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| Senator-designate Alex Padilla will replace Kamala Harris. |
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California governor Gavin Newsom selected his Secretary of State Alex Padilla as the replacement for Kamala Harris.
Once Harris resigns from the Senate, Newsom will appoint the first Latino and second generation of Mexican descent to the seat.
Some on the far-left were upset that Newsom did not pick a Black woman to fill the seat.
Newsom selected Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Tuesday to be a U.S. senator, a pick that sends a Latino to the Senate for the first time in the state’s history.
Padilla called it a “tremendous point of pride” to be the state’s first Latino senator and reflected on the hard work of his parents, who came to the United States from Mexico and worked as a short-order cook and a housekeeper.
“There’s millions of other families that are equally contributing in powerful ways in each community throughout the state and throughout the nation,” he said in an interview. “These are important perspectives to bring to policy making and problem solving.”
Padilla, 47, was the favorite in a crowded field of possibilities 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 on Jan. 20.
Padilla will need to run for a full six-year term in 2022. The appointment gives him an advantage, but he’s still likely to face challengers, some within his own party. California’s top-two primary system allows two Democrats to face off in a general election.
Newsom also rejected pleas from a host of prominent Black leaders to replace Harris, the Senate’s only Black woman, with another African American woman, such as U.S. Reps. Karen Bass or Barbara Lee.
About six hours after the Padilla announcement, Newsom’s office said he would nominate Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, who is Black, to be the next secretary of state. If confirmed, she would become the first Black woman to hold the office, giving Newsom two history-making picks in one day.
Given the timing, however, it appeared the choice was intended at least partly to quell criticism for not choosing a Black woman to replace Harris.
“Many people believe the governor will pay a political price,” Kerman Maddox, a Democratic consultant and fundraiser who is Black, said in an email. “It’s a terribly insensitive decision” with the nation in the midst of a reckoning over racial injustice.
Black San Francisco Mayor London Breed called the Senate decision “a real blow to the African American community.”
The hectic day of political maneuvers only underscored the risks that came with them.
The mannerly, soft-spoken Padilla will begin his truncated term facing the prospect of a tough reelection fight in 2022, when he is likely to see challengers from within his own party in the heavily Democratic state. Padilla’s current job was also being eyed by other possible contenders, who could challenge Weber if she is confirmed by the Legislature. Beyond a possible recall, Newsom is expected to seek a second term in 2022.
