California Democratic Party
Chairman	Rusty Hicks
Governor of California	Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor of California	Eleni Kounalakis
Senate President pro tempore	Mike McGuire
Assembly Speaker	Robert Rivas
Headquarters	1830 9th Street,Sacramento, California 95811
Membership(Oct 2025)	10,376,887[1]
Ideology	Liberalism[2]
National affiliation	Democratic Party
Colors	Blue
Seats in theU.S. Senate	2 / 2
Seats in theU.S. House	43 / 52
Statewide Executive Offices	8 / 8
Seats in theCalifornia State Senate	30 / 40
Seats in theCalifornia State Assembly	60 / 80
Election symbol
Website
cadem.org
Politics of California Political parties Elections

TheCalifornia Democratic Party, also known as theDemocratic Party of California, is the affiliate of theDemocratic Party in theU.S. state ofCalifornia. It is headquartered inSacramento, California.

With 45.27% of the state's registered voters as of February 2025, the Democratic Party has the highest number of registrants of any political party in California.^[3] It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the largest affiliates of the national Democratic Party. The party currently controls the majority of California'sU.S. House seats, bothU.S. Senate seats, thegovernorship, and has supermajorities in both houses of thestate legislature.^{[citation needed]}

Since the beginning of the 1850s, issues regardingslavery had effectively split theCaliforniaDemocratic Party. By the 1853 general election campaign, large majorities of pro-slavery Democrats from Southern California, calling themselves the Chivalry (later branded asLecomptonDemocrats), threatened to divide the state in half, should the state not accept slavery.John Bigler, along with former state senator and lieutenant governorDavid C. Broderick from the previousMcDougall Administration, formed the Free Soil Democratic faction, modeled after the federalFree Soil Party that argued against the spread of slavery.

The Democrats effectively split into two camps, with both the Chivalry and Free Soilers nominating their own candidates for the 1853 election.^[4] By 1857, the party had split into theLecompton and Anti-Lecompton factions. Lecompton members supported theKansasLecompton Constitution, a document explicitly allowing slavery into the territory, while Anti-Lecompton faction members were in opposition to slavery's expansion. The violence between supporting and opposition forces led to the period known asBleeding Kansas. Splits in the Democratic Party, as well as thepower vacuum created by the collapse of theWhig Party, helped facilitate the rise of theAmerican Party both in state and federal politics. In particular, state voters voted Know-Nothings into theCalifornia State Legislature, and electedJ. Neely Johnson as governor in the 1855 general elections.

During the 1859 general elections, Lecompton Democrats voted forMilton Latham, who had briefly lived in theAmerican South, as their nominee forgovernor. Anti-Lecomptons in turn selectedJohn Currey as their nominee. The infantRepublican Party, running in its first gubernatorial election, selected businessmanLeland Stanford as its nominee. To make matters more complicated, during the campaign, SenatorDavid C. Broderick, an Anti-Lecompton Democrat, was killed in aduel by slavery supporter and formerstate Supreme Court JusticeDavid Terry on September 13.^[5]

Until the early 1880s, the Republican Party held the state through the power and influence of railroad men. The Democratic Party responded by taking an anti-corporate, anti freedom of attainment position. In 1894, DemocratJames Budd was elected to the governorship, and the Democratic Party attempted to make good on their promises to reform the booming railroad industry. The party began working closely with the state's railroad commission to create fair rates for passengers and to eliminate monopolies the railroad companies held over the state. The main effort focused on making railroads public avenues of transportation similar to streets and roads. This measure passed and was a great victory for the Democrats, but the honeymoon would not last.^[6] Budd was to be the last Democratic governor for thirty years. The struggle between the anti-monopolists and the railroad companies was, however, a key and defining issue for the Democratic Party for some time.

"Photo-Phrenological Studies," caricatures of prominent California DemocratsJames D. Phelan (left) andJames G. Maguire (right) published inThe Wasp, 1898

Despite their relative lack of power during this period, the Democrats in California were still active in pursuing reform. The party supported fairer railroad policies and crusaded fortariff reform.^[6] The party also supported the large scale railroad strikes that sprung up statewide. The corruption of the time in both the railroad companies and the government led to a change in political dynamic. The people of the state moved away from both of the main parties and theProgressive Movement began.

While the Progressives were successful in creating positive reform and chasing out corruption, the movement drained away many of the Democratic Party's members. As their movement ended, the Republicans won the governorship, but the Democratic Party had a distinct voter advantage.

In 1932,Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president, and the Power balance between the Republicans and the Democrats in California equalized. However, as Roosevelt'sNew Deal policies began to raise the nation out of the depression, Democratic strength mounted.Culbert Olson was elected to the governorship, but his term was rocky, and both parties organized against him. Shortly thereafter,Earl Warren and the Republicans regained power again.

The California Democratic Party needed a new strategy to regain power in the state. A strategy of re-organization and popular mobilization emerged and resulted in the creation of theCalifornia Democratic Council. The CDC, as it became known, was a way for members of the party from all levels of government to come together, and, as such, the party became more unified. A new network of politically minded civilians and elected officials emerged, and the party was stronger for it.^[7] Despite the fact that the council struggled in theCold War era, due to Republican strength and issues such as theVietnam War, it still exists today.^[8]

By 1992, California was hurting more than most states from a national recession which had started in 1990, causing incumbent Republican president George H. W. Bush's approval rating to tank within the state, giving an opening for the Democratic party to break through and eventually become the largest party. Starting with the double digit victory of Bill Clinton, this became the first time a Democrat had carried the state of California since 1964. Afterwards, a consolidation of the Latino and Asian vote would strengthen the Democratic party's hold in California, when these groups had previously been considered core Republican supporters within the state.

The California Democratic Party began re-organizing in 1991, and in 1992, the party won the greatest victories in the history of California. President Clinton won California's 54 electoral votes, and two women,Dianne Feinstein andBarbara Boxer, were elected as U.S. senators.

Even though redistricting (re-apportionment) was executed by a Republican State Supreme Court, California Democrats in November 1992 had increased their margin at all levels—congressional, state assembly and in the state senate.

In 1994, California Democrats suffered a setback by losing the governor's race for the fourth time in a row, and the Democrats became a minority in the State Assembly. However, despite $29 million spent by Republican U.S. Senate candidateMichael Huffington, Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election.

The 1996 elections proved to be a dramatic turnaround from the results of 1994, as PresidentBill Clinton won California's 54 electoral votes for a second consecutive time. Three Republican congressmen were also defeated, includingBob Dornan in the conservative stronghold ofOrange County. In addition, California Democrats also regained the majority in the State Assembly, while adding to their majority in the state senate.

The California Democrats had a banner year in 1998. An overwhelming majority of Californians electedGray Davis, the first Democratic governor in 16 years, and re-elected U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. Six of eight candidates for statewide constitutional offices won, including Lieutenant GovernorCruz Bustamante, Attorney GeneralBill Lockyer, Treasurer Phil Angelides, ControllerKathleen Connell, and State Superintendent of Public InstructionDelaine Eastin. In addition, California Democrats increased their majority in the State Assembly from 43 to 48, and also in the state senate from 23 to 25.

Holding off a national Republican trend in 2002, California Democrats won all eight statewide offices for the first time since 1882. Governor Gray Davis, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, and State Treasurer Phil Angelides were all re-elected, while Steve Westly was elected State Controller, Kevin Shelley was elected Secretary of State,John Garamendi was elected Insurance Commissioner, andJack O'Connell was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

This feat (winning all statewide offices) was repeated in2010, when, despite massive Republican gains nationwide, the California Democratic Party swept all the statewide offices being contested, maintained its 34–19 edge in the 53-member U.S. House delegation, and won one additional seat (thus increasing their majority) in the State Assembly, while maintaining their current majority in the state senate.

In the2012 election, California Democrats experienced tremendous success once again: Not only did PresidentBarack Obama win California's 55 electoral votes again, with over 60% of the vote, and SenatorDianne Feinstein was re-elected with over 62% of the vote, but California Democrats – despite running in federal and legislative districts that were redrawn by anindependent redistricting commission for the first time, per the passage of Propositions11 and20, and the implementation of a newblanket primary – also won a net gain of four House seats by defeating three GOP incumbents and winning an open GOP seat, and won a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature, a feat which the party last accomplished in 1882.^[9] Geographically, the 2012 elections also witnessed the California Democratic Party make inroads in traditionally Republican areas:San Diego, the second largest city in California and a long-time GOP stronghold,elected a Democratic mayor for the first time since 1988.^[10] California Democrats also notched up victories in other traditionally Republican areas, such as theInland Empire,Ventura County, theCentral Valley, andOrange County.^[11]

Since January 2001, California has had a "modified" closed primary system in which political parties can determine whether or not to allow voters who arenot affiliated with any party (i.e. "independent") to participate in the party's primary. The passage ofProposition 14 limited this "modified" closed primary system to primaries forPresident of the United States, starting with the2012 primaries. Since theprimaries in 2004, the California Democratic Party has allowed "independent" voters to vote in every Democratic primaries, as applicable.^[12]

Officers of the California Democratic Party are elected by Delegates of the Democratic State Central Committee at the Spring Re-Organizing Meeting following the Midterm or Presidential Elections. All officers serve 4 year staggered terms with the Chair, 1st Vice-Chair, and 2nd-Vice Chair being elected following presidential elections, and the Secretary and Controller being elected following midterm elections.^[13] Below are the current officers:

• Chair:Rusty Hicks
• 1st Vice-Chair: Deepa Sharma
• 2nd Vice-Chair: David Campos
• Secretary: Diana Love
• Controller: Carolyn Fowler

The California Democratic Party is a "political party that has detailed statutory provisions applicable to its operation", which are in division 7, part 2 of theCalifornia Elections Code.^[14][15][16] The Democratic State Central Committee, which is the governing body of the California Democratic Party, functions pursuant to its standing rules and bylaws.^[17][18] The Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) is composed of approximately 2,900 delegates that are selected through a wide variety of manners. Including being a Democratic elected official or a California Democratic Party official; or being appointed by chartered organizations of the California Democratic Party or county central committees; or being elected as an Assembly District Delegate.^[19] The executive board is composed of approximately 320 members and holds all powers and duties of the California Democratic Party while the DSCC or its conventions are not in session.^[19][20]

There are semi-autonomous county central committees for each ofCalifornia's 58 counties. Each county central committee elects 4 members, plus a member for each 10,000 registered Democrats in that county, to the state central committee.^[19][21] The state central committee bylaws specify that county central committees may provide for the election of their allocation of membership on an at-large basis, or by county supervisor districts orAssembly districts, or by any combination thereof.^[22]

Of the DSCC Delegates, 1,120 are Assembly District Delegates, elected by registered Democrats within each ofCalifornia's 80 Assembly districts in "Assembly district election meetings" (ADEM's).^[19][23] ADEM elections are held biennially in January in every odd numbered year with voters electing 14 delegates to the state central committee per assembly district, divided as equally as possible between men and women, with the highest vote getter in each district regardless of gender, serving as that district's representative to the executive board.^[24][25]

All DSCC members are elected to 2 year terms. The DSCC meets annually in the spring as a State Convention, with State Conventions in even-numbered years deemed as a "Platform Convention", where the state platform is revised, and State Conventions in odd-numbered years deemed as a "Re-Organizing Meeting", where resolutions are considered.

At every direct primary election, a county central committee is elected in each county.^[26] The California Elections Code specifies how county central committee members are elected.^[27] Candidates for county central committees are nominated pursuant to division 8, part 1, chapter 1 of the Elections Code,^[28] which defines requirements such as the number of Democratic registered voters required (20–40) to sign a nomination.^[29][30] A county central committee may also select its members at any time by holding a caucus or convention or by using any other method of selection approved by the committee.^[31] If the number of candidates nominated for election does not exceed the number of candidates to be elected, the candidates are not listed on the ballots, but are instead declared elected by the board of supervisors.^[32]

The Democratic State Central Committee of the California Democratic Party of California is organized into nine standing committees: Platform, Resolutions, Rules, Legislation, Affirmative Action, Credentials, Finance, Organizational Development, and Voter Services.^[61] Its headquarters are at 1830 9th St Sacramento, California.^[62]

The California Democratic Party published a2022 platform.

The following is a list of Democratic statewide and legislative officeholders, as of January 2, 2023 (federal office holders as of January 20, 2021);

Democrats have controlled all eight elected statewide constitutional offices since 2011. The current eight elected statewide officers are:

• 
  GovernorGavin Newsom^[63][64]
• 
  Lieutenant GovernorEleni Kounalakis^[65][66]
• 
  Secretary of the StateShirley Weber^[67][68]
• 
  Attorney GeneralRob Bonta^[69]
• 
  ControllerMalia Cohen^[70]
• 
  TreasurerFiona Ma^[71]
• 
  Insurance CommissionerRicardo Lara^[72]
• 
  Superintendent of Public InstructionTony Thurmond^[73]

Both of California's seats in the U.S. Senate have been under Democratic control since1992. California's current US Senators are:

• 
  Senior U.S. SenatorAlex Padilla^[74]
• 
  Junior U.S. SenatorAdam Schiff

Of the 52 seats California is apportioned in the U.S. House following the2020 census, 43 are held by Democrats:^[75][76]

District	Member	Photo
2nd	Jared Huffman
4th	Mike Thompson
6th	Ami Bera
7th	Doris Matsui
8th	John Garamendi
9th	Josh Harder
10th	Mark DeSaulnier
11th	Nancy Pelosi
12th	Lateefah Simon
13th	Adam Gray
14th	Eric Swalwell
15th	Kevin Mullin
16th	Sam Liccardo
17th	Ro Khanna
18th	Zoe Lofgren
19th	Jimmy Panetta
21st	Jim Costa
24th	Salud Carbajal
25th	Raul Ruiz
26th	Julia Brownley
27th	George T. Whitesides
28th	Judy Chu
29th	Luz Rivas
30th	Laura Friedman
31st	Gil Cisneros
32nd	Brad Sherman
33rd	Pete Aguilar
34th	Jimmy Gomez
35th	Norma Torres
36th	Ted Lieu
37th	Sydney Kamlager-Dove
38th	Linda Sánchez
39th	Mark Takano
42nd	Robert Garcia
43rd	Maxine Waters
44th	Nanette Barragán
45th	Derek Tran
46th	Lou Correa
47th	Dave Min
49th	Mike Levin
50th	Scott Peters
51st	Sara Jacobs
52nd	Juan Vargas

Democrats hold four of the five seats on theState Board of Equalization: three of the four district-based seats, and the at-largeex officio seat reserved for the incumbent State Controller, who, in this instance, is DemocratMalia Cohen.

• 2nd District:Sally Lieber
• 3rd District:Tony Vazquez
• 4th District:Mike Schaefer
• State Controller:Malia Cohen

As of March 11, 2025, Democrats hold a 30–10 supermajority in the 40-memberCalifornia State Senate.^[77] The Democrats have been the majority party in the Senate continuously since1956.

As of January 2025, Democrats hold a 60–20 supermajority in the 80-seatCalifornia State Assembly.^[78] The Democrats have been the majority party in the Assembly continuously since 1996.

Most of the state's major cities have Democratic mayors. As of 2023, Democrats control the mayor's offices in eight of California's ten largest cities:

• Los Angeles (1):Karen Bass
• San Diego (2):Todd Gloria
• San Jose (3):Matt Mahan
• San Francisco (4):Daniel Lurie
• Sacramento (6):Kevin McCarty
• Long Beach (7):Rex Richardson
• Oakland (8):Barbara Lee
• Anaheim (10):Ashleigh Aitken

Other notable mayors include:

• Irvine (14):Larry Agran
• Fremont (16):Raj Salwan
• San Bernardino (18):Helen Tran

California Democratic Party gubernatorial election results

Election	Gubernatorial candidate	Votes	Vote %	Result
1849	Did not endorse a candidate
1851	John Bigler	23,175	50.48%	WonY
1853	John Bigler	38,940	50.97%	WonY
1855	John Bigler	46,225	47.47%	LostN
1857	John B. Weller	53,122	56.71%	WonY
1859	John Currey	31,298	30.46%	LostN
1861	John Conness	30,944	25.63%	LostN
1863	John G. Downey	44,622	40.97%	LostN
1867	Henry Huntly Haight	49,895	54.03%	WonY
1871	Henry Huntly Haight	57,520	47.89%	LostN
1875	William Irwin	61,509	50.03%	WonY
1879	Hugh J. Glenn	47,667	29.75%	LostN
1882	George Stoneman	90,694	55.08%	WonY
1886	Washington Bartlett	84,965	43.43%	WonY
1890	Edward B. Pond	117,184	46.42%	LostN
1894	James Budd	111,944	39.34%	WonY
1898	James G. Maguire	129,261	45.03%	LostN
1902	Franklin Knight Lane	143,783	47.22%	LostN
1906	Theodore Arlington Bell	117,645	37.71%	LostN
1910	Theodore Arlington Bell	154,835	40.14%	LostN
1914	J. B. Curtin	116,121	12.53%	LostN
1918	Did not field a candidate
1922	Thomas Lee Woolwine	347,530	35.98%	LostN
1926	Justus S. Wardell	282,451	24.69%	LostN
1930	Milton K. Young	333,973	24.13%	LostN
1934	Upton Sinclair	879,537	37.75%	LostN
1938	Culbert Olson	1,391,734	52.49%	WonY
1942	Culbert Olson	932,995	41.75%	LostN
1946	Earl Warren (Republican) won party primary
1950	James Roosevelt	1,333,856	35.14%	LostN
1954	Richard P. Graves	1,739,368	43.16%	LostN
1958	Pat Brown	3,140,076	59.75%	WonY
1962	Pat Brown	3,037,109	51.94%	WonY
1966	Pat Brown	2,749,174	42.27%	LostN
1970	Jesse Unruh	2,938,607	45.14%	LostN
1974	Jerry Brown	3,131,648	50.11%	WonY
1978	Jerry Brown	3,878,812	56.05%	WonY
1982	Tom Bradley	3,787,669	48.09%	LostN
1986	Tom Bradley	2,781,714	37.38%	LostN
1990	Dianne Feinstein	3,525,197	45.78%	LostN
1994	Kathleen Brown	3,519,799	40.62%	LostN
1998	Gray Davis	4,860,702	57.97%	WonY
2002	Gray Davis	3,533,490	47.26%	WonY
2003 (recall)	Cruz Bustamante (best-performing)	2,724,874	31.5%	LostN
2006	Phil Angelides	3,376,732	38.91%	LostN
2010	Jerry Brown	5,428,149	53.8%	WonY
2014	Jerry Brown	4,388,368	59.97%	WonY
2018	Gavin Newsom	7,721,410	61.95%	WonY
2021 (recall)	Kevin Paffrath (best-performing)	706,778	9.60%	Recall failed
2022	Gavin Newsom	6,470,104	59.18%	WonY

• Democratic Party (United States) organizations
• List of state parties of the Democratic Party (United States)
• Political party strength in California

• California Democratic Party
• California State Assembly Democratic Caucus
• "Democrats back Upton Sinclair for Governor--outtakes."Fox Movietone News Story 23-308, September 20, 1934.

• California Democratic Party
• California Democrats
• Democratic Party (United States) by state
• Political parties in California
• Social liberal parties in the United States

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