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California’s Senate will be led by a woman for first time in history: Sen. Toni Atkins

State Senate leader Kevin de León said Thursday that the Senate Democratic Caucus is supporting Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) to take over for him as Senate president pro tem in 2018 after an election in January.

De León, a Los Angeles Democrat who has served as Senate leader for nearly four years, is stepping down from the leadership position as he runs against Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the 2018 election for her seat in the U.S. Senate.

“Four years ago, our caucus elected the first Latino leader in over a century to lead the California state Senate — and, next year, Sen. Atkins will become our first ever woman to be elected Senate leader,” De León said in a statement.

Read the full article on LA Times.

Senator Atkins is a former David Bohnett Fellow at Harvard.