California’s Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot will feature six presidential candidates and their running mates. They are:
- Kamala Harris / Tim Walz (D)
- Donald Trump / J.D. Vance (R)
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. / Nicole Shanahan (American Independent Party)
- Jill Stein / Butch Ware (G)
- Chase Oliver / Mike ter Maat (L)
- Claudia De La Cruz / Karina Garcia (Peace and Freedom Party)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., running as an independent, withdrew from the presidential election in August, but will still appear on California’s ballot as the American Independent Party’s nominee. Claudia De La Cruz is the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential nominee, but will appear on California’s ballot as the Peace and Freedom Party’s nominee.
This is the same number of candidates on California’s presidential ballot as in 2008. In 2020, California’s ballot had 11 candidates: Joe Biden (D), Donald Trump (R), Jo Jorgensen (L), Howie Hawkins (G), and seven other independent and minor party candidates. Biden won California that year with 63.5% of the vote, followed by Trump with 34.3%, Jorgensen with 1.1%, and Hawkins with 0.5%. No other candidate received more than 0.3% of the vote.
As of Oct. 18, The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated California as solid Democratic. In the past four presidential elections, the Democratic candidate has received more than 60 percent of the vote. The Republican candidate has not won the state since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
California has 54 electoral votes, the most electoral votes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. California lost one electoral vote following the 2020 census.
California’s general election ballot will also feature ten ballot measures, and elections for the U.S Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and a special Senate election, among others. Click here to use Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup Tool to read more about the races on your ballot this November.