California's 4th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Tom McClintock Thomas Miller McClintock II (; born July 10, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. His district stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to the outer suburbs of Fresno; it includes Yosemite National P ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, has represented the district since January 2009. Currently, the 4th district encompasses the Sierras from

Truckee Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highes ...

to the

Sequoia National Forest Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundar ...

, as well as a largely suburban area on the edge of the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

in southwestern

Placer County Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the Great ...

. It consists of

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 Pa ...

, Amador, Calaveras,

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 o ...

, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties plus most of

and portions 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 ...

, Madera, and

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 ...

counties. Redistricting before the 2022 election shifted the district to the northwestern

and

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resorts, ...

, including all of Lake County and

Napa County Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original co ...

, most of

Yolo County Yolo County (; Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,403. Its county seat is Woodland. Yolo County is incl ...

, and parts of

Solano County Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

and

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

. Major cities in the district include

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

, Napa, and

Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it th ...

. The new 4th district is solidly Democratic.

Competitiveness

As of 2006, Republicans had 48 percent of voter registrations, Democrats had 30 percent, and

Libertarians Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...

had roughly 5 percent. A Democratic congressional candidate nearly won the district in 2008, losing by only half a percentage point and less than 1,600 votes, indicating that the district was much more competitive than it appeared to be. But in the more recent 2018 and 2020 elections the Republican candidate won over 53% of the vote. New district boundaries for the 2012 elections shifted the population center to the south and east. Registered Democrats and Independents/Decline to State voters in the new district area outnumber registered Republicans by 12%. However Republicans, Independents/Decline to State and small third parties outnumber Democrats well over a 2 to 1 ratio. There are 183,800 Republicans, 117,300 Democrats and 97,200 other.. While 2018 saw 7 of California's Republican held House seats fall to Democrats, Republican Tom McClintock held his district by more than 8% over Democrat Jessica Morse. In presidential elections,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

won the district in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

with 54% of the vote and won in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

with 53.7% of the vote.

Composition

As of 2023, California's 4th congressional district is located in the Sacramento Valley. It encompasses

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 ...

, Napa, and Yolo Counties, and parts of Sonoma and Solano Counties. Sonoma County is split between this district and the 2nd district. They are partitioned by Petaluma River, Highway 116, Redwood Highway, Robber Rd, Petersen Rd, Llano Rd, S Wright Rd, W College Ave, Jennings Ave, Administration Dr, Bicentennial Way, Cleveland Ave, Old Redwood Highway, Cross Creek Rd, Sonoma Highway, and Sonoma Creek. The 4th district takes in the cities of

Rohnert Park Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

, Sonoma, and Cotati, the town of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, and the census-designated places of Boyes Hot Spring, Roseland, El Verano, Penngrove. Solano County is split between this district and the 8th district. They are partitioned by Soda Springs Rd, Union Pacific, Alamo Dr, Leisure Town Rd, Hawkins Rd, Bay Area Exxextric, Shilo Rd, Collinsville Rd, and Montezuma Slough. The 4th district takes in the city of

, Dixon, Rio Vista, and the census-designated place of

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales *Hartley, South Australia **Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom *Hartley, Cumbria *Hartley, Plymou ...

Cities & CDP with 10,000 or more people

- 102,386 * Napa - 77,480 *

- 66,850 *

- 55,229 *

West Sacramento West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...

- 53,519 *

American Canyon American Canyon (previously known as Napa Junction) is a city located in southern Napa County, California, northeast of San Francisco, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2020 census reported the city's population as 21,837. Its ZIP Code i ...

- 21,837 * Clearlake - 15,134

2,500-10,000 people

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

- 6,805 * Hidden Valley Lake - 6,243 * Winters - 6,616 *

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

- 5,939 * Calistoga - 5,266 * Lakeport - 4,799 * North Lakeport - 3,514 * Angwin - 3,179 * Yountville - 2,984 * Kelseyville - 2,923 * Clearlake Riviera - 2,850 *

Esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. ''Stipa tenacissima'' and ''Lygeum spartum ...

- 2,877

List of members representing the district

Election results for representatives

1872

1874

1876

1878

1880

1882

1884

1886

1888

1890

1892

1894

1896

1898

1900

1902

1904

1906

1908

1910

1912

1914

1916

1918

1920

1922

1924

1926

1928

1930

1932

1934

1936

1938

1940

1942

1944

1946

1948

1950

1952

1954

1956

1958

1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

In 2018, six Democratic candidates filed statements of candidacy with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

(FEC). They were, in alphabetical order by last name
Regina BatesonRoza Calderon
Richard Martin; Robert Lawton
Jessica Morse
an
Rochelle Wilcox
Martin and Wilcox dropped out of the race, with Wilcox endorsing Morse in February. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Brown, who was the Democratic nominee for this seat in

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 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, was "seriously considering" running in 2018, but decided in June 2017 against a third campaign. In January 2018, Brown endorsed Morse for the nomination. Bob Derlet, the Democratic nominee in

, also endorsed Morse in January. On the Republican side, McClintock has one challenger
Mitchell Kendrick White
who filed with the FEC in January. In February, the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento. With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...

(CDP) endorsed Jessica Morse in a contested Democratic Nomination. Roza Calderon was able to successfully collect 322 CDP-credentialed delegate signatures needed to block the endorsement, in which Morse only received 44 delegate votes. However, CDP staff refused to accept the forms after it was alleged they closed doors early to prevent the submission. A petition was later filed with the Compliance Review Commission (CRC) by Calderon. The CRC voted to accept and count the signatures, ultimately disqualifying enough signatures to proceed with Morse's endorsement. California allows candidates to include their professional description under their names on the ballot. Regina Bateson later challenged Morse's ballot designation title of "National Security Fellow" at the Sacramento Superior Court after months of controversy that Morse, who had not worked in three years, was "fluffing" her credentials. California's Secretary of State,

Alex Padilla Alejandro Padilla ( ; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 2015 ...

, had struck down Morse's 3 ballot designations before Judge Gevercer ruled that she presented "no credible evidence" to use the ballot designation of "National Security Fellow". Instead, he held that this title would mislead the average person about her recent activities. In the official Certified Candidate List, Morse's ballot designation was left blank. Under the California jungle primary (aka nonpartisan blanket primary) system, only the two candidates with the most votes on June 5, regardless of party, went on to the general election on November 6. Both Republicans and four Democrats appeared on the jungle primary ballot. Morse finished second in the

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. ...

in June 2018. Morse was denied "National Security" as her ballot designation for the November ballot. In the November general election, McClintock held the district with an advantage of more than eight points.

2020

References

External links