The 2014 California gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

, concurrently with

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

for the rest of California's executive branch, as well as elections to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

in other states and elections to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

ran for re-election to a second consecutive and fourth overall term in office. Although governors are limited to lifetime service of two terms in office, Brown previously served as governor from 1975 to 1983, and the law only affects terms served after November 6, 1990. 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 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 bord ...

has a similar "jungle primary"). Brown and Republican Neel Kashkari finished first and second, respectively, and contested in the general election, which Brown won. He won the largest gubernatorial victory since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, "despite running a virtually nonexistent campaign."

Primary election

Neel Kashkari marching in the 2014 San Diego LGBT Pride Parade (1)

A certified list of candidates was released by the Secretary of State on March 27, 2014. The primary election took place on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, from 7am to 8pm.

Party candidacies

Democratic Party

=Declared

= * Akinyemi Agbede, candidate for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Orange County, Florida Orange County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,429,908, making it Florida's fifth most populous county. The county seat is Orlando. Orange County is the central count ...

in 2010 *

, incumbent Governor of California

=Withdrew

= * Geby Espinosa, gym owner * Hanala Sagal, author and fitness personality * Michael Strimling, attorney

=Declined

= * Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California (ran for re-election) *

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

Lieutenant Governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to ...

(ran for re-election) * Hilda Solis, former United States Secretary of Labor and former U.S. Representative (ran for Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors) *

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...

, former Mayor of Los Angeles

Republican Party

=Declared

= * Richard Aguirre, real estate investor and Democratic candidate for governor in 2010 * Glenn Champ, businessman and engineer * Tim Donnelly, state assemblyman and Minuteman founder * Neel Kashkari, former Acting

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability was the head of the Office of Financial Stability in the United States Department of the Treasury. The position was created on October 3, 2008 by the Emergency Economic Stabilization A ...

* Alma Marie Winston

=Withdrew

= * Andrew Blount, Mayor of Laguna Hills * Dennis Jackson, manufacturer * Abel Maldonado, former

, candidate for

Controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person w ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, and candidate for CA-24 in 2012

=Declined

= * Kevin McCarthy, U.S. Representative and House Majority Whip *

John Moorlach Johannes Meindert Willem Moorlach (born December 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as a member of the California State Senate representing 37th Senate district, which includes portions of Orange County, from 2015 to 2020. He was de ...

, Orange County Supervisor *

Steve Poizner Stephen Leo Poizner (born January 4, 1957) is an American businessman, technology entrepreneur, and former Republican California Insurance Commissioner and Gubernatorial candidate. Poizner also was an independent candidate in the 2018 Califo ...

, former Insurance Commissioner of California and candidate for governor in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

George Radanovich George Purdy Radanovich (born June 20, 1955) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2011. The district includes most of northern Fresno, as well as several rural areas northeast of the city. He did no ...

, former U.S. Representative * Meg Whitman, CEO of

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

, former CEO of

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

and nominee for governor in

Libertarian Party

=Declined

= *

James P. Gray James P. Gray may refer to: * Jim Gray (jurist) (James Polin Gray), American jurist, writer and Libertarian Party candidate * Jim Gray (American politician) James P. Gray II (born August 18, 1953) is an American politician who is the Kentucky Sec ...

, former Orange County

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civi ...

Judge and Libertarian Party nominee for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

in 2012

Green Party

=Declared

= *

Luis J. Rodriguez Luis Javier Rodriguez (born 1954) is an American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist. He was the 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate. Rodriguez is recognized as a major figure in contemporary Chicano literature, identifying himself a ...

, author, progressive activist and Justice Party nominee for

in 2012

American Independent Party

Endorsed Tim Donnelly

=Withdrew

= * Robert Ornelas, American Independent Party nominee for

in 2012

Peace and Freedom Party

=Declared

= *

Cindy Sheehan Cindy Lee Sheehan ( Miller; born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist,Geraghty, Jim (2011-05-02)Cindy Sheehan: ‘If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid.’''National Review''. Retrieved May 2, 2011. whose son, U.S. Arm ...

, anti-war activist and

Peace and Freedom Party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with affiliates and former members in more than a dozen American states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana and Utah, but none now have ballot status besides C ...

nominee for

in 2012

Independent

=Declared

= * Bogdan Ambrozewicz, small business owner, Independent candidate for the State Senate in 2012 and Republican candidate for the State Assembly in 2011 * Janel Buycks, minister/business owner * Rakesh Kumar Christian, small business owner, independent candidate for governor in 2010 * Joe Leicht, golf course operator * Robert Newman, psychologist, farmer and Republican candidate for governor in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, and

Polling

Results

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 4, 2014 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Predictions

Polling

Results

Brown won easily, by nearly twenty points. He outperformed his majority margin from 2010. As expected, Brown did very well in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

. Kashkari conceded defeat right after the polls closed in California.

Results by County

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Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santia ...

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Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

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Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

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El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...

, align="center", 27,916 , align="center", 45.5 , align="center", 33,443 , align="center", 54.5 , - , align="center" , Fresno , align="center", 76,143 , align="center", 47.6 , align="center", 83,744 , align="center", 52.4 , - , align="center" , Glenn , align="center", 2,049 , align="center", 34.4 , align="center", 3,908 , align="center", 65.6 , - , align="center" , Humboldt , align="center", 24,003 , align="center", 64.6 , align="center", 13,146 , align="center", 35.4 , - , align="center" ,

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, align="center", 13,457 , align="center", 64.3 , align="center", 7,484 , align="center", 35.7 , - , align="center" ,

Inyo Inyo may refer to: Places California * Inyo County, California * Inyo National Forest, USA * The Inyo Mountains * The Mono–Inyo Craters Other uses * Japanese for yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concep ...

, align="center", 2,317 , align="center", 42.7 , align="center", 3,112 , align="center", 57.3 , - , align="center" , Kern , align="center", 54,269 , align="center", 40.9 , align="center", 78,417 , align="center", 59.1 , - , align="center" ,

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

, align="center", 8,752 , align="center", 39.2 , align="center", 13,575 , align="center", 60.8 , - , align="center" ,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, align="center", 10,722 , align="center", 61.3 , align="center", 6,775 , align="center", 38.7 , - , align="center" ,

Lassen Lassen is a Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Lars" (equivalent of Laurentius), and thus a parallel form of the more common surname Larsen. Notable people with the surname include: * Ander ...

, align="center", 2,213 , align="center", 32.4 , align="center", 4,609 , align="center", 67.6 , - , align="center" ,

, align="center", 978,142 , align="center", 66.8 , align="center", 485,186 , align="center", 33.2 , - , align="center" , Madera , align="center", 9,974 , align="center", 37.2 , align="center", 16,825 , align="center", 62.8 , - , align="center" , Marin , align="center", 69,751 , align="center", 79.4 , align="center", 18,147 , align="center", 20.6 , - , align="center" , Mariposa , align="center", 2,499 , align="center", 38.2 , align="center", 4,038 , align="center", 61.8 , - , align="center" , Mendocino , align="center", 17,340 , align="center", 71.8 , align="center", 6,825 , align="center", 28.2 , - , align="center" ,

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on Apri ...

, align="center", 18,945 , align="center", 50.1 , align="center", 18,848 , align="center", 49.9 , - , align="center" , Modoc , align="center", 770 , align="center", 27.2 , align="center", 2,061 , align="center", 72.8 , - , align="center" ,

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

, align="center", 1,632 , align="center", 53.1 , align="center", 1,442 , align="center", 46.9 , - , align="center" , Monterey , align="center", 51,315 , align="center", 69.4 , align="center", 22,591 , align="center", 30.6 , - , align="center" , Napa , align="center", 25,846 , align="center", 68.2 , align="center", 12,059 , align="center", 31.8 , - , align="center" ,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, align="center", 20,976 , align="center", 54.6 , align="center", 17,419 , align="center", 45.4 , - , align="center" , Orange , align="center", 275,707 , align="center", 44.4 , align="center", 344,817 , align="center", 55.6 , - , align="center" , Placer , align="center", 51,241 , align="center", 45.4 , align="center", 61,604 , align="center", 54.6 , - , align="center" , Plumas , align="center", 2,966 , align="center", 41.7 , align="center", 4,139 , align="center", 58.3 , - , align="center" , Riverside , align="center", 165,340 , align="center", 47.1 , align="center", 185,805 , align="center", 52.9 , - , align="center" ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, align="center", 202,416 , align="center", 62.3 , align="center", 122,342 , align="center", 37.7 , - , align="center" , San Benito , align="center", 8,654 , align="center", 63.5 , align="center", 4,969 , align="center", 36.5 , - , align="center" , San Bernardino , align="center", 134,417 , align="center", 46.9 , align="center", 152,458 , align="center", 53.1 , - , align="center" ,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, align="center", 346,419 , align="center", 51.1 , align="center", 331,942 , align="center", 48.9 , - , align="center" ,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, align="center", 196,745 , align="center", 88.2 , align="center", 26,442 , align="center", 11.8 , - , align="center" , San Joaquin , align="center", 62,614 , align="center", 53.5 , align="center", 54,331 , align="center", 46.5 , - , align="center" , San Luis Obispo , align="center", 46,606 , align="center", 54.3 , align="center", 39,186 , align="center", 45.7 , - , align="center" , San Mateo , align="center", 120,280 , align="center", 75.2 , align="center", 39,615 , align="center", 24.8 , - , align="center" , Santa Barbara , align="center", 64,912 , align="center", 58.3 , align="center", 46,503 , align="center", 41.7 , - , align="center" , Santa Clara , align="center", 288,732 , align="center", 72.9 , align="center", 107,113 , align="center", 27.1 , - , align="center" , Santa Cruz , align="center", 56,977 , align="center", 78.6 , align="center", 15,499 , align="center", 21.4 , - , align="center" , Shasta , align="center", 21,509 , align="center", 38.1 , align="center", 35,007 , align="center", 61.9 , - , align="center" , Sierra , align="center", 679 , align="center", 44.2 , align="center", 857 , align="center", 55.8 , - , align="center" , Siskiyou , align="center", 6,103 , align="center", 44.2 , align="center", 7,717 , align="center", 55.8 , - , align="center" , Solano , align="center", 57,874 , align="center", 64.6 , align="center", 31,754 , align="center", 35.4 , - , align="center" , Sonoma , align="center", 107,328 , align="center", 74.8 , align="center", 36,249 , align="center", 25.2 , - , align="center" , Stanislaus , align="center", 46,566 , align="center", 51.5 , align="center", 43,786 , align="center", 48.5 , - , align="center" , Sutter , align="center", 8,688 , align="center", 42.7 , align="center", 11,644 , align="center", 57.3 , - , align="center" , Tehama , align="center", 5,408 , align="center", 35.2 , align="center", 9,952 , align="center", 64.8 , - , align="center" ,

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

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References

External links

California gubernatorial election, 2014
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

{{2014 United States elections

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

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 ...

Gubernatorial 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 politica ...