2004 United States Senate election in California


The 2004 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 2004 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer ran for re-election and defeated Republican former Secretary of State Bill Jones. Boxer's 6.96 million votes set the all-time record for the most votes cast for one candidate in one state in one election, although it was surpassed by Senator Dianne Feinstein's 7.75 million votes in 2012.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Republican primary

Candidates

Third party primaries

American Independent

Libertarian

Peace and Freedom

General election

Candidates

Major

Boxer originally had decided to retire in 2004 but changed her mind to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives like Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Jones was widely considered as the underdog. Jones got a major endorsement form the popular Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The two major candidates had a debate. Pre-election polling had Boxer leading in double digits. But he never released a single TV ad. Boxer portrayed Jones as too conservative for California, citing his votes in the California Assembly against gun control, increased minimum wage, support for offshore drilling, and a loosening of environmental regulations.

Fundraising

Jones raised about $700,000 more than Boxer during the third quarter, pulling in $2.5 million to Boxer's $1.8 million. But overall, Boxer has raised $16 million to Jones' $6.2 million. And Boxer has spent about $7 million on radio and television ads alone.

Results

Overall

The election was not close, with Boxer winning by an authoritative 20 point margin. Jones only performed well in rural parts of the state. Boxer on the other hand won almost all major metropolitan areas in the state. The race was called right when the polls closed at 11:00 P.M. EST, and 7:00 P.M. PTZ. Jones conceded defeat to Boxer at 11:12 P.M. EST, and 7:12 PTZ.

By county

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.
CountyBoxerVotesJonesVotesFeinlandVotesOthersVotes
San Francisco82.67%277,19312.83%43,0292.15%7,2202.34%7,862
Alameda75.66%403,89220.23%107,9662.22%11,8511.89%10,103
Marin70.86%94,16425.81%34,3011.44%1,9151.89%2,505
San Mateo70.53%196,28526.29%73,1711.33%3,7151.84%5,126
Santa Cruz70.58%84,84023.49%28,2392.77%3,3293.15%3,791
Los Angeles66.75%1,940,49328.29%822,3512.36%68,7432.60%75,449
Santa Clara66.00%380,55129.83%172,0081.66%9,5502.51%14,487
Sonoma65.67%143,12429.57%64,4382.28%4,9622.49%5,419
Contra Costa63.49%258,90533.24%135,5591.48%6,0441.78%7,277
Monterey62.31%76,64732.96%40,5471.84%2,2632.89%3,560
Yolo61.94%44,08534.05%24,2341.88%1,3402.13%1,518
Mendocino61.87%23,41529.41%11,1312.76%1,0445.96%2,254
Solano61.32%89,77935.07%51,3541.61%2,3552.00%2,929
Napa60.30%33,57735.94%20,0121.59%8842.17%1,208
Humboldt58.76%38,01634.61%22,3943.47%2,2463.16%2,044
Imperial57.65%19,49836.06%12,1953.43%1,1592.87%971
Lake56.32%13,81239.22%9,6191.91%4692.55%625
San Benito55.82%10,34939.73%7,3651.96%3632.49%462
Santa Barbara55.10%91,05540.02%66,1462.03%3,3472.85%4,717
Sacramento54.16%252,01642.34%196,9841.50%6,9952.00%9,283
Alpine53.90%37341.76%2892.31%162.02%14
San Joaquin53.00%99,07442.98%80,3501.92%3,5822.10%3,921
Ventura52.13%159,92043.66%133,9171.84%5,6302.37%7,284
San Diego51.45%565,45744.13%484,9482.04%22,4312.38%26,125
Mono49.95%2,59244.59%2,3142.14%1113.31%172
San Bernardino49.76%251,77645.36%229,5272.18%11,0382.70%13,655
Merced49.65%27,97546.18%26,0231.95%1,0982.22%1,251
Riverside47.39%259,16948.67%266,1971.93%10,5472.01%11,015
Stanislaus46.93%67,53949.70%71,5271.61%2,3241.75%2,517
San Luis Obispo46.49%58,21248.48%60,7082.12%2,6592.91%3,646
Trinity46.24%2,96047.93%3,0682.17%1393.66%234
Del Norte46.03%4,26448.72%4,5132.29%2122.97%275
Nevada45.79%24,36749.46%26,3211.90%1,0132.85%1,518
Fresno45.36%109,84951.59%124,9371.61%3,9051.44%3,495
Butte44.96%42,51249.12%46,4462.52%2,3853.39%3,204
Tuolumne44.38%11,53852.39%13,6201.23%3192.00%519
Orange43.73%458,60450.86%533,4061.94%20,3943.47%36,374
Kings42.71%13,48554.07%17,0751.71%5391.51%478
Amador42.16%7,44554.15%9,5621.53%2712.15%380
Calaveras42.17%9,33953.58%11,8651.51%3342.75%608
Inyo40.68%3,47454.37%4,6432.08%1782.86%244
Mariposa40.38%3,43755.82%4,7511.69%1442.10%179
Siskiyou39.92%8,21554.95%11,3081.94%3993.18%655
Placer39.70%59,55456.78%85,1631.46%2,1972.06%3,086
Plumas39.59%4,34754.82%6,0192.21%2433.38%371
El Dorado39.58%33,71556.09%47,7752.05%1,7432.29%1,950
Madera39.15%15,05857.84%22,2491.67%6411.35%519
Yuba38.94%6,92655.80%9,9252.21%3933.05%542
Kern38.13%79,76956.82%118,8822.17%4,5432.88%6,026
Tulare37.11%36,18159.55%58,0661.84%1,7981.50%1,464
Colusa36.61%2,22860.10%3,6571.23%752.05%125
Sutter36.61%10,86460.06%17,8241.47%4361.86%553
Tehama36.18%8,28558.89%13,4881.76%4033.17%726
Shasta35.21%26,79560.00%45,6671.86%1,4122.94%2,235
Sierra34.89%67958.74%1,1431.90%374.47%87
Glenn33.87%3,14761.77%5,7391.86%1732.50%232
Lassen32.36%3,65562.43%7,0511.97%2233.24%366
Modoc28.48%1,25366.27%2,9161.52%673.73%164