2022 California gubernatorial election

The 2022 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of California, with the statewide top-two primary election taking place on June 7, 2022. Incumbent Democratic Party Governor Gavin Newsom was re-elected to a second term after surviving a recall election in 2021, during his first term. The elections featured universal mail-in ballots; in-person voting was also available. All statewide elected offices are currently held by Democrats. Newsom won 61.9% of the vote in both the 2018 gubernatorial election and the 2021 recall election. He received 55.9% of the top-two primary vote and faced Republican Party state senator Brian Dahle, who received 17.7% of the primary vote, in the general election. Newsom received 59.2% of the vote to Dahle's 40.8%, a smaller margin of victory than in 2018 and the first time the Democratic candidate failed to win 60% of the vote since 2010. Dahle flipped five counties that Newsom carried in 2018, namely Lake, Merced (although Merced voted to recall Newsom), Orange, San Bernardino, and San Joaquin. Dahle received 32% of the vote in Los Angeles County, the highest percentage received by a Republican in the state's most populous county since 2014. Dahle also managed to carry two congressional districts represented by Democrats (CA-09 and CA-47). This election marks the fourth consecutive California gubernatorial election in which a Democratic candidate won.