Battle is for more than a Senate seat
Black and Latino leaders argue over Harris’ successor
LOS ANGELES — The jockeying began in the summer, right alongside the celebrations. Leading California Democrats were thrilled that Kamala Harris was named the Democratic nominee for vice president and eager to help her and Joe Biden get to the White House. That was not a question the sprawling and divided state political establishment disagreed on.
But what to do about that empty Senate seat? That was far trickier.
Latinos make up roughly 40% ofCaliforniaandremain a growing population in the state. White residents make upabout38%, andBlackresidents account for nearly 6% ofthestate’ssome40million residents. Until Harris won her Senate seat in 2016, the state had been represented by two white senators since 1983.
Some Latino officials point to those numbers and argue that the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, needs to — must, without question — appointaLatinototheU.S.
Senate, the first in California’s history.
But Black political leaders contend that Harris could not be replaced by anyone other than a Black woman.
Without her, they noted, the Senate would have no Black women in the chamber.
What Newsom’s decision, which is expected before the end of the year, comes down to is not about policy. Each candidate whose name has been floated represents a zerosumgame— ifonegroup getswhatitwants, itisimpossible for the other group to getwhatitwantsaswell. And it has divided many leaders who are usually united.
“We have waited a long time to see representation match the size of our The fight for who will replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the Senate is on. Black political leaders are calling for a Black woman to replace her, while Latino leaders say a Latino must be appointed for the first time. SUSAN WALSH/AP community,” said Thomas Saenz, the executive directorof theMexicanAmerican Legal Defense and EducationalFund, whohaslobbied for a Latino pick. “We need to have representatives who reflect the population here.
ThefactistheAfricanAmerican community is not growinginCalifornia, andLatinos are an increasing part of the electorate.”
As the Democratic Party prepares to take over the White House once again, fights over representation are playing out over the presidential Cabinet too, with Black, Latino and Asian members of Congress lobbying the Biden-Harris transition for appointments. And the efforts threaten to open divisions among Democrats who have long relied on a multiracial alliance.
The debates are bringing to the surface long-simmering tensions among groups that have historically struggled to obtain power at the highest echelons. In California, Newsom’s decision has the potential to make a triumphant moment of seeing Harris in the White House into something more bittersweet for many Black women.
“The governor has to acknowledge that California has backed a Black woman, and he has to meet this moment,” said Aimee Allison, the founder of She the People, which also helped lobby for Harris’ selection as vice president. “This is about recognizing that Black women writ large are essential as organizers and legislators.
2020 is not the time for himtoturnhisbackonBlack women.”
After Alex Padilla, California’s secretary of state, emerged as the leading candidate in recent weeks, activists including Allison grew increasingly frustrated.
Dozens of local and national officials raised their voices and wrote a letter to the governor, urging him to appoint either Rep. Barbara LeeorRep. KarenBasstothe seat.
Gender dynamics are also an important consideration for Newsom, who has long tried to burnish his feminist credentials.
For decades, California has elected two female senators, and women’s groups suggest thatitwouldbeunfairtohave Harris’ seathandedtoaman.
Another sign of the complexity of the moment for Democrats in California is that even as they are fighting one another for one senate seat, Black and Latino activists are jointly pushing for the resignation of Dianne Feinstein, citing her age and apparent comfort with some Republicans. (A New Yorker story published this month raised pointed questions about her mental acuity and short-term memory, and Feinstein later defended herself.) Feinstein has said she believes that Padilla should be appointed to Harris’ seat, a position that has prompted some to suggest she should resignifsheissodetermined forPadillatotakeoffice. Feinstein herself easily defeated Kevin de León, a former Democratic leader of the California State Senate, during her 2016 reelection campaign.
“Anysayshethinksshehas in this seat — no,” said Molly Watson, of the progressive group Courage California.
“To have a man put in this position really is a slap in the face, nor does it represent what we had voted in this office.”
Allison echoed the calls for Feinstein’s resignation, saying that “it is her time to step aside and make some space for those who represent a big part of the state.”
In many ways, the explicit advocacy both in California and Washington is drawing lessons from the successful campaign to have Biden select a Black woman as his running mate. This summer, hundreds of women and organizations made an all-out effort, coordinating their efforts in daily phone calls and strategy sessions.
The effort of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus also reflects the increased numberandpowerofLatinos in Congress. The caucus has met regularly with dozens of Latino organizations and soughttounifytheirmessage, zeroinginoncandidateswho they believe have a serious chance of being chosen for the cabinet.
The push for representation today, both nationally and in California, is more aggressive and direct than it has been in the past. It partly reflects that Democrats have not had this kind of power in more than a decade — and that demographics have changedconsiderablyduring that time.
“We have said that one of our goals is to see the face of America in the cabinet,” said Joaquin Castro, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has aggressively pushed for five Latino members of the cabinet, including at least one Latinawoman.“Ourpopulation and our importance has grown. People don’t want to settle for less.”
AftertheHispanicCaucus met with members of the transition team last week, civil rights leaders, includingtheRev.
Al Sharpton, met withBidenhimselflastweek to ask for more inclusion of Black candidates in the cabinet.
“We’removingtowardthe right direction, but we have notarrivedthereyet,” Sharpton said in an interview.
Sharpton also joined the call for a Black woman to replace Harris as well but said he was wary of pitting BlackleadersagainstLatinos.
“I am very concerned about that,” he said. “We don’t want this to become ugly.”
In California, for the most part, political organizers and activists have avoided direct confrontationwithNewsom.
But both sides have made it clear that they will not easily forgiveNewsomifheignores them.
“I am just really disappointed,” said AssemblywomanShirleyWeber, oneof theleadingsupportersofLee and Bass. “These numbers are so stark, and you can’t argue that we don’t need more Black women. I would have liked to expect more from my Latino colleagues.”
But what to do about that empty Senate seat? That was far trickier.
Latinos make up roughly 40% ofCaliforniaandremain a growing population in the state. White residents make upabout38%, andBlackresidents account for nearly 6% ofthestate’ssome40million residents. Until Harris won her Senate seat in 2016, the state had been represented by two white senators since 1983.
Some Latino officials point to those numbers and argue that the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, needs to — must, without question — appointaLatinototheU.S.
Senate, the first in California’s history.
But Black political leaders contend that Harris could not be replaced by anyone other than a Black woman.
Without her, they noted, the Senate would have no Black women in the chamber.
What Newsom’s decision, which is expected before the end of the year, comes down to is not about policy. Each candidate whose name has been floated represents a zerosumgame— ifonegroup getswhatitwants, itisimpossible for the other group to getwhatitwantsaswell. And it has divided many leaders who are usually united.
“We have waited a long time to see representation match the size of our The fight for who will replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the Senate is on. Black political leaders are calling for a Black woman to replace her, while Latino leaders say a Latino must be appointed for the first time. SUSAN WALSH/AP community,” said Thomas Saenz, the executive directorof theMexicanAmerican Legal Defense and EducationalFund, whohaslobbied for a Latino pick. “We need to have representatives who reflect the population here.
ThefactistheAfricanAmerican community is not growinginCalifornia, andLatinos are an increasing part of the electorate.”
As the Democratic Party prepares to take over the White House once again, fights over representation are playing out over the presidential Cabinet too, with Black, Latino and Asian members of Congress lobbying the Biden-Harris transition for appointments. And the efforts threaten to open divisions among Democrats who have long relied on a multiracial alliance.
The debates are bringing to the surface long-simmering tensions among groups that have historically struggled to obtain power at the highest echelons. In California, Newsom’s decision has the potential to make a triumphant moment of seeing Harris in the White House into something more bittersweet for many Black women.
“The governor has to acknowledge that California has backed a Black woman, and he has to meet this moment,” said Aimee Allison, the founder of She the People, which also helped lobby for Harris’ selection as vice president. “This is about recognizing that Black women writ large are essential as organizers and legislators.
2020 is not the time for himtoturnhisbackonBlack women.”
After Alex Padilla, California’s secretary of state, emerged as the leading candidate in recent weeks, activists including Allison grew increasingly frustrated.
Dozens of local and national officials raised their voices and wrote a letter to the governor, urging him to appoint either Rep. Barbara LeeorRep. KarenBasstothe seat.
Gender dynamics are also an important consideration for Newsom, who has long tried to burnish his feminist credentials.
For decades, California has elected two female senators, and women’s groups suggest thatitwouldbeunfairtohave Harris’ seathandedtoaman.
Another sign of the complexity of the moment for Democrats in California is that even as they are fighting one another for one senate seat, Black and Latino activists are jointly pushing for the resignation of Dianne Feinstein, citing her age and apparent comfort with some Republicans. (A New Yorker story published this month raised pointed questions about her mental acuity and short-term memory, and Feinstein later defended herself.) Feinstein has said she believes that Padilla should be appointed to Harris’ seat, a position that has prompted some to suggest she should resignifsheissodetermined forPadillatotakeoffice. Feinstein herself easily defeated Kevin de León, a former Democratic leader of the California State Senate, during her 2016 reelection campaign.
“Anysayshethinksshehas in this seat — no,” said Molly Watson, of the progressive group Courage California.
“To have a man put in this position really is a slap in the face, nor does it represent what we had voted in this office.”
Allison echoed the calls for Feinstein’s resignation, saying that “it is her time to step aside and make some space for those who represent a big part of the state.”
In many ways, the explicit advocacy both in California and Washington is drawing lessons from the successful campaign to have Biden select a Black woman as his running mate. This summer, hundreds of women and organizations made an all-out effort, coordinating their efforts in daily phone calls and strategy sessions.
The effort of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus also reflects the increased numberandpowerofLatinos in Congress. The caucus has met regularly with dozens of Latino organizations and soughttounifytheirmessage, zeroinginoncandidateswho they believe have a serious chance of being chosen for the cabinet.
The push for representation today, both nationally and in California, is more aggressive and direct than it has been in the past. It partly reflects that Democrats have not had this kind of power in more than a decade — and that demographics have changedconsiderablyduring that time.
“We have said that one of our goals is to see the face of America in the cabinet,” said Joaquin Castro, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has aggressively pushed for five Latino members of the cabinet, including at least one Latinawoman.“Ourpopulation and our importance has grown. People don’t want to settle for less.”
AftertheHispanicCaucus met with members of the transition team last week, civil rights leaders, includingtheRev.
Al Sharpton, met withBidenhimselflastweek to ask for more inclusion of Black candidates in the cabinet.
“We’removingtowardthe right direction, but we have notarrivedthereyet,” Sharpton said in an interview.
Sharpton also joined the call for a Black woman to replace Harris as well but said he was wary of pitting BlackleadersagainstLatinos.
“I am very concerned about that,” he said. “We don’t want this to become ugly.”
In California, for the most part, political organizers and activists have avoided direct confrontationwithNewsom.
But both sides have made it clear that they will not easily forgiveNewsomifheignores them.
“I am just really disappointed,” said AssemblywomanShirleyWeber, oneof theleadingsupportersofLee and Bass. “These numbers are so stark, and you can’t argue that we don’t need more Black women. I would have liked to expect more from my Latino colleagues.”
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