California's 8th congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

in the U.S. state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. As of 2021, Republican

Jay Obernolte Jay Phillip Obernolte ( ; born August 18, 1970) is an American politician, businessman, and video game developer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A Republican, he was previously a member of the California State Assembly repres ...

represents the district. Currently, the 8th district encompasses most of the eastern desert regions of the state. It stretches from Mono Lake to

Twentynine Palms Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Twentynine Palms serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park. History Twentynine Palms was named for the palm trees found there in ...

. It consists of

Inyo Inyo may refer to: Places California * Inyo County, California * Inyo National Forest, USA * The Inyo Mountains * The Mono–Inyo Craters Other uses * Japanese for yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concep ...

and

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

counties plus most of the land in San Bernardino County. It is the largest and thus the least dense congressional district in California. The largest city in the district is Victorville. Redistricting before the 2022 election moved the district to the northeastern part of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

. The new district includes parts of

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

and Solano County including the cities of Vallejo, Fairfield,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

and parts of Martinez. Unlike the old 8th district, the new 8th is heavily Democratic.

Competitiveness

Before the 2011 redistricting, the 8th district was a Democratic stronghold. It gave

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

his best performance in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, backing the Democrat with 84.2% of the vote.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

continued on this trend in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

when he received 85.22% of the vote in the district while

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

received 12.38%. The new 8th district lies in a politically conservative region of the state with a "Strongly Republican"

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

of R+10. The Cook Political Report ranks it the 87th most Republican-leaning congressional district in the United States. In the 2012 election, the first after the state's adoption of top-two primaries, the 8th district was one of only two in California where two Republicans faced each other in a runoff election. In 2018, it was the only such California district.

Election results from statewide races

Composition

As of 2023, California's 8th congressional district was significantly changed, now being located between the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. It encompasses part of Contra Costa and Solano Counties. Contra Costa County is split between this district and the 10th district. They are partitioned by Grizzly Peak Blvd, Seaview Trail, Camino Pablo, Bear Creek Rd, San Pablo Creek, Bear Creek, Brianes Reservoir, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Highway 4, Alhambra Ave, Pacheco Blvd, Grandview Ave, Central Ave, Imhoff Dr, Bares Ave, Mount Diablo Creek, Union Pacific, Contra Costa Canal, 4WD Rd, Bailey Rd, James Donlon Blvd, Cambridge Dr, Reseda Way, S Royal links Cir, Carpinteria Dr, Barmouth Dr, Hillcrest Ave, Highway 4, and Highway 160. The 8th district takes in the north side of the cities of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and Martinez, the cities of Pittsburg,

, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Pinole, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

. Solano County is split between this district and the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. They are partitioned by Soda Springs Rd, Union Pacific, Alamo Dr, Leisure Town Rd, Hawkins Rd, Bay Area Exxextric, Shilo Rd, Collinsville Rd, and Montezuma Slough. The 8th district takes in the cities of Vallejo, Fairfield, and

Suisun City Suisun City ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 29,518 at the 2020 census. The city takes its name from the adjacent Suisun Bay, which in turn is named for the S ...

Cities & CDP with 10,000 or more people

* Vallejo - 126,090 * Fairfield - 119,881 *

- 115,291 *

- 110,567 * Pittsburg - 76,416 * Martinez - 38,290 * San Pablo - 30,990 *

- 29,518 *

- 26,276 * El Cerrito - 25,962 * Pinole - 19,250

List of members representing the district

Election results

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2020

References

External links

*GovTrack.us
California's 8th congressional district
(out of date)
California Voter Foundation map — CD08
(out of date)
Ballotpedia: California's 8th congressional district
{{DEFAULTSORT:California's 8th Congressional District 08 Government of Inyo County, California Government of Mono County, California Government of San Bernardino County, California Mojave Desert Owens Valley San Bernardino Mountains Searles Valley Sierra Nevada (United States) Victor Valley Barstow, California Bishop, California Hesperia, California Needles, California Ridgecrest, California Twentynine Palms, California Victorville, California Wrightwood, California Yucca Valley, California Constituencies established in 1903 1903 establishments in California