Political party strength in California

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California is a Democratic stronghold and considered to be one of the "Big Three" Democratic strongholds alongside New York and Illinois. Originally a swing state following statehood, California began regularly supporting Republicans for the first half of the 20th century. This changed with the passing of civil rights laws by Democrats in the 1960s and the subsequent rightward shift of the Republican Party. The party remained competitive with Democratic candidates until 1992. This changed amidst a struggling economy, when California flipped from Republican to elect Democrat Bill Clinton as President. Republicans still won statewide contests in the state until the late 2000s, with Arnold Schwarzenegger elected governor.

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in California:

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• Treasurer
• Controller
• Insurance Commissioner
• California Superintendent of Public Instruction

The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:

• Board of Equalization
• State Senate
• State Assembly
• State delegation to the U.S. Senate
• State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives

For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.

Note that ties on the Board of Equalization are broken by the vote of the State Controller.