After winning the primary by nearly 14 percent, Republican candidate David Shepard is hopeful the trend continues, but he'll likely have to wait at least a few days to find out.Â
Based on the early election night results, Shepard had an early advantage, leading 53 percent to 47 percent as of 9:29 p.m. with 39.3 percent of the vote counted.
However about 12 minutes later, state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, who currently represents the 14th District, took the lead with 51.4 percent of the vote, with 61 percent of ballots counted.
Hurtado surprised many by her relatively late-in-the-game decision to run for the 16th after the results of redistricting were announced.Â
While the move makes sense for Hurtado — who's now running in a district where 41.4 percent of the voters are registered as Democrats, compared to 28.24 percent GOP — the district that includes portions of Fresno, Kern, King and Tulare counties has 22.45 percent of voters listed as no party preferences, whose votes will be all-important to determining the final outcome.
Shepard's strategy was to focus on a traditionally conservative message as the law-and-order candidate, proudly touting the endorsements of all four sheriffs in those counties. Hurtado said previously felt the most important issue for voters was the economy, and she pointed to tens of millions of dollars that she's helped secure for the district through her work in Sacramento.Â
In response to the early initial returns, Shepard said he was optimistic about being in a "good position," although with only about 12 percent of the vote tallied, he acknowledged "the night was still young."
"But from what I'm seeing right now, it's indicative of what we had anticipated, which was that the Central Valley and the constituents of District 16 are ready for a change. They're ready for representation and they're ready for someone to go to Sacramento to fight for them," he said, adding that the "proof is in the pudding."
As Hurtado, who spent most of the day canvassing in Bakersfield before watching the early returns at Don Perico's on White Lane, she said she was grateful for her supporters that worked on the campaign and supported her "rain or shine."
"My thoughts right now at the moment is very appreciative ... and I'm very hopeful that at the end of the full count, results will be swaying our way," she said. "I think that the economy continues to be an issue in the minds of individuals.Â
"I was talking to one of the employees and he said there's a difference between a year ago and today, we're seeing less people and you can see that there's concern there already. And that's exactly what I've been hearing from people from across this district."
