Murrieta Lawmaker Moves Closer To Becoming State Senator

MURRIETA, CA — As primary ballots continue to be tallied Wednesday, Assembly Member Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) is closing in on his bid to become a state Senator.

Seyarto was leading Democratic challenger Brian Nash in vote counts across Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino and San Diego counties where the state's 32nd Senate District stretches.

Seyarto has received a majority (50 percent plus one point) of votes in the four counties as of Wednesday. However, ballots were still being counted and California's Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act still requires Seyarto and Nash to move on to the ballot in the November 8 general election for a runoff.

The 32nd District includes the local cities of Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula and Wildomar in Riverside County.

Seyarto won his Assembly seat in the 2020 General Election with 60 percent of the vote over Democrat Jerry Carlos. Seyarto's Assembly term expires at the end of 2022. Under the current district boundaries, the 67th includes Canyon Lake, East Hemet, El Sobrante, French Valley, Good Hope, Hemet, Homeland, La Cresta, Lake Elsinore, Lake Mathews, Lakeland Village, Menifee, Murrieta, Nuevo, Temescal Valley, Winchester, Wildomar, and Woodcrest.

In late 2021, Seyarto announced he was throwing his hat into the state Senate race.

"The new district boundaries created for my existing Assembly seat have carved out many of the communities that I have enjoyed representing and serving. Those communities, along with some exciting new communities, are all drawn together in the new 32nd Senate District," Seyarto said in a released statement at the time. "With our great Senator Melissa Melendez unable to run for the seat again due to term limits, I would be honored to step up and represent the 32nd Senate District."

Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) was elected to state Senate District 28 in 2020, before redistricting. She terms out of the state Legislature in 2022.

Seyarto's background includes 35 years as a firefighter until his retirement in 2015. He also served several terms on the Murrieta City Council.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to clarify that both Seyarto and Nash will move on to the ballot in the November 8 general election for a runoff.