The two major candidates were district attorneys from Los Angeles County and San Francisco, Republican Steve Cooley and Democrat Kamala Harris, respectively.

Harris benefitted from an endorsement and joint appearance with President Barack Obama at a rally at the University of Southern California before election day.

She also focused on promoting her candidacy in Los Angeles County towards the final weeks of the campaign, which promised to make the race competitive.

[4] On election night, the headliners on the Republican ticket, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, were soundly defeated by Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer, with Democrats having a healthy margin to declare victory in every other statewide contest.

[5] The only bright spot statewide for the California Republican Party that night were early returns showing Cooley with a lead of up to eight points, in which he and many news organizations declared victory.

Los Angeles and San Francisco County reported their returns, which favored Harris, and less than 38,000 votes (45.9% versus 45.7%) [6] separated the candidates statewide at the end of counting that day.