California Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared in an interview with MSNBC host Joy Reid on Monday and committed to replacing Sen. Dianne Feinstein with a Black woman if the 87-year-old decides to retire before her term is up in 2024.
“We have multiple names in mind and the answer is yes,” the governor said when Reid asked if he would choose a Black woman to replace Feinstein and restore the Senate seat previously held by Vice President Kamala Harris.
As Blavity previously reported, Newsom faced backlash in December when he passed on the opportunity to fill Harris' seat with a Black woman. Instead, the governor appointed California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, ignoring advocates who lobbied for Reps. Barbara Lee and Karen Bass.
“Sen. Harris cannot be the only woman of color at the table. It’s not enough for her to break this glass ceiling — there needs to be a path for future generations of women of color to follow in her footsteps," Aimee Allison, the founder of She The People, said at the time. "We cannot afford to wait decades for the voices of Black women to be heard.”
According to Essence, the only two Black women who have ever been elected to the U.S. Senate are Harris and Carol Moseley Braun. Braun represented Illinois from 1993 to 1999 while Harris served California from 2017 until assuming her current office.
Glynda Carr, president/CEO of Higher Heights, an organization that works to elect Black women, said Newsom’s latest commitment "will ensure that the much-needed leadership and voices of Black women are heard in both legislative bodies."
"While having one Black woman in the Senate will never be enough, this commitment acknowledges the ways in which Black women champion crucial policies regarding the health, safety and well-being of our communities,” Carr said, according to Essence. “It is essential that Black women have an advocate who will speak upon the issues that are most important to our communities, and continue the fight to end disparities across health, voting access, criminal justice, economic justice and more in the Senate.”
Feinstein, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, is the oldest sitting senator, Los Angeles Times reported. Although she hasn't announced plans for her retirement, the senator has been facing speculations about a possible early exit. The rumor is partly fueled by calls from within her own party to step down, as well as public disapproval. According to a poll conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, only 35% of Californians approve [of] Feinstein's performance.
“We do get things done and we do pass bills,” the 87-year-old told Los Angeles Times in December. “You do get older, that’s true. But I have been productive.”
Newsom also addressed the efforts to oust him from office during Monday's interview with Reid.
“This is the sixth recall attempt since I’ve been governor. And by the way, I’ve only been governor [for] 25 months. So it’s been a very short period of time,” the California leader said. “But this one is serious and it’s serious for many different reasons. It’s the uncertainty of being on the ballot with the question up or down, but also the folks behind it.”
The people leading the recall efforts, according to the governor, are extremists and donors of former president Donald Trump.
"The principal sponsor of this recall effort wants to put microchips in immigrant aliens," he said. "We have folks that are literally part of the Three Percent militia group, [a] right-wing group that [is] part of the principal proponents of this effort.”
