Politics
Alameda County is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. It has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1956, when Dwight Eisenhower carried the county. Historically, the county was Republican until the 1958 defeat of William F. Knowland. Even when Ronald Reagan won the national popular vote by an 18.3% margin in 1984, Walter Mondale won Alameda County by a slightly larger margin. In 2004 it voted for John Kerry by a margin of over 50%. Every city and town voted Democratic. In the House of Representatives, all of the 9th district, parts of the 10th and 11th districts, and most of the 13th district are in the county. All four districts are held by Democrats: Barbara Lee, John Garamendi, Jerry McNerney, and Pete Stark, respectively.
In the State Assembly, parts of the 14th and 15th districts, all of the 16th and 18th districts, and most of the 20th district are in the county. All of its five legislators are Democrats: Nancy Skinner of the 14th district, Sandré Swanson of the 16th district, Mary Hayashi of the 18th district, and Bob Wieckowski of the 20th district, and Joan Buchanan of the 15th district. In the State Senate, most of the 9th and 10th districts are in the county and are both represented by Democrats: Loni Hancock and Ellen Corbett, respectively.
According to the California Secretary of State, there are 709,414 registered voters in Alameda County. 401,847 (56.6%) are registered Democrats, 116,864 (16.5%) are registered Republicans, 33,689 (4.8%) are registered to minor political parties, and 157,014 (22.1%) declined to answer. This means Democrats have a 40.1% registration advantage over Republicans. Every city, town, and unincorporated area in Alameda County has more registered Democrats than Republicans.
| Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 19.3% 119,554 | 78.9% 489,106 | 1.8% 11,724 |
| 2004 | 23.3% 130,911 | 75.4% 422,585 | 1.5% 8,594 |
| 2000 | 24.1% 119,279 | 69.4% 342,889 | 6.5% 32,168 |
| 1996 | 23.1% 106,581 | 65.8% 303,903 | 11.2% 51,560 |
| 1992 | 20.6% 109,292 | 63.0% 334,224 | 16.3% 86,629 |
| 1988 | 34.0% 162,815 | 64.8% 310,283 | 1.2% 5,899 |
| 1984 | 40.0% 192,408 | 58.7% 282,041 | 1.3% 6,425 |
| 1980 | 38.0% 158,531 | 48.3% 201,720 | 13.7% 57,366 |
| 1976 | 38.1% 155,280 | 57.9% 235,988 | 4.0% 16,413 |
| 1972 | 42.8% 201,862 | 55.0% 259,254 | 2.1% 10,079 |
| 1968 | 37.6% 153,285 | 53.9% 219,545 | 8.5% 34,519 |
| 1964 | 33.5% 142,998 | 66.4% 283,833 | 0.1% 509 |
| 1960 | 45.6% 183,354 | 54.0% 217,172 | 0.4% 1,474 |
| 1956 | 52.4% 192,911 | 47.3% 174,033 | 0.3% 1,187 |
| 1952 | 52.7% 201,976 | 46.5% 178,239 | 0.8% 3,079 |
| 1948 | 46.6% 150,588 | 47.8% 154,549 | 5.6% 18,194 |
| 1944 | 41.8% 122,982 | 57.7% 169,631 | 0.5% 1,374 |
| 1940 | 43.6% 116,961 | 55.2% 148,224 | 1.2% 3,311 |
| 1936 | 35.1% 82,352 | 63.6% 149,323 | 1.3% 3,011 |
| 1932 | 43.7% 89,303 | 52.0% 106,388 | 4.3% 8,761 |
| 1928 | 65.4% 118,539 | 33.6% 60,875 | 1.0% 1,780 |
| 1924 | 61.5% 81,454 | 6.1% 8,020 | 32.5% 43,016 |
| 1920 | 69.1% 73,177 | 20.3% 21,468 | 10.6% 11,244 |
| Election results from statewide races | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Results |
| 2010 | Governor | Brown 73.8 - 22.6% |
| Lieutenant Governor | Newsom 71.0 - 22.0% | |
| Secretary of State | Bowen 72.2 - 19.7% | |
| Controller | Chiang 73.0 - 18.8% | |
| Treasurer | Lockyer 74.8 - 18.4% | |
| Attorney General | Harris 67.0 - 25.4% | |
| Insurance Commissioner | Jones 68.3 - 21.1% | |
| 2006 | Governor | Angelides 56.6 - 36.6% |
| Lieutenant Governor | Garamendi 67.8 - 25.2% | |
| Secretary of State | Bowen 67.9 - 25.1% | |
| Controller | Chiang 69.2 - 21.1% | |
| Treasurer | Lockyer 72.5 - 19.0% | |
| Attorney General | Brown 73.2 - 18.4% | |
| Insurance Commissioner | Bustamante 52.3 - 34.2% | |
| 2002 | Governor | Davis 62.9 - 22.3% |
| Lieutenant Governor | Bustamante 64.8 - 23.1% | |
| Secretary of State | Shelley 63.4 - 22.6% | |
| Controller | Westly 59.4 - 28.4% | |
| Treasurer | Angelides 65.2 - 22.5% | |
| Attorney General | Lockyer 69.0 - 21.0% | |
| Insurance Commissioner | Garamendi 64.8 - 22.0% | |
On November 4, 2008 Alameda County voted 62.0% against Proposition 8, which won statewide, and which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The county garnered the sixth highest "no" vote, by percentage, of all California counties, and was the second largest county, by total voter turnout, to vote against it.
Read more about this topic: Alameda County, California
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