Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced he will not run for governor next year as voters back in his home state went to the polls on Tuesday to weigh in on mid-decade redistricting.
“I want to begin by saying, I love California,” he said at a news conference in Washington. Standing alongside his wife, he called California “our home” and lauded its universities and clean-energy ambitions as he expressed appreciation for “Californians’ resilience.”
He then made his announcement. “It is with a full heart, and even more commitment than ever, that I am choosing to not run for governor of California next year,” Padilla said. “I choose not just to stay in the Senate. I choose to stay in this fight.” He added that “the Constitution is worth fighting for,” along with “our fundamental rights,” “our core values,” and “the American dream.”…