Laphonza Butler’s excellent decision
Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., smiles during a re-enactment of her swearing-in ceremony to the Senate to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Oct. 3, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Butler made history as the first Black and openly lesbian senator in Congress, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her. It was oddly because I thought she would be a strong candidate for actual election to the seat in November 2024 that I was a bit annoyed when Gov.
Plus, looks and photo opps amount to more than a little when it comes to being elected to office, and from the minute she was named senator, Butler has looked positively senatorial. When Newsom made the appointment and disclosed that he’d done so without asking her for any commitment about whether she would run next year or not, I thought, uh-oh — once someone steps into such a seat of exalted power, it can be really hard for them to step down from it. And the power of incumbency, as with the power of good looks, is a great advantage.
Wow. If serving in the greatest deliberative body in the world isn’t the best use of her voice, this is someone with very high ambitions indeed.
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