2014 California State Controller election

The 2014 California State Controller election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the State Controller of California. Incumbent Democratic State Controller John Chiang was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a third term in office and instead ran successfully for California State Treasurer.

2014 California State Controller election

← 2010 November 4, 2014 2018 →

Nominee Betty Yee Ashley Swearengin Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 3,810,304 3,249,668 Percentage 54.0% 46.0%

County results Yee:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Swearengin:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80%

State Controller before election John Chiang Democratic Elected State Controller Betty Yee Democratic

A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. 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. The top two finishers — regardless of party — advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate manages to receive a majority of the votes cast in the primary election. Washington is the only other state with this system, a so-called "top two primary" (Louisiana has a similar "jungle primary").

In the primary, Republican Ashley Swearengin and Democrat Betty Yee finished first and second, respectively. The third-place finisher, Democrat John Pérez, initially called for a recount in 15 counties after official results showed him trailing Yee by 481 votes; however, he ultimately conceded to Yee more than a month after the primary.^[1][2][3] Swearengin and Yee contested the general election, which Yee won.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared

• Tammy D. Blair, administrator^[4]
• John Pérez, Speaker of the California State Assembly^[5]
• Betty Yee, Member of the State Board of Equalization^[6]

Declined

• Bill Lockyer, State Treasurer and former California Attorney General^[7]

Republican Party

Declared

• David Evans, accountant, candidate for California's 22nd congressional district in 2006 and for Controller in 2010^[8]
• Ashley Swearengin, Mayor of Fresno^[9]

Withdrew

• Tina Mizany^[8][10]

Green Party

Declared

• Laura Wells, activist, retired financial and business analyst, nominee for Controller in 2002 and 2006 and nominee for Governor in 2010^[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Pérez (D)	Ashley Swearengin (R)	Betty Yee (D)	Other	Undecided
SurveyUSA	May 16–19, 2014	610	±4%	18%	31%	24%	8%	18%
	Mar. 18–Apr. 5, 2014	504	±4.5%	14%	28%	19%	1%	38%

Results

California State Controller primary election, 2014^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ashley Swearengin	1,001,473	24.79
	Democratic	Betty Yee	878,195	21.74
	Democratic	John Pérez	877,714	21.73
	Republican	David Evans	850,109	21.05
	Green	Laura Wells	231,352	5.73
	Democratic	Tammy D. Blair	200,532	4.96
Total votes			4,039,375	100
Turnout				13.68

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Betty Yee (D)	Ashley Swearengin (R)	Undecided
GQR/American Viewpoint	October 22–29, 2014	1,162	± 3.3%	46%	38%	16%
	October 15–28, 2014	941	± 3.4%	44%	36%	20%
	August 14–28, 2014	467	± 4.8%	46%	32%	22%
Gravis Marketing	July 22–24, 2014	580	± 4%	39%	39%	22%

Results

California State Controller general election, 2014^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Betty Yee	3,810,304	53.97
	Republican	Ashley Swearengin	3,249,668	46.03
Total votes			7,059,972	100

References

1. Megerian, Chris (July 6, 2014). "John Pérez calls for recount in tight race for state controller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
2. "8 reasons to care about the recount in the state controller's race". KPCC. July 9, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
3. Wildermuth, John. "John Pérez concedes in California controller's race". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
4. (PDF). Controller. California Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
5. Melanie Mason (October 9, 2013). "Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez announces bid for state controller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
6. Josh Richman (April 8, 2013). "Political Blotter: Board of Equalization member Betty Yee making a bid for state controller". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
7. Josh Richman (June 3, 2013). "Bill Lockyer won't run for controller, will retire from office at end of 2014". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
8. (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
9. "Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin plans bid for state controller". Retrieved March 7, 2014.
10. Withdrawn: Tina Mizany for California State Controller (March 7, 2014). "With regret this notice is to inform everyone..." Facebook. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
11. (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
12. "Statement of Vote November 4, 2014, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 30, 2014.

External links

• California State Controller election, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org

Official campaign websites

• John Pérez for State Controller
• Betty Yee for State Controller
• Laura Wells for State Controller