Newsom may be filling a seat in the Senate: Here’s a short list
Gov. Gavin Newsom will have a huge decision to make if Kamala Harris wins the vice presidency: He’ll get to pick someone to fill out the two years left on her Senate term.
Guessing whom the governor would select has been a political parlor game ever since Harris launched her presidential run last year. The issue went into cold storage when the California senator ended her campaign in December, but now that Democratic presidential nomineetobe Joe Biden has named her as his running mate, it’s back.
Newsom’s choice would be fraught.
There would be many racial, gender and geographic factors to consider besides who would be the best senator to represent the nation’s largest state — as well as who could win an election in 2022 for a full sixyear term. There would be huge pressure on the governor to replace Harris with a woman of color, given that only 26 of the 100 senators are women and all but nine are white.
Here are some of the names that could be on Newsom’s list:
Rep. Karen Bass: The Los Angeles congresswoman’s national profile skyrocketed after she became a finalist to be Biden’s running mate. Her upside: The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus has been a longtime leader in police accountability and racial justice issues and would be just the third Black woman to serve in the Senate; Harris was the second. Her downside: Her few weeks in the vice presidential vetting spotlight surfaced a few episodes from her past, including friendly comments about the Church of Scientology, that might give the governor pause.
Rep. Adam Schiff: The chair of the House Intelligence Committee has become a superstar in Democratic circles for his handling of President Trump’s impeachment and incessant investigations of the president. He’s also a prolific fundraiser for the party. The downside for the Burbankbased Schiff: A white male governor picking a white man to replace a woman of color wouldn’t be a good look at this juncture of history. Schiff may have his eyes on the House speaker’s job when San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is 80, decides to retire. His name has also come up as a possible Biden attorney general. Secretary of State Alex Padilla: He has won praise for presiding over California’s growing voter turnout and for aggressively challenging Trump’s baseless charge that the nation’s electoral system is rife with fraud. The Los Angeles resident would be the first Latino to serve as a senator in a state where 39% of the residents are Latino. The bonus for Newsom: He would get to make someone else happy when he names Padilla’s replacement as secretary of state. Attorney General Xavier Becerra: He’s become nationally known through the dozens of lawsuits he has filed against the Trump administration in the name of protecting California’s interests. Like Padilla, he would be the first Latino to serve in the Senate from California. As a former member of House leadership, he knows how Congress works and could step in seamlessly. Again, Newsom could choose his successor.
State Controller Betty Yee: The San Franciscoborn daughter of Chinese immigrants has also served on the state Board of Equalization. She is popular among both the state’s mainstream Democrats and its large progressive wing.
Rep. Katie Porter: Like Schiff, the Orange County Democrat has become a superstar among Democrats for her blistering interrogations of Trump administration figures on Capitol Hill. The firstterm lawmaker was endorsed by her former Harvard Law School professor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and like her mentor is a fierce watchdog over corporate wrongdoing.
Rep. Ro Khanna: Choosing Khanna, who is Indian American, would make California progressives happy. The Fremont Democrat served as a national cochair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and will be a cochair of the California delegation at next week’s Democratic National Convention.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed: Breed is one of several mayors who could be on Newsom’s list, along with Oakland’s Libby Schaaf and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who endorsed Harris for president and is gay. Breed stands out among them for her early handling of the coronavirus pandemic, her embrace of the “defund the police” movement and for leading one of the state’s largest cities.
Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis: Former President Barack Obama’s ambassador to Hungary has more foreign policy chops than most of Newsom’s other choices. A possible downside: She’s is in a job where she’s had little ability to make herself known, making 2022 an uphill challenge
Rep. Barbara Lee: The Oakland Democrat and former cochair of both the Congres
sional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus is revered by progressives nationwide for her antiwar stands. Now in her 13th term, Lee, 74, would be among Newsom’s oldest choices to replace Harris, whom Lee endorsed for president.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti: Garcetti, who endorsed Biden during the primaries, mused about a presidential run himself before deciding to stay on as mayor of the nation’s secondlargest city. Garcetti, who is Mexican American, Italian American and Jewish, has long had a good relationship with Newsom. But he would be leaving at a time when his city is among the hardesthit in the country by the coronavirus pandemic, which might not endear him to Southern California voters in 2022.