Governor chooses labor leader to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat
LOS ANGELES >> When California Gov. Gavin Newsom needed to fill the U.S. Senate seat of his late mentor Dianne Feinstein, he could have turned to a big-city mayor, a member of Congress or a powerful legislator.
Instead, he chose Laphonza Butler, a former union leader and Democratic insider who heads a national organization that raises money for women candidates who support abortion rights. She offered a familiar face who shares his vision for a progressive California. In choosing Butler, he also elevated someone who could become an important ally for a potential national campaign that many see in his future.
Once she is sworn in, Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate and the first openly LGBTQ+ California senator. That, alongside her background in the labor and women’s rights movements, helps harden Newsom’s ties to important national Democratic constituencies.
Speaking to reporters Monday in San Francisco, Newsom praised Butler’s “deep knowledge” of the legislative process and said she was the kind of candidate he would build “if I had to literally design from my imagination.”
“She’s the only choice,” he added.
Few voters outside workaday Democratic politics would recognize her name, but Butler is well known inside the party apparatus. Her credentials include working for nearly two years with a consulting firm tied closely to the governor and founded by his top political lieutenants. She also served as a senior adviser to Kamala
Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign and headed Emily’s List, the abortion rights group.
While Newsom could have sought a marquee name to fill the seat, “a comfort level is important. Any governor might be a little hesitant about somebody with too many degrees of separation,” said Claremont Mckenna College political scientist Jack Pitney.
But Newsom’s choice will not be universally welcome. A competitive race for Feinstein’s seat is already underway among three prominent House Democrats, Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee, who is Black. The governor has said he didn’t want to tip the scales in the 2024 race by choosing among those candidates.
Butler has not said if she intends to run for a full term, a decision she must make by Dec. 8.
Newsom said he told Butler to “do what you think is best for you and the state of California, and you make that judgment completely independent of any expectations from me.”
Her selection drew swift criticism from Republicans, who have long struggled in a liberal-leaning state where Democrats haven’t lost a statewide election since 2006.
“The last thing we need are more union activists in government,” tweeted GOP Assemblyman Bill Essayli.
Butler has yet to appear in public since the appointment was announced by Newsom’s office Sunday. She is expected to be sworn in Tuesday in Washington by Harris, the last Black woman to serve in the Senate.
“For women and girls, for workers and unions, for struggling parents waiting for our leaders to bring opportunity back to their homes, for all of California, I’m ready to serve,” she said in a statement.
Newsom faced intense pressure from Black political leaders and advocacy groups to appoint Lee to the seat after he pledged to name a Black woman should Feinstein be unable to finish her term. Though most of those groups praised Butler, their displeasure at Newsom for snubbing Lee is likely to simmer.
State Sen. Steven Bradford, vice chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, said he was disappointed Newsom bypassed Lee, “who is simply unmatched in her values, vision and lived experiences.”