Alejandro Padilla
Democrat senior Senator of California
Senator
California
January 20, 2021 - December 21, 2022
Senator
California
December 22, 2022 - January 3, 2023
Senator
California
January 3, 2023 - January 3, 2029
3
Congresses Served
3
Senate Terms
March 22, 1973 (51 years old)
Birthday
- Served as the senior United States senator from California since 2021
- Previously served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 2015 to 2021
- Has been a member of the California State Senate and the Los Angeles City Council
- Appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Gavin Newsom to fill the vacancy created by Kamala Harris’s election as Vice President
- Won a special election and a full Senate term in November 2022
- Became California’s senior senator in September 2023
- Parents immigrated from Mexico; grew up in Pacoima, Los Angeles
- Holds a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT
- Briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft before entering politics
- Involved in politics in response to California Proposition 187
- First Latino and the youngest person elected president of the Los Angeles City Council
- Promoted Proposition 67, a ban on plastic bags, which passed in 2016
- Refused to provide voter data to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in 2017
- Involved in a controversy over unofficial ballot boxes in 2020
- Announced a $35 million no-bid contract for a voter education ad campaign, which was blocked due to lack of authority to use federal money
- Supports ending the Senate filibuster
- Advocates for abortion rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, climate action, and immigrants’ rights
- Introduced legislation for more legal protections for public lands in California and to help coastal communities adapt to sea level rise
- Married with three sons, lives in Porter Ranch, Los Angeles
- Has a 100% voting alignment with President Joe Biden’s positions as of the end of 2023