--- description: The former mayor of California has been actively exploring a run for Barbara Boxer's open Senate seat. title: 5 Things You Need to Know About Antonio Villaraigosa image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt005ba4ac0162c7e8/69877b868e0601f4dd459e43/antonio-villaraigosa-california.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 5 Things You Need to Know About Antonio Villaraigosa  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 23, 2015 3:34 PM CUT  Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attends the Team Maria benefit for Best Buddies at Montage Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Aug. 18, 2013. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attends the Team Maria benefit for Best Buddies at Montage Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Aug. 18, 2013.Amanda Edwards—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 23, 2015 3:34 PM CUT Speculation is heating up that former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa might run for an open Senate seat in California. So far, Democratic Attorney General [Kamala Harris](http://time.com/3665461/kamala-harris-senate/ "undefined") is the only candidate who has officially announced a bid for the seat that Sen. Barbara Boxer will vacate in 2016\. But Villaraigosa, also a Democrat, has been actively exploring a run, taking meetings and seeking advice from people such as his successor, current L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. If Villaraigosa ran, it would set up a major fight between two Democrats in one of the biggest, most expensive blue states in the country — a prospect that many national Democrats hope to avoid. With other top contenders — [billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer](http://time.com/3679189/tom-steyer-senate-race/ "undefined") and [Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom](http://time.com/3667223/california-senate-tom-steyer-kamala-harris/ "undefined") — also opting out, it could be the difference between a cakewalk for Harris or a real dogfight. Here are five things you need to know about Villaraigosa: 1\. His last name is a combination of his and his ex-wife’s. He was born Antonio Villar, and her name was Corina Raigosa. They joined their last names to create Villaraigosa. 2\. Villaraigosa first ran for mayor in 2001 and lost. Two years later he won a seat on the city council and finally won the mayor’s office in 2005. 3\. He has failed the bar exam four times (and never ended up passing). 4\. He developed a benign tumor on his spine when he was a teenager that causes him recurring pain and has required two surgeries. 5\. He has four kids. ### Photos: Meet the People Who Might Try to Replace Barbara Boxer  Eric Garcetti is the mayor of Los Angeles. He’s the city’s first elected Jewish mayor and the youngest in over 100 years. David McNew—Getty Images  Neel Kashkari ran unsuccessfully as a Republican in the 2014 California gubernatorial election. As Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability from 2008 to 2009, he oversaw the country’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. Joshua Roberts—Getty Images  Carly Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlitt-Packard and ran unsuccessfully for a Republican Senate seat from California in 2010. Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Kamala Harris is the current attorney general of California. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Antonio Villaraigosa was the mayor of Los Angeles before Garcetti, serving from 2005 to 2013. Michael Buckner—Getty Images  Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and the author of "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead." Britta Pedersen—AP  John Chiang is the California State Controller. David Paul—Bloomberg/Getty Images  A member of the Kennedy family, Bobby Shriver is a businessman and former Santa Monica City Council member who just lost a bid for an open seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. David Hume Kennerly—Getty Images  Alex Padilla was a California state senator from 2006 to 2014. Rich Pedroncelli—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3678320/antonio-villaraigosa-senate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3678320/antonio-villaraigosa-senate/"},"headline":"5 Things You Need to Know About Antonio Villaraigosa","datePublished":"2015-01-23T15:34:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:05.727Z","description":"The former mayor of California has been actively exploring a run for Barbara Boxer's open Senate seat.","url":"https://time.com/3678320/antonio-villaraigosa-senate/","keywords":["2016 Election","California","2016 Election topic","Senate","Mayor"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt005ba4ac0162c7e8/69877b868e0601f4dd459e43/antonio-villaraigosa-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt005ba4ac0162c7e8/69877b868e0601f4dd459e43/antonio-villaraigosa-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Team Maria Presents A Benefit For Best Buddies","caption":"Team Maria Presents A Benefit For Best Buddies","creditText":"Amanda Edwards—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3678320/antonio-villaraigosa-senate/","name":"5 Things You Need to Know About Antonio Villaraigosa"}}]}] ```