In California, dreaming of Senate
Hopefuls eyeing seat as Harris joins Biden
LOS ANGELES — The possible election of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as vice president has set off a competition in California to replace her, with contenders pressuring Gov. Gavin Newsom for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime appointment.
Joe Biden tapped Harris this week to join him on the Democratic presidential ticket. Should they win in November, it would fall to the Democratic governor to appoint Harris’ replacement for a term that runs through January 2023. Newsom said Wednesday aspiring candidates are already needling him about the potential vacancy.
For Newsom, the list of choices is long and the political risks many, especially with a national reckoning on racial injustice underway. Theoretically, Newsom could even select himself.
“It’s an earthquake kind of appointment,” longtime Democratic National Committee member Bob Mulholland said.
In making a selection, Newsom would face considerations from gender to geography to demographics.
There would be pressure to select a woman, especially a Black woman, to replace Harris, who is the first Black woman to run on a major party’s presidential ticket. She’s one of just two Black women who have ever served in the Senate and the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India.
Rep. Karen Bass, who was on Biden’s vice presidential short list and heads the Congressional Black Caucus, probably would get consideration, with Rep. Barbara Lee,
another Black member of Congress with progressive credentials.
Rep. Katie Porter of Orange County has established a national reputation in her short time in Washington and is a prolific fundraiser. Then there is Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who served as ambassador to Hungary under President Barack Obama.
In diverse California, others would advocate for a Hispanic person, giving the governor an opportunity to appoint the first Latino senator in a state with more Hispanic people than white.
Newsom is likely to look at possibilities across the spectrum, but there is another option. The governor — to avoid offending factions within the party — could choose a caretaker from among party elders to hold the seat until the 2022 election — someone with a profile like former Gov. Jerry Brown. Under that scenario, the appointee would step aside after a new senator is elected.
“It’s an old joke in politics: Every time you make an appointment, you make 20 enemies and one ingrate,” Claremont Mckenna College political scientist Jack Pitney said.
One name rising is Newsom’s longtime friend Secretary of State Alex Padilla. He is Hispanic and has proved his electability statewide.
He’s 47 and has emerged as a nationally recognized voice on voting security. Being based in Southern California could also be a plus for Padilla in balancing statewide political power, since Newsom, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Harris all have San Francisco-area roots.
There are other prominent Hispanic politicians likely to be considered, including Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the face of the state’s Trump resistance, and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, the city’s first openly gay mayor who recently lost his mother and stepfather to COVID-19.