2018 California Superintendent of Public Instruction election

2018 California Superintendent of Public Instruction election

← 2014 June 5 and November 6, 2018  →

Candidate Tony Thurmond Marshall Tuck Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First round vote 2,136,919 2,223,784 First round percentage 35.6% 37.0% Runoff vote 5,385,912 5,198,738 Runoff percentage 50.9% 49.1%   Candidate Lily Ploski Steven Ireland Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First round vote 984,932 658,786 First round percentage 16.4% 11.0% Runoff vote Eliminated Eliminated Runoff percentage Eliminated Eliminated

First round county resultsRunoff county resultsShow all County results Thurmond      20–30%      30–40%      50–60%      60–70% Tuck      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Ploski      30–40%

SPI before election Tom Torlakson Nonpartisan Elected SPI Tony Thurmond Nonpartisan

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The 2018 California Superintendent of Public Instruction primary election was held on June 5, 2018, to elect the Superintendent of Public Instruction of California. Unlike most other elections in California, the superintendent is not elected under the state's "top-two primary". Instead, the officially nonpartisan position is elected via a general election, with a runoff held on November 6, 2018, because no candidate received a majority of the vote.

The previous incumbent, Superintendent Tom Torlakson, was term-limited, so could not seek re-election to a third term. As no candidate received a majority in the general election, a runoff was held between two Democrats: Marshall Tuck and Tony Thurmond. Thurmond narrowly defeated Tuck.

General election[]

Candidates[]

Declared[]

• Steven Ireland^[1]
• Lily Ploski, former educator and administrator^[2]
• Tony Thurmond, Democratic State Assemblyman^[3]
• Marshall Tuck, former CEO of Partnership for LA Schools, former president of Green Dot Public Schools and candidate in 2014^[4]
• Douglas I. Vigil (write-in)^[5]
• Thomas L. Williams (write-in)^[5]

Declined[]

• Natalia Sanchez, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer^[6]

Endorsements[]

Results[]

California Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2018^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Marshall Tuck	2,223,784	37.0%
	Nonpartisan	Tony Thurmond	2,136,919	35.6%
	Nonpartisan	Lily Ploski	984,932	16.4%
	Nonpartisan	Steven Ireland	658,786	11.0%
	Write-In	Douglas I. Vigil	83	0.0%
	Write-In	Thomas L. Williams	66	0.0%
Total votes			6,004,570	100%

Runoff[]

Candidates[]

• Tony Thurmond, Democratic State Assemblyman^[3]
• Marshall Tuck, former CEO of Partnership for LA Schools, former president of Green Dot Public Schools and candidate in 2014^[4]

Endorsements[]

Polling[]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tony Thurmond	Marshall Tuck	Undecided
UC Berkeley	October 19–26, 2018	1,339	± 4.0%	36%	48%	16%
Thomas Partners Strategies	October 18–20, 2018	1,068	± 3.5%	35%	37%	28%
Thomas Partners Strategies	October 5–7, 2018	1,068	± 3.5%	28%	30%	41%
Thomas Partners Strategies	September 28–30, 2018	1,068	± 3.5%	17%	29%	54%

Results[]

California Superintendent of Public Instruction election runoff, 2018^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Tony Thurmond	5,385,912	50.9%	N/A
	Nonpartisan	Marshall Tuck	5,198,738	49.1%	+1.3%
Majority			187,174	1.8%	-2.5%
Total votes			10,584,650	100%	N/A

See also[]

• California Department of Education

References[]

External links[]

Official campaign websites

• Tony Thurmond for Superintendent
• Marshall Tuck for Superintendent