Despite being located on the West Coast, the four states with the most similar preferences to California are all in other parts of the country. In the last two decades, California has voted for Democratic candidates in all presidential elections, but that hasn’t always been the case. The five states with the least similar presidential voting preferences are all located in the South. This is because they used to vote for Democrats but now prefer Republicans. California is the opposite.
5 States with similar presidential preferences to California
- Illinois and California have voted for the same candidates in the presidential election since 1920, with the exception of 1960. In that election, Richard Nixon, who represented California, won the state, while John F. Kennedy won Illinois. Since Bill Clinton won in 1992, Democrats have won these states in every election.
- Vermont is on the opposite side of the country and has extremely different demographics than California. However, these states have voted for the same candidates in every election since 1952. One difference is that the margin has been different in some contests. For instance, Reagan won California by a much greater margin in 1980.
- New Jersey and California voted for the same presidential candidates in every election since 1964. However, in 1960 Richard Nixon won California, while John F. Kennedy won New Jersey. This makes sense since Nixon was from California, while Kennedy was from the Northeast region.
- Connecticut is another state in New England on this list. California and Connecticut have voted for the same presidential candidates in every election since 1972. However, Kennedy won in 1960 and Humphrey won in 1968, while the Republican, Richard Nixon won California in both those elections.
- Washington is the only state on the Pacific Coast that makes this list. Washington has voted for the Democratic Party’s candidate more often since 1960. In 1968, Washington preferred Hubert Humphrey, while in 1988 George H.W. Bush won California, but George Dukakis won the more liberal Washington state.
5 States with least similar presidential preferences to California
California Presidential Voting History
2020: Joe Biden (D)
2016: Hillary Clinton (D)
2012: Barack Obama (D)
2008: Barack Obama (D)
2004: John Kerry (D)
2000: Al Gore (D)
1996: Bill Clinton (D)
1992: Bill Clinton (D)
1988: George H.W. Bush (R)
1984: Ronald Reagan (R)
1980: Ronald Reagan (R)
1976: Gerald Ford (R)
1972: Richard Nixon (R)
1968: Richard Nixon (R)
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
1960: Richard Nixon (R)
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