Newsom faces backlash for not picking Black woman for Senate seat
Kamala Harris, who is Black and Indian, was the only Black woman in the Senate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
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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.