Democrat Kevin de León secured the No. 2 spot in California’s U.S. Senate race, beating out Republican James Bradley to earn the right to face Sen. Dianne Feinstein one-on-one in the November general election, according to election returns released Wednesday.

De León, a state senator from Los Angeles, placed second in Tuesday’s primary with 11.3 percent of the vote, surpassing Bradley, an Orange County businessman, who got 9 percent.

De León faces a huge challenge — Feinstein took nearly 44 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary. She has served in the Senate since 1992 and is seeking a fifth full term.

De León released a statement saying voters want a new approach to dealing with a “broken establishment” in Washington.

“This nation was built on the promise that anyone willing to risk it all to come here — regardless of who they are or where they came from — could have a fair shot at a hard day’s work, afford a roof over their head, affordable health care, and an equal opportunity to succeed,” de León said. “It’s time Californians had a United States senator committed to making good on that promise.”

The November race will mark the second consecutive Senate election in California in which two Democrats face each other. In 2016, then-state Attorney General Kamala Harris defeated Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

No big-name Republicans ran in this year’s primary, and the state GOP was unable to agree on a candidate to endorse.

Feinstein, who was in Washington on election night, said she was running to stand up for California’s values including universal health care, common-sense gun laws and ending the forced separation of immigrant children from their families.

“Thanks so much for your support and for your faith in me,” she said in a statement. “Now it’s on to November.”

Sarah Ravani and Joe Garofoli are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani, @JoeGarofoli