California 45th Congressional District (CA) — Elections 1876–2024

California 45th Congressional District, California: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted D+5%. Republican peak: R+59 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+5MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 393,8372024 5-year
Median household income: $114,4292024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 41.9%2024 5-year
Black: 2.0%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 35.2%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+37 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+59 in 1924MIT Election Lab

TRAN, DerekCongress 119 · Democratic

−1 liberal

+1 conservative

Predecessors: STEEL, Michelle (2023–2025), PORTER, Katie (2021–2023), PORTER, Katie (2019–2021), WALTERS, Mimi (2017–2019)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

2024 results by constituent county

2 counties · 2 D · 0 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+4.5%	86,835	79,067	171,423
2020	D	+11.3%	102,711	81,446	188,122
2016	D	+11.3%	77,520	60,804	148,187
2012	R	−3.1%	65,544	69,822	138,814
2008	D	+0.3%	70,059	69,647	142,791
2004	R	−17.6%	53,891	77,243	132,902
2000	R	−12.4%	50,160	65,042	119,890
1996	R	−11.1%	41,927	53,754	106,792
1992	R	−10.0%	39,597	51,582	120,246
1988	R	−33.7%	35,003	71,284	107,543
1984	R	−47.6%	27,144	77,447	105,692
1980	R	−42.7%	23,216	64,719	97,126
1976	R	−24.4%	30,325	50,575	82,991
1972	R	−38.6%	23,832	56,227	83,960
1968	R	−29.6%	20,694	40,005	65,216
1964	R	−8.0%	24,876	29,221	54,151
1960	R	−17.7%	16,721	23,928	40,752
1956	R	−28.7%	9,219	16,713	26,124
1952	R	−31.4%	6,470	12,462	19,097
1948	R	−15.8%	5,672	7,909	14,157
1944	R	−4.1%	5,839	6,338	12,250
1940	R	−1.7%	5,610	5,807	11,549
1936	D	+19.7%	5,609	3,735	9,495
1932	D	+7.7%	4,336	3,681	8,461
1928	R	−53.8%	1,479	4,998	6,539
1924	R	−58.5%	392	3,156	4,722
1920	R	−50.8%	564	1,987	2,803
1916	R	−18.4%	1,074	1,613	2,931
1912	O	+37.2%	666	0	1,791
1908	R	−23.1%	284	493	906
1904	R	−38.5%	148	401	657
1900	R	−10.4%	243	304	585
1896	R	−5.1%	244	271	534
1892	R	−5.8%	139	162	400
1888	R	−13.9%	29	39	72
1884	R	−9.7%	13	16	31
1880	O	+0.0%	8	8	17
1876	D	+5.3%	10	9	19

Congressional elections · 17 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year	Won	D %	R %	Total
2024	D	58.9%	41.1%	15,348,846
2022	D	61.1%	38.9%	10,843,650
2018	D	100.0%	0.0%	11,113,364
2016	D	100.0%	0.0%	12,244,170
2012	D	62.5%	37.5%	12,578,511
2010	D	52.2%	42.2%	10,000,160
2006	D	59.4%	35.0%	8,541,476
2004	D	57.7%	37.8%	12,053,295
2000	D	55.8%	36.6%	10,623,608
1998	D	53.1%	43.0%	8,311,905
1994	D	46.7%	44.8%	8,514,089
1992	D	47.9%	43.0%	10,799,703
1988	R	44.0%	52.8%	9,743,598
1986	D	49.3%	47.9%	7,398,462
1982	R	44.8%	51.5%	7,805,450
1980	D	56.5%	37.1%	8,324,012
1976	R	46.9%	50.2%	7,470,586

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

German

7.3%

English

7.1%

Irish

5.8%

American

4.4%

Italian

3.5%

French

1.4%

Polish

1.3%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 39.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.8%

85+

1.3%

2.1%

75–84

2.6%

4.4%

65–74

4.9%

6.5%

55–64

6.6%

45–54

6.8%

6.7%

35–44

6.6%

7.3%

25–34

7.1%

4.5%

18–24

4.4%

8.1%

5–17

7.7%

2.7%

2.5%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$114,429

Congressional District 45 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 45$114,429

California$99,122

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

9.8%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1811.2%

Working age (18–64)9.2%

Seniors (65+)12.3%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

53.0%

speak English only

Spanish25.2%

Asian & Pacific Islander15.4%

Other Indo-European4.9%

Other languages1.4%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

30.6%

Other Christian

9.7%

Baptist

2.8%

Non-Christian

2.6%

Mainline Protestant

1.8%

Pentecostal & Holiness

1.7%

Methodist

0.4%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

CA-45 covers parts of Orange County once considered reliably Republican turf; the 2024 presidential margin of D+6.3 reflects a suburban realignment driven by demographic change and growing shares of college-educated and Asian American voters.

The Democratic margin in California 45th Congressional District has rarely exceeded thirty-seven points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-nine points. 2024 delivered the district to the Democratic candidate by five points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 42% non-Hispanic-white share, a 10% poverty rate, and a median household income of $114,429 — all within the broad national range.

Compare two places, side by side

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Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 45, California. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/0645/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 45, California vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 45, California voted Democratic by 4.5 points (D+5), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 171,423 votes cast, 86,835 went Democratic and 79,067 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 45, California's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 45, California as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 29 times, and other 2 times.

When did Congressional District 45, California last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 45, California voted Republican was 2012.

How many people live in Congressional District 45, California?

Congressional District 45, California has a population of 393,837 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 45, California?

Median household income in Congressional District 45, California is $114,429 — above the national median of $80,734. The California state median is $99,122.

What is the political history of Congressional District 45, California?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 45, California from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

California 45th Congressional District votes the way the country votes.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions