Kevin de León

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Kevin de León (2017)

Kevin de León (born December 10, 1966 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . He has been a member of the California Senate since 2010 and has been President pro tempore since 2014. He was previously a member of the California State Assembly . In the fall of 2017, he announced his intention to run for the United States Senate in 2018 .

Life

De León was born in Los Angeles to immigrants from Guatemala , his father having Chinese roots. After graduating from the University of California , he first worked as a teacher for immigrants from Latin America , teaching them the English language and culture of the United States . During his activity, de León was also active in various teachers' associations.

In the fall of 2006 he was elected to the California State Assembly as a member of the Democratic Party for the 45th constituency, which also includes Hollywood . In November 2010 he made the leap to the California Senate , where he represented the 24th constituency. Both as a member of parliament and as a senator, he campaigned for stricter environmental protection and the rights of immigrants. Another focus was on the area of ​​internal security. In October 2014, de León was elected pro tempore President of the Senate to succeed Darrell Steinberg . In this position he was the first Latino in around 130 years. This makes him the highest ranking senator and the second highest office holder in the parliamentary chamber. The president of the Senate is de jure the lieutenant governor of California , who is not a senator and only has a vote in the event of a stalemate. In addition, the Vice-Governor only chairs the meetings of the State Senate on a few (special) occasions. As President pro tempore, who is always provided by the majority parliamentary group, de León gained great influence over the Senate's agenda. He proved to be a supporter of Governor Jerry Brown in most areas .

In the spring of 2017, US media reported that de León would run for vice governor in the 2018 elections. In the fall of 2017, speculation also reached the public that de León could run for the United States Senate in 2018 against the democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein . In mid-October 2017, de León actually announced his application for the office. The first suspicions of a candidacy were fired after Feinstein announced her intention to run again shortly before. A previous poll had shown that a slim majority of Californians are against a re-election of Feinstein, who has been a member of Congress since 1992 and would be 85 on election day. Political observers see de León as a possible alternative for the progressive party wing of the Democrats, which Feinstein is rather skeptical of.

Kevin de León is married and has one daughter.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ About Kevin de Leon , official website (English)
  2. ↑ Progressives Want a Feinstein Challenger. Could It Be Kevin de Leon? , LA Weekly, October 11, 2017 (English)
  3. ↑ With his political clock ticking, state Senate leader Kevin de León keeps mum about what he'll do next , Los Angeles Times, September 21, 2017 (English)
personal data
SURNAME De León, Kevin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California