Who will replace Feinstein? This is who Newsom might tap

Though California Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged in 2021 to appoint a Black woman to the U.S. Senate if Sen. Dianne Feinstein retired, he has kept his deliberations private and shrugged off rumors of who could be his top choice. Now, with the death of Feinstein at 90, the question of whom Newsom might appoint to replace the senator has become more urgent.

The U.S. Senate has not included a Black woman since Kamala Harris resigned to become vice president, and Newsom said earlier this month that he still intends to appoint a Black woman. But he said it won’t be anyone already running for Senate in next year’s election, ruling out Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) — and angering her and her supporters.

Some of them called on Newsom on Friday to change his stance and tap Lee.

“At a time when 20 million Californians are one paycheck away from falling into poverty, and our democracy and freedoms are under threat, we need a fighter who can immediately fill Sen. Feinstein’s shoes,” said a statement from Aimee Allison, president of She the People, a group that advocates for women of color in politics.

“Barbara Lee is ready to lead in the Senate on day one.”

Newsom previously said he doesn’t want to interfere in the 2024 Senate race already underway and will pick someone to serve as a caretaker for the period until voters choose a new senator who would take office at the start of 2025.

Whoever it is, “Newsom is going to be very keenly interested in continuing Feinstein’s legacy,” said Elizabeth Ashford, a Democratic political consultant and vice president of California Women Lead, a nonpartisan organization Feinstein helped found in 1974.

Here are some people who could be picked.

Potential contenders

Angela Glover Blackwell, PolicyLink founder

Newsom could avoid potential conflicts with other elected Democrats by appointing someone like Angela Glover Blackwell, who has deep experience in law and policy but does not hold elected office.

A leader in the movement for racial equity, Blackwell has had a long career working on civil rights as an attorney, policy advocate, educator and writer. She is the founder of the PolicyLink racial justice organization, a lecturer at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and author of scholarly articles and co-author of the book “Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future.”

“As a Black girl growing up in a segregated St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1950s and early ’60s, I adopted the prevailing story about our country,” she wrote in an article earlier this year in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

“It was the tale of a nation carved by ruggedness, exploration, and aspiration. A nation full of potential that could be tapped through individual grit and courageous efforts pushing society toward equality and justice.”

Lateefah Simon, Bay Area Rapid Transit board member

Lateefah Simon, currently on the Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors, is running for the U.S. House seat that Lee now holds representing Oakland and the East Bay.

Early in her career, Simon worked for then-San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris, leading an anti-recidivisim program for youth.

Simon is well known in the Bay Area for decades of community organizing and civil and human rights advocacy, and could be a safe choice for Newsom because she’s already running for Congress.

Simon’s campaign declined to provide a statement and said she was instead focused on her current race.

London Breed, San Francisco Mayor

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is a trickier political choice. She’s running in a challenging reelection next year amid a backdrop of doom and gloom in San Francisco, where voter dissatisfaction over homelessness and crime has taken center stage in the race.

But she’s also a prominent California politician from the same city as Feinstein, which could make her selection symbolic, too.

During a Friday news conference, Breed was asked if she had spoken to Newsom about whom he might tap as Feinstein’s replacement, and whether she would accept the position if he offered it.

She said that was a “conversation we can save for another day.”

“That’s the governor’s responsibility, and I am sure he is already working on it and doing what he needs to do,” Breed said. “But so many of us, including Gov. Newsom, have great relationships with Feinstein and her family, and we want to take a moment to just really make this about her, her legacy and everything she’s done before we move to that chapter.”

Shirley Weber, California Secretary of State

Newsom turned to Shirley Weber a few years ago when he had a big position to fill. The governor tapped the then-Assembly member in 2021 to fill a vacancy as the state’s chief elections officer after he appointed Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate. Weber won her election by more than 20 points in 2022 to retain the job.

Weber can serve in her current position, if reelected, until 2030, so accepting a temporary appointment would bring her time as secretary of state to an early end — and create another vacancy for Newsom to fill.

Weber declined to comment on the possibility of being appointed.

Not interested:

Maxine Waters, Congresswoman

Rep. Maxine Waters is one of California’s longest-serving officials, having been elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 to represent South Los Angeles and, before that, to the state Legislature where she held office for more than a decade.

The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Waters joined those calling on Newsom to appoint Lee.

“I’m a big supporter of Barbara Lee … who has identified herself as a very highly competent legislator, leader and organizer who has advanced progressive politics throughout her career. You can’t find a better committed legislator than Barbara Lee,” she said.

“I think there is no better person than Barbara Lee for Newsom to live up to his commitment to appoint a Black woman.”

Karen Bass, Los Angeles Mayor

As an experienced lawmaker and political leader, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass would be a logical appointment. But she just won an expensive and difficult election last year to lead the nation’s second-largest city and has indicated she’s not interested in leaving to become a short-term senator.

Asked by Politico earlier this year if Bass would consider the post, her spokesperson Zach Seidl said, “Absolutely not.”

Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles County Supervisor

One of California’s most high-profile female leaders, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said she is focused on winning reelection next year.

“While I am absolutely flattered that I’ve seen my name mentioned among many other amazing Black woman leaders across the state, I am not [interested],” Mitchell told The Times in an interview Friday.

“L.A. County, the largest county in the country — 10-plus million people with great needs — is a job that I’m really enjoying now. … There’s lots of work that we started that I’m deeply proud of, and lots more work to do.”

Oprah Winfrey

Despite media attention on the possibility of Newsom tapping Winfrey for the job, it’s an unlikely choice.

Winfrey’s spokeswoman earlier this year said the media mogul “is not considering the seat should it become vacant,” despite her national influence as an author, former talk show host and friend to many of America’s most famous celebrities.

Times staff writers Kevin Rector, Taryn Luna and Erin B. Logan contributed to this article.