Sanchez Speaks out on State Senate Race

LOS ALAMITOS, CA — California's Attorney General Kamala Harris prepared Wednesday for a cross-country move, following her victory over Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat from Orange, in the race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in Washington, D.C.

Sanchez, who only spent one-quarter of Harris' $13 million-plus campaign, spending on the election, used $3.1 million to unsuccessfully sway voters.

"Today, I called Ms. Kamala Harris to congratulate her on her win to the U.S. Senate," Sanchez wrote in a statement. "As she prepares to head to Washington to represent the people of California, I offer my support."

Sanchez continued: "The campaign was hard-fought and now we come together as Californians. I thank all of my supporters for standing with me."

Last night, Sanchez spoke with her supporters, introducing them to her mother, whom she says "has been an inspiration to all in their community." She also thanked her husband for his ongoing support.

"Thank you all for your support this past year," Sanchez said. "Thank you for making the calls today and all month long, and knocking on the doors and getting people engaged in our campaign."

Sanchez wanted to give the people of California a choice.

"I was told not to jump in, but you know me. I'm a fighter, and I have no regrets," she said. "I was told I am the first Latina ever in California to be on the November ballot in the general election. That is so hard to believe in our state of California with our rich diversity. We have such a choice, and that is what makes us such a great place."

This was a hard fight, she said, adding, "I wanted to thank all of the Californians who came out to vote today in this historic election."

The battle was one of the most high-profile contests to pit Democrat against Democrat under the state's election law calling for runoffs between the top two primary election vote-getters from any party. It was also the first time California voters have had a chance to pick a new senator since 1992, when Boxer and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also a Democrat, were first voted into office.

Harris picked up endorsements from Boxer and Feinstein the following morning. The attorney general was also backed in her bid by more than a dozen other members of Congress as well as President Barack Obama and Gov. Jerry Brown.

Sanchez had the support of at least 22 of her California colleagues in the House and a dozen members of the state Legislature.

Both had endorsements from labor, though Harris seems to have garnered the lion's share there as well, with backing from the two largest teachers' unions, the 700,000-member-strong Service Employees International Union California and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest public employee trade union in the country.

Harris was sworn in as attorney general in 2011 and prior to that served two terms as district attorney of San Francisco.

Sanchez was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 and serves on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.

Both supported comprehensive immigration reform, more restrictive federal gun laws and the federal health-care law widely referred to as Obamacare. They are both staunchly pro-choice and agree with efforts to fight global warming. And each opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal crafted by the Obama administration.

Harris attacked Sanchez's attendance record in Congress while touting her own ability to "get things done." The lifelong prosecutor pointed to her record fighting gangs and human trafficking and crafting reforms to residential foreclosure rules.

Sanchez tagged Harris as responsible for rising rates of violent crime, a charge widely viewed as an attempt to appeal to Republican voters. Highlighting her 20 years of experience in Congress as critical to effectively tackling issues from global terrorism to immigration reform, Sanchez has accused Harris of being a politician who "says one thing and does another."

The Senate has no term limits, and Feinstein, California's other senator, has announced no plans to retire, though she is the body's oldest member at 83. Though supporters of Sanchez continue to ask her to run again, when Feinstein ultimately decides to retire from the Senate there is no word if she plans to attempt that feat.

Sanchez wrote that for "the next few weeks, I will spend time with my husband and my family. Although we don't know what our future will be, I can tell you that this is not the last that people will see of me."

City News Service contributed to this report / Loretta Sanchez photo