Don Grundmann

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Don Grundmann

No party preference

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Personal

Profession

Small business owner

Contact

Campaign website

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Don Grundmann (No party preference) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent California. He lost in the primary on March 5, 2024.

Elections

2024

See also: United States Senate election in California, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate California

Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey are running in the general election for U.S. Senate California on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Adam Schiff (D)
		Steve Garvey (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate California on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Schiff (D)	31.6	2,304,829
✔		Steve Garvey (R)	31.5	2,301,351
		Katie Porter (D)	15.3	1,118,429
		Barbara Lee (D)	9.8	717,129
		Eric Early (R)	3.3	242,055
		James P. Bradley (R)	1.4	98,778
		Christina Pascucci (D)	0.8	61,998
		Sharleta Bassett (R)	0.8	54,884
		Sarah Sun Liew (R)	0.5	38,718
		Laura Garza (No party preference)	0.5	34,529
		Jonathan Reiss (R)	0.5	34,400
		Sepi Gilani (D)	0.5	34,316
		Gail Lightfoot (L)	0.5	33,295
		Denice Gary-Pandol (R)	0.4	25,649
		James Macauley (R)	0.3	23,296
		Harmesh Kumar (D)	0.3	21,624
		David Peterson (D)	0.3	21,170
		Douglas Howard Pierce (D)	0.3	19,458
		Major Singh (No party preference)	0.2	17,092
		John Rose (D)	0.2	14,627
		Perry Pound (D)	0.2	14,195
		Raji Rab (D)	0.2	13,640
		Mark Ruzon (No party preference)	0.2	13,488
		Forrest Jones (American Independent Party of California)	0.2	13,140
		Stefan Simchowitz (R)	0.2	12,773
		Martin Veprauskas (R)	0.1	9,795
		Don Grundmann (No party preference)	0.1	6,641
		Michael Dilger (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	7
		Carlos Guillermo Tapia (R) (Write-in)	0.0	5
		John Dowell (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	3
		Danny Fabricant (R) (Write-in)	0.0	3

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,301,317
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lexi Reese (D)
• Alexander Norbash (D)
• Eduardo Berdugo (Independent)
• Renee Martinez (Independent)
• Dominick Dorothy (D)
• Joshua Bocanegra (D)
• Barack Obama Mandela (R)
• Joe Sosinski (Independent)
• James Shuster (R)
• Rommell Montenegro (D)
• Zakaria Kortam (R)
• John Pappenheim (R)
• Jacob Farmos (D)
• Roxanne Lawler (R)
• Jessica Resendez (D)
• Jeremy Fennell (D)
• Carson Franklin Jr. (D)
• Frank Ferreira (Independent)
• Fepbrina Keivaulqe Autiameineire (Vienmerisce Veittemeignzce USA)
• Paul Anderson (G)
• Peter Yuan Liu (R)
• Dana Bobbitt (Independent)
• Zafar Inam (D)
• Jehu Hand (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: United States Senate election in California, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. Senate California

Incumbent Alex Padilla defeated Mark Meuser in the general election for U.S. Senate California on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alex Padilla (D)	61.1	6,621,621
		Mark Meuser (R)	38.9	4,222,029

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,843,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate California on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alex Padilla (D)	54.1	3,725,544
✔		Mark Meuser (R)	14.9	1,028,374
		Cordie Williams (R)	6.9	474,321
		Jonathan Elist (R)	4.2	289,716
		Chuck Smith (R)	3.9	266,766
		James P. Bradley (R)	3.4	235,788
		Douglas Howard Pierce (D)	1.7	116,771
		John Parker (Peace and Freedom Party)	1.5	105,477
		Sarah Sun Liew (R)	1.1	76,994
		Dan O'Dowd (D)	1.1	74,916
		Akinyemi Agbede (D)	1.0	70,971
		Myron Hall (R)	1.0	66,161
		Timothy Ursich Jr. (D)	0.8	58,348
		Robert Lucero (R)	0.8	53,398
		James Henry Conn (G)	0.5	35,983
		Eleanor Garcia (Independent)	0.5	34,625
		Carlos Guillermo Tapia (R)	0.5	33,870
		Pamela Elizondo (G)	0.5	31,981
		Enrique Petris (R)	0.5	31,883
		Obaidul Huq Pirjada (D)	0.4	27,889
		Daphne Bradford (Independent)	0.4	26,900
		Don Grundmann (Independent)	0.1	10,181
		Deon Jenkins (Independent)	0.1	6,936
		Mark Ruzon (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	206
		Lily Zhou (R) (Write-in)	0.0	58
		Irene Ratliff (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	7
		Marc Roth (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	1

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,884,065
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Chloe Hollett-Billingsley (D)
• Dhruva Herle (D)
• Chris Theodore (D)
• Ernest Taylor (D)
• B. John-Michael Williams (Independent)
• Marie Encar Arnold (D)
• Peter Yuan Liu (R)
• Brian Ainsworth (R)
• Yvonne Girard (R)
• Elizabeth Heng (R)
• Erik Urbina (R)
• Denard Ingram (D)
• Ellerton Whitney (L)
• Danny Fabricant (R)
• Fepbrina Keivaulqe Autiameineire (Independent)
• Paul Gutierrez (R)
• Mary Glory Thach (Independent)

2020

See also: California's 15th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 15

Incumbent Eric Swalwell defeated Alison Hayden in the general election for U.S. House California District 15 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Swalwell (D)	70.9	242,991
		Alison Hayden (R)	29.1	99,710

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 342,701
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 15

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 15 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Swalwell (D)	59.0	103,826
✔		Alison Hayden (R)	17.0	29,864
		Sam Campbell (D)	9.8	17,286
		Peter Yuan Liu (R)	7.8	13,634
		Tuan Phan (D)	3.7	6,509
		Austin Intal (D)	1.4	2,548
		Don Grundmann (Independent)	1.2	2,194

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 175,861
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Aisha Wahab (D)
• Jacob Vital (Independent)
• Bob Wieckowski (D)

2018

See also: United States Senate election in California, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate California

Incumbent Dianne Feinstein defeated Kevin de León in the general election for U.S. Senate California on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dianne Feinstein (D)	54.2	6,019,422
		Kevin de León (D)	45.8	5,093,942

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,113,364
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate California

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate California on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dianne Feinstein (D)	44.2	2,947,035
✔		Kevin de León (D)	12.1	805,446
		James P. Bradley (R)	8.3	556,252
		Arun Bhumitra (R)	5.3	350,815
		Paul Taylor (R)	4.9	323,533
		Erin Cruz (R)	4.0	267,494
		Tom Palzer (R)	3.1	205,183
		Alison Hartson (D)	2.2	147,061
		Roque De La Fuente (R)	2.0	135,278
		Pat Harris (D)	1.9	126,947
		John Crew (R)	1.4	93,806
		Patrick Little (R)	1.3	89,867
		Kevin Mottus (R)	1.3	87,646
		Jerry Laws (R)	1.0	67,140
		Derrick Michael Reid (L)	0.9	59,999
		Adrienne Nicole Edwards (D)	0.8	56,172
		Douglas Howard Pierce (D)	0.6	42,671
		Mario Nabliba (R)	0.6	39,209
		David Hildebrand (D)	0.5	30,305
		Donnie Turner (D)	0.5	30,101
		Herbert Peters (D)	0.4	27,468
		David Moore (Independent)	0.4	24,614
		Ling Shi (Independent)	0.4	23,506
		John Parker (Peace and Freedom Party)	0.3	22,825
		Lee Olson (Independent)	0.3	20,393
		Gerald Plummer (D)	0.3	18,234
		Jason Hanania (Independent)	0.3	18,171
		Don Grundmann (Independent)	0.2	15,125
		Colleen Shea Fernald (Independent)	0.2	13,536
		Rash Bihari Ghosh (Independent)	0.2	12,557
		Tim Gildersleeve (Independent)	0.1	8,482
		Michael Fahmy Girgis (Independent)	0.0	2,986

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 6,669,857
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Leigh Scott (R)
• John Estrada (R)
• Steve Stokes (D)
• Michael Eisen (Independent)
• Topher Brennan (D)
• Timothy Charles Kalemkarian (R)
• Jerry Leon Carroll (Independent)
• Charles Junior Hodge (Independent)
• John Melendez (D)
• Caren Lancona (R)
• Stephen Schrader (R)
• Donald Adams (Independent)
• Richard Mead (Independent)
• Clifton Roberts (Independent)
• Michael Ziesing (G)
• Jazmina Saavedra (R)

2016

See also: United States Senate election in California, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated California's U.S. Senate race as safely Democratic. California's U.S. Senate seat was open following the retirement of incumbent Barbara Boxer (D). Thirty-four candidates filed to run to replace Boxer, including seven Democrats, 12 Republicans, and 15 third-party candidates. Two Democrats, Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez, defeated the other 32 candidates to advance to the general election. Harris won the general election.

U.S. Senate, California General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kamala Harris	61.6%	7,542,753
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez	38.4%	4,710,417
Total Votes				12,253,170
Source: California Secretary of State

U.S. Senate, California Primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kamala Harris	40.2%	3,000,689
	Democratic	Loretta Sanchez	19%	1,416,203
	Republican	Duf Sundheim	7.8%	584,251
	Republican	Phil Wyman	4.7%	352,821
	Republican	Tom Del Beccaro	4.3%	323,614
	Republican	Greg Conlon	3.1%	230,944
	Democratic	Steve Stokes	2.3%	168,805
	Republican	George Yang	1.5%	112,055
	Republican	Karen Roseberry	1.5%	110,557
	Republican	Tom Palzer	1.2%	93,263
	Libertarian	Gail Lightfoot	1.3%	99,761
	Republican	Ron Unz	1.2%	92,325
	Democratic	Massie Munroe	0.8%	61,271
	Green	Pamela Elizondo	1.3%	95,677
	Republican	Don Krampe	0.9%	69,635
	Republican	Jarrell Williamson	0.9%	64,120
	Independent	Elanor Garcia	0.9%	65,084
	Republican	Von Hougo	0.9%	63,609
	Democratic	President Cristina Grappo	0.8%	63,330
	Republican	Jerry Laws	0.7%	53,023
	Libertarian	Mark Matthew Herd	0.6%	41,344
	Independent	Ling Ling Shi	0.5%	35,196
	Peace and Freedom	John Parker	0.3%	22,374
	Democratic	Herbert Peters	0.4%	32,638
	Democratic	Emory Rodgers	0.4%	31,485
	Independent	Mike Beitiks	0.4%	31,450
	Independent	Clive Grey	0.4%	29,418
	Independent	Jason Hanania	0.4%	27,715
	Independent	Paul Merritt	0.3%	24,031
	Independent	Jason Kraus	0.3%	19,318
	Independent	Don Grundmann	0.2%	15,317
	Independent	Scott Vineberg	0.2%	11,843
	Independent	Tim Gildersleeve	0.1%	9,798
	Independent	Gar Myers	0.1%	8,726
Total Votes				7,461,690
Source: California Secretary of State

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in California, 2012

Grundmann ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing California. He was defeated in the June 5 open primary.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Don Grundmann did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Don Grundmann did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Don Grundmann did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys

Don Grundmann participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on May 29, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Don Grundmann's responses follow below.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“

1) Ban the transgender mutilation of children. 2) Nationalize the Federal Reserve System. 3) Abolish the personal income tax and the IRS.

”

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?

“

Protecting children from the so-called LGBT Movement. Stopping the " American Mafia " known as the Federal Reserve System; a private banking Cartel.

”

Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Don Grundmann answered the following:

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow and why?

“

Jesus Christ.

”

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else that best describes your political philosophy?

“

The Bible.

”

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

“

Following christian principles.

”

What qualities do you possess that would make you a successful officeholder?

“

Knowledge of the problems and the will to apply true solutions.

”

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

“

Protect the citizens and stop attacks upon them.

”

What legacy would you like to leave?

“

That I left the world as a better place and challenged and defeated many different evils.

”

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at that time?

“

Kennedy assassination. 11.

”

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

“

Paper boy.

”

What happened on your most awkward date?

“

Nothing.

”

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

“

July 4th. A celebration of the nation.

”

What is your favorite book? Why?

“

The Bible. It tells the truth of creation by The Creator.

”

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

“

Winston Smith.

”

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

“

My hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

”

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

“

Lone Ranger theme.

”

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

“

Relationship with my brother.

”

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

“

It can be a forum for true problem solution(s).

”

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?

“

Not necessarily.

”

What do you think of the filibuster?

“

It can be a very usefull tool.

”

What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees?

“

Their value system.

”

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

“

The rulership of an unelected elite of " Plantation Masters " who now rule us after overthrowing our Constitutional Republic.

”

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other senators?

“

Yes.

”

If you are not a current senator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

“

Finance and Environment.

”

If you are a current senator, why did you join your current committees?

“

Not applicable.

”

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. Senate, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

“

If they align with my values.

”

Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

“

Sen. Ted Cruz.

”

2016

The following issues were listed on Grundmann's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

“	Abortion: 100% Pro-life. Abolish all federal funding support of any organizations which advocate and/or perform abortions. Sue abortion providers to provide counseling fund for victims of abortion. Child Molestation: Child molesters, the national group called NAMBLA is a example, have formed powerful groups with chapters in many cities of the nation. They are protected and nurtured by very powerful economic and political forces. These groups must be exposed and destroyed by law enforcement. Education: Abolish the Federal Department of Education. Return to state and local control of education. Encourage home schooling. Encourage abandonment of public school system to provide pressure for system reformation – change or else. Energy Development: Promote development of nuclear power. Continue development of full nuclear fuel cycle. Continue development of nuclear fusion. Promote development of modular nuclear power units. Use tax incentives for development and expansion of solar power and technology. Use tax incentives for development of hydrogen fuel cycle. Family Wage: Develop family wage ( ability of one wage earner to support a family ) by abolishing Federal Reserve System and Federal Reserve Notes ( debt money ) and replacing them with U.S. Treasury System ( see ” Truth in Money Book ” in books section ) and interest free United States Notes.	”
—Don Grundmann's campaign website, http://www.fight-the-power.org/issues/

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Don Grundmann campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. Senate California	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2022	U.S. Senate California	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2020	President of the United States	Lost convention	$0	N/A**
2020	U.S. House California District 15	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2018	U.S. Senate California	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only availabale data.

See also

2024 Elections

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. Senate California

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Footnotes

[show]

California's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Laphonza Butler (D)

Alex Padilla (D)

Representatives

District 1

Doug LaMalfa (R)

District 2

Jared Huffman (D)

District 3

Kevin Kiley (R)

District 4

Mike Thompson (D)

District 5

Tom McClintock (R)

District 6

Ami Bera (D)

District 7

Doris Matsui (D)

District 8

John Garamendi (D)

District 9

Josh Harder (D)

District 10

Mark DeSaulnier (D)

District 11

Nancy Pelosi (D)

District 12

Barbara Lee (D)

District 13

John Duarte (R)

District 14

Eric Swalwell (D)

District 15

Kevin Mullin (D)

District 16

Anna Eshoo (D)

District 17

Ro Khanna (D)

District 18

Zoe Lofgren (D)

District 19

Jimmy Panetta (D)

District 20

Vacant

District 21

Jim Costa (D)

District 22

David Valadao (R)

District 23

Jay Obernolte (R)

District 24

Salud Carbajal (D)

District 25

Raul Ruiz (D)

District 26

Julia Brownley (D)

District 27

Mike Garcia (R)

District 28

Judy Chu (D)

District 29

Tony Cárdenas (D)

District 30

Adam Schiff (D)

District 31

Grace Napolitano (D)

District 32

Brad Sherman (D)

District 33

Pete Aguilar (D)

District 34

Jimmy Gomez (D)

District 35

Norma Torres (D)

District 36

Ted Lieu (D)

District 37

Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D)

District 38

Linda Sánchez (D)

District 39

Mark Takano (D)

District 40

Young Kim (R)

District 41

Ken Calvert (R)

District 42

Robert Garcia (D)

District 43

Maxine Waters (D)

District 44

Nanette Barragán (D)

District 45

Michelle Steel (R)

District 46

Lou Correa (D)

District 47

Katie Porter (D)

District 48

Darrell Issa (R)

District 49

Mike Levin (D)

District 50

Scott Peters (D)

District 51

Sara Jacobs (D)

District 52

Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic Party (42)

Republican Party (11)

Vacancies (1)