Alex Padilla will not run for California governor

San Francisco Chronicle / 11-4-2025

WASHINGTON — Alex Padilla, the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate, will not run for governor in 2026, he said Tuesday.

In a brief appearance at the U.S. Capitol, where he was joined by his wife Angela, Padilla thanked the supporters who had encouraged his candidacy over the past two months. But he said he had also heard from “countless people” who told him that they were glad he was in Washington fighting to “protect California and the American dream from a vindictive president.”

“So it is with a full heart and even more commitment than ever that I am choosing to not run for governor of California next year,” he said. “I choose not just to stay in the Senate, I choose to stay in this fight — because the Constitution is worth fighting for, our fundamental rights are worth fighting.”

SNIP

His profile increased significantly in June, when he was tackled and handcuffed by Department of Homeland Security agents while trying to question DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference, for which he was lauded by many Democrats for literally putting his body on the line against Trump. Political insiders in California, unsatisfied by a fractured field of gubernatorial candidates lacking a clear frontrunner, began a campaign behind the scenes to draft Padilla into the race.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/alex-padilla-governor-21138744.php

Yeah, stay in the Senate.