Melissa Hurtado
What this job does: Your district's vote in the 40-member California State Senate. Senators write and vote on state laws and the state budget, confirm many of the governor's appointments, and can place constitutional amendments on the ballot with the Assembly. A term is four years.
- Holds this seat now
- Yes
- Office
- State Senator (since 2018; District 16 since 2022)
- Occupation
- State Senator
Background
- Born and raised in the Central Valley; daughter of immigrant farmworker parents. source: melissahurtado.com
- Earned a B.A. in political science from Sacramento State University. source: sd16.senate.ca.gov
- Elected to the Sanger City Council in 2016. source: sd16.senate.ca.gov
- Elected to the State Senate in 2018. source: sd16.senate.ca.gov
- Won reelection in 2022 over Republican David Shepard by 22 votes. source: sjvsun.com
In their own words
What the candidate says they will work on, from their campaign site or their answers to news-outlet questionnaires. We list it as stated and do not rate it.
- Clean and safe drinking water source: melissahurtado.com
- Restricting financial conflicts of interest for state officials source: melissahurtado.com
- Protecting workers and consumers source: melissahurtado.com
- Health care access and rural health care source: melissahurtado.com
- Schools, high-paying jobs and affordability source: melissahurtado.com
Look them up yourself
Latest news
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Something wrong or missing? This profile was compiled from public sources on October 15, 2026. Every fact links to where it came from.