California Apartment Association

A week after it appeared Andy Vidak had captured the state Senate’s 16th District seat, the Republican from Hanford is heading for a runoff election against Democrat Leticia Perez of Bakersfield.

Perez conceded last week when Vidak had about 52 percent of votes tallied. Area news media reported Vidak the clear-cut winner.

But after more counting, Vidak has just 49.9 percent of the vote. To win this five-candidate race, he needed more than 50 percent.

Perez, with 43.9 percent of the vote, will face Vidak again during a July 23 runoff to determine which candidate will replace Michael Rubio.