2016 United States Senate election in California

The 2016 United States Senate election in California was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of California, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

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. In the California system, the top two finishers—regardless of party—advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate receives a majority of the vote in the primary election. Washington and Louisiana have similar "jungle primary" style processes for senators.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer decided to not run for reelection to a fifth term. This was the first open seat Senate election in California since 1992, when Boxer was first elected. In the primary on June 7, 2016, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, finished in first and second place, respectively, and contested the general election. For the first time since direct elections to the Senate began after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, no Republican appeared on the general election ballot for the U.S. Senate in California. The highest Republican finisher in the primary won only 7.8 percent of the vote, and the 10 Republicans only won 27.9 percent of the vote among them.

In the general election, Harris defeated Sanchez in a landslide, carrying 54 of the state's 58 counties, including Sanchez's home county of Orange, although Sanchez held Harris to a margin of less than 1% in the Central Valley counties of Kern and Merced. Harris served in the Senate for roughly 4 years as she resigned after being elected Vice President in 2020.

Background
Barbara Boxer was reelected with 52.1% of the vote in 2010 against Republican Carly Fiorina. Toward the end of 2014, Boxer's low fundraising and cash-on-hand numbers led to speculation that she would retire. On January 8, 2015, she announced that she would not run for reelection.

Advanced to general

 * Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California
 * Loretta Sanchez, U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Cristina Grappo
 * Massie Munroe, engineer
 * Herbert G. Peters
 * Emory Rodgers, activist
 * Steve Stokes, small business owner and independent candidate for CA-28 in 2014

Withdrew

 * Stewart Albertson, attorney

Declined

 * Xavier Becerra, U.S. Representative and candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2001
 * Ami Bera, U.S. Representative
 * Barbara Boxer, incumbent U.S. Senator
 * Julia Brownley, U.S. Representative
 * Louis Caldera, former director of the White House Military Office, former United States Secretary of the Army and former state assemblyman
 * Tony Cárdenas, U.S. Representative
 * John Chiang, California State Treasurer, former California State Controller and former member of the State Board of Equalization
 * Kevin de León, President pro tempore of the California State Senate
 * John Garamendi, U.S. Representative, former Lieutenant Governor of California, former California Insurance Commissioner and former Deputy Secretary of the Interior
 * Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
 * Jane Harman, director, president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the governorship in 1998
 * Jared Huffman, U.S. Representative
 * Kevin Johnson, Mayor of Sacramento and former professional basketball player
 * Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose
 * Bill Lockyer, former California State Treasurer and former Attorney General of California
 * Gloria Molina, former Los Angeles County Supervisor
 * Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, former United States Secretary of Homeland Security and former Governor of Arizona
 * Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California and former Mayor of San Francisco (running for the governorship in 2018)
 * Alex Padilla, Secretary of State of California, former state senator and future U.S. Senator for this seat
 * Raul Ruiz, U.S. Representative
 * Linda Sánchez, U.S. Representative
 * Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
 * Adam Schiff, U.S. Representative
 * Hilda Solis, Los Angeles County Supervisor, former United States Secretary of Labor and former U.S. Representative
 * Jackie Speier, U.S. Representative and candidate for the lieutenant governorship in 2006
 * Darrell Steinberg, former President pro tempore of the California State Senate
 * Tom Steyer, hedge fund manager, philanthropist and environmentalist
 * Eric Swalwell, U.S. Representative
 * Mark Takano, U.S. Representative
 * Ellen Tauscher, former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and former U.S. Representative
 * Antonio Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles
 * Steve Westly, former California State Controller and candidate for the governorship in 2006 (running for the governorship in 2018)

Eliminated in primary

 * Greg Conlon, businessman
 * Tom Del Beccaro, former chairman of the California Republican Party
 * Von Hougo, educator
 * Don Krampe, retiree and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
 * Jerry J. Laws
 * Tom Palzer, former city planner
 * Karen Roseberry, educator
 * George "Duf" Sundheim, former chairman of the California Republican Party
 * Ron Unz, activist and candidate for governor in 1994
 * Jarrell Williamson, attorney
 * Phil Wyman, former state senator, former state assemblyman, candidate for CA-25 in 1992 and candidate for attorney general in 2014
 * George C. Yang, businessman

Withdrew

 * Rocky Chávez, state assemblyman (running for re-election)

Declined

 * Mary Bono, former U.S. Representative
 * Tom Campbell, former U.S. Representative, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and 2010
 * Carl DeMaio, former San Diego City Council member, candidate for Mayor of San Diego in 2012 and candidate for California's 52nd congressional district in 2014
 * Tim Donnelly, former state assemblyman, Minuteman founder and candidate for governor in 2014 (running for CA-08)
 * David Dreier, former U.S. Representative
 * Larry Elder, talk radio host and attorney
 * Kevin Faulconer, Mayor of San Diego
 * Carly Fiorina, businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 (running for President)
 * Darrell Issa, U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1998
 * Ernie Konnyu, former U.S. Representative and former state assemblyman
 * Abel Maldonado, former lieutenant governor of California, candidate for California State Controller in 2006, for CA-24 in 2012 and for governor in 2014
 * Kevin McCarthy, U.S. Representative and House Majority Leader
 * Doug Ose, former U.S. Representative
 * Pete Peterson, executive director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement at Pepperdine University and candidate for Secretary of State of California in 2014
 * Steve Poizner, former California Insurance Commissioner and candidate for governor in 2010
 * Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State, former United States National Security Advisor and former provost of Stanford University
 * Ed Royce, U.S. Representative
 * Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former governor of California
 * Ashley Swearengin, Mayor of Fresno and candidate for California State Controller in 2014
 * Meg Whitman, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard and nominee for governor in 2010

Declared

 * Pamela Elizondo

Declared

 * Mark Matthew Herd, community organizer
 * Gail Lightfoot, retired nurse and perennial candidate

Declared

 * John Thompson Parker

Declared

 * Mikelis Beitiks, climate change activist
 * Eleanor Garcia, factory worker
 * Tim Gildersleeve
 * Clive Grey
 * Don Grundmann, chiropractor, chairman of the Constitution Party of California, and perennial candidate (also sought the Constitution Party nomination for President of the United States)
 * Jason Hanania, attorney and engineer
 * Jason Kraus
 * Paul Merritt
 * Gar Myers
 * Ling Ling Shi, author
 * Scott A. Vineberg

Declined

 * Angelina Jolie, actress, filmmaker and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Fundraising
The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.

Results
[[File:United States Senate election in California, 2016 primary.svg|thumb|300px| Results of the primary election held June 7: {{legend|#7996E2|Harris}}

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{{legend|#ACF2F2|30–40%}} {{legend|#E27F7F|Wyman}}

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Fundraising
The following are Federal Election Commission disclosures through the reporting period ending March 31, 2016.

By congressional district
Harris won 47 of the 53 congressional districts, including thirteen held by Republicans. Sanchez won six, including one held by a Republican and five held by Democrats.

Analysis
Harris stepped down from her Senate seat on January 18, 2021, two days before her inauguration as Vice President. This makes Harris the first US Senator elected to a full six-year term since Barack Obama in 2008 to not finish what would be her sole term. On December 22, 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom appointed California secretary of state Alex Padilla to serve the remainder of Harris' term. Although Harris no longer occupies this Senate seat, she became President of the Senate on January 20, 2021, by virtue of her election as vice president.

Harris is the second incumbent US Senator from this seat to be elected vice president, the first being Richard Nixon in 1952.