Updated 9:38 p.m.
Governor Gavin Newsom has named Laphonza Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Dianne Feinstein.
Butler is president of EMILYs List, a fundraising organization that works to elect Democratic women. She is a former University of California regent and has strong labor ties, having served as president of the SEIU California state council and other roles with the labor union.
She also served for a time as partner of Bearstar Strategies, a political consulting firm that works closely with Newsom.
Butler will be the first Black lesbian to serve in Congress and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the U.S. Senate.
“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she’ll represent us proudly in the United States Senate,” Newsom said in a statement Sunday night.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.,” he said.
Newsom’s decision to appoint Butler was first reported by Politico Sunday evening.
Butler currently lives in Maryland, but the governor’s office said she is a longtime California resident and homeowner. She plans to re-register to vote in California before being sworn into the Senate later this week.
Feinstein died Friday morning after a long and storied career in the U.S. Senate and San Francisco politics.
By naming Butler, Newsom will follow through on a promise to name a Black woman to fill the vacancy. He faced immense pressure over the weekend to name a replacement, including from supporters of Rep. Barbara Lee, who is running to fill the Senate seat in next year’s election, along with fellow California Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
The governor had previously said he would not appoint a candidate currently running, saying he did not want to “tip the balance” of the race.
The appointment will be Newsom’s fourth choice to high-level positions: in 2021 he named Alex Padilla to fill a Senate vacancy left by Kamala Harris’ election to the White House. He picked former Assembly member Shirley Weber as Secretary of State, replacing Padilla, and Rob Bonta as state attorney general.
