Hurtado takes slim lead in SD 16 race

The lead Central Valley State Senate race has, once again, changed hands after the latest update of votes from Kern County. 

Heading into Friday, David Shepard (R–Porterville) held a 245 vote lead over incumbent Melissa Hurtado (D–Sanger) in the race for Senate District 16. 

Shepard’s lead is now gone, however. 

Fresno County finished its count, adding 109 total votes to the district which gave Shepard a 278 vote lead. 

But Kern County posted 880 votes in SD 16 after Fresno County’s update. The south Valley votes broke in favor of Hurtado at a 66.5 percent to 33.5 percent clip, vaulting her into the lead. 

Hurtado now leads by 12 votes over Shepard. 

Kern County estimates that it has 100 ballots to count still.