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California's Primaries

Partisan Primary Types​

Democratic PartyRepublican Party
Presidential PrimariesState PrimariesPresidential PrimariesState Primaries
partially-closed top-two partially-closed top-two

Presidential and State Primaries Scheduling​

Consolidated Primaries: yes

California is one of the states that have merged their presidential and state primaries. On a Presidential Election year, presidential primaries and State primaries are scheduled to run on the same days

The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect January 1, 2011, created "voter-nominated" offices. The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act does not apply to candidates running for U.S. President, county central committees, or local offices.

Voting In Primaries​

  • California holds a partially closed primary for preisdential election. The Democratic and the Republican parties allow voters who did not state a party preference to vote for their presidential nominee. California uses the Top Two Candidate Open Primary system for statewide offices.

About California's Top-Two Primary​

  • All candidates for a given state or congressional office will be listed on a single Primary Election ballot.
  • Voters can vote for the candidate of their choice for these offices.
  • The top two candidates, as determined by the voters, will advance to the General Election in November.

Delegates and Presidential Primaries​

The presidential primary process involves selecting delegates who will represent the state at the party's national convention. Delegates selected from the primary elections attend the party's national convention, where they officially nominate the presidential candidate. The candidate with the majority of delegates becomes the party's nominee for the presidential election.

Democratic PartyRepublican Party
Total Del. VotesPled.Unpled.Altern.Total Del. VotesPled.Unpled.Altern.
497 424 73 35 169 169 166

Democratic Party Primary Delegates Process​

Democratic Party's Proprotional Delegates Allocation​

The Democratic Party in California uses a proportional representation system based on the results of the Presidential Preference Election (Primary) for apportioning delegates to the Democratic National Convention. A Presidential Candidate must receive a 15% of vote of the total statewide vote in order for a presidential contender to be pledged National Convention delegates at either the congressional district or statewide level.

Delegates Breakdown​

  • District-level Delegates: 277
  • At-large Delegates: 92
  • Pledged PLEOs Delegates: 55
  • Automatic Delegates - Unpledged PLEOs: 73
  • Alternate Delegates: 35

Automatic Delegates (Unpledged PLEOs - Super Delegates) Breakdown​

  • DNC Members: 31
  • Dem. Members of Congress: 40
  • Dem. Gorvernors: 1
  • Distinguished Party Leaders: 1

Republican Party Primary Delegates Process​

Republican Party's Winnner-Takes-Most Delegates Allocation​

The Republican Party in California uses a Winner-Takes-Most system based on the results of the Presidential Preference Election (Primary) for apportioning delegates to the Republican National Convention. All 169 of California's delegates to the Republican National Convention are pledged to presidential contenders in today's California Presidential Primary.

The Republican party will send a total of 169 Delegate Votes and 166 Alternate Delegates to the 2024 RNC national convention. 169 Pledged Delegate Votes (156 District-level delegates, 10 At-Large, and 3 RNC delegates).

Delegates Breakdown​

  • District-level Delegates: 156
  • At-large Delegates: 10
  • RNC Delegates: 3
  • Alternate Delegates: 166

NOTES​

This page contains primary election rules and Presidential Primary delegates allocation information on elections occurring across the country

Primary voting rules and delegate allocation apply to statewide partisan primary elections in most cases. However, check with your Town Clerk for primary voting guide as they may vary by town and political party.Please be advised that the information provided on this site is updated regularly but is subject to scheduling changes at the local level.

The information provided on the page was validated using the following resourses: