In another topic, I noticed how much turnout in California had fallen between 2010 and 2014. For example, Jerry Brown 2014 would have only beaten Meg Whitman 2010 by about 3%. That may not seem like that big of a deal. However, Brown 2014 represented 60% of the electorate, while Whitman 2010 was just under 41%.
Turnout for the gubernatorial election in 2014 was 72.5% of the total turnout of 2010. The comparison for Brown is with himself four years prior and Kashkari is compared to Whitman. As for statewide first:
Brown 80.84%Kashkari 70.97%
| Top 5 Brown | | Top 5 Kashkari | |
| Sierra | 106.93% | Del Norte | 104.92% |
| San Benito | 104.21% | Lassen | 99.50% |
| Shasta | 103.42% | Kings | 97.89% |
| Nevada | 101.14% | Inyo | 91.37% |
| Santa Barbara | 99.85% | Mariposa | 89.47% |
| Bottom 5 Brown | | Bottom 5 Kashkari | |
| Lassen | 56.82% | San Francisco | 53.80% |
| Los Angeles | 67.22% | San Mateo | 57.24% |
| San Bernardino | 68.03% | Marin | 58.69% |
| Trinity | 69.47% | Santa Clara | 59.94% |
| Modoc | 76.92% | Alameda | 61.18% |
Only one county in the entire state gave Kashkari a higher vote total over Whitman: Del Norte. Based on what I can tell, this seems to have largely been a result of Brown's strong vote in the county in 2010. As for why Brown ran so strong in the usually Republican-leaning county in 2010, I cannot say why. Brown exceeded his 2010 vote margin in four counties. I think the most noteworthy is Nevada County. A county that voted for President Obama in 2008 and failed to do so in 2012, nor in 2010 for Brown, it has come back to the Democratic fold in 2014. I have to wonder if this will be the new paradigm, with Nevada County joining the other mountain counties of Alpine and Mono in the Democratic camp.
Kashkari ran horrendously weak in the Bay Area, particularly the South Bay (i.e. Silicon Valley). There was clearly an obvious Whitman effect to a certain extent (as she was from the South Bay). However, Brown also hit record margins in the Bay Area overall, surpassing even President Obama's numbers.
Governor Brown's statewide margins in 2014 were clearly limited by sub-par results in Southern California, particularly very populous Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. Neither county gave the results that would have been typical in a current Democratic 60% landslide. (The only thing saving LA County from a Republican swing or even trend was an even further Republican vote drop in the county than the Democratic one.)
