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Monique Limón | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| President pro tempore of the California State Senate | |
| Assumed office November 17, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Mike McGuire |
| Member of theCalifornia State Senate | |
| Assumed office December 7, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Hannah-Beth Jackson |
| Constituency | 19th district (2020–2024) 21st district (2024–present) |
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the37th district | |
| In office December 5, 2016 – November 30, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Das Williams |
| Succeeded by | Steve Bennett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1979-10-30)October 30, 1979 (age 46) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Michael Medel |
| Residence(s) | Goleta, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) Columbia University (MA) |
| Website | State Senate website |
Monique Limón (born October 30, 1979) is an American politician serving as a member of theCalifornia State Senate. She is a member of theDemocratic Party representing the21st Senate District, which encompasses all ofSanta Barbara County, a little over 60% of the population ofVentura County, and roughly 20% of the population ofSan Luis Obispo County.[1]
Limón was born and raised inSanta Barbara, California, the daughter of immigrants fromMexico.[2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree fromUniversity of California, Berkeley and a Master of Arts fromColumbia University.[3][4]
She served six years on theSanta Barbara Unified School District Board of Education. Additionally, she served in the capacity of Assistant Director for theMcNair Scholars Program at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara prior to serving in the Assembly.[5]
She is a former member of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women.[citation needed]
In 2016, Limón was elected to theCalifornia State Assembly to succeedDas Williams, who ran for theSanta Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
In 2017,Jerry Brown signed Limón's bill to develop a modelNative American studies curriculum to be integrated in California high schools.[6]
In 2020, Limón ran for theCalifornia State Senate's19th district to succeedHannah-Beth Jackson, who was ineligible to run due to term limits.[7]
In 2023, she introduced a bill to expandprescribed grazing as awildfire prevention measure.[8] The next year, she introduced a bill to expand the approval process forprescribed burning.[9]
Limón sponsored a bill to makevoter registration automatic atCalifornia DMVs; however,Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill in 2024, citing the additional costs it would entail.[10]
On June 9, 2025, the Senate Democratic caucus unanimously voted to promote Limón aspresident pro tem, succeedingMike McGuire.[11] She is the first woman of color to hold the position.[12][13]
As a leader of the State Senate, Limón has passed and supported policies that aim to boost the housing supply in California to help combat the ongoing affordability crisis. She authored SB 676[14] to ensure communities recovering from wildfire-declared emergencies can access the same rebuilding review procedures available to large-scale infrastructure projects. She also supported dozens of housing bills in the Senate, including SB 827, which increases housing production in high-transit areas. Additionally, Limón supported SB 684,[15] which expands access to home ownership in infill developments.
In 2025, she sought to prevent an eight-story apartment building with 270 housing units (including 54 units for low-income residents) from being constructed in her affluent district.[16][17] She pushed for language to Senate Bill 158, legislation intended to increase housing supply amid a housing shortage in California, that specifically prohibited the proposed apartment building in her district.[16] Limón's attempt to stymie housing construction in her district came amid a larger push by other California legislators to increase housing supply to alleviate California's housing crisis.[17]
Limón lives in unincorporated Santa Barbara County with her husband, Michael Medel.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Monique Limón | 83,862 | 65.9 | |
| No party preference | Edward Fuller | 43,420 | 34.1 | |
| Total votes | 127,282 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Monique Limón | 128,344 | 64.1 | |
| No party preference | Edward Fuller | 71,944 | 35.9 | |
| Total votes | 200,288 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Monique Limón (incumbent) | 69,382 | 84.3 | |
| Democratic | David L. Norrdin | 7,487 | 9.1 | |
| Democratic | Sofia Collin | 5,409 | 6.6 | |
| Total votes | 82,278 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Monique Limón (incumbent) | 129,535 | 80.4 | |
| Democratic | David L. Norrdin | 31,522 | 19.6 | |
| Total votes | 161,057 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Monique Limón | 152,745 | 61.1 | |
| Republican | Gary Michaels | 82,466 | 33.0 | |
| No party preference | Anastasia Stone | 14,734 | 5.9 | |
| Total votes | 249,945 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Monique Limón | 272,442 | 64.5 | |
| Republican | Gary Michaels | 150,089 | 35.5 | |
| Total votes | 422,531 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Monique Limón (incumbent) | 127,979 | 61.9 | |
| Republican | Elijah Mack | 78,816 | 38.1 | |
| Total votes | 206,795 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Monique Limón (incumbent) | 260,656 | 63.3 | |
| Republican | Elijah Mack | 151,365 | 36.7 | |
| Total votes | 412,021 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| California Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the California State Senate 2025–present | Incumbent |
Members of theCalifornia State Senate | ||
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2025–26 Session
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