Will Newsom make history? California governor could face pressure to select a Latino senator
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California Latino leaders are laying the groundwork to press Gov. Gavin Newsom to break a political barrier for the state’s largest ethnic community if he gets the chance to appoint Kamala Harris’ successor in the U.S. Senate.
Today, Latinos are well-represented in the Legislature, statewide elected offices and in the state’s congressional delegation.
But, “Latinos have not been able to break through to the highest offices in the state of California and that includes the two U.S. Senate seats and the governor’s mansion,” said Sonja Diaz, founding executive director of the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative.
Newsom will get an opportunity to appoint a U.S. senator if presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump in November. Biden on Tuesday named Harris as his pick for vice president, and she’d join him at the White House if the Democrat wins.
Democrats are already floating a wide range of names for a successor, although the governor through a spokesman said he won’t consider an appointment until after the election.
If Biden wins, Newsom “should expect a slew of Latino advocates and organizations to get his attention to appoint a Latino senator for the state of California,” said Christian Arana, policy director of the Latino Community Foundation.
Some Latino Democrats believed to be candidates include California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, former Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
Diaz said there’s plenty of Latina leaders capable of being effective in Congress, too, including Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles.
Gonzalez, who chairs the California Latino Legislative Caucus, chimed in to support Durazo over Twitter.
“It needs to be said: Gavin Newsom should pick @MariaEDurazo to replace Kamala Harris,” she tweeted. “It would be historic.”
Historically, nine Hispanic Americans have served in the U.S. Senate and four Latinos serving there today, including Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-NV.
Latinos represent about 39% of the California’s population. Only New Mexico has a higher share of Latino residents, according to the Pew Research Center.
Latinos from Southern California have run for the Senate, but they’ve been unable to knock out Bay Area Democrats like Harris and Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“Why is it that California politics is run by Bay Area Democrats?” Arana said. “We’re starting to see more Latinos who are in better positions to give politically. It’s not really something that’s built into our culture … that’s something we’re hoping to change.”
De León, who is expected to be sworn into the Los Angeles City Council in October, is a possible contender for Newsom’s pick.
“Today is about celebrating the historic pick of our very own U.S. Senator to be the next vice president of the United states. Our focus right now must entirely be dedicated to taking back the White House with this powerful ticket,” said de León in a statement. “When the time comes, I trust our governor will pick the right person to represent the Golden State in the U.S. Senate.”
Latinos have been gaining political power in the state since voters in 1994 passed a ballot initiative that denied public assistance to unauthorized immigrants. The measure, Proposition 187, invigorated California Latinos to run for office and become civically engaged.
Last November, several members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, including Gonzalez, were featured in a video thanking former Gov. Pete Wilson for helping them to realize their political power after he supported and signed the initiative.
Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and a Latino voting trends expert, said it would be a “huge political mistake” for Newsom not to pick a person of color and, specifically, someone of Hispanic descent.
“It would be a striking omission of Latino representation. The only question for me is if it’s a Hispanic woman or man,” Madrid said.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Will Newsom make history? California governor could face pressure to select a Latino senator."