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Rep. Barbara Lee, a progressive Oakland icon, was also seen as a likely choice and was recently led in a University of Southern California poll on who Newsom should choose.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who would be California’s first Latino and openly gay senator if exploited, is a rising star in the Democratic Party and recently catapulted the shortlist, according to people close to Newsom.
San Diego State Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who is also LGBTQ, is said to be another historic pick and is considered a candidate.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown speculated that Newsom would be more likely to pick a statewide officer for the seat, as it would allow him to nominate both the next senator and the replacement for a powerful government official. the state.
Padilla aside, that puts Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who isn’t as close to Newsom, Treasurer Fiona Ma and State Comptroller Betty Yee – all candidates of color – in the mix.
Yee and Ma, have already indicated their interest in a future gubernatorial candidacy, as has the state’s first female lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, who is also seen as having potential with the new Biden administration.
Representative Katie Porter, a rookie who is one of the party’s strongest fundraisers, enjoys strong support among young voters, as does Silicon Valley Representative Ro Khanna, who is of southern descent. -Asian and a frontrunner of progressives who bolstered his profile as the former national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
Other names making buzz in California include two prominent mayors, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.
Newsom said this week that he would not officially begin the decision-making process until the elections were officially called. But he gave some clues as to which direction he was leaning, noting that the names specified in POLITICO’s recent recap were “a good list,” but he joked that maybe “another 30 or 40” could be added to it.
The intense lobbying for his nomination to take Harris’ Senate seat was “not something I would wish on my worst enemy,” he joked Tuesday.
“You create enemies in this process; you don’t just make great friends – and it’s a vexing decision,” Newsom said. “It’s a difficult question. It’s also a presumptive question … some people vote for Kamala Harris, just like [the appointee] as his look? “
Other considerations include whether Harris’ replacement would be able to fill the seat at the end of his current tenure, which expires in two years – or whether he should choose a “placeholder” that would allow a level playing field. considering how someone can hold the seat post for decades.
Newsom said he was under pressure day and night from Democrats and joked that they were getting creative in trying to get his attention.
“You know there are phone calls, there are emails,” he said. “People have just arrived at some places. They want to babysit, they offer to buy groceries, to have coffee.”
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