Sen. Alex Padilla finally put the rumors about a potential run for California governor to rest: He’s not running.
“It is with a full heart and even more commitment than ever that I’m choosing to not run for governor of California next year,” Padilla said in a speech at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
RELATED: Kamala Harris will not run for governor of California
“I choose not just to stay in the Senate. I choose to stay in this fight because the Constitution is worth fighting for. Our fundamental rights are worth fighting for,” Padilla said.
Padilla had brushed aside growing speculation in recent weeks that he would jump into the race for California’s chief executive, saying his focus was on Proposition 50, the redistricting ballot measure before California voters on Tuesday.
Without a clear, strong frontrunner emerging in the race for California governor yet, Padilla was considered to be a formidable candidate should he have gotten in the race.
“Current contenders can breathe a sigh of relief,” said Matt Lesenyie, an expert in political psychology who teaches at Cal State Long Beach.
“His entry would have been devastating to their prospects,” Lesenyie said.
But Padilla ended that speculation Tuesday, chastising the Trump administration and the president’s policies in his speech.
“Countless Californians have urged me to do everything I could to protect California and the ‘American dream’ from a vindictive president who seems hellbent on raising costs for working families, rolling back environmental protections, cutting access to health care, jeopardizing reproductive rights,” said Padilla.
The U.S. senator also recalled the now infamous press conference in Los Angeles held by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials in June, amid the administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts in Southern California.
Padilla was forcibly removed from the press conference when he tried to ask questions. Video showed Padilla kneeling on the ground after being removed from the room, before officers pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him with his arms behind his back.
“As alarming as that experience was, not just for me and my family but for most people who have seen the video, countless people have told me I’m glad you’re fighting for us. I’m glad you’re there, Padilla said.
Padilla, 52, was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 when the seat was vacated by then-Sen. Kamala Harris to become the country’s vice president. He ran for, and won, a full six-year term in 2022, becoming California’s first Latino to hold a full-term seat in the U.S. Senate.
Raised in Pacoima, the son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla’s entry into politics in the early 1990s was fueled by the politics of the late 1980s and early 1990s San Fernando Valley and L.A., amid the city’s growing Latino base.
Those politics were defined in part by another intense era of anti-immigrant sentiment. Proposition 187, a 1994 California ballot initiative approved by voters, aimed to deny undocumented immigrants access to public services, including education, health care and social services. It also required reporting of suspected undocumented immigrants to authorities.
The courts ultimately struck it down, but the fervor propelled Padilla and many in his generation into public service. He would join protests against Proposition 187 in the early ’90s, ultimately finding a path into politics and government, managing political campaigns for several legislative candidates and serving as a field representative for then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
A foray into the governor’s race for Padilla would have been one of his first competitive contests in a while, said Lesenyie, the Cal State Long Beach professor.
“Even winning would have meant weakening his political brand by weighing in on minor differences between him and the Democratic field,” Lesenyie said. “He also would have been pulled into relatively meaningless culture war fights from his Republican challengers.”
“As for staying in the Senate, it’s a long commute but a safe seat. Padilla is exceptionally talented,” Lesenyie added. “He’s sharp. You can tell he reads his briefings and is well-versed in whatever policy he opines on.”
Now that Padilla is not running — and with Harris also forgoing a run — attention turns back to those who have already declared their candidacies.
Former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former Fox News host Steve Hilton, former Rep. Katie Porter, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have been trending toward the top of recent polling, although no one has boasted a massive lead.
Ryan Carter contributed to this report.