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At the outset of a recent interview with McClatchy’s California editorial boards, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla apologized for sounding hoarse. Soothing his throat with a cough drop, he noted that the past 20 months had been “the most intense” period of elected service in his life.

Moments after the interview ended, Padilla was on the Senate floor speaking about theFIRE Act,his bill to enhance the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s capacity to respond to wildfires. The Senate passed it unanimously.

The next day, as chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety, Padilla introduced legislation to provide apath to citizenship for some noncitizen military veterans. Earlier that week, the California Democrat was on MSNBC promoting a bill he is cosponsoring, theElectoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, which would reform presidential election certification in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in January 2021 to finish the term of now-Vice President Kamala Harris,Padilla is on the ballot in two races in the November general election. One is for a six-year term beginning in January; the other is for a term of 56 days to run between the Nov. 8 general election and the beginning of the next full term.

The twin elections are necessary because the term of Harris’ old Senate seat extends into January, two months past the November midterm election. Since that could raise a conflict with federal law, the California Legislature added the election to ward off potential legal challenges.

No matter. Padilla deserves to be elected for 56 days and six years. His Republican opponent, attorney Mark Meuser, is not a serious candidate.

Though he is still a junior senator who will have to wait his turn for a chairmanship of a major committee, Padilla, who is only 49, gives the impression of an ascendant political force. The former California secretary of state was politically adept enough to be chosen to replace Harris by the hyper-political governor.

Padilla achieved this despite being born far outside the centers of political power. He grew up in the working-class community of Pacoima, in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, and graduated from a public high school. He went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Padilla got involved in politics at an early age, elected to the Los Angeles City Council at 26. It’s been an upward trajectory ever since.

“I’m proud that I’m able to bring the municipal experience, the state legislative experience and the secretary of state experience to bear” as a U.S. senator, Padilla said. “I think there’s been a great alignment between my experience and the priorities for California.”

Padilla, whose given name is Alejandro, is the first Latino U.S. senator from California, having described himself as the “proud son of immigrants from Mexico.” This makes him a historic figure in California politics. He has proven that he is capable enough to have achieved power from outside California’s established power centers. In the next six years, he will be judged by what he does for California.

This story was originally publishedOctober 5, 2022 at 5:30 AM.