2022 California Superintendent of Public Instruction election
June 7, 2022 (first round)
November 8, 2022 (runoff) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thurmond: 20–30% 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Christensen: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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The 2022 California Superintendent of Public Instruction election was held on June 7, 2022, to elect the Superintendent of Public Instruction of California. Unlike most other elections in the state, the office is not elected under the state's nonpartisan blanket primary system. Instead, the officially nonpartisan position is elected via a general election, with a runoff scheduled for November 8, 2022 as no candidate received a majority of the vote.
Incumbent Superintendent Tony Thurmond, who was endorsed by the California Democratic Party, easily won re-election to a second term, defeating Lance Christensen, who was endorsed by the California Republican Party, by 26 points. He was first elected in 2018 with 50.9% of the vote, narrowly defeating Marshall Tuck in a runoff election.[1] Thurmond's result was by far the best for a Democrat in the 2022 elections, although the race itself was nonpartisan.
Candidates
- Note: The state Superintendent of Public Instruction election in California is officially nonpartisan. The parties below identify which party label each candidate would have run under if given the option.
Advanced to runoff
- Lance Christensen, education policy executive[2] (Republican)
- Tony Thurmond, incumbent superintendent[2] (Democratic)
Eliminated in primary
- Marco Amaral, teacher and trustee[2]
- Joseph Guy Campbell, Montessori education publisher[2]
- Jim Gibson, cyber security professional and candidate for mayor of Oceanside in 2016[2] (Republican)
- Ainye E. Long, public school teacher[2]
- George Yang, software architect and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016[2] (Republican)
Endorsements
Marco Amaral
Organizations
Lance Christensen
Organizations
Tony Thurmond
General election
Results
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Thurmond (incumbent) | 2,881,684 | 45.90% | |
| Lance Christensen | 745,003 | 11.87% | |
| Ainye E. Long | 699,331 | 11.14% | |
| George Yang | 694,073 | 11.06% | |
| Marco Amaral | 547,389 | 8.72% | |
| Jim Gibson | 468,078 | 7.46% | |
| Joseph Guy Campbell | 241,984 | 3.85% | |
| Total votes | 6,277,542 | 100.00% | |
Runoff
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Tony Thurmond |
Lance Christensen |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC[12] | October 30 – November 2, 2022 | 802 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 64% | 36% | – |
Results
| Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Thurmond (incumbent) | 5,681,318 | 63.70% | +12.82% | |
| Lance Christensen | 3,237,785 | 36.30% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 8,919,103 | 100.00% | ||
By county
| County[14] | Tony Thurmond Democratic |
Lance Christensen Republican |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 323,921 | 78.36% | 89,475 | 21.64% | 234,446 | 56.71% | 413,396 |
| Alpine | 329 | 69.12% | 147 | 30.88% | 182 | 38.24% | 476 |
| Amador | 7,249 | 48.86% | 7,586 | 51.14% | -337 | -2.27% | 14,835 |
| Butte | 32,987 | 55.75% | 26,178 | 44.25% | 6,809 | 11.51% | 59,165 |
| Calaveras | 8,706 | 52.27% | 7,949 | 47.73% | 757 | 4.55% | 12,655 |
| Colusa | 2,214 | 48.77% | 2,326 | 51.23% | -112 | -2.47% | 4,540 |
| Contra Costa | 231,756 | 69.77% | 100,423 | 30.23% | 131,333 | 39.54% | 332,179 |
| Del Norte | 3,437 | 48.62% | 3,632 | 51.38% | -195 | -2.76% | 7,069 |
| El Dorado | 34,736 | 51.78% | 32,349 | 48.22% | 2,387 | 3.56% | 67,085 |
| Fresno | 100,697 | 54.97% | 82,501 | 45.03% | 18,196 | 9.93% | 183,198 |
| Glenn | 3,033 | 47.15% | 3,400 | 52.85% | -367 | -5.70% | 6,433 |
| Humboldt | 26,701 | 69.48% | 11,728 | 30.52% | 14,973 | 38.96% | 38,429 |
| Imperial | 15,149 | 57.35% | 11,267 | 42.65% | 3,882 | 14.70% | 26,416 |
| Inyo | 3,247 | 55.94% | 2,557 | 44.06% | 690 | 11.89% | 5,804 |
| Kern | 80,950 | 49.43% | 82,823 | 50.57% | -1,873 | -1.14% | 163,773 |
| Kings | 10,729 | 46.68% | 12,257 | 53.32% | -1,528 | -6.65% | 22,986 |
| Lake | 9,879 | 59.75% | 6,656 | 40.25% | 3,223 | 19.49% | 16,535 |
| Lassen | 3,216 | 42.14% | 4,416 | 57.86% | -1,200 | -15.72% | 7,632 |
| Los Angeles | 1,346,639 | 69.59% | 588,457 | 30.41% | 758,182 | 39.18% | 1,935,096 |
| Madera | 14,808 | 47.88% | 16,122 | 52.12% | -1,314 | -4.25% | 30,390 |
| Marin | 76,144 | 80.79% | 18,104 | 19.21% | 58,040 | 61.58% | 94,248 |
| Mariposa | 3,336 | 52.94% | 2,966 | 47.06% | 370 | 5.87% | 6,302 |
| Mendocino | 17,096 | 70.92% | 7,010 | 29.08% | 10,086 | 41.84% | 24,106 |
| Merced | 25,737 | 54.74% | 21,282 | 45.26% | 4,455 | 9.47% | 47,019 |
| Modoc | 1,125 | 40.83% | 1,630 | 59.17% | -505 | -18.33% | 2,755 |
| Mono | 2,175 | 64.18% | 1,214 | 35.82% | 961 | 28.36% | 3,389 |
| Monterey | 56,546 | 65.60% | 29,656 | 34.40% | 26,890 | 31.19% | 86,202 |
| Napa | 28,146 | 69.11% | 12,583 | 30.89% | 15,563 | 38.21% | 40,729 |
| Nevada | 24,450 | 61.62% | 15,231 | 38.38% | 9,219 | 23.23% | 39,681 |
| Orange | 428,511 | 56.10% | 335,330 | 43.90% | 93,181 | 12.20% | 763,841 |
| Placer | 74,102 | 49.94% | 74,289 | 50.06% | -187 | -0.13% | 148,391 |
| Plumas | 3,576 | 51.81% | 3,326 | 48.19% | 250 | 3.62% | 6,902 |
| Riverside | 260,169 | 54.38% | 218,297 | 45.62% | 41,872 | 8.75% | 478,466 |
| Sacramento | 249,570 | 62.69% | 148,512 | 37.31% | 101,058 | 25.39% | 398,082 |
| San Benito | 9,526 | 57.85% | 6,941 | 42.15% | 2,585 | 15.70% | 16,467 |
| San Bernardino | 201,353 | 54.25% | 169,816 | 45.75% | 31,537 | 8.50% | 371,169 |
| San Diego | 498,154 | 60.36% | 327,205 | 39.64% | 170,949 | 20.71% | 825,359 |
| San Francisco | 188,928 | 81.02% | 44,269 | 18.98% | 144,659 | 62.03% | 233,197 |
| San Joaquin | 88,012 | 57.86% | 64,102 | 42.14% | 23,910 | 15.72% | 152,114 |
| San Luis Obispo | 57,120 | 60.29% | 37,629 | 39.71% | 19,491 | 20.57% | 94,749 |
| San Mateo | 142,627 | 72.21% | 54,879 | 27.79% | 87,748 | 44.43% | 197,506 |
| Santa Barbara | 67,605 | 63.03% | 39,652 | 36.97% | 27,953 | 26.06% | 107,257 |
| Santa Clara | 304,175 | 69.41% | 134,034 | 30.59% | 170,141 | 38.83% | 438,209 |
| Santa Cruz | 64,916 | 76.07% | 20,421 | 23.93% | 44,495 | 52.14% | 85,337 |
| Shasta | 25,462 | 46.03% | 29,849 | 53.97% | -4,387 | -7.93% | 55,311 |
| Sierra | 642 | 49.35% | 659 | 50.65% | -17 | -1.31% | 1,301 |
| Siskiyou | 7,408 | 51.93% | 6,857 | 48.07% | 551 | 3.86% | 14,265 |
| Solano | 72,099 | 64.13% | 40,329 | 35.87% | 31,770 | 28.26% | 112,428 |
| Sonoma | 116,974 | 75.24% | 38,502 | 24.76% | 78,472 | 50.47% | 155,476 |
| Stanislaus | 61,689 | 54.61% | 51,283 | 45.39% | 10,406 | 9.21% | 112,972 |
| Sutter | 11,285 | 47.51% | 12,468 | 52.49% | -1,183 | -4.98% | 23,753 |
| Tehama | 7,759 | 47.40% | 8,609 | 52.60% | -850 | -5.19% | 16,368 |
| Trinity | 2,171 | 58.87% | 1,517 | 41.13% | 654 | 17.73% | 3,688 |
| Tulare | 37,808 | 47.99% | 40,983 | 52.01% | -3,175 | -4.03% | 78,791 |
| Tuolumne | 9,790 | 53.65% | 8,459 | 46.35% | 1,331 | 7.29% | 18,249 |
| Ventura | 146,692 | 61.33% | 92,485 | 38.67% | 54,207 | 22.66% | 239,177 |
| Yolo | 40,626 | 71.60% | 16,118 | 28.40% | 24,508 | 43.19% | 56,744 |
| Yuba | 7,431 | 45.12% | 9,040 | 54.88% | -1,609 | -9.77% | 16,471 |
| Totals | 5,681,318 | 63.70% | 3,237,785 | 36.30% | 2,443,533 | 27.40% | 8,919,103 |
By congressional district
Thurmond won 49 of 52 congressional districts, including nine that elected Republicans.[15] He performed the best in the 11th and 12th districts in the Bay Area, as well as the 30th, 34th and 37th districts in Greater Los Angeles. Conversely, Christensen won the 1st, 20th and 48th districts, performing the best in the 20th one, where Kevin McCarthy gave the Republicans their best performance in the 2022 House election.
Notes
- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
- ^ "Superintendent of Public Instruction - Statewide Results" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Primary Election - June 7, 2022". Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ a b "California Primary Election 2022: The Peace & Freedom, Left Unity Candidates". www.peaceandfreedom.us. February 3, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ Mehta, Seema (April 24, 2022). "California GOP endorses Brian Dahle for governor despite controversy over payment to party". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Primary Endorsements" (PDF). cadem.org. California Democratic Party. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "2022 June Primary Election Candidate Recommendations". cta.org. California Teachers Association.
- ^ Garrett-Pate, Samuel (January 11, 2022). "Equality California Endorses Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber". www.eqca.org. Equality California. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ "Endorsements". NARAL Pro-Choice California. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Endorsements". Sierra Club California. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Endorsements". stonewalldems.org. Stonewall Democrats. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ "California June 7, 2022 Primary Statement of Vote" (PDF). Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ USC
- ^ "General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ Weber, Shirley (December 16, 2022). "Superintendent of Public Instruction by County" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 19, 2025. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
- ^ California 2022-11-08 results by district (@elium2) (Report).
External links
Official campaign links