State Controller
presidential
Election name2014 California State Controller election
CountryCalifornia
Ongoingno
Previous election2010 California State Controller election
Previous year2010
Next election2018 California State Controller election
Next year2018
Election dateNovember 4, 2014
Nominee 1Betty Yee
Party 1Democratic Party (United States)
Popular vote 13,810,304
Percentage 153.97%
Nominee 2Ashley Swearengin
Party 2Republican Party (United States)
Popular vote 23,249,668
Percentage 246.03%
Before electionJohn Chiang
Before partyDemocratic Party (United States)
After electionBetty Yee
After partyDemocratic Party (United States)

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.

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. As of , this election, alongside the concurrent secretary of state election, is the last time in which a statewide California race between a Democrat and a Republican was decided by single digits; and in which Mono, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties voted for the Republican in a statewide race.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared
Declined

Republican Party

Declared
Withdrew

Green Party

Declared

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		John
Pérez (D)		Ashley
Swearengin (R)		Betty
Yee (D)		OtherUndecided
SurveyUSA[11]May 16–19, 2014610±4%18%31%24%8%18%
Field Poll[12]Mar. 18–Apr. 5, 2014504±4.5%14%28%19%1%38%

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Betty
Yee (D)		Ashley
Swearengin (R)		Undecided
GQR/American Viewpoint[13]October 22–29, 20141,162± 3.3%46%38%16%
Field Poll[14]October 15–28, 2014941± 3.4%44%36%20%
Field Poll[15]August 14–28, 2014467± 4.8%46%32%22%
Gravis Marketing[16]July 22–24, 2014580± 4%39%39%22%

Results

By county

County[17]Betty Yee
Democratic		Ashley Swearengin
Republican		MarginTotal votes cast
%%%
Alameda264,54176.87%79,60523.13%184,93653.74%344,146
Alpine25856.95%19543.05%6313.91%453
Amador4,86738.92%7,63961.08%-2,772-22.17%12,506
Butte26,28743.97%33,50056.03%-7,213-12.06%59,787
Calaveras5,90839.15%9,18260.85%-3,274-21.70%15,090
Colusa1,44635.68%2,60764.32%-1,161-28.65%4,053
Contra Costa148,32960.80%95,64339.20%52,68621.60%243,972
Del Norte3,10445.80%3,67354.20%-569-8.40%6,777
El Dorado22,44737.76%36,99462.24%-14,547-24.47%59,441
Fresno65,58641.49%92,49758.51%-26,911-17.02%158,083
Glenn1,71829.53%4,09970.47%-2,381-40.93%5,817
Humboldt22,85263.35%13,21936.65%9,63326.71%36,071
Imperial12,34659.78%8,30740.22%4,03919.56%20,653
Inyo2,09539.76%3,17460.24%-1,079-20.48%5,269
Kern48,31136.63%83,58163.37%-35,270-26.74%131,892
Kings7,60134.35%14,52565.65%-6,924-31.29%22,126
Lake9,78357.51%7,22742.49%2,55615.03%17,010
Lassen1,90828.42%4,80571.58%-2,897-43.16%6,713
Los Angeles852,77760.96%546,21139.04%306,56621.91%1,398,988
Madera8,89833.41%17,73366.59%-8,835-33.18%26,631
Marin59,75572.05%23,17627.95%36,57944.11%82,931
Mariposa2,25734.79%4,23065.21%-1,973-30.41%6,487
Mendocino15,82567.79%7,51932.21%8,30635.58%23,344
Merced14,15539.68%21,52260.32%-7,367-20.65%35,677
Modoc79428.41%2,00171.59%-1,207-43.18%2,795
Mono1,43047.51%1,58052.49%-150-4.98%3,010
Monterey44,95562.66%26,78637.34%18,16925.33%71,741
Napa21,82559.96%14,57540.04%7,25019.92%36,400
Nevada18,20248.96%18,97751.04%-775-2.08%37,179
Orange228,75438.02%372,95061.98%-144,196-23.96%601,704
Placer41,08637.33%68,97162.67%-27,885-25.34%110,057
Plumas2,72239.31%4,20360.69%-1,481-21.39%6,925
Riverside148,33943.27%194,49456.73%-46,155-13.46%342,833
Sacramento173,84054.90%142,79045.10%31,0509.81%316,630
San Benito7,47356.62%5,72643.38%1,74713.24%13,199
San Bernardino122,63643.77%157,56856.23%-34,932-12.47%280,204
San Diego303,37246.70%346,30853.30%-42,936-6.61%649,680
San Francisco170,38581.48%38,73018.52%131,65562.96%209,115
San Joaquin56,49449.77%57,00550.23%-511-0.45%113,499
San Luis Obispo38,88046.96%43,91453.04%-5,034-6.08%82,794
San Mateo105,45068.37%48,77531.63%56,67536.75%154,225
Santa Barbara56,32952.84%50,28047.16%6,0495.67%106,609
Santa Clara237,64662.91%140,08837.09%97,55825.83%377,734
Santa Cruz50,46672.12%19,51027.88%30,95644.24%69,976
Shasta18,86334.21%36,28265.79%-17,419-31.59%55,145
Sierra55937.85%91862.15%-359-24.31%1,477
Siskiyou5,70143.18%7,50156.82%-1,800-13.63%13,202
Solano51,73359.38%35,39340.62%16,34018.75%87,126
Sonoma95,10768.84%43,04731.16%52,06037.68%138,154
Stanislaus39,40444.60%48,95155.40%-9,547-10.81%88,355
Sutter7,02535.32%12,86464.68%-5,839-29.36%19,889
Tehama4,94432.57%10,23767.43%-5,293-34.87%15,181
Trinity1,82548.42%1,94451.58%-119-3.16%3,769
Tulare19,81832.23%41,67467.77%-21,856-35.54%61,492
Tuolumne6,63740.25%9,85459.75%-3,217-19.51%16,491
Ventura92,17447.73%100,95652.27%-8,782-4.55%193,130
Yolo27,97163.42%16,13136.58%11,84026.85%44,102
Yuba4,41136.06%7,82263.94%-3,411-27.88%12,233
Total3,810,30453.97%3,249,66846.03%560,6367.94%7,059,972

References

  1. ^ Megerian, Chris (6 July 2014). "John Pérez calls for recount in tight race for state controller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  2. ^ "8 reasons to care about the recount in the state controller's race". KPCC. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ Wildermuth, John. "John Pérez concedes in California controller's race". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Official certified list of candidates". Controller. California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2014-05-14. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  5. ^ Melanie Mason (October 9, 2013). "Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez announces bid for state controller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 March 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. ^ "State Controller". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin plans bid for state controller". Retrieved 7 March 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. ^ SurveyUSA
  12. ^ Field Poll
  13. ^ GQR/American Viewpoint
  14. ^ Field Poll
  15. ^ Field Poll
  16. ^ Gravis Marketing
  17. ^ Bowen, Debra (December 12, 2014). "Controller by County". Secretary of State of California. Archived 2025-05-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2026.

Official campaign websites