Campaign arm of Hispanic Caucus backs Alex Padilla as Gavin Newsom’s U.S. Senate pick
The campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, BOLD PAC, is the latest political action committee calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint Secretary of State Alex Padilla as California Sen. Kamala Harris’ successor in the U.S. Senate.
Newsom “has shown tremendous leadership navigating a global pandemic, unprecedented wildfires, an uncertain economic recovery, and constant hostility by the Trump Administration,” according to a statement from BOLD PAC released on Thursday. “Now, the Governor faces one of the most consequential responsibilities before any statewide executive — appointing a successor to serve the remainder of Senator Kamala Harris’ term.”
The Democratic political action committee is chaired by Rep. Tony Cárdenas, CA-29.
Even before former Vice President Joe Biden and Harris were projected to win the election, another group, Latino Victory, launched a campaign urging Newsom to appoint the former Los Angeles city councilman and former state senator, who is the son of Mexican immigrants. Latino Victory’s president and CEO Nathalie Rayes said the organization planned to invest up to six figures on the campaign, consisting of digital, social media and radio ads.
Today, California is home to about 14 million Latinos, who account for 40% of the state population. Yet in the state’s 170-year history, California has never elected a Latino to serve in the U.S. Senate.
A total of nine Hispanic Americans have served in the U.S. Senate, four of which are serving today: Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-NV.
The Latino Community Foundation, a philanthropic institution, has also released a letter to Newsom, signed by more than 500 Latino leaders in California, advocating for the appointment of a Latino or Latina.
“Our voice remains missing from the highest levels of our government,” according to the letter, “At a moment in history when a public health crisis has revealed deep inequities in health and in our economy, we need you to prioritize this appointment.”
Other Latino Democrats believed to be candidates include California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
This week another progressive group, Democracy for America, advocated for the appointment of a Black woman to replace Harris this week, citing Reps. Barbara Lee and Karen Bass as possible candidates.
The U.S. Senate term is set to expire in 2023.
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 1:37 PM.