Melendez, Romero Vie For 28th Senate District Seat

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — It's down to the wire for one Democrat and one Republican vying for the 28th Senate District seat.

In Tuesday's special election runoff race, voters will decide between Lake Elsinore Assemblymember Melissa Melendez (R) and Riverside County Board of Education member Elizabeth Romero (D). The two beat out three other contenders during the March primary, but neither candidate garnered more than 50% of votes needed to win the race outright.

The final primary results showed Melendez with 40.5% of votes cast, Romero with 23.5%, Joy Silver (D) 20.9%, John Schwab Jr. (R) 12.1%, and Anna Nevenic (D) 2.9%.

The 28th Senate District seat was vacated after State Sen. Jeff Stone announced in late October that he was resigning to accept a position in President Donald Trump's Labor Department.

The 28th Senate District stretches from 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.

Only registered voters in the 28th Senate District are eligible to cast a vote. There will be no established polling places. Go to the Registrar of Voters’ website at www.voteinfo.net for ballot drop-off locations and in-person voting opportunities.

Voters can cast a ballot in the Registrar of Voters office on Election Day between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. The Registrar of Voters office is located at 2720 Gateway Drive in Riverside. Call 951-486-7200 if you need to schedule an appointment to vote in person.

All ballots must be in the possession of the Registrar of Voters Office no later than the close of polls on May 12, or be postmarked on or before Election Day and received no later than three days after Election Day to be counted.