U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla says he won’t be running to succeed Gavin Newsom as the next governor of California.
Padilla, one of California’s two legislators in the U.S. Senate alongside Adam Schiff, made the announcement on Tuesday after months of speculation regarding his plans for the future.
“It is with a full heart and even more commitment than ever that I am choosing to not run for a governor of California next year,” Padilla said during a press conference.
He added that his decision was based on the current political climate during the second Trump presidency, and his desire to use his position in the Senate to combat Trump’s agenda.
“I choose to stay in this fight, because the Constitution is worth fighting for. Our fundamental rights are worth fighting for. Our core values are worth fighting for. The American dream is worth fighting for,” Padilla said. “I will continue to do just that.”
Padilla would’ve likely been a clear leader in the pack, if not the presumptive favorite, had he opted to seek the governorship.
Padilla has served in the U.S. Senate since 2021, when he was appointed to the position by Newsom to replace Kamala Harris after she was elected Vice President alongside President Joe Biden. At the time of his appointment, Padilla was serving as California’s Secretary of State.
He won a special election to serve a full Senate term in November 2022. After the death of Dianne Feinstein in 2023, Padilla became the state’s senior senator.
Padilla, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, has also served in the California State Senate, as well as on the Los Angeles City Council. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering.
He made national headlines earlier this year after he was briefly detained and handcuffed by law enforcement while attempting to confront Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about immigration enforcement raids across Southern California.
The race for the governor’s mansion includes a crowded field of Democrat candidates, headlined by former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, who previously served as California’s Attorney General from 2017 to 2021.
On the Republican side, former Fox News host and contributor Steve Hilton, a London-born politico who was a top advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron, recently led Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in an Emerson College poll released in August.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who unsuccessfully ran for L.A.’s Mayor in 2022 as a Democrat, has received notable support in recent polling, but has not announced his intention to run for governor.
Former Vice President Harris has said she does not intend to run for governor, adding speculation that she might seek the presidency again in 2028. She was previously considered the odds-on favorite by a sizeable margin.