Dianne Feinstein defeated unknown challenger Elizabeth Emken to win another term in Washington. (Creative Commons)

With 22 percent of precincts reporting, Feinstein has 59 percent of the vote to Emken's 41 percent.

Feinstein, California's senior senator, was first elected to office 20 years ago and is the current chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The GOP challenger's communication consultant Mark Standriff said he does not expect his candidate to go away anytime soon.

"I don’t believe this is a one time thing," Standriff said. "I think there are a lot of people out there in California who will encourage her to continue to be a voice for real people who want to come up with real solutions for real problems."

Emken, a political novice and mother of three, including an autistic son, had trouble matching Feinstein's multimillion-dollar war chest. Feinstein had turned down Emken's request for a debate.

Read more Neon Tommy stories on the 2012 election.

Reach Senior Staff Reporter Danny Lee here. Follow him on Twitter here.