# 2014 California State Controller election

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vte :
The 2014 California State Controller election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the State Controller of California. Incumbent Democratic State Controller John Chiang was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a third term in office and instead ran successfully for California State Treasurer.
A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. Under California's nonpartisan blanket primary law, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two finishers — regardless of party — advance to the general election in November, even if a candidate manages to receive a majority of the votes cast in the primary election. Washington is the only other state with this system, a so-called "top two primary" (Louisiana has a similar "jungle primary").
In the primary, Republican Ashley Swearengin and Democrat Betty Yee finished first and second, respectively. The third-place finisher, Democrat John Pérez, initially called for a recount in 15 counties after official results showed him trailing Yee by 481 votes; however, he ultimately conceded to Yee more than a month after the primary. Swearengin and Yee contested the general election, which Yee won. As of 2025, this election, alongside the concurrent Secretary of State election, is the last time in which a statewide California race between a Democrat and a Republican was decided by single digits; and in which Mono, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties voted for the Republican in a statewide race.

## Primary election
### Candidates
#### Democratic Party
##### Declared

* Tammy D. Blair, administrator
* John Pérez, Speaker of the California State Assembly
* Betty Yee, Member of the State Board of Equalization

##### Declined

* Bill Lockyer, State Treasurer and former California Attorney General

#### Republican Party
##### Declared

* David Evans, accountant, candidate for California's 22nd congressional district in 2006 and for Controller in 2010
* Ashley Swearengin, Mayor of Fresno

##### Withdrew

* Tina Mizany

#### Green Party
##### Declared

* Laura Wells, activist, retired financial and business analyst, nominee for Controller in 2002 and 2006 and nominee for Governor in 2010

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | John Pérez (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Betty Yee (D) | Other | Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | May 16–19, 2014 | 610 | ±4% | 18% | 31% | 24% | 8% | 18% |
| Field Poll | Mar. 18–Apr. 5, 2014 | 504 | ±4.5% | 14% | 28% | 19% | 1% | 38% |

### Results

California State Controller primary election, 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 1,001,473 | 24.79 |
| | Democratic | Betty Yee | 878,195 | 21.74 |
| | Democratic | John Pérez | 877,714 | 21.73 |
| | Republican | David Evans | 850,109 | 21.05 |
| | Green | Laura Wells | 231,352 | 5.73 |
| | Democratic | Tammy D. Blair | 200,532 | 4.96 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,039,375 | 100 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 13.68 |

## General election
### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Betty Yee (D) | Ashley Swearengin (R) | Undecided |
| GQR/American Viewpoint | October 22–29, 2014 | 1,162 | ± 3.3% | 46% | 38% | 16% |
| Field Poll | October 15–28, 2014 | 941 | ± 3.4% | 44% | 36% | 20% |
| Field Poll | August 14–28, 2014 | 467 | ± 4.8% | 46% | 32% | 22% |
| Gravis Marketing | July 22–24, 2014 | 580 | ± 4% | 39% | 39% | 22% |

### Results

California State Controller general election, 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Betty Yee | 3,810,304 | 53.97 |
| | Republican | Ashley Swearengin | 3,249,668 | 46.03 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,059,972 | 100 |