Alex Padilla is first Latino elected to U.S. Senate from California
California voters elected Sen. Alex Padilla twice on Tuesday, sending the Democrat back to Washington for the rest of the current congressional session and a full six-year term beginning in January.
Associated Press declared Padilla, 49, the winner almost immediately after the polls closed Tuesday in both races. He defeated a challenge from attorney Mark Meuser, a Republican.
By 6 a.m. Wednesday, Padilla had about 59% of the votes in both the contest for a full six-year term and for the remainder of this term. About 47% of the votes had been counted in each, per AP.
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Padilla in 2021 to complete Vice President Kamala Harris’ unexpired Senate term, he became the state’s first Latino U.S. senator. Now, he is the first Latino candidate elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate.
After his appointment, the Los Angeles native quickly made his presence in the Senate known. He became chair of a subcommittee on immigration, and as a member of the Judiciary Committee helped question the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also pushed through wildfire legislation.
He thanks California for many of his ideas for next session related to abortion, immigration and voting access.
“California does lead the nation on both voting rights and integrity,” Padilla said in an interview in October, “as well as transparency. That, too, I think is a model for the nation.”
Who is Alex Padilla?
Padilla was California’s secretary of state, where he was charged with overseeing elections, prior to joining the Senate. Before assuming that role in 2015, he served in the state senate from 2006 to 2014.
His first job in politics was as an aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is now his colleague.
Not long after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Padilla came home to Pacoima, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, and advocated against the 1994 California Proposition 187, which aimed to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining health care, education and other services. Within four days of passing, it was challenged and declared unconstitutional.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla became a member of the Los Angeles City Council at age 26 in 1999. His colleagues elected him city council president in 2001, making him the youngest person and first Latino to hold that position.
He became the acting mayor of Los Angeles for a couple of days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when then-Mayor James Hahn had to travel out of the city.
His connection to the area remains strong. He travels home almost every weekend to be with his wife and three young sons.
At the end of October, calling from the San Fernando Valley, he said he had missed just one weekend in August of late.
“Otherwise, I’ve been making it home every single weekend,” he said. “Sometimes a little bit later than expected or hoped for.”
David Lightman of McClatchy’s Washington bureau contributed
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Alex Padilla is first Latino elected to U.S. Senate from California."
