Melissa Hurtado

{{Short description|American politician (born 1988)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Melissa Hurtado

| image = Melissa Hurtado.jpg

| state_senate = California

| district = 16th

| term_start = December 3, 2018

| term_end =

| predecessor = Andy Vidak

| successor =

| constituency = 14th district (2018–2022)
16th district (2022–present)

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|3|6}}

| birth_place = Fresno, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| education = California State University, Sacramento (BA)

| website = {{url|melissa-hurtado.com|Official website}}

}}

Melissa Hurtado (born March 6, 1988) is an American Democratic politician currently representing the 16th Senate District, encompassing Bakersfield, Kings County, and parts of Tulare County, in the California State Senate. Prior to being elected to the State Senate, she served on the Sanger City Council.{{Cite web|date=August 7, 2018|title=Biography|url=https://sd14.senate.ca.gov/about/biography|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Senate District 14 {{!}} Senator Melissa Hurtado|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Melissa Hurtado|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Melissa_Hurtado|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Ballotpedia|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Del Real|first=Jose A. |date=May 21, 2019|title=They Grow the Nation's Food, but They Can't Drink the Water (Published 2019)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/21/us/california-central-valley-tainted-water.html|access-date=October 18, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

Hurtado was first elected to the State Senate in November 2018, defeating incumbent Republican Andy Vidak.{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2018|title=Correction: Election 2018-California Legislature story|url=https://apnews.com/article/8225528fdf2048c19a9c9e8c2869789b|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=AP News}}{{Cite web|first=Jason|last=Kotowski|title=14th SD challenger Hurtado: What happened to Vidak's vision for the valley?|url=https://www.bakersfield.com/news/14th-sd-challenger-hurtado-what-happened-to-vidaks-vision-for-the-valley/article_3c164a08-c0e2-11e8-b6e9-bbae72d0701d.html|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=The Bakersfield Californian|date=October 2, 2018 |language=en}}

On July 7, 2020, Hurtado was selected to serve on the then-candidate for U.S. president Joe Biden's National Latino Leadership Committee.{{Cite web|first=Gabriel |last=Melero, Jr.|date=July 7, 2020|title=Joe Biden Picks Senator Melissa Hurtado for National Latino Leadership Committee|url=https://gvwire.com/2020/07/07/joe-biden-picks-senator-melissa-hurtado-for-national-latino-leadership-committee/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=GV Wire|language=en-US}} In 2022, Hurtado ran for re-election in the redrawn 16th district, winning with 50.01% percent by a margin of 13 votes.{{Cite web|last=Taub|first=David|date=2021-12-30|title=Exclusive: Why Sen. Hurtado Is Risking Her Political Career to Stay in Sanger|url=https://gvwire.com/2021/12/30/exclusive-why-sen-hurtado-is-risking-her-political-career-to-stay-in-sanger/|access-date=2022-01-13|website=GV Wire |language=en-US}}{{cite web |title=2022 Election Results |url=https://electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/state-senate/district/16 |website=California Secretary of State}}{{Cite web |last=Patrick |first=Lacey |date=2023-01-20 |title=Hurtado secures her victory in senate district 16 election |url=https://thesungazette.com/article/news/2023/01/19/hurtado-secures-her-victory-in-senate-district-16-election/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=The Sun-Gazette Newspaper |language=en-US}} Prior to the election, she had been considered the most endangered incumbent of any district at the state level in the state of California.{{Cite news |last=Hoeven |first=Emily |date=2022-10-21 |title=Inside California's overlooked political powerhouse |language=en-US |work=CalMatters |url=http://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/10/kern-county-california-election/ |access-date=2023-10-27}}

In July 2023, Hurtado filed paperwork declaring candidacy for California's 22nd congressional district in the 2024 election.{{Cite web |last=Yeager|first=Joshua|date=2023-07-29 |title=Sen. Melissa Hurtado files to run for congressional seat in 2024 |url=https://www.kvpr.org/local-news/2023-07-28/sen-melissa-hurtado-files-to-run-for-congressional-seat-in-2024 |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=KVPR Valley Public Radio |language=en}} She placed fourth in the March 2024 primary election and did not advance to November's general election.{{Cite web |last=Donegan |first=John|date=2024-03-07 |title=State Sen. Hurtado suspends congressional campaign |url=https://www.bakersfield.com/news/state-sen-hurtado-suspends-congressional-campaign/article_c8f6ea34-dcc2-11ee-9038-ff6057cfda87.html |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=The Bakersfield Californian |language=en}}