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Fact check: What is the % of vote in california Republican vs democrat
1. Summary of the results
Based on the 2024 California presidential election results, Kamala Harris (Democrat) received 58.47% of the vote with 9,276,179 votes, while Donald Trump (Republican) received 38.33% of the vote with 6,081,697 votes [1] [2]. This represents a 20.2 percentage point difference between the Democratic and Republican candidates [3].
The election results show that Harris secured all 54 electoral votes from California, while Trump received zero electoral votes from the state [2]. Multiple sources confirm these exact percentages, with one source noting that Harris received 58.5% of all votes cast and Trump received 38.3% [3].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
The original question lacks crucial historical context that significantly changes the interpretation of these results. This was the smallest margin of Democratic victory in California since 2004, indicating a notable shift in the state's voting patterns [2].
Historical perspective reveals dramatic changes in California's political landscape. From 1952 through 1988, Republicans won every presidential election in California except one [4], but since 2000, California has voted Democratic 100% of the time and Republican 0% of the time [5]. Over the longer term since 1900, California has voted Democratic 50% of the time and Republican 46.9% of the time [5].
Significant demographic shifts affected the 2024 results that aren't captured in simple percentages:
- Turnout among Latino and Asian American voters dropped by about 12.6 percentage points [6]
- Young voters (18-24) saw a 12.7 percentage point decline in turnout [6]
- More than 16% of registered Democrats who voted in 2020 did not cast a ballot in 2024 [7]
- Registered Republicans also had notable voter loss (12.5%) in 2024 [7]
- There was a shift in registration to the Republicans before the election [6]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original question itself contains no misinformation, as it simply asks for factual voting percentages. However, the question's simplicity could lead to misleading interpretations if the broader context is ignored.
Political parties and analysts would benefit from emphasizing different aspects of these results:
- Democratic strategists might focus on the absolute victory margin to maintain confidence in California as a "blue state"
- Republican operatives could highlight that this represents their best performance in California in decades, suggesting potential future competitiveness
- Media organizations benefit from framing this as either a "solid Democratic hold" or a "surprising Republican surge" depending on their audience
The raw percentages alone don't reveal the underlying demographic and turnout changes that may signal longer-term political realignments in California [6] [7]. Without this context, the simple vote percentages could mask significant political trends that both parties are closely monitoring for future electoral strategies.