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Lawmakers of both parties and Gov. Jerry Brown compromised last May to send Proposition 2 to voters. It's a result of years of negotiations about how to address California's volatile budgeting process, which features big spending during boom years and multibillion dollar deficits during recessions.
The $7.5 billion water package to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as Proposition 1 includes $2.7 billion for new reservoirs along with billions more for recycling water, conservation and groundwater cleanup. It also calls for shoring up levees in the Sacrament-San Joaquin Delta to lessen chances of a catastrophic flood.
Democratic Rep. Ami Bera versus Republican Doug Ose, a former congressman. Bera won this district by just 2 percentage points in 2012.
Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla and Republican Pete Peterson want to become the next secretary of state, an office that oversees elections, political fundraising and business registration. Incumbent Debra Bowen, a Democrat, is termed out.
Chiang will face Republican challenger Greg Conlon as Chiang aims to move a half-mile up the Capitol Mall and jump from one state fiscal office to another.
The incumbent and his challenger each insist the position can be influential beyond serving on the governing boards of the University of California and California State University systems, and filling in when the governor is out of state.
A Republican fighting to unseat California's incumbent attorney general has adopted the unconventional strategy of seeking to legalize recreational marijuana as the centerpiece of his uphill campaign.
Incumbent Tom Torlakson, who spent eight years as a high school science teacher before entering politics full-time in 1980, is facing a vigorous challenge to his bid for a second term from Marshall Tuck, a former charter school executive and first-time candidate.
Facing long odds in unseating a popular governor, the California Republican Party has looked to an obscure financial post as a chance for a rising GOP star to win statewide office.
A breakdown of the views of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican challenger Neel Kashkari on major issues facing California
Taking a somewhat unusual approach for a Republican candidate, he has focused his campaign on helping the poor and fixing California schools. But he also finds himself in the position of many Republican candidates in a state where they are the decided minority.
The Democratic governor is promoting the state's improved fiscal health since he retook the office in 2011, as well as promoting his restructuring of California's education finance system and a November ballot measure seeking to spend $7.5 billion to improve the state's water supplies.
Candidates in competitive races for California's statewide offices are reporting their fundraising and spending.
Kashkari, meanwhile, reported having just $680,000 on hand after spending $4.9 million so far this year. That includes $4.4 million his campaign spent on a tough primary election contest, including $2 million of Kashkari's own money.
Gov. Jerry Brown is reporting that he has nearly $24 million for his re-election campaign after spending very little so far this year.
