Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

2 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

2 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

2 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

2 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

3 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

3 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

3 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
Newsom Names Former Kamala Harris Adviser to Feinstein Senate Seat
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
October 2, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, to fill the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

In choosing Butler on Sunday, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman if Feinstein’s seat became open. However, he had been facing pressure from some Black politicians and advocacy groups to select Barbara Lee, a prominent Black congresswoman who is already running for the seat.

Butler will be the only Black woman serving in the U.S. Senate and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the chamber.

Newsom said in a statement that the priorities Feinstein fought for in Congress — reproductive freedom, equal protection and safety from gun violence — were under assault in the nation. “Laphonza will carry the baton left by Sen. Feinstein (and) continue to break glass ceilings and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.,” he said.

Butler leads Emily’s List, a political organization that supports Democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights. She also is a former labor leader with SEIU 2015, a powerful force in California politics.

Her appointment sets up a potentially tricky political calculus in the crowded 2024 contest to succeed Feinstein, which has been underway since the beginning of the year.

Newsom spokesman Anthony York said the governor did not ask Butler to commit to staying out of the race. The deadline for candidates to submit paperwork to seek the office is Dec. 8. Should Butler enter the contest, she could set up a competition for the relatively small but influential group of Black voters in California and possibly undercut Lee’s chances.

Emily’s List is known as a fundraising powerhouse, and raising huge sums of campaign cash is a must in any statewide California race. Newsom’s statement said she will step down from the organization.

The decision carried the threat of political fallout for Newsom, who is seen as a potential future national candidate. The candidate favored by Black voters has won the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination every cycle since 1992. The Congressional Black Caucus was among the groups and Black politicians that had urged Newsom to appoint Lee, calling her the best qualified choice for the post.

The long-serving Feinstein died Thursday at age 90 after a series of illnesses.

Butler currently lives in Maryland, according to her Emily’s List biography. Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Newsom, said Butler owns a home in California. She is expected to reregister to vote in California before being sworn in. That could happen as early as Tuesday evening when the Senate returns to session.

Butler did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment nor release a statement.

Democrats control the Senate 51-49, though Feinstein’s seat is vacant. A quick appointment by Newsom will give the Democratic caucus more wiggle room on close votes, including nominations that Republicans uniformly oppose.

Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress and the longest-serving woman in the Senate, said in February she would not seek reelection in 2024. Lee is one of several prominent Democrats competing for the seat, including Democratic U.S. Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. Newsom said he did not want to appoint any of the candidates because it would give them an unfair advantage in the race.

Butler Has Long Track Record in CA Politics

Butler has never held elected office but has a long track record in California politics. She served as a senior adviser to Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign while working at a political firm filled with strategists who have worked for Newsom and many other prominent state Democrats. She also briefly worked in the private sector for Airbnb.

She called Feinstein “a legendary figure for women in politics and around the country,” in a statement posted after Feinstein’s death.

Emily’s List, the group Butler leads, focuses on electing Democratic women who support abortion rights. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn women’s constitutional right to abortion, the issue has become a galvanizing one for many Democrats.

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, said the appointment “will give our … community another voice in Congress at a time when our rights and freedoms are under attack across the country.”

It’s not Newsom’s first time selecting a U.S. senator, after being tasked with choosing a replacement for Kamala Harris when she was elected vice president; at that time he selected California Secretary of State Alex Padilla for the post. It was one of a string of appointments Newsom made in late 2020 and early 2021, a power that gave him kingmaker status among the state’s ambitious Democrats.

The seat is expected to stay in Democratic hands in the 2024 election. Democrats in the liberal-leaning state have not lost a statewide election since 2006, and the party holds a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

DON'T MISS

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

DON'T MISS

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

DON'T MISS

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

DON'T MISS

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

UP NEXT

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

UP NEXT

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

Trump Says US Could Reach Trade Deal With India, Casts Doubt on Deal With Japan

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

US Senate Strikes AI Regulation Ban From Trump Megabill

UP NEXT

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

44 minutes ago

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

1 hour ago

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

2 hours ago

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

2 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

2 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Logan Ryan Martin

2 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

2 hours ago

Meta’s Instagram Down for Thousands of Users in US, Downdetector Shows

2 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

2 hours ago

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

A California Highway Patrol officer died early Wednesday after suffering a suspected medical emergency while on duty in West Los Angeles, au...

8 minutes ago

A California Highway Patrol officer died early Wednesday, July 2, 2025, after a suspected medical emergency caused his patrol vehicle to crash in Los Angeles. (CHP)
8 minutes ago

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 (REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
21 minutes ago

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

San Francisco Housing Development
40 minutes ago

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., September 13, 2023. (Reuters File)
44 minutes ago

Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of Four Idaho Students

1 hour ago

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Iran Enacts Law Suspending Cooperation With UN Nuclear Watchdog

2 hours ago

Valley Children’s Goes Into News Business to Highlight Stories at the Hospital

A makeshift memorial for victims of the MS-13 gang in Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 28, 2017. Top gang leaders being sent back to El Salvador were part of a lengthy federal investigation that has amassed evidence of a corrupt pact between the government of President Nayib Bukele government and MS-13. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend