Proposed Senate Replacement for Harris Comes With Ethical Questions 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. The purpose of the program, known as “Vote Safe California,” was reportedly to “produce advertising to encourage voters to participate in the November election.”