California's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

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2022
California's 3rd Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Top-two primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 8, 2023
Primary: March 5, 2024
General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in California
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Likely Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Likely Republican
Inside Elections: Likely Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
California's 3rd Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th26th27th28th29th30th31st32nd33rd34th35th36th37th38th39th40th41st42nd43rd44th45th46th47th48th49th50th51st52nd
California elections, 2024
U.S. Congress elections, 2024
U.S. Senate elections, 2024
U.S. House elections, 2024

All U.S. House districts, including the 3rd Congressional District of California, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was March 5, 2024. The filing deadline was December 8, 2023.

All 435 U.S. House seats were up for election in 2024. At the time of the election, Republicans had a 220 to 212 majority with three vacancies.[1] Forty-five members of the U.S. House did not run for re-election. To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 53.6%-46.4%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 49.7%-47.9%.[2]

California's 3rd Congressional District was one of 34 congressional districts with a Republican incumbent or an open seat that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) targeted in 2024. To read about DCCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of DCCC targeted districts, click here.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 3

Incumbent Kevin Kiley defeated Jessica Morse in the general election for U.S. House California District 3 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Kiley
Kevin Kiley (R)
 
57.5
 
148,102
Image of Jessica Morse
Jessica Morse (D)
 
42.5
 
109,302

Total votes: 257,404
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 3

Incumbent Kevin Kiley and Jessica Morse defeated Robert Smith in the primary for U.S. House California District 3 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Kiley
Kevin Kiley (R)
 
55.9
 
137,397
Image of Jessica Morse
Jessica Morse (D)
 
42.1
 
103,443
Image of Robert Smith
Robert Smith (No party preference) Candidate Connection
 
2.0
 
5,007

Total votes: 245,847
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

There were no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles would have appeared here as candidates completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Voting information

See also: Voting in California

Election information in California: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 21, 2024
  • Online: Oct. 21, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: N/A by N/A
  • Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Varies to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Kevin Kiley Republican Party $4,088,191 $3,218,850 $908,315 As of October 16, 2024
Jessica Morse Democratic Party $2,801,511 $2,826,767 $179,107 As of October 16, 2024
Robert Smith No party preference $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[3]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[4][5][6]

Race ratings: California's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
Race trackerRace ratings
November 5, 2024October 29, 2024October 22, 2024October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in California in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
California U.S. House All candidates 40-60 $1,740.00[7] 12/8/2023 Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ca_congressional_district_03.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in California.

California U.S. House primary competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office Districts/
offices
Seats Open seats Candidates Possible primaries Contested top-two primaries % of contested primaries Incumbents in contested primaries % of incumbents in contested primaries
2024 52 52 7 241 52 42 80.8% 36 80.0%
2022 52 52 5 272 52 52 100.0% 47 100.0%
2020 53 53 4 262 53 47 88.7% 32 64.0%
2018 53 53 2 244 53 41 77.4% 39 76.5%
2016 53 53 4 202 53 40 75.5% 36 73.5%
2014 53 53 6 209 53 38 71.7% 32 68.1%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in California in 2024. Information below was calculated on 1/16/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Two-hundred forty-one candidates filed to run for California's 52 U.S. House districts in 2024, including 125 Democrats, 88 Republicans, and 28 independent or minor party candidates. That’s 4.63 candidates per district. In 2022, the first election after the number of congressional districts in California decreased from 53 to 52 following the 2020 census, 5.2 candidates filed per district. In 2020, when the state still had 53 Congressional districts, 4.94 candidates filed per district. In 2018, 4.6 candidates filed.

The 241 candidates who ran in California in 2024 were the fewest total number of candidates since 2016, when 202 candidates ran. Forty-five incumbents—34 Democrats and 11 Republicans—ran for re-election. That was fewer than in 2022, when 47 incumbents ran. Six districts were open, one more than in 2022, and the most since 2014, when six districts were also open.

Incumbents Barbara Lee (D-12th), Adam Schiff (D-30th), and Katie Porter (D-47th) ran for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Incumbent Sen. Laphonza Butler (D) didn't run for re-election. Incumbents Grace Napolitano (D-31st), Tony Cárdenas (D-29th), and Anna Eshoo (D-16th) retired from public office. One incumbent—Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-20th)—left Congress before the end of his term. A special election was held to fill his seat before the general election.

Fifteen candidates—12 Democrats, two Republicans, and one nonpartisan—ran in the open 30th district, the most candidates running for a seat in 2024.

Forty-two primaries were contested, the fewest since 2018, when 41 were contested. All 52 primaries were contested in 2022, and 47 were in 2020. In California, which uses a top-two primary system, a primary is contested if more than two candidates file to run.

Incumbents ran in 35 of the 42 contested primaries. That’s lower than 2022, when 47 incumbents ran in contested primaries, but higher than every other year since 2014. In 2020, 32 incumbents faced contested primaries. Thirty-nine incumbents did so in 2018, 36 in 2016, and 32 in 2014.

Democratic candidates ran in every district. Republican candidates ran in every district except one—the 37th. Two Democrats, including incumbent Sydney Kamlage-Dove, one nonpartisan candidate, and one Peace and Freedom Party member ran in that district.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+4. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 4 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made California's 3rd the 201st most Republican district nationally.[8]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in California's 3rd based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
47.9% 49.7%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.[9] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline Democratic Party Republican Baseline Republican Party Difference
45.1 54.3 D+9.2

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in California, 2020

California presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 15 Democratic wins
  • 15 Republican wins
  • 1 other win
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winning Party R R R P[10] D R R R D D D D D R R R D R R R R R R D D D D D D D D
See also: Party control of California state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of California's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from California
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 40 42
Republican 0 12 12
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 52 54

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in California's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in California, May 2024
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State Democratic Party Shirley Weber
Attorney General Democratic Party Rob Bonta

State legislature

California State Senate

Party As of February 2024
     Democratic Party 32
     Republican Party 8
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 40

California State Assembly

Party As of February 2024
     Democratic Party 62
     Republican Party 18
     Independent 1
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 80

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

California Party Control: 1992-2024
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor R R R R R R R D D D D D R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Assembly D D D S R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.

2022

See also: California's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 3

Kevin Kiley defeated Kermit Jones in the general election for U.S. House California District 3 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Kiley
Kevin Kiley (R)
 
53.6
 
181,438
Image of Kermit Jones
Kermit Jones (D) Candidate Connection
 
46.4
 
156,761

Total votes: 338,199
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 3

Kevin Kiley and Kermit Jones defeated Scott Jones and David Peterson in the primary for U.S. House California District 3 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Kiley
Kevin Kiley (R)
 
39.7
 
93,552
Image of Kermit Jones
Kermit Jones (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.7
 
91,217
Image of Scott Jones
Scott Jones (R)
 
16.2
 
38,288
Image of David Peterson
David Peterson (D) Candidate Connection
 
5.4
 
12,675

Total votes: 235,732
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2020

See also: California's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 3

Incumbent John Garamendi defeated Tamika Hamilton in the general election for U.S. House California District 3 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Garamendi
John Garamendi (D)
 
54.7
 
176,043
Image of Tamika Hamilton
Tamika Hamilton (R) Candidate Connection
 
45.3
 
145,945

Total votes: 321,988
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 3

Incumbent John Garamendi and Tamika Hamilton defeated Sean Feucht in the primary for U.S. House California District 3 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Garamendi
John Garamendi (D)
 
59.2
 
110,504
Image of Tamika Hamilton
Tamika Hamilton (R) Candidate Connection
 
27.3
 
50,925
Image of Sean Feucht
Sean Feucht (R)
 
13.5
 
25,243

Total votes: 186,672
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

See also: California's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 3

Incumbent John Garamendi defeated Charlie Schaupp in the general election for U.S. House California District 3 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Garamendi
John Garamendi (D)
 
58.1
 
134,875
Image of Charlie Schaupp
Charlie Schaupp (R)
 
41.9
 
97,376

Total votes: 232,251
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 3

Incumbent John Garamendi and Charlie Schaupp defeated Kevin Puett in the primary for U.S. House California District 3 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Garamendi
John Garamendi (D)
 
53.6
 
74,552
Image of Charlie Schaupp
Charlie Schaupp (R)
 
42.1
 
58,598
Image of Kevin Puett
Kevin Puett (D)
 
4.3
 
5,971

Total votes: 139,121
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.



See also

California 2024 primaries 2024 U.S. Congress elections
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Footnotes

  1. A majority in the U.S. House when there are no vacancies is 218 seats.
  2. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts," accessed September 15, 2022
  3. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  5. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  6. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  7. 2,000 signatures can be provided in lieu of the filing fee
  8. Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed January 10, 2024
  9. Inside Elections, "Methodology: Inside Elections’ Baseline by Congressional District," December 8, 2023
  10. Progressive Party


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