Alex Padilla is reportedly mulling a run for California governor, joining a fragmented field after Kamala Harris declined to run. Fundraising and endorsements have stalled, leaving a wide-open primary environment. Gov. Newsom's Proposition 50 has dominated state political attention, creating space for higher-profile entrants. A Berkeley IGS poll shows 38% of voters undecided, with 17% backing Katie Porter, 10% supporting Chad Bianco, and 9% favoring Xavier Becerra. Padilla was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2021 and elected in 2022. Padilla gained national attention after being handcuffed at a DHS press conference amid immigration-enforcement questions, and the incident went viral.
"Everybody was searching for the front-runner," said political consultant Jim Ross. "The field froze, right? Nobody was raising any money. There was no big endorsements happening." Ross noted that Gov. Newsom's Proposition 50 - his push for voter-approved mid-decade redistricting - has dominated California politics in recent months, distracting from the governor's race and creating room for a "bigger name" candidate like Padilla to step in.
"The real issue over the next three months or so is who can start to consolidate a base of support where they can raise money from and really be set up to run for governor next year," Ross said. Padilla - who was appointed to the Senate in 2021 and later elected in 2022 - grabbed national headlines in June when he was handcuffed for interrupting a Department of Homeland Security press conference with Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.
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