by ECM | October 3, 2023 12:59 am
Governor Gavin Newsom has selected Laphonza Butler to complete Senator Feinstein’s term in the U.S. Senate
By Lynn La[1], Cal Matters[2]
October 2, 2023 (Sacramento) — Late Sunday evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed that Laphonza Butler[3], president of EMILYs List — a political action committee focused on electing pro-choice, Democratic women — will replace the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein[4] and finish out her term through 2024.
As CalMatters’ state Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff[6] explains, Butler for many years was the president of SEIU Local 2015, a union representing long-term caregivers, before becoming a partner[7] in a political consulting firm that counts Newsom among its clients. She later worked in public policy for Airbnb and was a University of California regent[8].
She will be the first LGBTQ+ person to represent California in the U.S. Senate, giving Newsom — who has appointed the state’s first Latino U.S. senator and the first openly gay justice[9] to the California Supreme Court — the opportunity to rack up another “first.”
Among those celebrating: Planned Parenthood and the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality California.
The news that Butler would succeed Feinstein, first reported by Politico[10], came as Newsom faced intense public pressure to appoint a Black woman to the job. This was, in part, due to his own comments following his 2020 appointment of Alex Padilla[11] to the U.S. Senate after then-Sen. Kamala Harris was elected vice president. Newsom said if he got the chance to name a successor to Feinstein, he would want a Black woman.
But six months later on NBC’s “Meet the Press” — amid Feinstein’s declining health and decision not to seek reelection — Newsom said if given the opportunity he would make an “interim appointment[12]” to avoid tipping “the balance” of a crowded March primary race. The lineup already includes three high-profile Democratic candidates[13]: Reps. Adam Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine, and Barbara Lee of Oakland.
The implication that a Black woman should only serve in the Senate in a caretaker capacity led to public outcry from Lee, who is Black, and her supporters. Earlier on Sunday, the chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Steven Horsford, sent a letter to the governor[14] urging him to pick Lee. And a number of Black female California politicians questioned why any Black woman would take the job knowing she had to give it up in little more than a year. A Los Angeles Times column by Erika D. Smith[15] was headlined: “Newsom’s cynical pitch: Hey, you there, Black woman. Can you keep Feinstein’s seat warm?”
By late Sunday, the governor’s office confirmed to Alexei that his appointee would, in fact, be free to run for a full term; Newsom communications advisor Anthony York said he regretted not clearing up the confusion sooner. No word on whether Butler intends to run — she now lives in Maryland, but a spokesperson for the governor said she owns a home in California and will re-register to vote here before being sworn into the Senate.
Commentary on Feinstein:
Lynn La[18] is the WhatMatters newsletter writer. Prior to joining CalMatters, she developed thought leadership at an edtech company and was a senior editor at CNET. She also covered public health at the Sacramento Bee as a Kaiser media fellow and was an intern reporter at Capitol Weekly. She’s a graduate of UC Davis and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Subscribe to Cal Matters here[19]
Subscribe to East County Magazine here[20]
Read about it: SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN, AN ICON FOR WOMEN IN POLITICS, DIES AT 90[21]
Source URL: https://eastcountymagazine.org/newsom-appoints-laphonza-butler-fill-feinstein-seat/
Copyright ©2026 East County Magazine unless otherwise noted.