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Who Will Replace Kamala Harris? It’s About More Than a Senate Seat
Alex Padilla, California’s secretary of state, emerged as the leading candidate in recent weeks. Activists including Ms. Allison grew increasingly frustrated. Dozens of local and national officials raised their voices and wrote a letter to the governor, urging him to appoint either Congresswoman Barbara Lee or Congresswoman Karen Bass to the seat.
No constituency is more committed and more reliable to the Democratic Party than African-American women, the letter read. They deserve to have voting power and direct representation in the United States Senate.
Gender dynamics are also an important consideration for Mr. Newsom. He has long tried to burnish his feminist credentials. For decades, California has elected two female senators. Women’s groups suggest that it would be unfair to have Ms. Harris’s seat handed to a man.
Another sign of the complexity of the moment for Democrats is that several Californian’s are fighting one another for one senate seat. Black and Latino activists are jointly pushing for the resignation of Dianne Feinstein. They cite her age and apparent comfort with some Republicans.
Ms. Feinstein has said she believes Mr. Padilla should be appointed to Ms. Harris’s seat. A position that has prompted some to suggest she should resign if she is so determined for Mr. Padilla to take office. Ms. Feinstein herself easily defeated Kevin de León, a former Democratic leader of the California State Senate, during her 2016 re-election campaign.
Any say she thinks she has in this seat no, said Molly Watson, of the progressive group Courage California. To have a man put in this position really is a slap in the face, nor does it represent what we had voted in this office.
Ms. Allison echoed the calls for Ms. Feinstein’s resignation, saying that it is her time to step aside and make some space for those who represent a big part of the state.read more
Could a Latino senator change 170 years of California history? It’s up to the state’s governor.
