California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s choice of Alex Padilla to replace Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) may force the U.S. Senate to take a critical look at a $35 million contract awarded by Padilla, the state’s secretary of state, to a firm with deep ties to three Democratic presidential nominees.
Padilla awarded the contract to SKDKnickerbocker (SKDK), the Washington-based public relations and political strategy firm, in August as part of the state’s program of providing mail-in ballots to all of the state’s 22 million voters.
