Melendez Holds Lead in 28th Senate District

Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez of Lake Elsinore will likely be headed to the state Senate if her lead in California’s 28th Senate District holds.

With a total of 170,961 votes cast in the May 12 special election, Melendez grabbed 95,378 while her Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Romero, garnered 75,248.

Election Night vote counting for the 28th State Senate District Election is complete but results are not final. Ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day and received no later than Friday remain to be counted. The next updated results will be posted at 5 p.m. on May 15.

As of May 12, a total of 499,932 ballots have been issued, according to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

Melendez was one of five people who sought the seat that Jeff Stone left vacant.

In the run-up to the Primary, Melendez told Uken report that, “As your State Senator I want to be a voice that speaks on behalf of real people and tries to fix real problems. Our state is crumbling under the politics of a single party voice in the State Capitol and adding another voice to that chorus will only fail to solve our state’s problems.”

In addition to serving in the California State Assembly, Melendez, 51, is a small business owner and mother of five children. Her husband, Nico, is a small business owner and serves the country as a Commander in the United States Navy Reserves.

California’s 28th Senate District, which is entirely in Riverside County, stretches from the vineyards of the Temecula Valley to the Colorado River and includes the cities of Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Temecula, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Wildomar.