2022 California State Controller election

The 2022 California State Controller election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the California State Controller. Due to strict absolute lifetime term limit laws, incumbent Democratic State Controller Betty Yee was ineligible to run for a third term. Democrat Malia Cohen won the election, defeating Republican Lanhee Chen.^[1] Despite Chen's loss, the race was the closest of the 2022 elections in California, and Chen received more votes than any Republican candidate in the 2022 national election cycle.^[2] Chen flipped ten counties,^[a] the most that any candidate had flipped in California that year. Chen also won four congressional districts held by Democrats,^[b] while Cohen won no congressional districts held by Republicans.

2022 California State Controller Election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →
Registered	21,940,274
Candidate Malia Cohen Lanhee Chen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 5,936,856 4,789,345 Percentage 55.35% 44.65%
General county results General congressional district results Primary county results Cohen:      20–30%      30–40%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Chen:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Controller before election Betty Yee Democratic Elected Controller Malia Cohen Democratic

Candidates

Democratic Party

Advanced to general election

• Malia Cohen, Chair of the California State Board of Equalization and former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2018–2019)^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Ron Galperin, Los Angeles City Controller^[4]
• Steve Glazer, state senator from the 7th district^[5]
• Yvonne Yiu, mayor of Monterey Park^[6]

Republican Party

Advanced to general election

• Lanhee Chen, Stanford University professor, former advisor to the NRSC, former policy advisor for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign

Green Party

Eliminated in primary

• Laura Wells, financial and business analyst and perennial candidate^[4]

Endorsements

Malia Cohen (D)

United States Senators

• Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)^[7]

United States Representatives

• Karen Bass (D-CA-37), candidate in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election^[7]
• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Speaker of the House^[7]

Statewide officials

• Betty Yee, incumbent California State Controller^[3]

Newspapers and other media

• Bay Area Reporter^[8]
• San Francisco Examiner^[9] (co-endorsed with Glazer)

Organizations

• AFSCME California (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)^[10]
• Equality California (previously endorsed Galperin)^[11]
• California Democratic Party^[12]
• California Faculty Association^[13]
• California Federation of Teachers^[14]
• California Teachers Association^[15]
• Courage California^[16]
• NARAL Pro-Choice California^[17]

Lanhee Chen (R)

United States Senators

• Tom Cotton (R-AR)^[18]
• Joe Lieberman (Democratic) former senator from Connecticut, vice presidential nominee in 2000
• Mitt Romney (R-UT)^[19]
• Marco Rubio (R-FL)^[18]

United States Representatives

• Ken Calvert (R-CA-42)^[20]
• Darrell Issa (R-CA-50)^[20]
• Young Kim (R-CA-39)^[20]
• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23), House Minority Leader (2019–2023)^[18]
• Jay Obernolte (R-CA-08)^[20]
• Michelle Steel (R-CA-48)^[20]
• David Valadao (R-CA-21)^[21]

Former United States Representatives

• Devin Nunes (R-CA-22)^[20]
• Paul Ryan (R-WI-01)^[21]

Statewide officials

• Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland^[22]
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California

District attorneys

• Anne Marie Schubert, Sacramento County district attorney^[23]

California state legislators

• Patricia Bates (SD-36)^[24]
• Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (SD-23)^[24]
• Andreas Borgeas (SD-08)^[24]
• Phillip Chen (AD-55)^[24]
• Steven Choi (AD-68)^[24]
• Jordan Cunningham (AD-35)^[24]
• Heath Flora (AD-12)^[24]
• Vince Fong (AD-34)^[24]
• James Gallagher (AD-03), Minority Leader of the California Assembly (2022–present)^[24]
• Shannon Grove (SD-16)^[24]
• Brian Jones (SD-38)^[24]
• Kevin Kiley (AD-06)^[24]
• Tom Lackey (AD-36)^[24]
• Devon Mathis (AD-26)^[24]
• Melissa Melendez (SD-28)^[24]
• Thurston Smith (AD-33))^[24]
• Suzette Martinez Valladares (AD-38)^[24]
• Marie Waldron (AD-75)^[24]
• Scott Wilk (SD-21), Minority Leader of the California Senate (2021–present)^[24]

Former state legislators

• Bob Huff (SD-29)^[25]
• Gloria Romero (Democratic) (SD-24)^[26]

Individuals

• Andy Slavitt, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2015-2017), Senior Advisor to the COVID-19 Response Coordinator (2021)^[27]
• Andrew Yang (Forward), founder of Venture for America, Democratic candidate for President of the United States in 2020^[28]

Newspapers and other media

• Bakersfield Californian^[29]
• Daily Breeze^[30]
• East Bay Times (previously endorsed Glazer)^[31]
• Fresno Bee (previously endorsed Glazer)^[32]
• Inland Valley Daily Bulletin^[33]
• The Korea Daily^[34]
• Lake County Record-Bee^[35]
• Los Angeles Daily News^[36]
• Los Angeles Times^[37]
• Marin Independent Journal (previously endorsed Glazer)^[38]
• Merced Sun-Star^[39]
• Mercury News (previously endorsed Glazer)^[28]
• Modesto Bee^[32]
• Orange County Register^[40]
• Pasadena Star News^[41]
• Press-Enterprise^[42]
• Press-Telegram^[43]
• Redlands Daily Facts^[44]
• Sacramento Bee (previously endorsed Glazer)^[45]
• San Bernardino Sun^[46]
• San Diego Union-Tribune^[47]
• San Francisco Chronicle^[48] (previously endorsed Galperin)
• San Gabriel Valley Tribune^[49]
• Santa Barbara News-Press^[50]
• The Tribune^[32]
• Whittier Daily News^[51]

Organizations

• California Republican Party^[52]
• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association^[53]

Ron Galperin (D)

Newspapers and other media

• San Francisco Chronicle^[54] (switched endorsement to Chen after Galperin was eliminated)

Organizations

• Equality California^[55] (switched endorsement to Cohen after Galperin was eliminated)
• Stonewall Democrats^[56]

Steve Glazer (D)

Newspapers and other media

• East Bay Times^[57] (switched endorsement to Chen after Glazer was eliminated)
• The Fresno Bee^[58] (switched endorsement to Chen after Glazer was eliminated)
• Marin Independent Journal^[59] (switched endorsement to Chen after Glazer was eliminated)
• The Mercury News^[60] (switched endorsement to Chen after Glazer was eliminated)
• The Sacramento Bee^[61] (switched endorsement to Chen after Glazer was eliminated)
• San Francisco Examiner^[9] (co-endorsed with Cohen)

Laura Wells (G)

Organizations

• Green Party of California^[62]
• Peace and Freedom Party^[62]

Fundraising

Of the 2022 California statewide races, the race for controller had the largest total amount of money spent.^[63]

By October 2021, Chen had received over $1 million from 307 donors, including Jerry Yang, Steve Poizner, and John T. Chambers.^[64] Glazer's campaign was financially supported by the California Chamber of Commerce.^[63] Yiu gave more than $5 million to her own campaign.^[65]

Primary election

Results

Primary election results^[4][66]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lanhee Chen	2,533,305	37.22%
	Democratic	Malia Cohen	1,542,397	22.66%
	Democratic	Yvonne Yiu	1,024,707	15.06%
	Democratic	Steve Glazer	756,518	11.11%
	Democratic	Ron Galperin	690,484	10.15%
	Green	Laura Wells	258,053	3.79%
Total votes			6,805,874	100.0%

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[c]	Margin of error	Malia Cohen (D)	Lanhee Chen (R)	Undecided
USC[67]	October 30 – November 2, 2022	802 (RV)	± 3.5%	58%	42%	–

Results

2022 California State Controller election^[68]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Malia Cohen	5,936,856	55.35%	−10.10%
	Republican	Lanhee Chen	4,789,345	44.65%	+10.10%
Total votes			10,726,201	100.0%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Cohen won 36 of 52 congressional districts, with the remaining 16 going to Chen, including four that elected Democrats.^[69]

District	Cohen	Chen	Representative
1st	34%	66%	Doug LaMalfa
2nd	67%	33%	Jared Huffman
3rd	41%	59%	Kevin Kiley
4th	61%	39%	Mike Thompson
5th	36%	64%	Tom McClintock
6th	52%	48%	Ami Bera
7th	59%	41%	Doris Matsui
8th	71%	29%	John Garamendi
9th	47%	53%	Josh Harder
10th	59%	41%	Mark DeSaulnier
11th	77%	23%	Nancy Pelosi
12th	84%	16%	Barbara Lee
13th	45%	55%	John Duarte
14th	63%	37%	Eric Swalwell
15th	69%	31%	Jackie Speier (117th Congress)
			Kevin Mullin (118th Congress)
16th	65%	35%	Anna Eshoo
17th	63%	37%	Ro Khanna
18th	63%	37%	Zoe Lofgren
19th	61%	39%	Jimmy Panetta
20th	29%	71%	Kevin McCarthy
21st	49%	51%	Jim Costa
22nd	48%	52%	David Valadao
23rd	39%	61%	Jay Obernolte
24th	55%	45%	Salud Carbajal
25th	52%	48%	Raul Ruiz
26th	50.1%	49.9%	Julia Brownley
27th	46%	54%	Mike Garcia
28th	56%	44%	Judy Chu
29th	69%	31%	Tony Cárdenas
30th	69%	31%	Adam Schiff
31st	56%	44%	Grace Napolitano
32nd	58%	42%	Brad Sherman
33rd	54%	46%	Pete Aguilar
34th	77%	23%	Jimmy Gomez
35th	54%	46%	Norma Torres
36th	58%	42%	Ted Lieu
37th	81%	19%	Karen Bass (117th Congress)
			Sydney Kamlager-Dove (118th Congress)
38th	54%	46%	Linda Sánchez
39th	54%	46%	Mark Takano
40th	41%	59%	Young Kim
41st	44%	56%	Ken Calvert
42nd	63%	37%	Lucille Roybal-Allard (117th Congress)
			Robert Garcia (118th Congress)
43rd	76%	24%	Maxine Waters
44th	67%	33%	Nanette Barragán
45th	46%	54%	Michelle Steel
46th	58%	42%	Lou Correa
47th	45%	55%	Katie Porter
48th	37%	63%	Darrell Issa
49th	47%	53%	Mike Levin
50th	56%	44%	Scott Peters
51st	55%	45%	Sara Jacobs
52nd	60%	40%	Juan Vargas

Notes

1. Butte, Fresno, Lake, Merced, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, and Stanislaus
2. CA-21, CA-09, CA-47, and CA-49
3. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear