California's 46th Congressional District

California's 46th Congressional District

Incumbent

Lou Correa

Assumed office: January 3, 2017

California's 46th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Lou Correa (D).

As of the 2020 Census, California representatives represented an average of 761,091 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 704,566 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: California's 46th Congressional District election, 2024

California's 46th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 46

Incumbent Lou Correa defeated David Pan in the general election for U.S. House California District 46 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	62.2	71,573
		David Pan (R)	37.8	43,579

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 115,152
= 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 46

Incumbent Lou Correa and David Pan advanced from the primary for U.S. House California District 46 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	60.6	46,184
✔		David Pan (R)	39.4	30,032

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,216
= 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.

2022

See also: California's 46th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 46

Incumbent Lou Correa defeated Christopher Gonzales in the general election for U.S. House California District 46 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	61.8	78,041
		Christopher Gonzales (R)	38.2	48,257

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 126,298
= 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 46

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 46 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	49.1	37,311
✔		Christopher Gonzales (R)	15.6	11,823
		Michael Ortega (D)	12.3	9,311
		Mike Nguyen (R)	12.1	9,162
		Felix Rocha (R)	9.3	7,084
		Ed Rushman (Independent)	1.7	1,264

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,955
= 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

• Jesus Ruvalcaba (D)

2020

See also: California's 46th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 46

Incumbent Lou Correa defeated James Waters in the general election for U.S. House California District 46 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	68.8	157,803
		James Waters (R)	31.2	71,716

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 229,519
= 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 46

Incumbent Lou Correa and James Waters defeated Pablo Mendiolea, Ed Rushman, and Will Johnson in the primary for U.S. House California District 46 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	58.2	60,095
✔		James Waters (R)	27.4	28,302
		Pablo Mendiolea (D)	9.0	9,257
		Ed Rushman (Independent)	3.2	3,288
		Will Johnson (Independent)	2.3	2,380

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 103,322
= 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

• Hilaire Shioura (Independent)

2018

See also: California's 46th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 46

Incumbent Lou Correa defeated Russell Lambert in the general election for U.S. House California District 46 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	69.1	102,278
		Russell Lambert (R)	30.9	45,638

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 147,916 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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 46

Incumbent Lou Correa and Russell Lambert defeated Ed Rushman and Will Johnson in the primary for U.S. House California District 46 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lou Correa (D)	62.2	43,700
✔		Russell Lambert (R)	32.4	22,770
		Ed Rushman (Independent)	3.3	2,313
		Will Johnson (Independent)	2.0	1,425

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 70,208
= 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

• Ben Garrett (R)
• David Tran (R)
• Alan Schlar (D)
• Maria Slater (R)
• Adam Orozco (R)
• Jeffrey Johnston (R)

2016

See also: California's 46th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Loretta Sanchez (D) did not seek re-election in 2016. She instead sought election to California's U.S. Senate seat in 2016. Lou Correa (D) defeated Bao Nguyen (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Correa and Nguyen defeated Joe Dunn (D), Bob Peterson (R), Louie Contreras (R), Rodolfo Rudy Gaona (R), Lynn Schott (R), and Nancy Trinidad Marin (Independent) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lou Correa	70%	115,248
	Democratic	Bao Nguyen	30%	49,345
Total Votes				164,593
Source: California Secretary of State

U.S. House, California District 46 Primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lou Correa	43.7%	40,880
	Democratic	Bao Nguyen	14.6%	13,625
	Republican	Bob Peterson	12.6%	11,781
	Democratic	Joe Dunn	12.4%	11,596
	Republican	Lynn Schott	7.9%	7,373
	Republican	Louie Contreras	3.7%	3,441
	Independent	Nancy Marin	3.5%	3,306
	Republican	Rodolfo Gaona	1.7%	1,567
Total Votes				93,569
Source: California Secretary of State

2014

See also: California's 46th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 46th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Loretta Sanchez (D) defeated Adam Nick (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez Incumbent	59.7%	49,738
	Republican	Adam Nick	40.3%	33,577
Total Votes				83,315
Source: California Secretary of State

2012

See also: California's 46th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 46th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. District 47 incumbent Loretta Sanchez won election in the district.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez Incumbent	63.9%	95,694
	Republican	Jerry Hayden	36.1%	54,121
Total Votes				149,815
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Dana Rohrabacher won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ken Arnold (D) and Jay Shah (Write-in) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dana Rohrabacher incumbent	62.2%	139,822
	Democratic	Ken Arnold	37.8%	84,940
	Write-in	Jay Shah	0%	20
Total Votes				224,782

2008
On November 4, 2008, Dana Rohrabacher won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Debbie Cook (D), Thomas Lash (Green) and Ernst Gasteiger (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dana Rohrabacher incumbent	52.5%	149,818
	Democratic	Debbie Cook	43.1%	122,891
	Green	Thomas Lash	2.9%	8,257
	Libertarian	Ernst Gasteiger	1.5%	4,311
Total Votes				285,277

2006
On November 7, 2006, Dana Rohrabacher won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Brandt (D) and Dennis Chang (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dana Rohrabacher incumbent	59.6%	116,176
	Democratic	Jim Brandt	36.7%	71,573
	Libertarian	Dennis Chang	3.7%	7,303
Total Votes				195,052

2004
On November 2, 2004, Dana Rohrabacher won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Brandt (D), Tom Lash (G) and Keith Gann (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dana Rohrabacher incumbent	61.9%	171,318
	Democratic	Jim Brandt	32.6%	90,129
	Green	Tom Lash	3.7%	10,238
	Libertarian	Keith Gann	1.8%	5,005
Total Votes				276,690

2002
On November 5, 2002, Dana Rohrabacher won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gerrie Schipske (D), Keith Gann (L) and Thomas Lash (Write-in) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dana Rohrabacher incumbent	61.7%	108,807
	Democratic	Gerrie Schipske	34.5%	60,890
	Libertarian	Keith Gann	3.7%	6,488
	Write-in	Thomas Lash	0%	80
Total Votes				176,265

2000
On November 7, 2000, Loretta Sanchez won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Gloria Matta Tuchman (R), Richard Boddie (L) and Larry Engwall (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez incumbent	60.2%	70,381
	Republican	Gloria Matta Tuchman	35%	40,928
	Libertarian	Richard Boddie	2.7%	3,159
	Natural Law	Larry Engwall	2.1%	2,440
Total Votes				116,908

1998
On November 3, 1998, Loretta Sanchez won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Robert Kenneth (R), Thomas Reimer (L) and Larry Engwall (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez incumbent	56.4%	47,964
	Republican	Robert Kenneth	39.3%	33,388
	Libertarian	Thomas Reimer	2.7%	2,316
	Natural Law	Larry Engwall	1.6%	1,334
Total Votes				85,002

1996
On November 5, 1996, Loretta Sanchez won election to the United States House. She defeated Robert Dornan (R), Lawrence Stafford (Reform), Thomas Reimer (L) and J. Carlos Aguirre (Natural Law) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez	46.7%	47,964
	Republican	Robert Dornan	45.7%	46,980
	Reform	Lawrence Stafford	3.4%	3,535
	Libertarian	Thomas Reimer	2.3%	2,333
	Natural Law	J. Carlos Aguirre	1.9%	1,972
Total Votes				102,784

1994
On November 8, 1994, Robert Dornan won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Michael Farber (D) and Richard Newhouse (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert Dornan incumbent	57.1%	50,616
	Democratic	Michael Farber	37.2%	33,004
	Libertarian	Richard Newhouse	5.7%	5,077
Total Votes				88,697

1992
On November 3, 1992, Robert Dornan won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Robert John Banuelos (D) and Richard Newhouse (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, California District 46 General Election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert Dornan incumbent	50.2%	55,659
	Democratic	Robert John Banuelos	41%	45,435
	Libertarian	Richard Newhouse	8.8%	9,712
Total Votes				110,806

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in California after the 2020 census

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new congressional district map on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021. California was apportioned 52 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, a net loss of one seat compared to apportionment after the 2010 census. This map took effect for California's 2022 congressional elections.

How does redistricting in California work? In California, a non-politician commission draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Established in 2008 by ballot initiative, the commission comprises 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four belonging to neither party. A panel of state auditors selects the pool of nominees from which the commissioners are appointed. This pool comprises 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 20 belonging to neither party. The majority and minority leaders of both chambers of the state legislature may each remove two members from each of the aforementioned groups. The first eight commission members are selected at random from the remaining nominees. These first eight comprise three Democrats, three Republicans, and two belonging to neither party. The first eight commissioners appoint the remaining six, which must include two Democrats, two Republicans, and two belonging to neither party.

Commissioners must meet the following requirements in order to serve:

1. Members must have voted in at least two of the last three statewide elections.
2. Members cannot have switched party affiliation for at least five years.
3. "Neither commissioners nor immediate family may have been, within 10 years of appointment, a candidate for federal or state office or member of a party central committee; an officer, employee, or paid consultant to a federal or state candidate or party; a registered lobbyist or paid legislative staff; or a donor of more than $2,000 to an elected candidate."
4. Members cannot be "staff, consultants or contractors for state or federal government" while serving as commissioners. The same prohibition applies to the family of commission members.

In order to approve a redistricting plan, nine of the commission's 14 members must vote for it. These nine must include three Democrats, three Republicans, and three belonging to neither party. Maps drawn by the commission may be overturned by public referendum. In the event that a map is overturned by the public, the California Supreme Court must appoint a group to draw a new map.

The California Constitution requires that districts be contiguous. Further, the state constitution mandates that "to the extent possible, [districts] must ... preserve the geographic integrity of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest." Districts must also "encourage compactness." State Senate and Assembly districts should be nested within each other where possible.

California District 46
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

California District 46
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 46th Congressional District of California after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in California after the 2010 census

In 2011, the California State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

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

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 46th the 95th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 64.1%-33.7%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 46th the 92nd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 64.1% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 33.7%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 46th Congressional District the 90th most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.85. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.85 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in California
• California's 46th Congressional District election, 2024
• California's 46th Congressional District election, 2022
• California's 46th Congressional District election, 2020
• California's 46th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 46

Footnotes

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Laphonza Butler (D)

Alex Padilla (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

Kevin Kiley (R)

District 4

Mike Thompson (D)

District 5

Tom McClintock (R)

District 6

Ami Bera (D)

District 7

Doris Matsui (D)

District 8

John Garamendi (D)

District 9

Josh Harder (D)

District 10

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 11

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 12

Barbara Lee (D)

District 13

John Duarte (R)

District 14

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 15

Kevin Mullin (D)

District 16

Anna Eshoo (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 19

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 20

Vince Fong (R)

District 21

Jim Costa (D)

District 22

David Valadao (R)

District 23

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

Mike Garcia (R)

District 28

Judy Chu (D)

District 29

Tony Cárdenas (D)

District 30

Adam Schiff (D)

District 31

Grace Napolitano (D)

District 32

Brad Sherman (D)

District 33

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Ted Lieu (D)

District 37

Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Mark Takano (D)

District 40

Young Kim (R)

District 41

Ken Calvert (R)

District 42

Robert Garcia (D)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Michelle Steel (R)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Katie Porter (D)

District 48

Darrell Issa (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Scott Peters (D)

District 51

Sara Jacobs (D)

District 52

Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic Party (42)

Republican Party (12)