California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) office confirmed late Sunday that he will name Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and former labor leader, to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) death at age 90 on Thursday. Butler is currently president of Emily's List, a national organization that works to elect female Democrats who support abortion rights. She was an adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2020 campaign.
In naming Butler, Newsom fulfilled a promise to appoint a Black woman to the Senate. He had faced pressure to appoint Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who is running in a competitive three-way race for the same Senate seat; Feinstein intended to retire after her term ended in 2024. But choosing Lee would have given her an advantage over Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter, and Newsom said he wanted to stay neutral in that primary.
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