‘She’s the only choice’: What Gavin Newsom has to say about his pick for U.S. Senate

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday fiercely defended his choice of Laphonza Butler to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate, but deflected questions about his decision-making process, including whether he hopes she will run for a full term in 2024.

Newsom said when he offered Butler the role, he promised that there would be “no constraints, no expectations” about her seeking the office after the current term ends in January 2025.

“It was the first thing we said — ‘this term expires based upon the existing term and you do what you think is best for you and the state of California and you make that judgment completely independent of any expectations from me or conditions,’” Newsom told a group of reporters at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

The governor has known Butler for many years. She leads EMILY’s List, an influential national group focused on electing Democratic women to office. She’s been a longtime California political insider, including serving as the former leader of the state’s largest union, a senior campaign adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris and a consultant at what is now known as Bearstar Strategies, the prominent San Francisco-based political consulting firm.

The governor declined to say when he first approached Butler to gauge her interest, or why he dropped the condition that his appointee not enter the race currently underway for Feinstein’s seat.

When pressed about whether he’d like to see her enter the race, Newsom added, “I wouldn’t have appointed someone I didn’t respect or admire and someone I couldn’t back up and vouch for.”

Feinstein, who died early Friday, announced earlier this year that she would retire when her term ended in January 2025. Three Democratic members of Congress quickly lined up to fill her seat: Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Katie Porter, D-Irvine, and Barabara Lee, D-Oakland.

The governor made a pledge in 2021 that if he had to fill the seat, he would appoint a Black woman. Newsom then got himself into hot water last month when he told NBC’s Chuck Todd that the replacement would be an “interim” appointment only, someone who would not seek a full term next year. That excluded Lee, the only Black elected official vying for the seat.

Newsom did not say whether he called Lee before naming Butler. He also declined to answer whether he asked anyone to take the position before Butler.

“She’s the only choice,” he said. “She’s the best choice and I could not be more blessed.”

Will Laphonza Butler run for California’s Senate seat in the 2024 election?

Debbie Walsh, president of the Center for American Women and Politics, praised Newsom’s choice and speculated that Butler is positioned “to make a serious run.”

“She clearly would know how to raise money, and have access to the ability to raise money,” she said.

But, Walsh added that she would undoubtedly be an “uphill position.” The primary is in March, just five months away.

“Lee, who is beloved, particularly on the progressive side,” Walsh said. “I don’t know if she would do that.”

Aimee Allison, president and founder of She The People, an Oakland-based political network for women of color, is a big Lee fan. But she also likes the Butler choice.

“With such great stakes before us — everything from inflation, gun violence, attacks on reproductive rights, attacks on democracy, and more — we need a leader who is able to step in immediately and continue the work. I believe Laphonza Butler will represent us admirably.

“Though there are many unknowns about next year’s primaries, She The People is delighted by the prospect of multiple talented women of color running for the Senate in California, and across the country. We look forward to lending our support.”

Gavin Newsom’s Senate pick lives in Maryland. What’s the deal?

Butler, a longtime California resident, moved to Maryland in 2021 when she was named president of EMILY’s List.

The soon-to-be senator is still a homeowner in California and has switched her voter registration back to the Golden State, according to the governor, making her eligible for the position.

Still, some detractors are raising concerns about her residency.

“There is a legitimate question as to whether or not Ms. Butler satisfies the qualifications for a U.S. senator specified in Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution,” said California attorney Jason Bezis.

It says that “No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.”

But there’s precedent for this.

In 1964, Pierre Salinger, former press secretary to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, was appointed by California Gov. Pat Brown to the state’s vacant Senate seat, replacing the late Clair Engle.

Salinger was a Virginia resident, and Senate Republican Leader Everett M. Dirksen of Illinois questioned whether Salinger was legally qualified to serve. He asked the Senate to have Salinger stand aside until the matter was resolved. After a two-hour debate, the Democratic-run Senate approved seating Salinger.