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 County results Yee: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Swearengin: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2014 California State Controller election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect theState Controller ofCalifornia. Incumbent Democratic State ControllerJohn Chiang was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a third term in office and insteadran successfully forCalifornia State Treasurer.
A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. Under California'snonpartisan 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").
In the primary, RepublicanAshley Swearengin and DemocratBetty Yee finished first and second, respectively. The third-place finisher, DemocratJohn Pérez, initially called for a recount in 15 counties after official results showed him trailing Yee by 481 votes; however, he ultimately conceded to Yee more than a month after the primary.[1][2][3] Swearengin and Yee contested the general election, which Yee won. As of 2025, this election, alongsidethe concurrent Secretary of State election, is the last time in which a statewide California race between a Democrat and a Republican was decided by single digits; and in whichMono,San Diego,San Luis Obispo, andVentura Counties voted for the Republican in a statewide race.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | John Pérez (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[11] | May 16–19, 2014 | 610 | ±4% | 18% | 31% | 24% | 8% | 18% |
| Field Poll[12] | Mar. 18–Apr. 5, 2014 | 504 | ±4.5% | 14% | 28% | 19% | 1% | 38% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 1,001,473 | 24.79 | |
| Democratic | Betty Yee | 878,195 | 21.74 | |
| Democratic | John Pérez | 877,714 | 21.73 | |
| Republican | David Evans | 850,109 | 21.05 | |
| Green | Laura Wells | 231,352 | 5.73 | |
| Democratic | Tammy D. Blair | 200,532 | 4.96 | |
| Total votes | 4,039,375 | 100 | ||
| Turnout | 13.68 | |||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Betty Yee (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GQR/American Viewpoint[14] | October 22–29, 2014 | 1,162 | ± 3.3% | 46% | 38% | 16% |
| Field Poll[15] | October 15–28, 2014 | 941 | ± 3.4% | 44% | 36% | 20% |
| Field Poll[16] | August 14–28, 2014 | 467 | ± 4.8% | 46% | 32% | 22% |
| Gravis Marketing[17] | July 22–24, 2014 | 580 | ± 4% | 39% | 39% | 22% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Betty Yee | 3,810,304 | 53.97 | |
| Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 3,249,668 | 46.03 | |
| Total votes | 7,059,972 | 100 | ||
Official campaign websites
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