This is what democratic power actually looks like.

Monique Limón just became California Senate President pro Tem as the first Latina and the first mother ever to hold the role. That’s not symbolism.

That’s a structural shift in who governs the largest economy in the country.

California is a laboratory for democracy. What happens here shapes what’s possible everywhere else. And leadership rooted in lived experience doesn’t just change tone. It changes outcomes.

I wrote about why this moment matters, and why we should all be paying attention.