Jimmy Panetta takes a fast walk to another term; Mark Stone, Robert Rivas and John Laird win state races.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta started Election Day with a Fiber One bar (cinnamon flavored), a cup of coffee and his daily meeting with his staff, here in his district and in Washington, D.C. And then he got to work, calling constituents and contributors, thanking them for their support and keeping an eye on states he and many others hoped would see Senate challengers flip blue.

The past term was a tough one, he says, because Democrats, while holding a majority in Congress, are only one-half of one-third of the government. With the Senate currently being held by a Republican majority—and no clarity as of Nov. 4 on whether the flip to blue will come—it's demonstrated the vast importance of the country's system of checks and balances.

"We've been able to push back and punch back at an administration that's doing so much damage," Panetta says. "In my first two years in office, we relied on the courts to do that. In this term, it was reliant on the Democrats in Congress.

"If the president is re-elected," he adds, "you have to think it through in terms of what our job will be in Congress. We've laid a good foundation as to what we will do if we're the only Democratic majority in one-half of one-third of the government."

Panetta, who faced a challenge by Republican Jeff Gorman, won in a proverbial landslide, with 78.2 percent to Gorman's 21.8 percent. It was unclear, though, whether Panetta would retain his seat on the powerful House Agriculture Committee; voters in Minnesota ousted committee chair Collin Peterson after three decades in office and installed Republican Michelle Fischbach in his place.

In California state races for districts representing Monterey County, incumbents also took easy walks in their respective races.

Democratic Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-29, took 75.4 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Shomir Banarjee's 24.6 percent. District 30 Assemblymember Robert Rivas took 70.7 percent of the vote to Republican challenger Gregory Swett's 29.3 percent.

And John Laird, after 40 years in office that have included stints as California Secretary of Natural Resources under Gov. Jerry Brown, now holds the title of state senator. In the race against Republican challenger Vicki Nohrden to represent the sprawling 17th District, Laird took 68 percent of the vote to Nohrden's 32 percent. He will replace Bill Monning, who terms out this year.