CALIFORNIA—In a December 8 press release, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of Rep. Adam Schiff to complete the term of Senator Laphonza Butler. The latter of whom was also appointed by Governor Newsom following the death of Senator Dianne Feinstein on October 1, 2023.
Laphonza Butler, who was previously a union organizer and labor leader resigned from her appointed senate position on December 8. Senator Butler’s resignation is effective December 9, 2024. Schiff was sworn in as Senator on Monday, December 9, 2024.
The following remarks came directly from Governor Newsom’s press release.
“In October 2023, Governor Newsom appointed Butler — the former President of the nation’s largest organization dedicated to electing women, EMILY’s List — to complete the U.S. Senate term of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Butler, a longtime senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, labor leader, and advocate for women and working people, was the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the U.S. Senate. She was also the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress in American history and the third Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.”
Congressman, Schiff(D-CA), served in the House of Representatives for 23 years before running for U.S. Senate. Schiff and former Major League baseball great, Steve Garvey competed for California’s Senate seat. Schiff reportedly won by 59.8 percent by garnering 4,534,025 votes to Republican Steve Garvey’s 40.2 percent of the vote. Garvey achieved 3,046,608 votes.
As a known Trump antagonist, Rep. Schiff remained under scrutiny due to the amount of time and money he allocated to the continuous investigations of former and president-elect, Donald Trump. The investigations took place during a time when Californians were suffering through a spike in crime rates, wildfires, and homelessness, and Schiff was elected to represent California’s 30th district.
Laura Friedman (D-CA) won the congressional election to fill Adam Schiff’s seat in the 30th Congressional District. She won 68.6 of the vote against Alex Balekien who garnered 31.4 percent.
