Newsom names Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein’s Senate vacancy

Updated Oct. 2, 3:06 p.m.

Governor Gavin Newsom has named Laphonza Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Dianne Feinstein. 

The governor told reporters Monday in San Francisco that Butler is “next-level qualified” and “the only choice” for the job. 

“She has deep understanding of the legislative process,” he said. “Deep national experience, not just state and local experience. She understands organizing is bottom-up, not just top down.”

Butler will be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday by Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Until her appointment, Butler was president of EMILYs List, a fundraising organization that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights. 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, and served as a campaign adviser to Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign.

In a statement, Butler said she is “honored to accept Gov. Newsom’s nomination to be a U.S. Senator for a state I have long called home” and “humbled by the governor’s trust.” 

“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. 

Butler will be the first Black lesbian to serve in Congress and the first out 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, a fact many Republicans seized on after her appointment was announced. 

“Out of 40 million California residents, Gavin Newsom seriously couldn’t find one to serve in the Senate,” Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher said in a statement. “Californians deserve real representation, not a political favor for a well-connected campaign operative who doesn’t even live here.”

The governor’s office said Butleris a longtime California resident and homeowner. She plans to re-register to vote in California before being sworn into the Senate on Tuesday.

Feinstein died Friday morning after a long and storied career in the U.S. Senate and San Francisco politics. 

California's Dianne Feinstein, longest serving woman in the Senate, has died at 90

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.