December 22, 2020
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday he will name Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate to fill the remainder of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s term.
Padilla, the California secretary of state and the son of Mexican immigrants, will become the first Latino to represent California in the Senate. Harris is set to take office as vice president on Jan. 20.
There are two years remaining in Harris’ Senate term, meaning Padilla, a Democrat, would need to win election in November 2022 to remain in office for a full six-year-term.
Paperwork was filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission for a Padilla-for-Senate campaign committee.
Newsom noted the incoming senator’s parents were a cook and house cleaner and Padilla “worked his way from humble beginnings to the halls of MIT, the Los Angeles City Council and the state Senate, and has become a national defender of voting rights.”
Padilla in a statement vowed to fight for “those struggling to make ends meet to the small businesses fighting to keep their doors open to the healthcare workers looking for relief.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
