Newsom must appoint new Senator to replace CA Senator Kamala Harris
By Sakura Amano, Staff Writer
With California Senator Kamala Harris now named vice president elect, Governor Gavin Newsom is left to make the decision of who will replace Harris in the U.S. Senate for the remaining two years of her term. State law gives Newsom the option of either personally appointing a senator or calling a special election. Although, it is almost definite that he will decide to choose Harris’ successor alone, as few would renounce such a responsibility.
Elected in 2016, Harris’ first Senate term was originally set to expire in Jan. 2023. Seeing as her replacement would only be filling a temporary position, the successor would need to run for an official full term in 2022, with the large advantage of incumbency. The appointed senator would ultimately have substantial leverage over some of the nation’s biggest issues, including the immigration system, climate change and criminal justice system, not to mention the responsibility of foreseeing the Biden administration. Now the question is who will Newsom choose to fulfill these duties?
Inevitably, Newsom is receiving persuasion from all sides for this decision. Specifically, many are urging him to appoint a Black woman to replace Harris, due to the time of nationwide confrontation of the daily struggles of Black Americans. Additionally, as Harris is only the second Black woman in U.S. history to hold a seat in the Senate, many argue that it would be wrong to “undo” such a pivotal position.
On the other hand, this vacancy allows Newsom to potentially appoint California's first Latinx senator. By doing so, he would be making history once again after being the first to appoint an openly gay justice, Martin Jenkins, to the U.S. Supreme Court this year. Appointing a Latinx senator would also be a much-needed step towards having the Senate accurately represent the demographic of California, where almost 40% of the population is Latinx.
“Gavin Newsom likes to make history. The likelihood of him appointing a white male is about as likely as me starting a World Series for the Dodgers,” Dan Schnur, a former adviser to Governor Pete Wilson, told the press in October.
While multiple potential candidates for the position have expressed interest in filling the Senate seat, six Democrats; California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, State Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA), Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, San Francisco mayor London Breed and Former State Senate Leader Kevin de León have been particularly eyed by Newsom for the next California senator.
“I think it’s really important for Samo students to be keeping up with this election for a new senator because so much depends on who fills the seat and will ultimately affect us directly as California residents,” Santa Monica YMCA Youth & Government student Avery Smith (’23 said).
Thus, while Newsom has an extensive list of viable candidates for the open seat in the U.S. Senate, he is certainly faced with the pressure of choosing a successor who will not only get things done, but allow the residents of California to feel accurately represented.