California Gov. Gavin Newsom received some backlash on Tuesday for not picking a Black woman to fill the remainder of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's Senate term.
The Democratic governor instead selected Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who is a Latino, to be the state’s next U.S. senator – a first in California’s history.
This photo taken from video provided by the Office of the Governor shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right during a virtual meeting from his home in Sacramento, Calif., with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. (Office of the Governor via AP) Padilla's appointment gives a new level of representation to Latinos, who make up the state's single largest demographic group at nearly 40% of the population.