Alejandro "Alex" Padilla (born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from California, a seat he has held since 2021.

[7] After graduation, Padilla moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, where he wrote software for satellite systems.

Padilla was the first Latino and the youngest person elected president of the Los Angeles City Council, defeating incumbent Ruth Galanter.

[11] After retiring as president of the Los Angeles City Council, Padilla was elected to the State Senate in 2006, defeating Libertarian Pamela Brown.

[24][25] On April 11, 2013,[26] Padilla announced his intention to run for California secretary of state in 2014, to succeed the term-limited incumbent Debra Bowen.

On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which President Donald Trump created on May 11, requested data on enrolled voters from every state, dating back to 2006.

[33][34][32][36] Local Republican leadership refused to follow the order and said the boxes were a form of legal ballot harvesting that had been enabled by recent Democratic legislation (which lacked a chain of custody requirement),[32] and were a way to increase voter turnout.

[32][33] In early 2020, Padilla announced a $35 million no-bid contract for a statewide voter education ad campaign with partisan public relations firm SKDK (then known as "SKDKnickerbocker") called "Vote Safe California", but State Controller Betty Yee blocked the funding because Padilla's office did not have the authority to use federal money that was allocated to county governments; the campaign proceeded anyway.

[40][41][42] Amid ongoing litigation by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who contend that the contract bypassed fair competition rules and misappropriated federal election funding for local elections operations, and was therefore illegal, Governor Newsom signed legislation that provided state funding to reimburse SKDK in February 2021.

[43] In August 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Padilla was sworn in on January 20, 2021 by Harris along with newly elected Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed called Padilla's appointment "a real blow to the African American community".

[56][57] Padilla also introduced legislation to help coastal communities adapt shorelines to increased flooding and erosion from sea level rise and extreme weather.

[70] In 2008, Padilla sponsored the bill SB 1770, which would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards Training (POST) to prepare relevant guidelines and mechanisms for the investigation and reporting of "cases involving anti-reproductive-rights crimes".

[74] Transgender rights supporters initially endorsed Padilla, but he received criticism after voting to ban gender-affirming care for children in military families.

[81][82] On January 15, 2021, he said that he supports legislation sponsored by representative Joaquin Castro to speed up the citizenship process for undocumented immigrants in essential jobs, declaring that because of the work they do, "they deserve stability".

[84] In November 2023, Padilla introduced legislation in the Senate to authorize a binding federally sponsored referendum, known as a plebiscite, to resolve Puerto Rico's political status.

The legislation details the transition and implementation of non-territorial status for Puerto Rico: statehood, independence, or sovereignty in free association with the U.S.[85] Padilla voted to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.