Laphonza Butler, a longtime political strategist with close ties to organized labor and Gov. Gavin Newsom, will take the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat in the U.S. Senate following her death Friday.
The appointment, reported by Politico tonight and confirmed by the governor’s office, closes a brief but rapid period of speculation about how Newsom would fulfill a promise to return a Black woman to the Senate without tipping the scales in what is already a crowded race to succeed Feinstein.
Butler currently serves as president of EMILYs List, an organization that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights. She was for many years the head of SEIU Local 2015, a union representing California long-term caregivers, before becoming a partner in what was then known as SCRB Strategies, Newsom’s political consulting firm, and later working in public policy for Airbnb. She’s also a former University of California regent.
Her selection allows Newsom, who enjoys making political history with his appointments, to once again celebrate a milestone — Butler is the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate. She lives in Maryland with her partner, Neneki Lee, and their daughter, Nylah, according to an online biography.
Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for the governor, said that Butler is a longtime California homeowner who moved to the Washington, D.C., area to run EMILYs List and that she would re-register to vote in California before being sworn into the Senate.
This is Newsom’s second Senate appointment, and he faced tremendous pressure to choose a Black woman for the position. Only two, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have ever served as senators and none currently do.
Newsom promised to do so during an MSNBC…
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