2000Final results
2000 election for California Senate District 17
California State Senate · California
William J. Knight (R) won with 64.4% of the vote, defeating Richard Lott (D) by 32.9 points.
William J. KnightRepublican · winner · incumbent
64.4%172,723
Richard LottDemocrat
31.5%84,427
John R. GibsonLibertarian
2.9%7,667
Douglas R. WallackNatural Law
1.3%3,543
268,360 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2000
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
William J. Knight (R)Richard Lott (D)
Also on the ballot: John R. Gibson (Libertarian), 2.9%; Douglas R. Wallack (Natural Law), 1.3%