Bill Monning easily overtakes Palmer Kain in District 17 state Senate race

In the race for the State Senate’s Democratic-leaning 17th District, incumbent Sen. Bill Monning easily defeated Republican challenger Palmer Kain in a race that did not attract much attention or fundraising from either political party.

With all 689 precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, Monning remained far ahead of Kain, 65.4 to 34.6 percent.

Despite early results that showed Monning with just a 3-point lead, his lead continued to grow throughout the night.

The 17th Senate District encompasses all of San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz counties, as well as parts of Monterey and Santa Clara counties.

On Wednesday, Monning released a statement thanking his supporters for their “vote of confidence with (his) strong re-election performance.”

“While we run as partisans, I am honored to represent all the residents of the beautiful 17th Senate District,” Monning wrote. “With my competent and dedicated staff, I look forward to the honor and responsibility of representing all of you over the next four years.”

Monning, 65, of Carmel, has served the district since 2012. Monning outraised Kain by more than 10-1 in the election, accepting about $370,000 in campaign donations from PACs representing law enforcement, healthcare and education groups, as well as a wide swath of public- and private-sector labor unions.

Kain, 37, of Aptos, raised about $33,000, mostly from individuals. Kain is a U.S. Army veteran and an e-commerce manager.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Bill Monning easily overtakes Palmer Kain in District 17 state Senate race."