Alex Padilla, California’s secretary of state, has been appointed to fill the soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, according to multiple reports.
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Padilla, 47, will be the first Latino senator from California.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust placed in me by Governor Newsom, and I intend to work each and every day to honor that trust and deliver for all Californians,” Padilla said in a statement. “From those struggling to make ends meet to the small businesses fighting to keep their doors open to the health care workers looking for relief, please know that I am going to the Senate to fight for you. We will get through this pandemic together and rebuild our economy in a way that doesn’t leave working families behind.”
Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants who settled in the San Fernando Valley, has been a longtime ally of Newsom.
Padilla has held public office for more than two decades in various roles. He was first elected in 1999 to serve on the Los Angeles City Council. He went on to serve two terms in the state senate, followed by two terms as secretary of state.
Newsom faced pressure in selecting who would replace Harris, who was the only black woman in the Senate. Rep. Karen Bass, a Democrat from California’s 33rd Congressional District, and Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat from the state’s 13th District, are two black California congresswomen who were viewed as good candidates to replace Harris. Newsom also faced calls from people urging him to pick someone Latino, given that the state, which has a large Latino population, has yet to have a Latino senator.
Padilla will face an election battle in 2022, when Harris’s term was set to end.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein supported him for the role.
