California's 38th Congressional District elections, 2012
From Ballotpedia
2014 → |
California's 38th Congressional District |
| General Election Date November 6, 2012 |
| Primary Date June 5, 2012 |
| November 6 Election Winner: Linda Sanchez 
|
| Incumbent prior to election: Grace Napolitano
|
|
| California U.S. House Elections
District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 |
| 2012 U.S. Senate Elections |
|
The 38th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.
Former 39th District incumbent Linda Sanchez (D) won the election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
| March 9, 2012 | June 5, 2012 | November 6, 2012 |
Primary: California has a top-two primary system, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, go on to the general election.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by May 21. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 22.[2]
- See also: California elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Grace Napolitano (D), who was first elected in 1998.
This was the first election which used new district maps based on 2010 Census data. California's 38th Congressional District is located in the southern portion of the state and includes part of Los Angeles County.[3]
Blanket primary
This was the first election year in which California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act was in effect. Because of this, all candidates for a seat competed in one blanket primary. The two candidates who received the most votes then advanced to the general election on November 6.
The proposition's intent was to encourage primary competition, which backers of the act said would lead to more moderate legislators being elected. The primary results did reflect an increase in competition, with California's percentage of contested primaries being much higher than the nationwide average.[4]
The increase in competition also led to an increase in campaign spending, due to the fact that competition within political parties lasted for the entire year rather than ending after the primary. Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., said the following, "It's hard to argue it's a better system where the incumbent congressman has a huge war chest and nobody else has any money... At least now we can make him spend it."[4]
As a result of the blanket primary, nine congressional districts had same-party candidates battling in the November 6 general election. Of those, seven were between Democrats.[5]
There were also over a dozen same-party races in the state legislature in November.[5]
Candidates
General election candidates
June 5, 2012, primary results
- Note: The following candidate withdrew prior to the primary: Ron Calderon[7][8]
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Linda Sanchez Incumbent |
67.5% | 145,280 | |
| Republican | Benjamin Campos | 32.5% | 69,807 | |
| Total Votes | 215,087 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" |
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in California
The 38th District was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[9][10]
- 2 percent from the 32nd Congressional District
- 4 percent from the 34th Congressional District
- 34 percent from the 38th Congressional District
- 51 percent from the 39th Congressional District
- 3 percent from the 40th Congressional District
- 5 percent from the 42nd Congressional District
Registration statistics
As of October 24, 2012, District 38 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the California Secretary of State:
| California Congressional District 38[11] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 38 | 336,027 | 165,259 | 88,941 | 81,827 | Democratic | 85.81% | -78.61% |
| "Party advantage" is the percentage gap between the two major parties in registered voters. "Change in advantage" is the spread in difference of party advantage between 2010 and 2012 based on the congressional district number only. |
District partisanship
FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012 study
- See also: FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012
In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. California's 38th District became more Republican because of redistricting.[12]
- 2012: 60D / 40R
- 2010: 63D / 37R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measures each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. California's 38th Congressional District has a PVI of D+9, which is the 116th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 63-37 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 57-43 percent over George W. Bush (R).[13]
Campaign contributions
Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are candidate reports.
Linda Sanchez
| Linda Sanchez (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand |
| April Quarterly[14] | April 15, 2012 | $207,236.85 | $129,759 | $(83,743.17) | $253,252.68 |
| Pre-Primary[15] | May 24, 2012 | $253,252.68 | $35,200 | $(66,358.09) | $222,094.59 |
| Running totals | |||||
| $164,959 | $(150,101.26) |
Benjamin Campos
| Benjamin Campos (2012) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand |
| April Quarterly[16] | April 23, 2012 | $0 | $7,969.27 | $(3,978.21) | $3,891.06 |
| Pre-Primary[17] | May 29, 2012 | $3,891.06 | $2,652 | $(1,871.66) | $4,671.40 |
| Running totals | |||||
| $10,621.27 | $(5,849.87) |
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
|---|
|
| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
2010
On November 2, 2010, Grace Napolitano won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Robert Vaughn (California) in the general election.[18]
| U.S. House, California District 38 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Grace Napolitano Incumbent |
73.5% | 85,459 | |
| Republican | Robert Vaughn (California) | 26.5% | 30,883 | |
| Total Votes | 116,342 |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "California Districts Race - 2012 Election Center," accessed December 1, 2012
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Elections FAQ," accessed July 20, 2012
- ↑ California Redistricting Map, "Map" accessed September 25, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Los Angeles Times, "Few centrists advance in California's new primary system," June 7, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Reuters, "Democrats face Democrats in new California election system," June 6, 2012
- ↑ "Rep. Linda Sanchez to run in new 38th Congressional District", latimes.com, August 31, 2011
- ↑ "State Sen. Ron Calderon to run for Congress", blogs.sacbee.com, August 9, 2011
- ↑ Sacramento Bee "Ron Calderon drops bid for Congress, endorses Linda Sanchez," accessed March 10, 2012
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer, "California's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists, "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Congressional Voter Registration Statistics," May 21, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in California," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" accessed October 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Linda Sanchez April Quarterly," accessed July 10, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Linda Sanchez Pre-Primary," accessed July 10, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Benjamin Campos April Quarterly," accessed July 10, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Benjamin Campos Pre-Primary," accessed July 10, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
Senators
Representatives
Democratic Party (45)
Republican Party (9)