A two-term Republican assemblyman who has sought to broaden the appeal of the party with Hispanics launched an uphill campaign Thursday to become the next U.S. senator from California, a state that hasn’t elected a GOP senator since the 1980s.
Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, a retired Marine Corps colonel who represents the Oceanside area of San Diego County, became the first established Republican to enter the 2016 contest to replace outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat.
