The 2014 California State Controller election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the State Controller of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Incumbent Democratic Controller John Chiang 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 A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

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 Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

is the only other state with this system, a so-called "top two primary" (

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

has a similar "jungle primary"). In the primary, Republican Ashley Swearengin and Democrat

Betty Yee Betty T. Yee (born October 19, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as California State Controller since 2015. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 20 ...

finished first and second, respectively. The third-place finisher, Democrat

John Pérez John A. Pérez (born September 28, 1969) is an American union organizer and politician. He has been a Regent of the University of California since November 17, 2014, previously serving as the 68th Speaker of the California State Assembly from M ...

, 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. Swearengin and Yee contested the general election, which Yee won.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic Party

=Declared

= * Tammy D. Blair, administrator *

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the California State Assembly *

, Member of the State Board of Equalization

=Declined

= * Bill Lockyer, State Treasurer and former

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

Republican Party

=Declared

= * David Evans, accountant, candidate for California's 22nd congressional district in 2006 and for Controller in 2010 * Ashley Swearengin, Mayor of

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

=Withdrew

= * Tina Mizany

Green Party

=Declared

= *

Laura Wells Laura Wells (born January 2, 1948) is an American political activist and financial and business analyst. She is a former candidate for U.S. Representative for California's 13th congressional district in the November 2018 election and the Green P ...

, activist, retired financial and business analyst, nominee for Controller in 2002 and 2006 and nominee for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 2010

Polling

Results

General election

Polling

Results

References

External links

California State Controller election, 2014
at Ballotpedia
Campaign contributions
at FollowTheMoney.org ;Official campaign websites
David Evans for State ControllerJohn Pérez for State ControllerBetty Yee for State ControllerLaura Wells for State Controller
{{2014 United States elections State Controller California State Controller elections November 2014 events in the United States