SACRAMENTO, California (LifeSiteNews) — California governor Gavin Newsom has selected a “Black lesbian” who led a national pro-abortion group to fill the remainder of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat following the Democrat politician’s death late last week.
EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler will finish off Feinstein’s term, which will end in 2024, following Gov. Newsom’s announcement.
The leftist governor leaned into identity politics in his announcement, with his office noting Butler “will be the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate” and “the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress in American history and the second Black woman to represent California in the Senate following Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Newsom made clear that Butler would be a reliable vote for the leftist agenda.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for – reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence – have never been under greater assault,” Newsom said. “Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.”
Butler has long been involved in leftist politics, including as an advisor to Harris and Hillary Clinton. She also held multiple roles with the Service Employees International Union, including serving as its president.
While Newsom’s office called EMILY’s list “the nation’s largest organization dedicated to electing women,” it is actually a pro-abortion group that opposes any limits on the killing of preborn children up until the moment of birth. This is the official stance of the Democratic Party.
Butler, as president of EMILY’s List, called Feinstein “a critical voice for women, championing the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent reauthorizations, and fighting for abortion rights and access to reproductive health care for over a generation. She championed gun violence prevention in all political seasons.”
While she will serve as the senator from California, she has lived in Maryland for some time now. An August 31 Federal Elections Commission filing listed her as living in Silver Spring, Maryland. She reportedly still owns a home in California and will switch her primary registration, according to media reports.
Her predecessor was praised by the media as a centrist but had a history of spreading false information about abortion and famously attacked Catholic judicial nominee, now Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, for her religious views, famously asserting to the lawyer that “The dogma lives loudly within you,” during her first judicial nomination hearing.