California Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected Laphonza Butler, a Democratic insider and adviser to Kamala Harris’ failed 2020 presidential campaign, to fill the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Butler has never been elected to office… and she also has a dirty little secret voters in the Golden State may not like: She doesn’t live in California.
Butler lives in Maryland, according to the biography on her organization’s website. She’s even registered to vote in Maryland.
Take a look —
California’s newest Senator Laphonza Butler literally lives in Maryland and registered to vote here LAST YEAR https://t.co/0Ps00L3Nuq pic.twitter.com/YImmk48n5y
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) October 2, 2023
“Laphonza will carry the baton left by Sen. Feinstein (and) continue to break glass ceilings and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.,” Newsom said about the appointment of a Democratic Party insider.
Butler leads Emily’s List, a far-Left political fundraising organization that supports Democratic women candidates who favor abortion. She is also a former labor leader with SEIU 2015, a powerful force in California’s Democratic Party.
Her appointment sets up a potentially tricky political calculus in the crowded 2024 contest to succeed Feinstein, which has been underway since the beginning of the year.
Newsom spokesman Anthony York said the governor did not ask Butler to commit to staying out of the race. The deadline for candidates to submit paperwork to seek the office is Dec. 8. Should Butler enter the contest, she could set up a competition for the relatively small but influential group of Black voters in California and undercut Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee’s chances.
Emily’s List is a fundraising powerhouse, and huge sums of campaign cash are a must in any statewide California race.
Newsom’s statement said she will step down from the organization.
The decision posed a political fallout threat for Newsom, who is seen as a potential future national candidate. The candidate favored by Black voters has won the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination every cycle since 1992.
Although she lives in Maryland, a spokesman for Newsom said Butler owns a second home in California. She is expected to reregister to vote in California before being sworn in. That could happen as early as Tuesday evening when the Senate returns to session.
Butler did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment nor release a statement. The long-serving Feinstein died Thursday at age 90 after a series of illnesses.
Democrats control the Senate 51-49, though Feinstein’s seat is vacant. A quick appointment by Newsom will give the Democratic caucus more wiggle room on close votes, including nominations that Republicans uniformly oppose.
Butler has never held elected office but has long been a powerful insider in California politics. She served as a senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris’s failed 2020 presidential campaign. She also works at a political firm filled with strategists who have worked for Newsom and many other prominent state Democrats. She also briefly worked in the private sector for Airbnb.
It’s not Newsom’s first time selecting a U.S. senator, after being tasked with choosing a replacement for Kamala Harris when she was elected vice president; at that time he selected California Secretary of State Alex Padilla for the post. It was one of a string of appointments Newsom made in late 2020 and early 2021, a power that gave him kingmaker status among the state’s ambitious Democrats.
The seat is expected to stay in Democratic hands in the 2024 election. Democrats in the liberal-leaning state have not lost a statewide election since 2006, and the party holds a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article