th district is based in east central California and includes Lake Tahoe, Roseville, and Yosemite National Park. Incumbent Republican Tom McClintock, who had represented the 4th district since 2009, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 62.7% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+10.
In February, the California Democratic Party endorsed[28] Jessica Morse. Calderon was able to successfully collect 322 CDP-credentialed delegate signatures needed to block the endorsement, in which Morse only received 44 delegate votes. However, CDP staff refused to accept the forms after it was alleged they closed doors early to prevent the submission. A petition was later filed with the Compliance Review Commission[29] by Calderon. The CRC voted to accept and count the signatures, ultimately disqualifying enough signatures to proceed with Morse's endorsement.
California allows candidates to include their professional description under their names on the ballot, however Regina Bateson later challenged Morse's ballot designation title of "National Security Fellow" at the Sacramento Superior Court after months of controversy that Morse, who had not worked in three years, was "fluffing" her credentials.[30] California's Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, had struck down Morse's 3 ballot designations before Judge Gevercer ruled[31] that she presented "no credible evidence" to use the ballot designation of "National Security Fellow". Instead, he held that this title would mislead the average person about her recent activities. In the official Certified Candidate List, Morse's ballot designation was left blank.
The 5th district is based in the North Bay and includes Napa, Santa Rosa, and Vallejo. Incumbent Democrat Mike Thompson, who had represented the 5th district since 2013 and previously represented the 1st district from 1999 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 76.9% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+21.
The 6th district is based in north central California and includes Sacramento. Democrat Doris Matsui, who had represented the 6th district since 2013 and previously represented the 5th district from 2005 to 2013, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 75.4% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+21.
The 7th district is based in north central California and includes southern and eastern Sacramento County. Democrat Ami Bera, who had represented the 7th district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 51.2% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+3.
The 8th district is based in the eastern High Desert and includes Victorville and Yucaipa. Incumbent Republican Paul Cook, who had represented the 8th district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 62.3% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+9.
The 9th district is based in the Central Valley and includes the San Joaquin Delta and Stockton. Incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney, who had represented the 9th district since 2013 and previously represented the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 57.4% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+8.
The 10th district was based in the Central Valley and included Modesto (and the remainder of Stanislaus County), Manteca, and Tracy (with other portions of southern San Joaquin County). Republican Jeff Denham, who had represented the 10th district since 2013 and previously represented the 19th district from 2011 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 51.7% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of EVEN.
Although Denham led the reported vote count for several days, Harder ultimately won the general election by almost 10,000 votes with Denham conceding defeat on November 14.[64][65]
The 11th district is based in the East Bay and includes Concord and Richmond. Incumbent Democrat Mark DeSaulnier, who had represented the 11th district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 72.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+21.
The 12th district is based in the Bay Area and includes most of San Francisco. House Democratic Leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had represented the 12th district since 2013 and previously represented the 8th district from 1993 to 2013 and the 5th district from 1987 until 1993, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 80.9% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+37.
The 13th district is based in the East Bay and includes Berkeley and Oakland. Incumbent Democrat Barbara Lee, who had represented the 13th district since 2013 and previously represented the 9th district from 1998 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 92.0% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+40.
The 14th district is based in the Bay Area and includes most of San Mateo County. Incumbent Democrat Jackie Speier, who had represented the 14th district since 2013 and previously represented the 12th district from 2008 to 2013, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 80.9% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+27.
The 15th district is based in the East Bay and includes Hayward and Livermore. Incumbent Democrat Eric Swalwell, who had represented the 15th district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 73.8% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+20.
The 16th district is based in the Central Valley and includes Fresno, Madera, and Merced. Incumbent Democrat Jim Costa, who had represented the 16th district since 2013 and previously represented the 20th district from 2005 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 58.0% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+9.
As a minority, millennial female running against an established male politician, Heng received a number of comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[85] Heng gained notoriety during the campaign for aggressive attack ads, including one where she depicted a silver-haired man who resembled Costa walking on a sidewalk in red high heels, which prompted questions of sexism.[86] More controversially her campaign ran an ad featuring images of the Cambodian genocide, part of her family heritage. This ad was banned on Facebook and Twitter, leading to conservative claims of social media bias and unjustified censorship.[87][88] Both social media sites ended up reversing course and allowed the commercials.[86]
The 17th district is based in the Bay Area and includes Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Fremont, and Milpitas. Incumbent Democrat Ro Khanna, who had represented the 17th district since 2017, ran for re-election. He was elected with 61.0% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+25.
The 18th district is based in the Bay Area and includes Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Saratoga. Incumbent Democrat Anna Eshoo, who had represented the 18th district since 2013 and previously represented the 14th district from 1993 to 2013, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 71.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+23.
The 19th district is based in the South Bay and includes most of San Jose. Incumbent Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who had represented the 19th district since 2013 and previously represented the 16th district from 1995 to 2013, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 73.9% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+24.
The 20th district is based in the Central Coast and includes Monterey and Santa Cruz. Incumbent Democrat Jimmy Panetta, who had represented the 20th district since 2017, ran for re-election. He was elected with 70.8% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+23.
The 21st district is based in the Central Valley and includes Hanford and parts of Bakersfield. Incumbent Republican David Valadao, who had represented the 21st district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 56.7% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+5.
Emilio Huerta, civil rights attorney and general election candidate for this seat in 2016
Cox was running in the 10th district race before switching to run in the 21st district in March 2017.[92] Democrat Emilio Huerta, who ran for the seat in 2016 and was planning to run again, dropped out shortly before Cox entered the race.[93]
On election night, Valadao held an 8-point lead, the Associated Press and other news networks called the race for Valadao, and Cox conceded. However, mail-in and absentee ballots, which constituted about sixty percent of all ballots cast in the race, started arriving in the days and weeks following election day and swung heavily toward Cox. On November 26, Cox took the lead, retaining it until all ballots had been counted; Valadao conceded the race on December 6.
The 22nd district is based in the Central Valley and includes Clovis, Tulare, and Visalia. Incumbent Republican Devin Nunes, who had represented the 22nd district since 2013 and previously represented the 21st district from 2003 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 67.6% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+8.
The 23rd district is based in the southern Central Valley and includes parts of Bakersfield. Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had represented the 23rd district since 2013 and previously represented the 22nd district from 2007 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 69.2% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+14.
The 24th district is based in the Central Coast and includes San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Incumbent Democrat Salud Carbajal, who had represented the 24th district since 2017, ran for re-election. He was elected with 53.4% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+7.
The 25th district is based in northern Los Angeles County and includes Palmdale and Santa Clarita as well as Simi Valley in Ventura County. Incumbent Republican Steve Knight, who had represented the 25th district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 53.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of EVEN.