Incumbent Tom Torlakson has won the hotly contested race for California's elected superintendent of schools.
With 100 percent of the precincts in and late mail and provisional ballots still to be tallied, Tuesday's nonpartisan election showed Torlakson leading challenger Marshall Tuck 52 percent to 48 percent.
Torlakson is a former high school science teacher and state lawmaker who was elected as the state's K-12 schools chief four years ago.
Tuck is a former charter schools executive who built his campaign around reforming the state's generous tenure laws and other job protections for teachers. Both candidates are Democrats.
Spending in the race has exceeded $22 million, making it the most expensive election for a statewide office this year apart from the governor's race.
The outcome is being watched outside California as a referendum on the state's underachieving education system.
