The leftist reverence for identity politics was on full display once again this week with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pick to fill the seat vacated upon the death of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) late last month.
Although U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is among the Democrats who have indicated they would run for the seat in next year’s election, Newsom essentially ruled the congressman out when he preemptively signaled that his choice would be a Black woman.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) has also expressed a desire to campaign for the seat and would have met Newsom’s gender and racial preferences, but she has expressed criticism of the governor’s plan to choose someone who would simply fill the seat until the next election rather than selecting someone from the existing field of candidates.
I am troubled by the Governor’s remarks. The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election. https://t.co/Q5Q3jznuFd
— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLeeForCA) September 11, 2023
Instead of choosing Lee, Newsom named Laphonza Butler as the state’s interim senator. Although she has an objectively weak background in politics, as a lesbian she checks off yet another demographic box.
In announcing his choice on social media, the governor referenced Butler’s position as a leader in the radical pro-abortion group EMILY’s List and her role as an adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, but ended with the declaration that she “will make history as the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress.”
Choosing a lawmaker based on her race and sexual orientation sparked significant backlash among critics across California and beyond, but Newsom’s pick also resulted in an entirely different controversy.
Various biographical information about Butler online — including her social media profiles and the EMILY’s List website — listed her residence as Maryland until those references were changed in the wake of Newsom’s announcement.
While it does appear that she owns property in California, there is no indication that she is a resident of the state or has recently claimed residency there.
As RedState pointed out, the evidence that Butler is a resident of Maryland appears far more compelling than the supposed proof presented by Democrats during last year’s Senate race in Pennsylvania that Republican candidate Mehmet Oz was actually a New Jersey resident.
