United States presidential election in California, 2016 Facts for Kids

Flag of California

The 2016 United States presidential election in California was an important event where people in California voted for the next President of the United States. This election happened on November 8, 2016. It was part of the larger 2016 United States presidential election where all states and Washington, D.C. also voted.

Before the main election, on June 7, 2016, people in California also voted in special elections called "primaries." These primary elections helped decide which candidates would represent the main political parties, like the Democratic and Republican parties, in the big presidential election.

Presidential Election Results
- How California Voted
Primary Elections
- Democratic Primary
  - How Counties Voted in the Democratic Primary
- Republican Primary
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See also

Presidential Election Results

County Results Clinton—80-90% Clinton—70-80% Clinton—60-70% Clinton—50-60% Clinton—<50% Trump—<50% Trump—50-60% Trump—60-70% Trump—70-80%

In the 2016 presidential election, voters in California chose between several candidates. The main candidates were Hillary Clinton from the Democratic Party and Donald Trump from the Republican Party.

How California Voted

California is a state that usually votes for Democratic candidates. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the most votes in California. She received over 5.4 million votes. Donald Trump received almost 3 million votes.

Here are the final results for the main candidates:

Presidential Election in California
Choice	Votes	%
Hillary Clinton	5,488,261	61.46%
Donald Trump	2,969,532	33.25%
Gary Johnson	281,922	3.2%
Jill Stein	152,539	1.7%
Gloria La Riva	38,205	0.4%
Total votes	9,021,979	100%

Primary Elections

Before the main election, political parties hold "primary elections." These are like tryouts where people vote for who they want to be their party's official candidate for president. California held its primary elections on June 7, 2016.

Democratic Primary

Primary results by county. Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders

In the Democratic primary, the two main candidates were Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton won the primary in California. This meant she got more "delegates" from California to support her at the Democratic Party's national meeting. Delegates are like representatives who vote for a candidate.

Here's how the votes were split:

California Democratic Primary, June 7, 2016
Candidate	Popular vote		Estimated delegates
Candidate	Count	Percentage	Pledged	Unpledged	Total
Hillary Clinton	2,745,302	53.07%	254	66	320
Bernie Sanders	2,381,722	46.04%	221	0	221
Willie Wilson	12,014	0.23%
Michael Steinberg	10,880	0.21%
Rocky De La Fuente	8,453	0.16%
Henry Hewes	7,743	0.15%
Keith Russell Judd	7,201	0.14%
write-in	23	0.00%
Uncommitted	N/A			10	10
Total	5,173,338	100%	475	76	551
Source: The Green Papers

How Counties Voted in the Democratic Primary

The map shows how each county in California voted. Yellow means Hillary Clinton won that county. Green means Bernie Sanders won that county.

County	Clinton	Votes	Sanders	Votes
Alameda	51.5%	164,889	48.0%	153,955
Alpine	44.8%	113	54.4%	137
Amador	50.4%	2,516	47.8%	2,386
Butte	37.0%	11,766	62.0%	19,739
Calaveras	49.5%	2,971	48.5%	2,914
Colusa	49.3%	835	47.8%	809
Contra Costa	56.7%	103,333	42.7%	77,862
Del Norte	40.4%	1,119	57.6%	1,598
El Dorado	49.1%	12,492	49.6%	12,620
Fresno	56.0%	45,436	42.7%	34,663
Glenn	46.8%	911	51.5%	1,003
Humboldt	28.7%	8,135	70.4%	19,928
Imperial	65.0%	9,843	33.7%	5,111
Inyo	42.5%	1,001	55.7%	1,313
Kern	54.1%	28,806	43.9%	23,374
Kings	57.8%	4,150	39.9%	2,869
Lake	42.7%	3,988	55.7%	5,195
Lassen	42.6%	812	53.7%	1,023
Los Angeles	54.4%	780,013	44.6%	639,886
Madera	53.1%	5,808	44.4%	4,852
Marin	56.4%	43,283	43.3%	33,214
Mariposa	44.1%	1,102	54.2%	1,355
Mendocino	32.8%	6,048	66.5%	12,259
Merced	53.0%	10,839	45.3%	9,273
Modoc	42.3%	281	52.5%	349
Mono	43.3%	799	56.2%	1,038
Monterey	52.8%	29,730	46.3%	26,073
Napa	53.4%	13,583	45.9%	11,682
Nevada	36.9%	8,175	62.4%	13,827
Orange	51.9%	171,593	47.3%	156,235
Placer	54.1%	25,249	44.8%	20,916
Plumas	44.1%	1,211	53.7%	1,475
Riverside	56.1%	112,526	42.8%	85,918
Sacramento	54.6%	109,898	44.4%	89,428
San Benito	54.3%	4,112	44.6%	3,380
San Bernardino	54.6%	96,076	44.2%	77,706
San Diego	51.6%	215,655	47.7%	199,716
San Francisco	53.6%	116,359	45.9%	99,594
San Joaquin	56.5%	38,212	42.2%	28,523
San Luis Obispo	46.7%	21,637	52.6%	24,379
San Mateo	58.7%	79,756	40.8%	55,367
Santa Barbara	46.9%	31,927	52.4%	35,717
Santa Clara	57.5%	159,480	41.9%	116,193
Santa Cruz	40.5%	29,520	59.0%	42,940
Shasta	45.4%	7,809	52.4%	9,026
Sierra	42.5%	224	56.4%	297
Siskiyou	38.0%	2,466	60.0%	3,894
Solano	55.3%	34,231	43.8%	27,122
Sonoma	47.3%	55,595	52.0%	61,167
Stanislaus	51.2%	24,359	47.1%	22,384
Sutter	52.7%	4,023	45.4%	3,463
Tehama	45.9%	2,372	51.4%	2,655
Trinity	35.1%	672	63.3%	1,211
Tulare	54.4%	13,472	43.7%	10,834
Tuolumne	48.2%	3,433	50.5%	3,592
Ventura	51.2%	60,615	47.9%	56,751
Yolo	48.2%	17,655	51.3%	18,761
Yuba	45.1%	2,388	52.4%	2,771
Total	53.1%	2,745,302	46.0%	2,381,722

Republican Primary

Republican primary results by county. Donald Trump

In the Republican primary, Donald Trump won by a large amount. This meant he became the Republican Party's official candidate for president.

Here are the results for the Republican primary:

Quick facts for kids California Republican Primary, June 7, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Actual delegate count
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Bound	Unbound	Total
Donald Trump	1,665,135	74.76%	172	0	172
John Kasich (withdrawn)	252,544	11.34%	0	0	0
Ted Cruz (withdrawn)	211,576	9.50%	0	0	0
Ben Carson (withdrawn)	82,259	3.69%	0	0	0
Jim Gilmore (withdrawn)	15,691	0.70%	0	0	0
Write-ins	101	0.00%	0	0	0
Unprojected delegates:			0	0	0
Total:	2,227,306	100.00%	172	0	172
Source: The Green Papers

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Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump

United States presidential election in California, 2016 facts for kids

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