California's 17th senatorial district

California's 17th State Senate district
Map of the district
Current senator
  John Laird
D–Santa Cruz
Population (2010)
 • Voting age
 • Citizen voting age		931,341[1]
724,678[1]
615,065[1]
Demographics
Registered voters567,749[2]
Registration46.61% Democratic
23.90% Republican
23.72% No party preference

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

List of senators[edit]

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
Henry Vrooman January 3, 1887 - January 7, 1889 Alameda
William E. Dargie January 7, 1889 - January 2, 1893
William J. Dunn Democratic January 2, 1893 - January 4, 1897 San Francisco
Samuel Braunhart January 4, 1897 - June 28, 1900 Resigned to become a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Joseph M. Plunkett January 1, 1901 - January 2, 1905
Frank A. Markey Republican January 2, 1905 - January 4, 1909
Thomas Francis Finn January 4, 1909 - January 6, 1913
Archibald E. Campbell Democratic January 6, 1913 - January 8, 1917 Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo
Elmer S. Rigdon January 8, 1917 - December 13, 1922 Monterey, San Luis Obispo Died in office.[3]
Ralph Leon Hughes Republican March 5, 1923 - January 5, 1925 Sworn in after winning special election.[4]
C. C. Baker January 5, 1925 - January 2, 1933
William Richard Sharkey January 2, 1933 - January 4, 1937 Contra Costa
Truman H. DeLap January 4, 1937 - January 3, 1949
George Miller Jr. Democratic January 3, 1949 - January 2, 1967
Donald L. Grunsky Republican January 2, 1967 - November 30, 1976 Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz
Bob Nimmo 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 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 December 2, 1996 – May 7, 2004 Died in office.
George Runner December 6, 2004 – December 21, 2010 Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura Resigned from the Senate.
Sharon Runner February 18, 2011 – December 3, 2012 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 December 7, 2020 – present

Election results (1992–present)[edit]

2020[edit]

California State Senate election, 2020
Primary election
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 313,200 100.00
General election
Democratic John Laird 320,090 64.7
Republican Vicki Nohrden 174,587 35.3
Total votes 494,677 100.00
Democratic hold

2016[edit]

California State Senate election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Monning (incumbent) 185,586 68.8
Republican Palmer Kain 84,142 31.2
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 410,145 100.00
Democratic hold

2012[edit]

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

2011 (special)[edit]

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

2008[edit]

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

2004[edit]

California State Senate election, 2004
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 301,508 100.00
Republican hold

2000[edit]

California State Senate election, 2000
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 10,416 3.74
Total votes 278,776 100.00
Republican hold

1996[edit]

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

1992[edit]

California's 17th State Senate district election, 1992
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 27,834 9.62
Total votes 289,187 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Citizens Redistricting Commission Final Report, 2011" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Report of Registration as of February 18, 2020" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Senator Rigdon Dies, Following Collapse at Hotel". Santa Cruz Evening News. San Francisco. AP. December 13, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved July 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ralph Hughes Sworn in". babel.hathitrust.org.

External links[edit]

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