Government and Politics
| Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 27.2% 174,843 | 70.2% 450,817 | 2.5% 16,290 |
| 2008 | 28.6% 190,039 | 69.5% 462,241 | 1.8% 12,255 |
| 2004 | 34.6% 209,094 | 63.9% 386,100 | 1.4% 8,622 |
| 2000 | 34.4% 188,750 | 60.7% 332,490 | 4.9% 26,889 |
| 1996 | 32.2% 168,291 | 56.9% 297,639 | 11.0% 57,361 |
| 1992 | 28.4% 170,870 | 49.2% 296,265 | 22.4% 134,920 |
| 1988 | 47.0% 254,442 | 51.3% 277,810 | 1.7% 9,276 |
| 1984 | 54.8% 288,638 | 43.7% 229,865 | 1.5% 8,136 |
| 1980 | 48.0% 229,048 | 35.0% 166,995 | 17.0% 80,960 |
| 1976 | 49.5% 219,188 | 46.9% 208,023 | 3.6% 15,927 |
| 1972 | 51.9% 237,334 | 45.6% 208,506 | 2.5% 11,453 |
| 1968 | 45.6% 163,446 | 48.4% 173,511 | 6.0% 21,410 |
| 1964 | 36.6% 117,420 | 63.1% 202,249 | 0.3% 858 |
| 1960 | 52.7% 131,735 | 47.1% 117,667 | 0.3% 690 |
| 1956 | 59.1% 105,657 | 40.6% 72,528 | 0.4% 633 |
| 1952 | 59.7% 91,940 | 39.7% 61,035 | 0.6% 932 |
| 1948 | 53.3% 52,982 | 42.1% 41,905 | 4.6% 4,615 |
| 1944 | 47.0% 39,409 | 52.4% 43,869 | 0.6% 499 |
| 1940 | 49.2% 40,100 | 49.6% 40,449 | 1.2% 947 |
| 1936 | 40.4% 26,498 | 58.5% 38,346 | 1.1% 732 |
| 1932 | 47.5% 27,353 | 49.1% 28,272 | 3.3% 1,906 |
| 1928 | 63.8% 31,710 | 35.4% 17,589 | 0.8% 395 |
| 1924 | 58.0% 20,056 | 7.4% 2,560 | 34.6% 11,952 |
| 1920 | 68.1% 19,565 | 22.6% 6,485 | 9.1% 2,682 |
Santa Clara County has five elected Supervisors, elected within their districts.
Santa Clara is a strongly Democratic county in presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan in 1984. As of November 2012, all of the cities, towns, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County have more registered Democrats than Republicans. In the 2008 US Presidential Election, Democratic nominee Barack Obama carried every city and town in the county, as well as the unincorporated areas.
In the House of Representatives, all of California’s 15th and 16th districts, as well as some of the 11th and 14th districts, are in the county and are all held by Democrats: Jerry McNerney in the 11th, Anna Eshoo in the 14th, Mike Honda in the 15th, and Zoe Lofgren in the 16th.
In the State Assembly, all of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th districts, as well as parts of the 20th, 21st, 27th, and 28th districts are in the county. The districts are all held by Democrats; in order of district number they are Bob Wieckowski, Rich Gordon, Paul Fong, Nora Campos, Jim Beall, Bill Monning, and Luis Alejo.
In the State Senate, all of the 13th as well as parts of the 10th, 11th, and 15th districts are in the county. The 10th, 11th, and 13th districts are held by Democrats, Ellen Corbett, Joe Simitian, and Elaine Alquist, respectively. The 15th is held by Republican Sam Blakeslee.
Following the passage of Proposition 8, Santa Clara County joined San Francisco and Los Angeles in a lawsuit, becoming, along with San Francisco and Los Angeles, the first governmental entities in the world to sue for same sex marriage. The county is among one of three counties in California to establish a separate department to deal with corrections pursuant to California Government Code §23013, the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections, along with Napa County and Madera County.
Read more about this topic: Santa Clara County, California
Famous quotes containing the words government and/or politics:
“We have got rid of the fetish of the divine right of kings, and that slavery is of divine origin and authority. But the divine right of property has taken its place. The tendency plainly is towards ... “a government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.””
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“I believe you to be a brave and a skillful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)