As the most populous state, the liberal California will play a special role in the 2020 presidential elections.
- California is the most populous state in the United States.
- The Democrats have been winning the elections here since the 1990s.
- The state has a large number of electors and is therefore a deciding factor.
Los Angeles – The second largest city in the United States is a reliable stronghold of the Democrats. So the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is likely to win. Whether that’s enough to beat incumbent Donald Trump remains to be seen.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG: Overview of state California, including major cities and most commonly used abbreviations of California.
California Founding and Historic Milestones
California has a short but varied history. It was colonized by the Spaniards late in the 18th century and belonged to Mexico from 1821. The California Gold Rush began in 1848 and attracted thousands of seekers of fortune to the Pacific coast. The small town of San Francisco grew from 1, 000 to 25, 000 inhabitants in just two years.
As the 31st state, California was only accepted into the United States of America 74 years after the American Declaration of Independence : The founding date is September 9, 1850. During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865, California adhered to the Union (Northern States).
The foundation stone for Hollywood was laid in 1912 : numerous filmmakers settled here due to the low real estate prices.
California – geography and largest cities
With 423, 970 km² California is the third largest state in the USA after Alaska and Texas. The ” Golden State” is located on the Pacific Ocean and has 1350 km of coastline. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and Arizona and Mexico to the southeast. The landscape of California is very varied: there are high mountain ranges, fertile valleys, hot deserts and fascinating coasts of fog. Since the state lies on the border of two tectonic plates ( San Andreas Fault ), earthquakes often occur here.
With around 39. 5 million inhabitants, California is also the most populous state in the United States. According to COUNTRYAAH.COM, the biggest cities are:
- Los Angeles (3, 999, 759)
- San Diego (1, 419, 516)
- San Jose (1, 035, 317)
- San Francisco (884, 363)
- Fresno (527, 438)
- Sacramento (501. 901)
Los Angeles is the second largest city in the USA after New York (8, 550, 405 inhabitants).
Composition of the population in California
As far as the origin of the population is concerned, California has a heterogeneous structure made up as follows:
- 6% whites
- 9% Asians
- 2% black and African American
- 9% Indians
- 8% Hawaiians
California has the largest number of white Americans, 22, 953, 374. However, 25% of the population are of Mexican descent. 37. 6% of California’s residents define themselves as Hispanics. Mexico is therefore the most important country of origin for immigrants. Most Americans of Mexican descent live in the south of the country: Los Angeles is home to the largest Mexican community in the United States.
California lives off of it – important economic sectors
With $ 2. 6 trillion, California accounts for 14% of the United States’ annual GNP. One of the most important branches of the economy is agriculture: cotton, grain, tropical fruits and wine are grown. Livestock and fishing are also important.
Innovative industrial and technology companies also play an important role in the economy : In addition to companies from the aerospace and electronics industries, California is known primarily for its IT and high-tech industries. This has been located in Silicon Valley south of San Francisco since the 1960s. The most famous companies include:
- Apple
- Intel
- Adobe
- Yahoo
- eBay
- Oracle
Behavior at the polls in California
Because of its size, California has a large number of electors. In the last election in 2016, there were 55. This results in the extremely important role that the state plays in the US presidential election. However, it is not one of the so-called “swing states”, but has been a Democratic stronghold since the early 1990s. From 1952 to 1988, however, Republicans were always able to prevail. In 2016, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won the election with 61. 48% of the vote. Our article on the latest facts and figures will show you whether Joe Biden can also assert himself in the 2020 US elections in California.