Democrat Alex Padilla cruised to an easy victory over his Republican challenger in California’s U.S. Senate election, as he became the state’s first elected Latino to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Padilla, 49, a son of Mexican immigrants who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been a leading voice for immigration reform in the Democratic party. The Associated Press declared Padilla’s victory within an hour of polls closing – he leads Republican challenger Mark Meuser by over 25 percentage points with over 4.2 million votes counted.
Padilla also won a special election to fill the last two months of the current term. The double race for the same U.S. Senate seat is necessary because of legal technicalities surrounding the U.S. Senate seat, which was vacated by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust that you have placed in me today,” Padilla said in a tweet. “This victory belongs to every Californian who believes in the American Dream, and who is ready to fight to keep that dream alive.”
Thank you, California. I am honored and humbled by the trust that you have placed in me today.
This victory belongs to every Californian who believes in the American Dream, and who is ready to fight to keep that dream alive. pic.twitter.com/SGZeObzC7u
— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) November 9, 2022
Padilla became California’s first Latino lawmaker in the U.S. Senate after Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to fill the seat in 2021. Padilla first entered politics at the age of 26, when he was elected to the Los Angeles city council. He went on to serve two terms in the state Senate and was then twice elected secretary of state.
Since his appointment, he has pushed for immigration reform, COVID-19 response, wildfire preparedness, and expanded voting access.
The incumbent senator easily captured the Democratic nomination in the June primary and he has spent most of his time campaigning for other Democrats who face more competitive races. Padilla even traveled to Arizona in the campaign’s final weeks for embattled Senate incumbent Mark Kelly. His election victory
“If Republicans regain the majority (in Congress), you can kiss away immigration reform, kiss away an aggressive attack on climate change,” Padilla said in a recent interview with the Bay Area News Group. “You can forget about ensuring your voting rights.”
Other issues Padilla has worked on include power grid reliability and voting rights. He also led a $25 billion effort to convert gas- and diesel-powered school buses to electric vehicles.
Meuser, the Republican challenger, has a nearly two-decade career in law. In recent years he has fought California’s COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. His campaign platform includes being involved in 22 lawsuits against Newsom.
Meuser appealed to Californians’ pocketbooks by slamming the state’s high gas prices and rising grocery prices. He also opposes abortion access and believes the 2020 presidential election is still unresolved.
In an interview with the Bay Area News Group last month, Meuser stirred controversy for comparing his longshot U.S. Senate bid to a Christian missionary spreading the gospel of Republicanism in the “dark continent of Africa.”
Finances were one measure of the lopsided Senate contest. Padilla raised $11.8 million as of Oct. 19, and had $7.6 million left. Meuser raised $949,000 and had $136,000 remaining.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
