2014 California Secretary of State election
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The 2014 California Secretary of State election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Secretary of State of California. Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen was term limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a third term in office.
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").
Democrat Alex Padilla and Republican Pete Peterson finished first and second, respectively, and contested the general election, which Padilla won.
Primary election
Candidates
Democratic Party
Declared
- Derek Cressman, political reform and anti-dark money activist and former Vice President of Common Cause[1]
- Jeffrey H. Drobman, computer scientist/engineer[2]
- Alex Padilla, State Senator[3]
Withdrew
- Leland Yee, State Senator[4]
Republican Party
Declared
- Roy Allmond, California state employee[2]
- Pete Peterson, Executive Director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement at Pepperdine University[5]
Green Party
Declared
Independent
Declared
- Daniel Schnur, former Chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission and former Republican strategist[9]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Derek Cressman (D) |
David Curtis (G) |
Alex Padilla (D) |
Pete Peterson (R) |
Daniel Schnur (I) |
Leland Yee (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | May 16–19, 2014 | 610 | ±4% | — | — | 48% | 32% | — | — | 9% | 11% |
| Field Poll | March 18–April 5, 2014 | 504 | ±4.5% | 3% | 5% | 17% | 30% | 4% | — | <0.5% | 41% |
| 2% | 4% | 10% | 27% | 4% | 8% | 1% | 44% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alex Padilla | 1,217,371 | 30.24 | |
| Republican | Pete Peterson | 1,194,715 | 29.68 | |
| Democratic | Leland Yee | 380,361 | 9.45 | |
| No party preference | Daniel Schnur | 369,898 | 9.19 | |
| Democratic | Derek Cressman | 306,375 | 7.61 | |
| Republican | Roy Allmond | 256,668 | 6.38 | |
| Democratic | Jeffrey H. Drobman | 178,521 | 4.44 | |
| Green | David S. Curtis | 121,618 | 3.02 | |
| Total votes | 4,025,527 | 100 | ||
| Turnout | 13.63 | |||
General election
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Alex Padilla (D) |
Pete Peterson (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GQR/American Viewpoint | October 22–29, 2014 | 1,162 | ± 3.3% | 45% | 41% | 14% |
| Field Poll | October 15–28, 2014 | 941 | ± 3.4% | 44% | 37% | 19% |
| Field Poll | August 14–28, 2014 | 467 | ± 4.8% | 43% | 36% | 21% |
| Gravis Marketing | July 22–24, 2014 | 580 | ± 4% | 34% | 37% | 28% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alex Padilla | 3,799,711 | 53.63 | |
| Republican | Pete Peterson | 3,285,334 | 46.37 | |
| Total votes | 7,085,045 | 100 | ||
References
- ^ Paul Blumenthal (March 5, 2014). "Derek Cressman Aims To Take The Citizens United Fight Inside Government". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ a b "Official certified list of candidates" (PDF). Secretary of State. California Secretary of State. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Patrick McGreevy (April 11, 2013). "Sen. Alex Padilla announces run for California secretary of state". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ "Indicted California state senator ends Secretary of State campaign". Reuters. Mar 27, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ Jean Merl (March 4, 2014). "Secretary of state candidates make their case at L.A. forum". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ "California Secretary of State Candidate David Curtis Talks Green Politics". IVN. January 10, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ "David Curtis Excluded from Sacramento Press Club Debate". Cal Newsroom. April 20, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- ^ "Can a Green Party candidate break the glass ceiling?". Los Angeles Times. April 20, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- ^ Alex Gauthier (September 12, 2013). "Dan Schnur running for California Secretary of State". SCPR. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ "Statement of Vote June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
- ^ "Statement of Vote November 4, 2014, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
External links
- California Secretary of State election, 2014 at Ballotpedia
- Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
- Official campaign websites