Running for office in California is exciting and daunting! With 22 million registered voters and a reputation for shaping national policy trends, California is a state where leaders can create real change. But getting started can be intimidating, especially when you’re not sure where to begin. That’s where we come in—we’ve put together a collection of resources, data, and information specific to California to jumpstart your research. Armed with the information in this post, you can start building your political campaign today.
How are people voting in California?
California is a solid blue state, though every region differs, and several seats were lost in the 2020 elections due to ticket-splitting.
According to the Historical Voter Registration Stats for 2021, California has 22 million registered voters, accounting for 88% of the population. This percentage has increased from 79% in 2019 to 72% in 2001, highlighting the general trend of increased voter participation over the last 10 years.
Among all statewide voter registration, 10 million (46%) are Democrats, and 5 million (24%) are Republicans. Both parties gained voters between February 2019 and February 2021. Meanwhile, other independent parties lost voters.
As of April 2021, Gavin Newsom (D) is the Governor of California, and Democrats hold the majority in the CA State Senate and Assembly.
What office should I run for?
Before kicking off your campaign, you must choose an office to run for. Do you have some impressive pre-existing experience and want to set your sights high and run to represent California in the U.S. House of Representatives? Or are you looking to get involved in state issues? If so, you can run for various positions in the state government's executive, judicial, or legislative branches. You also have plenty of local office positions to consider.
Here’s a quick list of state and local public office positions you could consider when running for office in California:
- State Assemblyperson
- State Senator
- County Supervisor
- Mayor
- City Councilmember
This list isn’t exhaustive, so make sure to check with local and state resources (many of which are linked throughout this post) to see if there’s a position that aligns with your current political passions and aspirations.
What am I passionate about?
To know which office you want to pursue, focus on what issues matter to you. What issues are you passionate about? Are there any areas you specifically want to see change? What skills and solutions do you offer? Once you know the answers to those questions, you’ll find it easier to narrow down where you’ll be the best fit within the government.
For example, you can work on various issues impacting the nation if you run for a federal office. Here’s just a short list of possibilities:
- Federal student loan forgiveness
- Federal minimum wage laws
- National-level voter rights protections
- Education spending
- National safety-net programs
- Immigration
- Healthcare
Want to shape policies a little closer to home? You can run for county, district, or city office. There, you’d be able to shape policies that deal with more local issues. Here’s a short list of example issues:
- Proper funding and equipment for fire departments
- Safety and maintenance of infrastructure
- Quality of air, water, housing, etc., in your state, county, or city
Who would I be running against?
A key factor when deciding your campaign strategy and what public office to run for is looking at who has already been elected into the positions that interest you. The California Secretary of State site offers a handy tool to look up this information in the form of statewide election results. You can find a breakdown of the California election results dating back to 1990. Examining this information will help you understand who’s currently in office on the federal, state, and local levels and how long they’ve held their political offices.
You can also access the Secretary of State’s Upcoming Elections page. There, you can find out who’s up for re-election and when. There’s even a section that provides information on candidates for the upcoming elections. For example, here’s a list of each certified political candidate running for a special primary election.
Why is knowing who holds the current office important? It ultimately helps you gauge your chances of winning if you decide to run against any current political officeholder. For example, it’s usually much harder to run against an incumbent than competing in an open seat. And if you’re competing against another Democrat, competition for the same seat within your political party will divide your potential voter base during the primaries.
After determining who holds the office you’re running for, look into their campaign history which is all part of the public record. How competitive was their race? You can use the election results page linked above to see voter results.
What was their budget? What about their donor history (which gives you some insight into how much campaign fundraising you'll need to undertake)? At the Federal level, the FEC collects campaign finance data that will show you how much a candidate raised, how much they spent, and how much cash they had on hand for each quarter of their campaign.
The California Secretary of State website also has a Campaign Finance page showing you campaign fundraising information for state and local candidates and elected officials. The page will also give you information on top contributors in the state, offering some insight into donor history at the local level.
When should I run for office?
You’ve researched the office you want to run for and understand who you are against. Now, you’ll need to find out when the next election for that office takes place. To get you started, Ballotpedia has an interactive elections calendar that lets you see when primary, general, or special elections are being held for federal, state, and local offices.
As mentioned above, California also has an Upcoming Elections page that will help you know the dates of the next elections. You can also check out an Election Dates & Resources page that will help you understand what deadlines are approaching, like campaign filing.
You can also use the California County Elections Office website as a valuable resource. On this page, you can find the contact information for the election board in your county. You can always reach out to request any information or necessary election materials.
What do I need to set up my campaign?
You’ve identified what office you’re running for, who you’re running against, and when the next election occurs. It’s time to register as a candidate through the State of California. To do that, you must fill out a ballot designation worksheet and submit it to the California Secretary of State. Don’t forget to check the qualifications page to ensure you can get on the ballot.
Running for a local-level race? The county elections office for your area will have more information and ways to register as a candidate for local races. Contact the elections office for your county if you have any questions.
After registering for the ballot in California, you’ll need an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This number will allow you to open a campaign bank account to collect contributions and pay your campaign staff salaries. With an EIN and a bank account, you’re ready to start fundraising.
How do I organize my fundraising?
Political campaigns must follow campaign finance laws, making it essential for you to have a compliance team and a payment processing system in place. ActBlue and Numero are two payment processor services that can help your campaign get ahead in organizing your campaign’s contributions.
Donor CRMs—such as Numero or NGP—are instrumental in organizing and facilitating communication with all of your donors.
Ready to run?
Running for office in California ultimately requires you to know your local government. You need to understand not just the political office you’re running to fill but also what kind of competition you’ll face and what kind of budget you need to succeed. Knowing all of this information upfront helps you better understand the scope of your political campaign—and that will get you much closer to winning than entering the race without the proper information on hand.
