Monique Limón
Monique Limón 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.
Early life and education
Limón was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Arts from Columbia University.Career
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.She is a former member of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women.
California State Legislature
California State Assembly
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.
California State Senate
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.In 2023, she introduced a bill to expand prescribed grazing as a wildfire prevention measure. The next year, she introduced a bill to expand the approval process for prescribed burning.
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.
On June 9, 2025, the Senate Democratic caucus unanimously voted to promote Limón as president pro tem, succeeding Mike McGuire. She is the first woman of color to hold the position.
As a leader of the State Senate, Limón has passed and supported policies that aim to boost the housing supply in California to help combat the ongoing affordability crisis. She authored SB 676 to ensure communities recovering from wildfire-declared emergencies can access the same rebuilding review procedures available to large-scale infrastructure projects. She also supported dozens of housing bills in the Senate, including SB 827, which increases housing production in high-transit areas. Additionally, Limón supported SB 684, which expands access to home ownership in infill developments.