California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a big decision to make, soon, about who he’ll select to fill the upcoming vacant U.S. Senate seat left behind by Sen. Kamala Harris if she joins former Vice President Joe Biden in the White House in January.
There’s been rampant speculation that he’ll choose from a select pool of “women of color,” as he’s faced increased pressure from groups like Black Lives Matter to make such a move, with the group even saying that his Senate appointment of a person of color is “nonnegotiable.”
However, with California in absolute shambles, a failing economy and rapidly deteriorating conditions because of a lack of proper law enforcement — then throw a COVID-19 pandemic on top — Newsom has an unorthodox, yet easy way out of that mess by appointing himself to fill Harris’ vacant Senate seat and obviously resigning from the Governorship.
Personally, like many others, I can’t stand Newsom or his policies and I would absolutely hate to see him take a seat in the halls of the upper chamber, but weirdly enough it really does make sense for him to at least consider the option, given the mess he’s facing in California.
According to Breitbart, there’s already at least some level of speculation that Newsom has considered the strategy. While it would undoubtedly upset BLM and other progressive groups, Newsom probably wouldn’t lose much sleep over that since he would finally not be responsible for the entire, failing state of California.
The Los Angeles Times quoted former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown’s take on the developing situation, with Brown saying he wouldn’t hesitate to make the move if he were in Newsom’s shoes right now.
“If I were Newsom, that’s the first thing I would do,” Brown said. “I’m 53 and I have ambition. And I have a friend who is already vice president and she’ll probably be the ‘first’ Californian. But I would like to be the ‘second’ Californian. I could live longer in that status as a senator than as a governor. So, I would be playing practical politics.”
Not only does it make sense from that standpoint, but given the fact that several rumors have emerged that Newsom is eyeing up a run at the presidency in the future, his status as a senator would likely give him ample time to, as Breitbart noted, develop the national audience required for such a run.
It would also allow him to rub shoulders with the power donors and other bastions of wealth required to secure the financial backing for a run at the White House.
Do you think Newsom’s new lockdown orders are constitutional?
Of course, the legal dust from Trump’s battles to overturn the results of the 2020 election will have to settle before Newsom has a chance at filling any would-be vacant Senate seats. With any luck, Trump will remain in the White House for a second term and we won’t have to worry about what Newsom does or doesn’t do.
