DEVELOPING: Gavin Newsom Selects Dianne Feinstein Replacement?

According to POLITICO writer Christopher Cadelago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Dianne Feinstein.

“Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Dem women who support abortion rights, per a person familiar,” Cadelago posted Sunday evening.

SCOOP: Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Dem women who support abortion rights, per a person familiar.https://t.co/FtOv4fneAk

— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) October 2, 2023

“Newsom picks Laphonza Butler as Feinstein replacement,” POLITICO posted from its official X account.

Newsom picks Laphonza Butler as Feinstein replacement https://t.co/4Y092zAsmf

— POLITICO (@politico) October 2, 2023

The New Leaders Council provides more information about Laphonza Butler:

Laphonza Butler is the president of EMILY’s List. As a leader in politics, campaign strategy, and the labor movement for two decades, she has dedicated her life to empowering women and supporting them in finding their voice and using it to make meaningful change.

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Prior to joining EMILY’s List, Butler served as Director of Public Policy and Campaigns in North America for Airbnb. She also was a partner at SCRB Strategies, a political consulting firm where she was a strategist for candidates running up and down the ballot and a senior advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

Butler spent 10 years as the president of the biggest union in California, and the nation’s largest home care workers union, SEIU Local 2015. She was elected to this position at just 30 years old, one of the youngest to take on this role. As president, Butler was the leading voice, strategist, and architect of efforts to address pay inequity for women in California and a top advocate for raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour – the first state in the nation to do so, benefiting millions of working women in low wage jobs. That effort also gave hundreds of thousands of homeworkers access to paid time off.

Previously, Butler served for seven years as President of SEIU United Long Term Care Workers (ULTCW), and also as SEIU’s Property Services Division Director in which she was responsible for the strategic direction of the more than 250,000 janitors, security officers, window cleaners, and food service workers across the country. She also served as an SEIU International Vice President and President of the SEIU California State Council.

EMILY’s List is a political action committee that seeks to elect female Democrat candidates in favor of abortion.

Twitter users commented on Gavin Newsom’s selection for Feinstein’s successor.

Excellent.

In order to pass most legislation, senators must know how to build coalitions and get 60 votes.

Laphonza Butler is a highly divisive pick.

Like Kamala Harris and Ketanji Brown Jackson, Laphonza Butler will turn off her colleagues.

And accomplish little. https://t.co/wOUfDDhKvN

— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) October 2, 2023

https://twitter.com/JoeyMannarinoUS/status/1708674133666443662

Ca. Gov. @GavinNewsom promised that @SenFeinstein's replacement would be selected based on sex and skin color. Promise made. Promise kept. #LaphonzaButler pic.twitter.com/xIq0FOQK81

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) October 2, 2023

Meet your new California senator, Laphonza Butler!

Incompetent Kamala Harris ended up as VP because Biden promised a black woman

Newsom promised the same. She’s never held office before

Will she be a competent or capable politician? Who knows! No one cares in the sicko party. pic.twitter.com/J7Sr35IcVh

— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) October 2, 2023

NewsBusters noted Butler’s X profile indicates she lives in Maryland.

Her Twitter bio locates her in "MARYLAND." https://t.co/mZF3wAJ8XC https://t.co/Xh7Fj62tEj

— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) October 2, 2023

“Laphonza grew up in Magnolia, MS, and attended one of the country’s premier HBCUs, Jackson State University. She lives in Maryland with her partner Neneki Lee and their daughter Nylah,” Butler’s EMILY’s List bio reads.

“Donald Trump has told so many lies, it’s hard to keep track. He is trying to muddy his unpopular positions to mislead voters. His record is clear: Donald Trump proudly named the SCOTUS justices who overturned Roe. He WILL sign a federal abortion ban. He cannot win the WH again,” Butler wrote last month.

Donald Trump has told so many lies, it’s hard to keep track. He is trying to muddy his unpopular positions to mislead voters. His record is clear: Donald Trump proudly named the SCOTUS justices who overturned Roe. He WILL sign a federal abortion ban. He cannot win the WH again.

— Laphonza Butler (@LaphonzaB) September 18, 2023

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