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.

2004 United States Senate election in California

← 1998 November 2, 2004 2010 →

Nominee Barbara Boxer Bill Jones Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 6,955,728 4,555,922 Percentage 57.71% 37.80%

County results Congressional district results Boxer:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Jones:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Barbara Boxer Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Barbara Boxer, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

2004 United States Senate Democratic primary, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara Boxer (Incumbent)	2,566,298	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Danney Ball, activist
• Toni Casey, former Mayor of Los Altos Hills^[1]
• Barry L. Hatch, activist
• Bill Jones, former Secretary of State of California and candidate for Governor in 2002
• Howard Kaloogian, former State Assemblyman from San Diego County and chair of the Recall Gray Davis Committee
• Rosario Marin, former Treasurer of the United States and mayor of Huntington Park
• James Stewart, businessman^[2]
• Tim Stoen, Assistant District Attorney
• Bill Quraishi, businessman^[2]
• John Van Zandt, businessman^[2]

Results

2004 California Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Jones	1,015,748	44.81%
	Republican	Rosario Marin	454,176	20.03%
	Republican	Howard Kaloogian	253,331	11.17%
	Republican	Toni Casey	142,080	6.27%
	Republican	Tim Stoen	124,940	5.51%
	Republican	James Stewart	78,264	3.45%
	Republican	Barry L. Hatch	71,244	3.14%
	Republican	John M. Van Zandt	56,925	2.51%
	Republican	Danney Ball	37,745	1.66%
	Republican	Bill Quraishi	32,515	1.43%
Total votes			2,266,968	100.00%

Third party primaries

American Independent

2004 United States AI Senate primary, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	American Independent	Don J. Grundmann	32,025	100.00%

Libertarian

2004 United States Senate Libertarian primary, California

Candidate		Votes	%
Jim Gray		13,656	57.30%
Gail Lightfoot		10,177	42.70%
Total votes		23,833	100.00%

Peace and Freedom

2004 United States PF Senate primary, California

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Peace and Freedom	Marsha Feinland	4,864	100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

• Barbara Boxer (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Bill Jones (R), former California Secretary of State

Minor

• Marsha Feinland (PF), perennial candidate
• James P. Gray (L), Superior Court jurist
• Don J. Grundmann (AI)

Campaign

Boxer originally had planned to retire in 2004 but changed her mind to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Jones was widely considered as the underdog.^[3] Jones got a major endorsement from the popular Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.^[4] The two major candidates had a debate. Pre-election polling had Boxer leading in double digits.^[5] But he never released a single TV ad. Boxer portrayed Jones as too conservative for California, citing his votes in the California Assembly (1982 to 1994) against gun control and an increased minimum wage, and in support of offshore drilling and a loosening of environmental regulations.^[6]

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.^[7]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[8]	Safe D	November 1, 2004

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Barbara Boxer (D)	Bill Jones (R)	Other / Undecided
SurveyUSA[9]	October 29–31, 2004	763 (LV)	± 3.6%	57%	36%	7%

Results

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.

2004 United States Senate election, California^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Barbara Boxer (Incumbent)	6,955,728	57.71%
	Republican	Bill Jones	4,555,922	37.80%
	Peace and Freedom	Marsha Feinland	243,846	2.02%
	Libertarian	James P. "Jim" Gray	216,522	1.80%
	American Independent	Don J. Grundmann	81,244	0.67%
	No party	Dennis Richter (write-in)	43	0.00%
	No party	Howard Johnson (write-in)	8	0.00%
	No party	John Emery Jones (write-in)	2	0.00%
Invalid or blank votes			536,388	4.26%
Total votes			12,589,703	100.00%
Turnout				57.03%
	Democratic hold

By county

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.^[11]

County	Boxer	Votes	Jones	Votes	Feinland	Votes	Others	Votes
San Francisco	82.67%	277,193	12.83%	43,029	2.15%	7,220	2.34%	7,862
Alameda	75.66%	403,892	20.23%	107,966	2.22%	11,851	1.89%	10,103
Marin	70.86%	94,164	25.81%	34,301	1.44%	1,915	1.89%	2,505
San Mateo	70.53%	196,285	26.29%	73,171	1.33%	3,715	1.84%	5,126
Santa Cruz	70.58%	84,840	23.49%	28,239	2.77%	3,329	3.15%	3,791
Los Angeles	66.75%	1,940,493	28.29%	822,351	2.36%	68,743	2.60%	75,449
Santa Clara	66.00%	380,551	29.83%	172,008	1.66%	9,550	2.51%	14,487
Sonoma	65.67%	143,124	29.57%	64,438	2.28%	4,962	2.49%	5,419
Contra Costa	63.49%	258,905	33.24%	135,559	1.48%	6,044	1.78%	7,277
Monterey	62.31%	76,647	32.96%	40,547	1.84%	2,263	2.89%	3,560
Yolo	61.94%	44,085	34.05%	24,234	1.88%	1,340	2.13%	1,518
Mendocino	61.87%	23,415	29.41%	11,131	2.76%	1,044	5.96%	2,254
Solano	61.32%	89,779	35.07%	51,354	1.61%	2,355	2.00%	2,929
Napa	60.30%	33,577	35.94%	20,012	1.59%	884	2.17%	1,208
Humboldt	58.76%	38,016	34.61%	22,394	3.47%	2,246	3.16%	2,044
Imperial	57.65%	19,498	36.06%	12,195	3.43%	1,159	2.87%	971
Lake	56.32%	13,812	39.22%	9,619	1.91%	469	2.55%	625
San Benito	55.82%	10,349	39.73%	7,365	1.96%	363	2.49%	462
Santa Barbara	55.10%	91,055	40.02%	66,146	2.03%	3,347	2.85%	4,717
Sacramento	54.16%	252,016	42.34%	196,984	1.50%	6,995	2.00%	9,283
Alpine	53.90%	373	41.76%	289	2.31%	16	2.02%	14
San Joaquin	53.00%	99,074	42.98%	80,350	1.92%	3,582	2.10%	3,921
Ventura	52.13%	159,920	43.66%	133,917	1.84%	5,630	2.37%	7,284
San Diego	51.45%	565,457	44.13%	484,948	2.04%	22,431	2.38%	26,125
Mono	49.95%	2,592	44.59%	2,314	2.14%	111	3.31%	172
San Bernardino	49.76%	251,776	45.36%	229,527	2.18%	11,038	2.70%	13,655
Merced	49.65%	27,975	46.18%	26,023	1.95%	1,098	2.22%	1,251
Riverside	47.39%	259,169	48.67%	266,197	1.93%	10,547	2.01%	11,015
Stanislaus	46.93%	67,539	49.70%	71,527	1.61%	2,324	1.75%	2,517
San Luis Obispo	46.49%	58,212	48.48%	60,708	2.12%	2,659	2.91%	3,646
Trinity	46.24%	2,960	47.93%	3,068	2.17%	139	3.66%	234
Del Norte	46.03%	4,264	48.72%	4,513	2.29%	212	2.97%	275
Nevada	45.79%	24,367	49.46%	26,321	1.90%	1,013	2.85%	1,518
Fresno	45.36%	109,849	51.59%	124,937	1.61%	3,905	1.44%	3,495
Butte	44.96%	42,512	49.12%	46,446	2.52%	2,385	3.39%	3,204
Tuolumne	44.38%	11,538	52.39%	13,620	1.23%	319	2.00%	519
Orange	43.73%	458,604	50.86%	533,406	1.94%	20,394	3.47%	36,374
Kings	42.71%	13,485	54.07%	17,075	1.71%	539	1.51%	478
Amador	42.16%	7,445	54.15%	9,562	1.53%	271	2.15%	380
Calaveras	42.17%	9,339	53.58%	11,865	1.51%	334	2.75%	608
Inyo	40.68%	3,474	54.37%	4,643	2.08%	178	2.86%	244
Mariposa	40.38%	3,437	55.82%	4,751	1.69%	144	2.10%	179
Siskiyou	39.92%	8,215	54.95%	11,308	1.94%	399	3.18%	655
Placer	39.70%	59,554	56.78%	85,163	1.46%	2,197	2.06%	3,086
Plumas	39.59%	4,347	54.82%	6,019	2.21%	243	3.38%	371
El Dorado	39.58%	33,715	56.09%	47,775	2.05%	1,743	2.29%	1,950
Madera	39.15%	15,058	57.84%	22,249	1.67%	641	1.35%	519
Yuba	38.94%	6,926	55.80%	9,925	2.21%	393	3.05%	542
Kern	38.13%	79,769	56.82%	118,882	2.17%	4,543	2.88%	6,026
Tulare	37.11%	36,181	59.55%	58,066	1.84%	1,798	1.50%	1,464
Colusa	36.61%	2,228	60.10%	3,657	1.23%	75	2.05%	125
Sutter	36.61%	10,864	60.06%	17,824	1.47%	436	1.86%	553
Tehama	36.18%	8,285	58.89%	13,488	1.76%	403	3.17%	726
Shasta	35.21%	26,795	60.00%	45,667	1.86%	1,412	2.94%	2,235
Sierra	34.89%	679	58.74%	1,143	1.90%	37	4.47%	87
Glenn	33.87%	3,147	61.77%	5,739	1.86%	173	2.50%	232
Lassen	32.36%	3,655	62.43%	7,051	1.97%	223	3.24%	366
Modoc	28.48%	1,253	66.27%	2,916	1.52%	67	3.73%	164

Shift by county

Trend by county

Legend

•   Republican — >15%
•   Republican — +12.5−15%
•   Republican — +10−12.5%
•   Republican — +7.5−10%
•   Republican — +5−7.5%
•   Republican — +2.5−5%
•   Republican — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +0−2.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5−5%
•   Democratic — +5−7.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +10−12.5%
•   Democratic — +12.5−15%
•   Democratic — >15%

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Mono (largest municipality: Mammoth Lakes)
• San Diego (largest community: San Diego)
• San Joaquin (largest city: Stockton)
• Ventura (largest city: Ventura)

By congressional district

Boxer won 36 of 53 congressional districts, including three that elected Republicans.^[12]

District	Boxer	Jones	Representative
1st	60%	34%	Mike Thompson
2nd	40%	56%	Wally Herger
3rd	46%	51%	Doug Ose
			Dan Lungren
4th	40%	56%	John Doolittle
5th	65%	31%	Bob Matsui
6th	68%	27%	Lynn Woolsey
7th	69%	27%	George Miller
8th	84%	12%	Nancy Pelosi
9th	84%	11%	Barbara Lee
10th	60%	37%	Ellen Tauscher
11th	50%	47%	Richard Pombo
12th	73%	24%	Tom Lantos
13th	73%	23%	Pete Stark
14th	68%	29%	Anna Eshoo
15th	65%	31%	Mike Honda
16th	67%	28%	Zoe Lofgren
17th	66%	29%	Sam Farr
18th	57%	39%	Dennis Cardoza
19th	42%	55%	George Radanovich
20th	57%	38%	Cal Dooley
			Jim Costa
21st	38%	59%	Devin Nunes
22nd	36%	60%	Bill Thomas
23rd	60%	35%	Lois Capps
24th	47%	48%	Elton Gallegly
25th	46%	49%	Howard McKeon
26th	48%	47%	David Dreier
27th	64%	31%	Brad Sherman
28th	74%	21%	Howard Berman
29th	64%	31%	Adam Schiff
30th	69%	27%	Henry Waxman
31st	80%	15%	Xavier Becerra
32nd	68%	26%	Hilda Solis
33rd	84%	12%	Diane Watson
34th	74%	21%	Lucille Roybal-Allard
35th	80%	15%	Maxine Waters
36th	62%	33%	Jane Harman
37th	76%	18%	Juanita Millender-McDonald
38th	71%	23%	Grace Napolitano
39th	64%	31%	Linda Sánchez
40th	44%	51%	Ed Royce
41st	44%	52%	Jerry Lewis
42nd	42%	54%	Gary Miller
43rd	64%	30%	Joe Baca
44th	45%	51%	Ken Calvert
45th	49%	47%	Mary Bono Mack
46th	46%	49%	Dana Rohrabacher
47th	57%	35%	Loretta Sanchez
48th	44%	51%	Christopher Cox
			John Campbell
49th	42%	54%	Darrell Issa
50th	48.1%	48.2%	Brian Bilbray
51st	61%	34%	Bob Filner
52nd	44%	51%	Duncan Hunter
53rd	64%	31%	Susan Davis

See also

• 2004 United States Senate election

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear