2016 CA Senate race: on Principles & Values

Xavier Becerra: Appointed as California's first Latino attorney general

Becerra has served 12 terms in Congress and was making a bid to become the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee when Brown called him unexpectedly to offer the job. "It's a phenomenal opportunity," Becerra said. "It means I get to be home a lot more."

Becerra, who is the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, would be the state's first Latino attorney general. He worked in the Civil Division of the attorney general's office from 1987 to 1990 before entering Congress.

A vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, Becerra was briefly floated as an option for vice president or a cabinet position. With Clinton's loss Nov. 8 and no upward mobility available in House leadership, Becerra's future political career was unclear.

Kamala Harris: First Indian-American to serve in the U.S. Senate

Harris' race and ethnicity were never a focal point of the contest, which she was projected to win handily. Many people focused more on the possibility that California might have elected the first Latina to the Senate if Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) had won.

Harris' mother, Dr. Shyamala Harris, emigrated from India. Her father, Donald Harris, emigrated from Jamaica. According to the U.S. Senate's website, just nine black Americans have ever served in the Senate. Democrat Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois became the first black woman to serve in the body in 1993. A handful of Indian Americans have served in the U.S. House, including California's Dalip Singh Saund from 1957 to 1963 and current Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove), who was first elected in 2012.