(RepublicanInformer.com)- Gavin Newsom already has a list of black women in mind to replace Senate Dianne Feinstein, but there’s just one problem — Feinstein has made no indication that she’s leaving office.
The embattled California governor made some interesting comments this week. He said he had “multiple names in mind” to replace Feinstein should the Democratic Senator, who is 87 years old, decide to retire before her term officially ends in 2024.
The timing of his comments is a little fishy, too. According to the Los Angeles Times, Newsom said this only a few hours after two prominent elected Black leaders in the state said they’d organize Black voters around California if the recall effort against Newsom were successful.
Representatives Barbara Lee and Karen Bass said they’d support Newsom in his quest to survive the recall effort. And then, somewhat curiously, he said he’s ready to replace Feinstein — and old white woman — with a black woman.
The Hill reported that Newsom is facing a lot of pressure to put forth a woman of color as a nominee for the next Senate seat that becomes open. When now-Vice President Kamala Harris vacated her Senate seat, Newsom didn’t appoint a woman of color to replace her. He chose Alex Padilla instead.
At the time, Newsom said of Padilla:
“Through his tenacity, integrity, smarts and grit, California is gaining a tested fighter in their corner who will be a fierce ally in D.C., lifting up our state’s values and making sure we secure the critical resources to emerge stronger from this pandemic.”
While he did appoint a minority to replace Harris, Newsom took a lot of heat from his fellow Democrats for not choosing a woman of color. There are only two Black women who have served in the Senate, and Harris was one of them.
With Harris no longer in the Senate, the upper chamber now has three Black men on the body but no Black women.
Feinstein is the oldest sitting senator. While rumors have swirled about her retiring soon, she told the LA Times just this December that she hasn’t considered stepping down from her post before her full terms ends three years from now.
So, Newsom’s motivation for making his comments about Feinstein’s replacement, and the timing of when he did it, certainly do look like he’s pandering to try to get support.
It’s likely that the effort to recall the California governor are likely to succeed. Even Newsom himself said Tuesday that it would most likely appear on the upcoming ballot.
Most people believe that actually recalling Newsom and removing him from office would be a longshot, at best. But, there are many people who are not happy with how he’s run California — and some of his pandemic actions — that it’s possible.
Newsom must be at least a little worried, because his public comments have shifted from denying the recall would happen to now beefing up support from some big-name Democrats such as Senators Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
