# California's 17th senatorial district

California's 17th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Democrat John Laird of Santa Cruz.

## District profile

The district encompasses the Big Sur section of the Central Coast, including Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey Counties, along with northern San Luis Obispo County.

## Election results from statewide races

| Year | Office | Results |
| 2021 | Recall | No 65.1 – 34.9% |
| 2020 | President | Biden 66.8 – 30.8% |
| 2018 | Governor | Newsom 63.8 – 36.2% |
| 2018 | Senator | Feinstein 54.0 – 46.0% |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 63.4 – 29.6% |
| 2016 | Senator | Harris 67.0 – 33.0% |
| 2014 | Governor | Brown 66.0 – 34.0% |
| 2012 | President | Obama 62.8 – 33.9% |
| 2012 | Senator | Feinstein 65.1 – 34.9% |

## List of senators

Due to redistricting, the 17th district has been moved around different parts of the state. The current iteration resulted from the 2011 redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
| Senators | Party | Years served | Counties represented | Notes |
| Charles Dent Reynolds | Democratic | January 8, 1883 - January 5, 1885 | Calaveras, Tuolumne | |
| Andrew B. Beauvais | Republican | January 5, 1885 - January 3, 1887 | Calaveras, Tuolumne | |
| Henry Vrooman | Republican | January 3, 1887 - January 7, 1889 | Alameda | |
| William E. Dargie | Republican | January 7, 1889 - January 2, 1893 | Alameda | |
| William J. Dunn | Democratic | January 2, 1893 - January 4, 1897 | San Francisco | |
| Samuel Braunhart | Democratic | January 4, 1897 - June 28, 1900 | San Francisco | Resigned to become a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. |
| Joseph M. Plunkett | Democratic | January 1, 1901 - January 2, 1905 | San Francisco | |
| Frank A. Markey | Republican | January 2, 1905 - January 4, 1909 | San Francisco | |
| Thomas F. Finn | Republican | January 4, 1909 - January 6, 1913 | San Francisco | |
| Archibald E. Campbell | Democratic | January 6, 1913 - January 8, 1917 | Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo | |
| Elmer S. Rigdon | Democratic | January 8, 1917 - December 13, 1922 | Monterey, San Luis Obispo | Died in office. |
| Ralph Leon Hughes | Republican | March 5, 1923 - January 5, 1925 | Monterey, San Luis Obispo | Sworn in after winning special election. |
| C. C. Baker | Republican | January 5, 1925 - January 2, 1933 | Monterey, San Luis Obispo | |
| William Richard Sharkey | Republican | January 2, 1933 - January 4, 1937 | Contra Costa | |
| Truman H. DeLap | Republican | January 4, 1937 - January 3, 1949 | Contra Costa | |
| George Miller Jr. | Democratic | January 3, 1949 - January 2, 1967 | Contra Costa | |
| Donald L. Grunsky | Republican | January 2, 1967 - November 30, 1976 | Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz | |
| Bob Nimmo | Republican | December 6, 1976 - November 30, 1980 | Monterey, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz | |
| Henry J. Mello | Democratic | December 1, 1980 - November 30, 1992 | Monterey, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz | |
| Henry J. Mello | Democratic | December 1, 1980 - November 30, 1992 | Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz | |
| Don Rogers | Republican | December 15, 1992 - November 30, 1996 | Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino | Took his seat in the 17th district after resigning from the 16th district. |
| William J. Knight | Republican | December 2, 1996 – May 7, 2004 | Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino | Died in office. |
| George Runner | Republican | December 6, 2004 – December 21, 2010 | Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura | Resigned from the Senate. |
| Sharon Runner | Republican | February 18, 2011 – December 3, 2012 | Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura | Sworn in after winning special election. |
| Bill Monning | Democratic | December 3, 2012 – November 30, 2020 | Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz | |
| John Laird | Democratic | December 7, 2020 – present | Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz | |

## Contents

* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2011 (special)
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020

### 2020

California State Senate election, 2020 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John Laird | 138,986 | 44.4 |
| | Republican | Vicki Nohrden | 98,649 | 31.5 |
| | Democratic | Maria Cadenas | 65,525 | 20.9 |
| | Democratic | John M. Nevill | 10,040 | 3.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 313,200 | 100.00 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | John Laird | 320,090 | 64.7 |
| | Republican | Vicki Nohrden | 174,587 | 35.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 494,677 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2016

California State Senate election, 2016 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bill Monning (incumbent) | 185,586 | 68.8 |
| | Republican | Palmer Kain | 84,142 | 31.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 269,728 | 100.00 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Bill Monning (incumbent) | 268,806 | 65.5 |
| | Republican | Palmer Kain | 141,339 | 34.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 410,145 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2012

California State Senate election, 2012 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Bill Monning | 110,890 | 59.4 |
| | Republican | Larry Beaman | 75,713 | 40.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 186,603 | 100.00 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Bill Monning | 236,213 | 63.3 |
| | Republican | Larry Beaman | 136,836 | 36.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 373,049 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

### 2011 (special)

2011 Special election 17th State Senate district special election Vacancy resulting from the resignation of George Runner :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sharon Runner | 44,238 | 65.27% |
| | Democratic | Darren W. Parker | 23,534 | 34.73% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 67,772 | 100.00 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2008

California State Senate election, 2008 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | George Runner (incumbent) | 182,295 | 54.85 |
| | Democratic | Bruce McFarland | 150,060 | 45.15 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 332,355 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 70.90 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2004

California State Senate election, 2004 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | George Runner | 179,992 | 59.70 |
| | Democratic | Jonathan Daniel Kraut | 109,037 | 36.16 |
| | Libertarian | John S. Ballard | 12,479 | 4.14 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 301,508 | 100.00 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2000

California State Senate election, 2000 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | William J. Knight (incumbent) | 172,723 | 64.36 |
| | Democratic | Richard Lott | 84,427 | 31.46 |
| | Libertarian | John R. Gibson | 7,667 | 2.86 |
| | Natural Law | Douglas R. Wallack | 3,543 | 1.32 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 10,416 | 3.74 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 278,776 | 100.00 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 1996

California State Senate election, 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | William J. Knight | 163,531 | 66.61 |
| | Democratic | Steven A. Figueroa | 61,962 | 33.39 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 17,880 | 6.79 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 243,373 | 100.00 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 1992

California's 17th State Senate district election, 1992 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Don Rogers (incumbent) | 136,298 | 52.15 |
| | Democratic | William M. Olenick | 101,715 | 38.92 |
| | Libertarian | Fred Heiser | 23,340 | 8.93 |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 27,834 | 9.62 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 289,187 | 100.00 |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |