Kamala Harris, the current California State Attorney General, beat Rep. Loretta Sanchez for California’s open senate seat.
The two democrats were vying for an open seat left by Sen. Barbara Boxer, who served for 20 years.
With 64 percent of precincts reporting at 12:30 a.m., Harris had won with 64 percent of the votes.
Harris, the first black politician to represent the state in the senate and second black woman senator in the body’s history, was elected as attorney general in 2011 and 2014.
“I’m a fighter,” Harris said on her website. “I’ve fought for the people of California, especially those most in need. And now I’m ready to take that fight to Washington.”
Harris has spent a large part of her career focusing on education and children. Harris is responsible for establishing the Bureau of Children’s Justice. The bureau oversees adoptions, fighting against inequality in education, human trafficking, and truancy prevention.
The California Teacher’s Federation endorsed Harris for the U.S. Senate.
According to her website, Harris believes that children who are chronically absent from school fall below grade level by the third grade. Harris is determined to create policies that will help deal with children’s absences.
She has focused her time in office on issues such as housing, education and the death penalty.
Harris is responsible for enacting the California Housing Bill of Rights in 2013, which prevents foreclosure if homeowners are working to pay off a mortgage. It also gives tenants 90 days to move when they have a received an eviction notice.
Xochitl Abarca and Meghan McGillicuddy contributed to this article.