Newsom faces backlash for not picking Black woman for Senate seat

close

Video

Recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom gains more than half the signatures needed to qualify for special election

Congressman-elect Darrell Issa discusses the progress of the petition to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom received some backlash on Tuesday for not picking a Black woman to fill the remainder of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's Senate term. 

The Democratic governor instead selected Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who is a Latino, to be the state’s next U.S. senator – a first in California’s history.

This photo taken from video provided by the Office of the Governor shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right during a virtual meeting from his home in Sacramento, Calif., with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.  (Office of the Governor via AP)

Padilla's appointment gives a new level of representation to Latinos, who make up the state's single largest demographic group at nearly 40% of the population. But Newsom's choice of Padilla also means there will be no Black women in the 100-member Senate. Harris, who is Black and Indian, was the only Black woman in the Senate.

Matt Stoller, of the American Economic Liberties Project, tweeted that Newsom "should have picked" Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., "because she’s great and is always full of ideological integrity."

"So… there will be ZERO Black women in the Senate?" tweeted attorney Preston Mitchum, a civil rights activists. "Instead of picking one of the Black woman Members in the House (Lee, Bass, etc.), the Governor decided that a man… never mind."

Aimee Allison, a columnist at Newsweek, similarly lamented Newsom’s decision, tweeting that it leaves the nation "with one less woman and now not a single Black woman in the United States Senate, chipping away at decades of progress that have been to ensure our United States Senate looks like the America is represents."

Freelance journalists Sophia A. Nelson tweeted that it is wrong from Harris’ senate seat to go to a man.

"I support my Latino brothers and sisters too! But then choose a Latina woman to fill the seat. You gave a seat won by a woman to a man. No Bueno!!!" she wrote.

SOME DEMOCRATS SUPPORTING MOVES BEHIND THE SCENES TO REPLACE GAVIN NEWSOM: REPORT

Even before announcing his pick, Newsom had been urged by members of his party to appoint a Black woman to replace Harris. Last week, Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley suggested that filling Harris's seat with any other demographic would be going backward.

"With the election of @KamalaHarris to VP-elect, @CAgovenor must priorities this leadership, perspective & representation in the vacated U.S. Senate seat & appoint a Black woman," Pressley tweeted. "@BLeeForCongress & @KarenBassTweets are seasoned policymakers."

Harris plans to step down from the seat in January ahead of Inauguration Day, on Jan. 20. Padilla will need to run for a full term in 2022. The appointment gives him an advantage, but he's still likely to face challengers; California's top-two primary system allows two Democrats to face off in a general election.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In choosing Padilla, Newsom gives himself yet another appointment. He'll be able to select California's next secretary of state. He's also weighing his choice for California's next attorney general, as President-elect Joe Biden has named California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.