Newsom taps Padilla for Senate
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom selected Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Tuesday as the state’s next U.S. senator, a historic pick that sends a Latino to the Senate for the first time in the state’s history.
While Padilla had been the favorite, a video released by Newsom’s office shows him getting emotional after Newsom offered him the job, reflecting on the hard work of his parents, who came to the United States from Mexico and worked as a cook and a housekeeper.
“It’s a hell of an important perspective to bring to Washington,” he told Newsom.
Padilla, 47, was appointed to fill out the remainder of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ term. She plans to step down from the seat in January ahead of Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. Padilla will need to run for a full term in 2022. The appointment gives him an advantage, but he’s still likely to face challengers; California’s top-two primary system allows two Democrats to face off in a general election.
Padilla’s appointment gives a new level of representation to Latinos, who make up the state’s largest demographic group at nearly 40% of the population. But Newsom’s choice of Padilla also means there will be no Black women in the 100-member Senate. Harris, the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency, was the only Black woman in the Senate, and Black leaders had been lobbying Newsom to appoint either Rep. Karen Bass or Rep. Barbara Lee to replace her.