2022 California lieutenant gubernatorial election

The 2022 California lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the lieutenant governor of the state of California. The election coincided with various other federal and state elections, including for Governor of California. The nonpartisan blanket primary was held on June 7. California is one of 21 states that elects its lieutenant governor separately from its governor.

2022 California lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →
Registered	21,940,274
Candidate Eleni Kounalakis Angela Underwood Jacobs Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 6,418,119 4,332,602 Percentage 59.70% 40.30%
County results Congressional district results Kounalakis:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Jacobs:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Lieutenant Governor before election Eleni Kounalakis Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis won re-election to a second term with 59.7% of the vote, defeating her Republican challenger. This is the first time in history where both party nominees for this seat were women, and Jacobs was the first African-American woman in history to be nominated for this position.

Candidates

A primary election was scheduled for June 7, 2022.^[1] Under California law, all candidates appear on the same ballot under a nonpartisan blanket primary, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.

Democratic Party

Declared

• Eleni Kounalakis, incumbent lieutenant governor^[2]
• Jeffrey Highbear Morgan, businessman and engineer^[2]
• William Cavett "Skee" Saacke, attorney^[2]

Disqualified

• Roy Foreman, construction worker^[3]

Republican Party

Declared

• David Fennell, venture capitalist and candidate in 2018^[2]
• Angela Underwood Jacobs, deputy mayor of Lancaster^[2]
• Clint W. Saunders, mental health worker^[2]

Peace and Freedom Party

Declared

• Mohammad Arif, businessman^[2]

No Party Preference

Declared

• David Hillberg, mechanic and actor^[2]
• James Orlando Ogle, perennial candidate (write-in)^[4]

Endorsements

Mohammed Arif (P&F)

Organizations

• Green Party of California^[5]
• Peace and Freedom Party^[5]

Angela Underwood Jacobs (R)

Organizations

• California Republican Party^[6]

Eleni Kounalakis (D)

Organizations

• California Democratic Party^[7]
• California Teachers Association^[8]
• Equality California^[9]
• NARAL Pro-Choice California^[10]
• Sierra Club^[11]
• Stonewall Democrats^[12]

Primary election

Results

Results by county

  Kounalakis

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Underwood Jacobs

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Fennell

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

Primary election results^[2][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eleni Kounalakis (incumbent)	3,617,121	52.65%
	Republican	Angela Underwood Jacobs	1,365,468	19.88%
	Republican	David Fennell	922,493	13.43%
	Republican	Clint W. Saunders	306,216	4.46%
	Democratic	Jeffrey Highbear Morgan	229,121	3.33%
	Peace and Freedom	Mohammad Arif	183,150	2.67%
	Democratic	William Cavett Saacke	171,800	2.50%
	No party preference	David Hillberg	74,289	1.08%
	No party preference	James Orlando Ogle (write-in)	25	0.0%
Total votes			6,869,683	100.0%

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Eleni Kounalakis (D)	Angela Underwood Jacobs (R)	Undecided
USC[14]	October 30 – November 2, 2022	802 (RV)	± 3.5%	63%	37%	–

Results

2022 California lieutenant gubernatorial election^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Eleni Kounalakis (incumbent)	6,418,119	59.70%	N/A
	Republican	Angela Underwood Jacobs	4,332,602	40.30%	N/A
Total votes			10,750,721	100.0%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Kounalakis won 39 of 52 congressional districts, with the remaining 13 going to Underwood Jacobs, including one that elected a Democrat.^[16]

District	Kounalakis	Underwood Jacobs	Representative
1st	35%	65%	Doug LaMalfa
2nd	72%	28%	Jared Huffman
3rd	45%	55%	Kevin Kiley
4th	65%	35%	Mike Thompson
5th	39%	61%	Tom McClintock
6th	56%	44%	Ami Bera
7th	65%	35%	Doris Matsui
8th	74%	26%	John Garamendi
9th	49%	51%	Josh Harder
10th	66%	34%	Mark DeSaulnier
11th	85%	15%	Nancy Pelosi
12th	90%	10%	Barbara Lee
13th	47%	53%	John Duarte
14th	69%	31%	Eric Swalwell
15th	75%	25%	Jackie Speier (117th Congress)
			Kevin Mullin (118th Congress)
16th	73%	27%	Anna Eshoo
17th	71%	29%	Ro Khanna
18th	66%	34%	Zoe Lofgren
19th	66%	34%	Jimmy Panetta
20th	32%	68%	Kevin McCarthy
21st	52%	48%	Jim Costa
22nd	49%	51%	David Valadao
23rd	40%	60%	Jay Obernolte
24th	60%	40%	Salud Carbajal
25th	52%	48%	Raul Ruiz
26th	54%	46%	Julia Brownley
27th	49%	51%	Mike Garcia
28th	63%	37%	Judy Chu
29th	72%	28%	Tony Cárdenas
30th	75%	25%	Adam Schiff
31st	59%	41%	Grace Napolitano
32nd	67%	33%	Brad Sherman
33rd	55%	45%	Pete Aguilar
34th	81%	19%	Jimmy Gomez
35th	55%	45%	Norma Torres
36th	68%	32%	Ted Lieu
37th	83%	17%	Karen Bass (117th Congress)
			Sydney Kamlager-Dove (118th Congress)
38th	58%	42%	Linda Sánchez
39th	55%	45%	Mark Takano
40th	45%	55%	Young Kim
41st	46%	54%	Ken Calvert
42nd	67%	33%	Lucille Roybal-Allard (117th Congress)
			Robert Garcia (118th Congress)
43rd	76%	24%	Maxine Waters
44th	69%	31%	Nanette Barragán
45th	49%	51%	Michelle Steel
46th	60%	40%	Lou Correa
47th	50.3%	49.7%	Katie Porter
48th	39%	61%	Darrell Issa
49th	51%	49%	Mike Levin
50th	62%	38%	Scott Peters
51st	60%	40%	Sara Jacobs
52nd	63%	37%	Juan Vargas

Notes

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