One Seat, Competing Pressures as Newsom Considers Senate Pick

Since Gavin Newsom’s days as a young upstart running for mayor of San Francisco through more than two decades of public life, Alex Padilla has been a stalwart ally.

As president of the Los Angeles City Council, Mr. Padilla introduced Mr. Newsom to important local labor and Latino leaders. As a state senator, Mr. Padilla chaired Mr. Newsom’s short-lived first campaign for governor. And as California secretary of state, Mr. Padilla conferred a key early endorsement that helped Mr. Newsom win the governor’s seat in 2018....