BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Diya TV) — Bakersfield Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur finished third in the California State Senate District 16 primary on June 2, ending her bid for the Central Valley seat and leaving Republican Guillermo Gonzalez and Democratic incumbent Sen. Melissa Hurtado to advance to the November general election, according to unofficial results from the California Secretary of State.
With all 452 precincts at least partially reporting as of June 5, Gonzalez led the field with approximately 48 percent of the vote. Hurtado, the two-term incumbent, held roughly 35 percent. Kaur received approximately 17 percent. Vote-by-mail and provisional ballots are still being processed; results will not be certified until July 10, 2026.
Under California’s top-two primary system, all candidates compete on a single ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election. With Gonzalez and Hurtado holding those positions, Kaur’s path to November was closed.
Kaur, a Democrat, entered the race in early 2026, positioning herself as a new-generation challenger to Hurtado. She campaigned on cost of living, housing affordability, immigrant rights, infrastructure investment, and what she described as a need for stronger representation for working families in the Central Valley. She criticized Hurtado for what she called insufficient engagement with constituents.
“It’s either living with representation that’s not going to show up and be silent and vote against the interests of your community, or we choose our hard and we go door to door and we meet people,” Kaur said at her campaign announcement in March 2026.
Kaur also drew attention to immigration enforcement issues during the campaign. As a councilmember, she had advocated against ICE raids. On the campaign trail, she argued the district deserved a representative willing to directly confront federal immigration policy.
In a pre-primary debate — which Hurtado declined to attend — Kaur and Gonzalez clashed over the region’s economy, water policy, and public safety. Kaur argued that District 16 should not permit construction of large data centers due to their water consumption, framing the issue as both an environmental and infrastructure concern. She also raised concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on critical thinking and the regional labor market.
Kaur drew endorsements from several progressive organizations, including Courage California, the California Environmental Voters, and the California Working Families Party. Her campaign centered on grassroots organizing and door-to-door outreach across the four-county district.
In November 2022, she was elected to Bakersfield City Council’s Ward 7, covering south Bakersfield, defeating Tim Collins and Raj Gill. She became the first Indian American Sikh woman elected to the council. In December 2024, she was chosen by her council colleagues as Vice Mayor.
Senate District 16 spans portions of Kern, Kings, Tulare, and Fresno counties. Hurtado was first elected in 2018, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate, and won reelection in 2022 by a narrow margin. Gonzalez, the owner of Guillermo’s Steakhouse in Delano and a former construction worker, campaigned on economic issues and opposition to state Democratic leadership.
The November 3 general election will be a cross-party matchup between Gonzalez and Hurtado in a district that Democrats have held but won narrowly in the last cycle. Kaur’s City Council term runs through 2026.
