2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 6, 2018, with the primary elections being held on June 5, 2018. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.

Republican incumbents Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Steve Knight, Mimi Walters, and Dana Rohrabacher (who had been elected to fifteen terms) were all defeated. Democrats also picked up two open seats previously held by retiring GOP incumbents: thirteen-term incumbent Ed Royce and nine-term incumbent Darrell Issa. The seven Democratic House pickups in California were the most made by the party in the 2018 election cycle.

Additionally, Democrats won all House seats in Orange County, traditionally a Republican bastion.

Overview Statewide United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2018Primary election — June 5, 2018 Party Votes Percentage Candidates Advancing to general Seats contesting Democratic 4,189,103 63.55% 117 55 52 Republican 2,250,074 34.13% 95 46 45 No party preference 95,908 1.45% 24 2 2 Green 38,737 0.59% 10 3 3 Libertarian 11,493 0.17% 6 0 0 American Independent 6,747 0.10% 5 0 0 Peace and Freedom 233 <0.01% 1 0 0 Totals 6,592,295 100% 258 106 —

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2018General election — November 6, 2018 Party Votes Percentage Seats before Seats after +/– Democratic 8,010,445 65.74% 39 46 7 Republican 3,973,396 32.61% 14 7 7 Green 103,459 0.85% 0 0 No party preference 97,202 0.80% 0 0 Valid votes 12,184,52295.85% — — — Invalid votes528,0204.15% — — — Totals12,712,542 100.00% 53 53 — Voter turnout64.54% (registered voters) 50.45% (eligible voters)

By district Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California by district:

DistrictDemocraticRepublicanOthersTotalResult Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %District 1 131,548 45.11% 160,046 54.89% 0 0.00% 291,594 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 2 243,081 77.01% 72,576 22.99% 0 0.00% 315,657 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 3 134,875 58.07% 97,376 41.93% 0 0.00% 232,251 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 4 156,253 45.87% 184,401 54.13% 0 0.00% 340,654 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 5 205,860 78.87% 0 0.00% 55,158 21.13% 261,018 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 6 201,939 100.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 201,939 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 7 155,016 55.04% 126,601 44.96% 0 0.00% 281,617 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 8 0 0.00% 170,785 100.00% 0 0.00% 170,785 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 9 113,414 56.49% 87,349 43.51% 0 0.00% 200,763 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 10 115,945 52.25% 105,955 47.75% 0 0.00% 221,900 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 11 204,369 74.13% 71,312 25.87% 0 0.00% 275,681 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 12 275,292 86.82% 41,780 13.18% 0 0.00% 317,072 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 13 260,580 88.38% 0 0.00% 34,257 11.62% 294,837 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 14 211,384 79.22% 55,439 20.78% 0 0.00% 266,823 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 15 177,989 72.97% 65,940 27.03% 0 0.00% 243,929 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 16 82,266 57.55% 60,693 42.45% 0 0.00% 142,959 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 17 159,105 75.35% 52,057 24.65% 0 0.00% 211,162 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 18 225,142 74.49% 77,096 25.51% 0 0.00% 302,238 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 19 162,496 73.75% 57,823 26.25% 0 0.00% 220,319 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 20 183,677 81.37% 0 0.00% 42,044 18.63% 225,721 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 21 57,239 50.38% 56,377 49.62% 0 0.00% 113,616 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 22 105,136 47.28% 117,243 52.72% 0 0.00% 222,379 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 23 74,661 36.28% 131,113 63.72% 0 0.00% 205,774 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 24 166,550 58.56% 117,881 41.44% 0 0.00% 284,431 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 25 133,209 54.37% 111,813 45.63% 0 0.00% 245,022 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 26 158,216 61.94% 97,210 38.06% 0 0.00% 255,426 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 27 202,636 100.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 202,636 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 28 196,662 78.37% 54,272 21.63% 0 0.00% 250,934 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 29 124,697 80.61% 29,995 19.39% 0 0.00% 154,692 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 30 191,573 73.40% 69,420 26.60% 0 0.00% 260,993 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 31 110,143 58.74% 77,352 41.26% 0 0.00% 187,495 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 32 121,759 68.78% 55,272 31.22% 0 0.00% 177,031 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 33 219,091 70.03% 93,769 29.97% 0 0.00% 312,860 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 34 110,195 72.54% 0 0.00% 41,711 27.46% 151,906 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 35 103,420 69.40% 45,604 30.60% 0 0.00% 149,024 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 36 122,169 59.02% 84,839 40.98% 0 0.00% 207,008 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 37 210,555 89.08% 25,823 10.92% 0 0.00% 236,378 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 38 139,188 68.85% 62,968 31.15% 0 0.00% 202,156 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 39 126,002 51.56% 118,391 48.44% 0 0.00% 244,393 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 40 93,938 77.35% 0 0.00% 27,511 22.65% 121,449 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 41 108,227 65.10% 58,021 34.90% 0 0.00% 166,248 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 42 100,892 43.50% 131,040 56.50% 0 0.00% 231,932 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 43 152,272 77.67% 43,780 22.33% 0 0.00% 196,052 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 44 143,322 100.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 143,322 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 45 158,906 52.05% 146,383 47.95% 0 0.00% 305,289 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 46 102,278 69.15% 45,638 30.85% 0 0.00% 147,916 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 47 143,354 64.86% 77,682 35.14% 0 0.00% 221,036 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 48 157,837 53.55% 136,899 46.45% 0 0.00% 294,736 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 49 166,453 56.42% 128,577 43.58% 0 0.00% 295,030 100.0% Democratic gainDistrict 50 125,448 48.28% 134,362 51.72% 0 0.00% 259,810 100.0% Republican holdDistrict 51 109,527 71.20% 44,301 28.80% 0 0.00% 153,828 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 52 188,992 63.85% 107,015 36.15% 0 0.00% 296,007 100.0% Democratic holdDistrict 53 185,667 69.07% 83,127 30.93% 0 0.00% 268,794 100.0% Democratic holdTotal 8,010,445 65.74% 3,973,396 32.61% 200,681 1.65% 12,184,522 100.0%

Notes

District 1

The 1st district is based in inland Northern California and includes Chico and Redding. Incumbent Republican Doug LaMalfa, who had represented the 1st district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.1% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+11.

Primary election Republican candidates Advanced to general Doug LaMalfa, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary Gregory Cheadle, real estate broker and candidate for this seat in 2012, 2014 & 2016

Democratic candidates Advanced to general Audrey Denney, educator and farmer

Eliminated in primary Jessica Holcombe, business attorney David Peterson, small business owner Marty Walters, environmental scientist

Withdrawn Dennis Duncan Larry Jordan Brandon Storment

Green candidates Eliminated in primary Lewis Elbinger, retired diplomatic officer

Results

General election Campaign After advancing to the general election, Democratic candidate Audrey Denney was forced to pause her campaign for emergency tumor-removal surgery in August, but returned in time to debate LaMalfa in September.

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political ReportNovember 5, 2018 Inside Elections rowspan="4" Sabato's Crystal BallRealClearPoliticsDaily Kos538November 7, 2018CNN rowspan="2" October 31, 2018PoliticoNovember 4, 2018

Results Denney lost, having received 45.1% of the vote, but would win the Democratic party nomination for the 2020 election.

District 2

The 2nd district is based in California's North Coast and includes Marin County and Eureka. Democrat Jared Huffman, who had represented the 2nd district since 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 76.9% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+22.

Primary election Democratic candidates Advanced to general Jared Huffman, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary Andy Caffrey, sustainability conversion planner

Republican candidates Advanced to general Dale K. Mensing, cashier and general election candidate for this seat in 2016

Results

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report rowspan="8" November 5, 2018 Inside Elections Sabato's Crystal BallRealClearPoliticsDaily Kos538November 7, 2018CNNOctober 31, 2018PoliticoNovember 4, 2018

Endorsements

Organizations J Street PAC </div></div>

Results

District 3

The 3rd district is based in north central California and includes Davis, Fairfield, and Yuba City. Democrat John Garamendi, who had represented the 3rd district since 2013 and had previously represented the 10th district from 2009 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.4% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+5.

Primary election Democratic candidates Advanced to general John Garamendi, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary Kevin Puett, retired associate director

Republican candidates Advanced to general Charlie Schaupp, retired Marine officer

Results

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report rowspan="8" November 5, 2018 Inside Elections Sabato's Crystal BallRealClearPoliticsDaily Kos538November 7, 2018CNNOctober 31, 2018PoliticoNovember 4, 2018

Endorsements

Organizations J Street PAC </div></div>

Results

District 4

The 4th district is based in east central California and includes Lake Tahoe, Roseville, and Yosemite National Park. Incumbent Republican Tom McClintock, who had represented the 4th district since 2009, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 62.7% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+10.

Primary election Republican candidates Advanced to general Tom McClintock, incumbent U.S. representative

Eliminated in primary Mitchell White, accountant and auditor

Democratic candidates The 4th district was added as a Republican-held seat that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was targeting on November 9, 2017.

Advanced to general Jessica Morse, national security strategist

Eliminated in primary Regina Bateson, military security analyst Roza Calderon, geoscientist, geographer and cartographer Robert Lawton, businessman

Withdrawn Steven Castellano Chris Drew, product specialist Richard Martin Rochelle Wilcox, media law and appeals attorney (endorsed Morse)

Declined Charlie Brown, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and nominee for this seat in 2006 and 2008 (endorsed Morse)

Campaign In February, the California Democratic Party endorsed Jessica Morse. 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 by Calderon. The CRC voted to accept and count the signatures, ultimately disqualifying enough signatures to proceed with Morse's endorsement.