The death of senior U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, at the age of 90 leaves open one of the most high-profile seats in the upper congressional chamber. It will be up to Gov. Gavin Newsom to decide who fills it, in what is sure to be one of the most scrutinized decisions of his ambitious career.
In 2016, Kamala Harris was elected to the Senate, becoming the first Black woman from California to earn that distinction. After Joe Biden chose her as his vice presidential nominee, and they won the 2020 election, Gov. Gavin Newsom filled her empty seat by appointing, then California's secretary of state . He is the first Hispanic person to represent California in the U.S. Senate.
But with Feinstein’s own retirement looming, and the importance of Black women to the Democratic coalition as apparent as ever after the 2020 election, Newsom said in 2021 he would appoint a Black woman, should the Feinstein seat open up., should the seat become available.One obvious choice for Newsom is Rep. Lee, but appointing her could lead to charges that Newsom is trying to influence the 2024 election by endowing her with the power of incumbency.
He has tried to resolve the problem by saying he would appoint a “caretaker” to serve out Feinstein’s term, leaving Lee, Porter and Schiff to battle for the seat next year., arguing that the Black woman chosen by Newsom would represent a"token replacement," a placeholder with little effective power .
"I would hope in a free democratic society we would not put limitations on people if we appoint them: 'You can't run for election. You can't stay any longer.' Qualified people should be empowered to run and be free to compete,"Several names have been floated, including Sam Francisco Mayor London Breed, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
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