Alex Padilla

About

Alejandro Padilla (born March 22, 1973) is an American politician and engineer serving as the senior United States senator from California, a seat he has held since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 29th secretary of state of California from 2015 to 2021 and was a member of the California State Senate and the Los Angeles City Council.
Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Padilla to the United States Senate in 2021 after Kamala Harris was elected vice president of the United States; Harris, as the newly elected vice president and president of the Senate, swore Padilla in on January 18, 2021. In 2022, Padilla won a special election to complete Harris’s term and election to a full Senate term.
Padilla became California’s senior senator on September 29, 2023, upon the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Padilla was born in Los Angeles on March 22, 1973, and is one of three children of Santos Padilla, who emigrated from Jalisco, and Guadalupe “Lupe” Padilla (née Gonzalez), who emigrated from Chihuahua. His parents met and married in Los Angeles. His parents were initially undocumented immigrants to the US, but after his birth became citizens….