Who’s in the running to be California’s next secretary of state?

After months of being jockeyed by every political interest group in California, Gov.Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday he had chosen Secretary of State Alex Padilla for the U.S. Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Padilla’s appointment means California will have its first-ever Latino senator, but it also means another important job for Newsom to fill.

In addition to the Harris seat, the governor now has the chance to hand-pick both California’s secretary of state and attorney general, assuming Xavier Becerra survives his confirmation hearings to health and human services secretary in the Biden administration.

“It’s gotten more complicated, because there’s more boxes on the chessboard,” said California Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio. “Essentially, that job (secretary of state) is the referee of elections, so you want somebody who has actually shown some passion for voter registration for free and fair elections, or engaging young people in the electoral process.”

California law requires the secretary of state to be a registered voter and a member of their party for at least three months, and the job is limited to two four-year terms. Newsom’s appointee will have to be confirmed by a majority of state Senate and Assembly before finishing out the rest of Padilla’s term, which ends in 2022.

Newsom has a host of Democrats who would be happy to take the job, but the secretary of state is also responsible for business registrations and making California more business-friendly, Maviglio said, which means he could pluck someone from the business world.

“It’s not as high profile, but it’s almost equally as important,” Maviglio said of the business operations.

It’s unclear how soon Newsom will have to make a decision, but people are already lined up for the job. Two members of the California Assembly, Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego and Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, had announced their intentions to run for the office in 2022 prior to Padilla’s appointment.

Gonzalez, who represents San Diego, is considered “royalty among labor” after her work on (the ultimately unsuccessful) Proposition 22, which took on Uber and Lyft, Mavilgio said. She also has the support of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and was recently endorsed by United Farm Workers, California’s leading agricultural worker organization.

According to state filings, her campaign for Secretary of State has raised more than $350,000. Earlier this month, Gonzalez told The Sacramento Bee she would be “delighted” if Newsom asked her to serve in any capacity at the state level.

“If he asked me to serve in any capacity I would have to highly look at that. It’s an honor to have my name thrown around,” she said.

“Since we’ve been in office, we’ve been focused on ensuring that as many people as possible have access to the ballot box,” she said. “We’ve had an eye toward ensuring the ballot box is open and accessible to every citizen in California.”

She pointed to various bills she has authored to reduce barriers to voting, especially for young people and low-income people, such as a bill that ensured ballots could be returned by mail for free.

“We’ve really looked at ways to reduce those barriers,” she said. “We think when everyone’s voice is at the table, better decisions are made.”

Assemblyman Low, a Bay-area Democrat, is known for a meteoric rise to the statehouse. In 2006 he won a seat on the Campbell City Council and then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation naming June 5, 2006, “Evan Low Day”. Three year later, Low became the youngest openly gay, Asian American mayor in the nation.

Low launched his bid for Secretary of State earlier this year and state records show his campaign has about $4,700 cash on hand. On Tuesday, Low congratulated Padilla and said he trusts Newsom’s judgment in choosing the next secretary of state.

“ He has been an exceptional Secretary of State, and I have no doubt he will hit the ground running in the U.S. Senate to represent California with the same level of integrity and professionalism as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” Low said of Padilla. “These appointments can have a domino effect, and many people are wondering what comes next. I’m confident Governor Gavin Newsom will choose a talented, experienced person to safeguard our elections. In the meantime, I will continue to serve in whatever capacity I can best contribute.”

Low has introduced Assembly Bill 53, which would make election day a state holiday.

Some have also pointed to California Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg as a possible pick for Secretary of State. In a statement earlier this month, Cindy Baker, communications director for Hertzberg, said at this time, he has not expressed any interest in replacing Padilla.

“He’s focused on the upcoming legislative session and our collective recovery from COVID-19, and doesn’t see that changing any time soon,” Baker said.

Sophia Bollag of The Sacramento Bee Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.

This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 10:19 AM.