Monique Limón

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Not to be confused with Monique Limon.
Monique Limón
President pro tempore of the California State Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 17, 2025
Preceded byMike McGuire
Member of the California State Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 7, 2020
Preceded byHannah-Beth Jackson
Constituency19th district (2020–2024)
21st district (2024–present)
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 37th district
In office
December 5, 2016 – November 30, 2020
Preceded byDas Williams
Succeeded bySteve Bennett
Personal details
Born (1979-10-30) October 30, 1979 (age 46)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseMichael Medel
Residence(s)Goleta, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA)
Columbia University (MA)
WebsiteState Senate website

Monique Limón (born October 30, 1979) is an American politician serving as a member of the California State Senate. She is a member of the Democratic Party representing the 21st Senate District, which encompasses all of Santa Barbara County, a little over 60% of the population of Ventura County, and roughly 20% of the population of San Luis Obispo County.[1]

Early life and education

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Limón was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico.[2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Arts from Columbia University.[3][4]

Career

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She served six years on the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education. Additionally, she served in the capacity of Assistant Director for the McNair Scholars Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara prior to serving in the Assembly.[5]

She is a former member of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women.[citation needed]

California State Legislature

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California State Assembly

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In 2016, Limón was elected to the California State Assembly to succeed Das Williams, who ran for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

In 2017, Jerry Brown signed Limón's bill to develop a model Native American studies curriculum to be integrated in California high schools.[6]

California State Senate

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In 2020, Limón ran for the California State Senate's 19th district to succeed Hannah-Beth Jackson, who was ineligible to run due to term limits.[7]

In 2023, she introduced a bill to expand prescribed grazing as a wildfire prevention measure.[8] The next year, she introduced a bill to expand the approval process for prescribed burning.[9]

Limón sponsored a bill to make voter registration automatic at California DMVs, however Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill in 2024, citing the additional costs it would entail.[10]

On June 9, 2025, the Senate Democratic caucus unanimously voted to promote Limón as president pro tem, succeeding Mike McGuire.[11] She is the first woman of color to hold the position.[12][13]

Opposition to housing

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In 2025, she sought to prevent an eight-story apartment building with 270 housing units (including 54 units for low-income residents) from being constructed in her affluent district.[14][15] She pushed for language to Senate Bill 158, legislation intended to increase housing supply amid a housing shortage in California, that specifically prohibited the proposed apartment building in her district.[14] Limón's attempt to stymie housing construction in her district came amid a larger push by other California legislators to increase housing supply to alleviate California's housing crisis.[15]

Personal life

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Limón lives in Goleta, California with her husband, Michael Medel.

Electoral history

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2016

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2016 California State Assembly 37th district election[16][17]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Monique Limón 83,862 65.9
No party preference Edward Fuller 43,420 34.1
Total votes 127,282 100.0
General election
Democratic Monique Limón 128,344 64.1
No party preference Edward Fuller 71,944 35.9
Total votes 200,288 100.0
Democratic hold

2018

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2018 California State Assembly 37th district election[18][19]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Monique Limón (incumbent) 69,382 84.3
Democratic David L. Norrdin 7,487 9.1
Democratic Sofia Collin 5,409 6.6
Total votes 82,278 100.0
General election
Democratic Monique Limón (incumbent) 129,535 80.4
Democratic David L. Norrdin 31,522 19.6
Total votes 161,057 100.0
Democratic hold

2020

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2020 California State Senate 19th district election[20][21]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Monique Limón 152,745 61.1
Republican Gary Michaels 82,466 33.0
No party preference Anastasia Stone 14,734 5.9
Total votes 249,945 100.0
General election
Democratic Monique Limón 272,442 64.5
Republican Gary Michaels 150,089 35.5
Total votes 422,531 100.0
Democratic hold

2024

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2024 California State Senate 21st district election[22][23]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Monique Limón (incumbent) 127,979 61.9
Republican Elijah Mack 78,816 38.1
Total votes 206,795 100.0
General election
Democratic Monique Limón (incumbent) 260,656 63.3
Republican Elijah Mack 151,365 36.7
Total votes 412,021 100.0
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "Senate District 21 | Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón". Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  2. ^ Welsh, Nick (June 11, 2025). "Monique Limón Becomes First Latina President of California Senate". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  3. ^ "About". Official Website - Assemblymember Monique Limón Representing the 37th California Assembly District. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "S. Monique Limón". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  5. ^ Ikem, Nkechi. "Six Questions with Monique Limón, Candidate for 37th District Assemblymember | The Bottom Line". Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Giorgi, Raiza (December 6, 2017). "New law to create Native American curriculum". Santa Ynez Valley Star. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  7. ^ "Limón takes lead in 19th Senate District race". www.msn.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Fausey, Callie (March 30, 2023). "Santa Barbara's State Senator Introduces Bill to Expand Prescribed Grazing". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  9. ^ Huijon Jr., Eduardo (March 30, 2023). "How a proposed law aims to reduce massive wildfires in California". KSBY-TV. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Kamal, Sameea (June 18, 2024). "'Automatic' registration would boost California's voter rolls. What's the downside?". CalMatters. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  11. ^ "California Senate Democrats vote for Monique Limón to be their next leader". KCRA-TV. June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  12. ^ Wolffe, Kate (June 9, 2025). "California Senate chooses new leader, first Latina to hold the role". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  13. ^ Kuang, Jeanne (June 9, 2025). "California Democrats choose progressive Latina as next state Senate leader". CalMatters. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "A powerful California lawmaker wants to overturn the 'Holy Grail' of housing reform — just for one project". San Francisco Chronicle. 2025.
  15. ^ a b Christopher, Ben (September 9, 2025). "This last-minute deal could stymie a new Santa Barbara apartment building". CalMatters. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  16. ^ "June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  17. ^ "November 8, 2016, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  18. ^ "June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  19. ^ "November 6, 2018, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  20. ^ "March 3, 2020, Presidential Primary Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  21. ^ "November 3, 2020, General Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  22. ^ "March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  23. ^ "November 5, 2024, General Election - State Senator" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
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