California Governor Names Emily’s List President Laphonza Butler To Feinstein Senate Seat

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has chosen Laphonza Butler, the president of EMILY’s List, to fill the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the governor’s office confirmed to NBC News.

She will be the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate, as well as the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the chamber. Politico first reported Newsom’s choice of Butler.

Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the Senate, died Thursday at age 90.

“I am honored to accept Gov. Newsom’s nomination to be a U.S. Senator for a state I have long called home,” Butler said in a statement Monday (Oct. 2). “I am humbled by the Governor’s trust. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s leadership and legacy are immeasurable. I will do my best to honor her by devoting my time and energy to serving the people of California and the people of this great nation.”

In California, the governor has the power to appoint a senator to serve until the next regularly scheduled statewide general election. That means Butler will serve until the next senator, whom voters will choose in the November 2024 election, is sworn in.

Butler has led EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, since 2021, when she became the first Black woman to lead the organization. On Friday, she posted a tribute to Feinstein on social media, calling her “a titan in the Senate” and “a legendary figure for women in politics and around the country.”

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign — the country’s largest LGBTQ rights organization — called her appointment “a landmark moment in the fight for social, racial, and economic justice.”

“As the first Black lesbian to represent California in the United States Senate, Laphonza brings a compelling voice for abortion rights, the labor movement, and civil rights into Congress. Her leadership is a testament to the legacy of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s strong record of pro-LGBTQ+ support,” Robinson said.

Butler’s professional career has been rooted in California, where she led SEIU Local 2015, the largest union in the state. She has also been a longtime ally of Vice President Kamala Harris, a member of the University of California Board of Regents, and the director of public policy and campaigns in North America for Airbnb.

Butler currently lives in Maryland, but the governor’s office said she owns a home in California and will switch her voter registration.

Newsom, a Democrat, had provided substantial clues in recent months about how he’d choose Feinstein’s replacement if her seat were to become vacant.

He had said that he would appoint a Black woman if either of California’s Senate seats opened up. He also said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” last month that while he “didn’t want to make another appointment,” he knew it was his “responsibility.”

Newsom also said that his choice would amount to an “interim” appointment and that he wouldn’t appoint any of the candidates who had been running to succeed Feinstein in 2024. They include Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, and Katie Porter. Choosing any of them, Newsom said, “would be completely unfair” to the candidates “who have worked their tails off” in their campaigns.

Butler, however, won’t have any constraints on her plans and will be free to run for the seat if she chooses.

Vice President Kamala Harris will swear Butler in on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 3) when the Senate goes back into session.

Aside from Harris and now Butler, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois was the only other Black female senator.