U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla officially filed on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to run for a new term in the United States Senate, citing a personal story and voice that he believes is needed in Washington.
“As proud as I am of the work that’s been done in the first year in the Senate, from the American Rescue Plan to the bi-partisan infrastructure package, there is a lot more work to do,” said Padilla, 48, as he emerged Tuesday from filing to run at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office in Norwalk.
That work includes legislation aiming to grapple with climate change and with better access to health care, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, which has struck communities of color among the hardest.
It is those communities that Padilla vowed to work for when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Padilla to the seat when in December 2020 then U.S. Senator Kamala Harris was tapped as vice president, leaving two years remaining on her 6-year term.
Padilla would become California’s first Latino to ever hold a full-term seat in the U.S. Senate.
Padilla’s background as the son of Mexican immigrants who was raised in Pacoima only to ascend through L.A. politics to state politics to the U.S. Senate, has underpinned much of his approach. It will continue to, he suggested on Tuesday.
“I think I have an important voice to bring to the U.S. Senate. A proud son of immigrants, growing up in a work-class community, graduated from public schools…. and now one of the few in the United States Senate to enact policies,” he said.
He said such work and experience has, among other things, impacted voting rights reform and legislation that has bolstered frontline essential workers, while he continues to battle for immigrant reform that gives undocumented residents a path to citizenship.
Several challengers have jumped in to challenge Padilla, including five Democrats and four Republicans. But they’ll be up against an incumbent that has already nearly $8 million in contributions for Alex Padilla for Senate campaign since 2021 with a little more than $6 million cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.
“If anything, Republicans are going to have a difficult time (running against him), especially if they don’t have much name recognition,” said Jaime Regalado, professor emeritus of political science at Cal State Los Angeles.
Moreover, even if the GOP wins the majority vote in the Senate in the midterm elections this year, Regalado suggested that Padilla’s voice won’t wane. In fact, he said, it might even get stronger — a senator from one of the most influential states in the Union.
“Chance are, the GOP will take control of the Senate. And that places Padilla in a minority position. But it’s still an influential position. I don’t think that changes his tune,” Regalado said.
For his part, Padilla wasn’t convinced that Democrats don’t have a shot at preserving a majority vote in the Senate this year.
“I think between now and November, Democrats have a story to tell… I’m not convinced that we’re going to lose a majority this November. I think we have a good chance of keeping, of not growing our majority,” he said.
Of course, there’s much to do — right now.
On his mind Tuesday wasn’t just possible re-election. It was war, and the Supreme Court.
With war imminent in the Ukraine, Padilla gave the Biden administration credit for rallying European countries to “hold (Russian President Vladimir Putin) accountable for any invasion of the independent nation. And a Supreme Court pick is on the horizon, a reality that Padilla — as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee – is particularly tuned into.
In January, Biden reiterated a campaign pledge to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer with the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Padilla says he relished the opportunity to do just that.
“I’m eager to play my part as a member of the Judiciary Committee in confirming the first Black woman as a Supreme Court Justice,” he said. “I can tell you as the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate, representation matters.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com